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Welcome
to the AJGA Link
This new e-mail format will celebrate all
that is good at the AJGA
By Steve Ethun, managing editor, The AJGA Link
It’s
funny the things you see when you’re out rules officiating.
Although,
as a communications staff member, I’m much more apt to
be making pairings or interviewing players, there’s something
refreshing about breaking a sweat in the summer’s heat
and watching the best junior golf has to offer.
In one
year at the AJGA, I’ve seen alligators, prairie dogs,
birds of all persuasions and, once, a dog pick up a player’s
ball and bring it to me to play catch (check your USGA Decisions
book for that ruling).
Get this:
In Albuquerque, at the First State Bank Southwestern Junior
Classic, one of the events that kicked off the AJGA’s
summer swing, I saw a police officer pull a guy over for speeding.
Mr. Lead Foot had 31 prior offenses and a suspended license.
He let him go. Now that was funny.
I’ve
also seen a junior too young to drive – or speed –
shoot a 64. I’ve seen three holes-in-one, more eagles
holed than birdies I’ve ever made and a player call a
penalty on himself during the final round when he was in contention
for the championship. That wasn’t funny, that was amazing.
Remember,
I’m part of the communications crew at tournament sites.
So when I’m in the air conditioning slaving away in front
of a computer, it is easy to forget all of the amazing (and
funny) things that happen week-in and week-out.
This is
what you can expect from The AJGA Link. The Link staff will
do everything possible to make it easier to see all of the
amazing people and things the AJGA helps bring to the world
of golf.
We are
constantly changing – our last Quarterly (Picking up
the Pace) celebrated that very reality. What is funny, however,
I sometimes feel that every issue could be much the same.
I now
ride tournament courses in utter amazement. I see 300-yard
drives followed by crisp iron shots and tap-in birdies left
and right. I see juniors interacting with players from different
parts of the country – different countries even –
trading stories but competing like true champions.
And through
it all -– the competition, the occasional double-bogey
and missed three-footer – I see smiles. As an AJGA staff
member, this is what makes the 5 a.m. wake-up calls worth
it. It’s what makes the fast food, lumpy hotel room beds
and living out of a suitcase worth it.
Through
it all, the smiles make The AJGA Link.
Like I
said – amazing.
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