First Week Back

Grand Blanc, MI at 9:00 pm!

Parker and I were both looking forward to getting back on the road after our very enjoyable 3 week break. It was the longest break of the year so far... one week is just never enough, by the time you get unpacked and get everything put away, you have to pull it all back out again! Three weeks was just right! We had the chance to relax, cook at home, and even got to see his entire family for his cousin's wedding.

The McLachlin Family

At first we felt a little rusty with our packing, but we got back into the swing of traveling very quickly. The hardest thing for us this week was adjusting to the time change. Coming from the West Coast, adjusting to East Coast time is hard enough by itself, but since Michigan is so far north, it stays light sooooo late. It didn't get dark until 10:00 at night there.

Even though he didn't get the chance to play on the weekend, Parker is feeling great about his game and is enjoying getting back into his rhythm. On his time off, he visited the Titleist facility in Southern California and has put a new driver in the bag for these upcoming weeks.

Off the course pretty much consisted of movies and working out. They had a great gym nearby where I went with the girls and took cycling classes and pilates classes. Both were a first for me, and I loved it! It was great to have a group of us that motivated each other to go everyday. There was also a movie theater right by the hotel and we saw three movies this week. I think that there might be something with movies and golf...It is one of our favorite hobbies on the road. I know that Parker loves movies but it is also great way for him to get out of the sun, the heat, and away from golf crowds. Just a cool dark place to escape and enjoy.

Back to AZ

The US Open Qualifier is finally complete and now we can plan out a schedule for the upcoming months. I know that it was disappointing when Parker missed at the qualifier but somehow this break might be just what he needs to prepare himself for some solid summer tournaments. I didn't go to the qualifier but I knew that the course was either going to seem really easy after the long weekend at Memorial or he just wasn't going to have enough steam to battle through a 36 hole day? Even though it would have been great to play at Torrey with a hometown crowd (all of the So Cal relatives), being able to going home for more than one week is going to be a first for the year. We are both looking forward to some down time and going to enjoy being back in Arizona.

"Rough" Week at the Memorial

I sit here patiently waiting back at the hotel, I am supposed to pick up Parker in about an hour from his US Open Qualifier. We have been in Ohio for over a week now. And the results of today's qualifier, somewhat determine our schedule for the upcoming weeks. This past week was...how shall I say it... quite a "rough" week!

Parker and I managed to sleep through our first tornado warning. There was a storm that came through overnight, with lightning striking down hitting a nearby hotel. The thunder was so loud that it woke us both up, however somehow we fell back asleep as the city sirens went on full blast... (telling everyone of a possible tornado). I have no idea why it didn't occur to us in our half asleep state that we should get out of the room and go to the lobby of the hotel??? Thankfully it was just a warning and the very next morning brought sunny skies and I didn't hear of any major damage or injuries from the storm. It is good to know for the future...next time we hear those sirens, we will get downstairs!

This week was very special to be in the presence of Jack Nicklaus. It seemed like he was deeply involved in every aspect of the tournament. I would often see him around the club house or on a golf cart driving around his course. Oh but his course...as I am sure some of you saw, his course challenged everyone out there. Parker had a nice Thursdays round (looking back that +1 looked awfully nice) but on Friday his allergies got to him and he battled through the entire day sneezing and sniffling as the cottonwood trees blew what looked to be like snow through the air. I am not sure if that is what even got to him, but the site of the little cotton balls blowing around is enough to make you sneeze just by looking at it. The weekend brought more difficulties. Parker managed to find his way through of the rough and out of bunkers but definitely paid a price. It was a long day on the golf course on Sunday and I am starting to think that the excitement of AT&T, the heat in TX and the treachery of the course in Ohio is starting to get to him.

Even though it was a difficult week on the course, we had a great time in Dublin. It was a quaint little town with some fun restaurants. We loved our dinner at Tucci's Italian Restaurant, however after the really long days, Chipolte seemed to be the dinner of choice. We also had the chance to meet up with my cousins that live up in Ohio. We visited them back when Parker played the Nationwide Event in Cleveland, and then this year during the Memorial. Next we hope that we will be back one of these years in the near future for the World Golf Championship in Akron!