"Pops and Sunshine" Meet Big Breakers

Well, this is a very special week for one of our Big Break X Michigan ladies. Andrea VanderLende has made it to the Q school finals and is competing with other former Big Breakers for their 2009 LPGA cards.

I always feel a bit desperate for these young women as they fight so hard for so few spots. It is a tough road for them on the Duramed FUTURES Tour and other mini tours like the Cactus Tour.

I remember interviewing Christina Lecuyer and Susan Choi from Big Break Ka'anapali and hearing them talk about how hard it is to find sponsors. And without sponsors, every week is a struggle to get enough money to compete in the next event. It's really sad because many very talented ladies give up their dream before they’ve really had a chance to make it come true.

Remember Elizabeth Stuart saying she thought she might have to give up golf because she just couldn’t afford it anymore? I am so glad to see her in the field this week. But there's a reason why Liz is there...it's because of people like Dave Andrews.

Andrews is a Harvard-educated former television news reporter who became a fan of the Duramed Futures Tour after watching and meeting some of these determined and talented women. He wrote a book about the tour (Pops and Sunshine) – a fictional account of a young woman’s struggles to succeed “against all odds”. Proceeds from the sale of his book go to the women who inspired it - the Duramed ladies. Now how cool is that!

I read Pops and Sunshine this summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I’m not a big fan of “love stories”, and this book was promoted as a love story, I had read on Golf For Women that it was worth reading so I gave it a try. It had me laughing and crying at the same time.

It’s a story of a young girl who has only one more chance to make it in golf. Facing severe hardships at home after the loss of her father and carrying a burden of responsibility no child should have to bear, Lisa Nelson enters what could be her final professional golf game ever. She either wins or she goes home, never to return to the links again.

The book is very easy to read and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves golf and wants to get an inside peak at what it’s like on the FUTURES tour. Although it’s fictional, Andrews really knows the tour well and provides a lot of detail on how it works.

The relationship between Lisa and new found sweetheart, Robbie, is a step beyond teenage puppy love, but still innocent in many ways. It’s something a young woman would really relate too, but it’s not the reason you should read this book.

What makes the story special is the relationship between Lisa and a 50+ year old, 8-handicapper, Dave Johnston – a man who lost his wife and teenage daughter four years earlier in a car crash and has never recovered emotionally. Nelson and Johnston are thrown together in a way that might seem a bit unbelievable, but hey…this is a fairy tale – go with it! Although both “damaged goods”, together they make a formidable team and it is interesting to watch their relationship develop over the week of the event – kind of chokes you up actually.

The side characters are wonderful, from Mrs. “B”, the doting housekeeper, to the “in your face” club jokester, Tinker, who makes you laugh whenever he enters the page. And of course, there has to be someone you love to hate, so Andrews provides us villians in Lisa’s #1 competitor, the spoiled brat, Shelly Steele and her caddie Lance, the Loser. As someone else said about this book…it feels like you’ve just taken a trip down memory lane to the Andy Griffith Show. :)

I really enjoyed the book and so did my husband, who snuck it off my night table when I wasn’t watching. It’s one of those books that you want to share – a feel good book.

Today, Dave Andrews is on to something even more special. He’s started up a new non-profit foundation to help out players on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. It’s called Future Stars Foundation. Its first fundraising event will be a pro-am next February 21st outside Orlando. Andrea VanderLende will be playing along with 24 other Duramed FUTURE Tour pros and 75 amateurs. I sure hope it raises a lot of money for these golfgals.

Dave’s off to Q School this week to cover the event and will be posting articles on CyberGolf so bookmark that site and check back there starting on Wed. Meanwhile you can keep track of how all the Big Break Ladies are doing on the LPGA site.

And don’t forget to order Pops and Sunshine for someone you love at Xmas. Here are the details: "Pops and Sunshine," by Dave Andrews, ISBN 978-0-615-18706-8, self-published, available at 8 Tow Path Lane, Concord, NH, 03301.

Golfgal

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Big Break X: Michigan Episode 7: It's never over until...

..."The Judge" rules!

Wow! Are you as amazed as I am at Haymes' ability to pull off the shots when he really needs them? He started off behind the 8 ball tonight and then nailed a drive when it looked like all was lost, followed by a great shot over the water. They say golf is a game of inches and we sure saw that tonight...first with his "almost great" shot that ended in the sand and then that terrific shot that just got over the water.

I don't know about you, but I thought Haymes and Bernie were going to take the walk tonight, after the immunity challenge and then that first hole on the elimination challenge. But, I have to say, when I saw Haymes' smirky grin after Bernie said, "I wasn't going to let anyone beat me that shouldn't beat me.", I knew they were safe. That's exactly how my golfguy looks when I say something with grim determination. Ain't nothing going to stand in my way when I talk like that! Haha...you go Bernie! Haymes, word of advice - you should not take up poker :)

So tonight Sally and Dave finally got to part ways.. I wonder if they both breathed a sigh of relief. I expect that's true....sad, but true...But they have to be proud about how they pulled it back together after some pretty shakey shows.

They really played well on the last episode and started the elimination challenge tonight strongly. So they didn't go out with a whimper. They played hard up to the last bunker shot from Dave and Sally's putt that ran oh sooo close. They were still in it to the end.

So it was a great elimination challenge. What I really liked about it was that it was two full holes of golf for both players on both teams. That made it real and far less quirky than say, the between the wall shots. Not that I don't like those kinds of unusual challenges -they make the show fun. But those should only be part of immunity and never elimination. Tonight it was set up perfectly for me - fun followed by fight.

Michael once again kicks off this week's interviews with me, but this time, I had to start by asking him about one of our golf forum buddies who, by luck, was paired with Michael at a club recently and made some pretty nice comments about Michael's game and personality....



You could tell that Michael wanted to say something about next week's show, but was biting his tongue. Obviously something happens that he can't wait to see for himself. But like all of us, he'll just have to wait.

Just got off the phone with David. He was pretty open about his feelings after last night's show and what he took away from the whole experience.



I love the 'quote' that David shared..."The body doesn't know how to choke. It's your mind that gets in the way..." That is so true, isn't it? I am happy David has agreed to future interviews after the last few episodes. It will be very interesting to get his perspective from the sidelines and also...don't forget to read his blog this week on Golf Channel. I'd like to know your thoughts on his proposal for a future show.

Next up...Sally. Had to ask her about her camera man after David's interview :)



Sally's views of things are a bit different than David's. Why am I not surprised? ;)

I was happy to be able to interview Haymes "Peppermint Patty" Snedeker this AM before he heads out for Thanksgiving. He sure has a way with words (and his golf isn't too bad either ;))



I'll let you know when I hear about Bernie's skort designer.

Andrea was in between tournaments so I wanted to check in with her and find out what's been happening in elimination alley and what her thoughts have been watching the last few weeks of BB X.



Andrea, I know I speak for all the BB'ers and readers when I say, "You go girl at Q school finals!" I can't wait to hear you've got our LPGA card all wrapped up.

Well, we're down to the wire - only 3 teams left. Who do you think will go home next week? Given all the surprises we've seen so far, I'm not laying any bets.

Golfgal

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Big Break X: Michigan - Babies, Bullets, but no Birdies

Okay, okay...an eagle is a birdie technically in the real world, but since when is golf "real". For me Big Break's are mostly unreal and sometimes surreal...and frankly...I had to find a way to use that alliteration in my title. ;)

What a rollercoaster tonight was! From Haymes' new baby surprise (Congratulations Dad!!!), to bullet dodging by Amber and Robbie on that first challenge, to Robbie's rifle shot 300 yards to the green and Amber's amazing eagle putt (I loved it when she told Robbie to butt out of her putt :)), it was probably the best BB Michigan show for me yet.

Casey and Rachel may have been elminated tonight, but they certainly weren't losers. Don't forget they won that trip to Disney where they can have the honeymoon they never had.

Tonight I started the interviews off again with Michael, who was there to greet Rachel and Casey after their elmination...



I had a really nice chat with David today. Quite the turn around from the last couple of weeks for him and Sally. They really showed that they have game. And David shared some things we didn't see on the show - I love it when that happens...



Sally certainly had her share of emotional challenges over the past few shows. Not only was she stressed over her relationship with David, she found out the night before this episode that a good friend of hers had suffered a terrible accident. The stress was obviously too much for her body, although her golf game was bang on!



And now the man of the hour (or should I say "daddy of the day"), Haymes Snedeker...



If you haven't done it already, you just have to read his blog post on the Golf Channel for week 7. It will bring tears to your eyes. I hope Haymes recorded last night's show - Wells needs to see he was center stage in "A Star is Born".

I was lucky to chat with Amber today before I headed out to play golf. I really wanted to ask her about how she and Robbie pulled off the first eagle on a par 4 in BB history...



Well, as Haymes said, next week's show we'll really start to see the competitive nature of the teams. Can you imagine Haymes stepping on anyone's throat? Just can't even picture that, but looking forward to seeing some spirited play in the final four.

Golfgal

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Big Break X: Michigan - Long Drive to Nascar Crash

When thinking about what to call this post tonight, I couldn't get Haymes' great sound bite out of my mind, "It's like watching a Nascar crash, hoping no one gets hurt."

I was sitting on the edge of my seat watching Sally and Dave go at each other wondering if the two long driving champions would drop golf gloves on the green and take each other out. Wasn't that just too bizarre for words?

I bet 99% of the people watching the previews this week thought one thing..."Dave and Sally are going home." Even up to the last 5 minutes, I was sure they would be eliminated. Not because they aren't good enough to stay, but because their team dynamics (or lack thereof) are so bad, there is no way they can survive another show where teamwork is a big part of the equation.

What a bizarre show! From Dave deliberately hitting his shot into the trees so Sally would have to do a knock down shot out, to Rachel's 4 iron punch shot that rolled through the bunker to Casey and Rachel's Classy Snowman, this show was one shock after another. I lost count the number of times my golfguy and I said to each other, "Did you see that!!!" LOL!

But the biggest shock was seeing Michael and Sherri take the walk. I didn't see it coming. Certainly they came into tonight far behind Haymes and Bernie, and it was pretty obvious they would be in the elimination challenge, but I just didn't expect them to lose. Oh well....that's golf I guess...


I spoke to Michael right after the show to get his thoughts on tonight's antics and action...




I'm so happy that Michael will continue to chat with me after every show. He always adds insights and information that we didn't know by just watching the show. His perspective from the elimination zone will be very interesting - of that I have no doubt. Thanks Michael!

Got up early to chat with Dave this AM. Gotta love his nickname for himself on the Golf Channel blog - "Darth Dave" - too funny. Whether you love him or hate him, his interviews are always entertaining.



I caught up with Sally Dee this morning. I really wanted to find out what happened that caused her delay getting to the afternoon's challenges. And of course, get her side of the Dave and Sally saga. Here's what she said...



Haymes is always a great source of information and has quite the way with words...



Next week's show seems to move from "War of the Roses" to Haymes and something about his baby that was on the way during the taping. I will assume all turned out okay, but it will be interesting to hear from Haymes what went on during those very upsetting moments.

Amber wraps up this week's interviews with a few words about the show and her golf swing...



Andrea isn't available this week, but I'm looking forward to hearing from her next week as well.

Golfgal

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Big Break X: Michigan - Deja Vu Divots

Well...was it what you expected after watching the previews all week? The golf definitely took a back seat tonight on Big Break X, while David took the stage. So...what did you think of his "antics"? Okay okay..."Bingo, thank you very much!" was a bit over the top, but was it really as bad as what the other contestants said in their interviews?

In any other sport, this would be tame, but not in golf. I guess that's really what this was all about - golf etiquette. David has been called the "Lori of BB X", the villian, the guy who should "keep his mouth off my ball" (haha...Casey does have a way with words! LOL).

David was even called "obnoxious" by the host, Stina. Now, THAT surprised me more than anything - and it convinced me more than ever that something must have happened that day that we didn't see.

Well, only 1 way to find out! Let's ask the other contestants.

This week I'll start the interviews again with Michael - always lots of fun. When I talk with him after each week's show, it's like chatting over a beer with a friend - lots of laughs and good times. But it doesn't end there...Michael always has something "new" to share that we haven't heard before...like his call this week with David...




So, do you remember Big Break Ka'anapali when Christina Lecuyer stepped down on a divot made by Kim Welch and suffered the consequences? Well, I sure do. I interviewed Christina that night and throughout the series (along with many of the other contestants). When I saw tonight's show (even the previews), I was surprised that the divot issue came up again. And after talking with Michael, I'm even more surprised. I can't wait to ask David, "What were you thinking?!"

Caught up with Andrea Wed morning to get her thoughts on last night's show. As you know, being eliminated two shows ago, she didn't get to witness the events first hand, but got the scuttlebutt from the other contestants after the fact, and saw a small piece of it for the first time last night with all of us...

I next talked with David. Not sure what I was going to hear, but his opening lines were LOL funny! You gotta listen...




When I watched this Thunderball video on youtube about power hitters, I started to understand David just a little bit better...




Haymes was up next. He wasn't too thrilled with my facebook status yesterday :), but he's such a gentlemen...definitely a golfer.




So "the name" escaped Haymes...too bad. Hmmm....they say memory is the 2nd thing to go ;) - better watch out Haymes! Oh well...we'll just have to find out next week what that name was when I talk to David again.

I was wondering what Sally was feeling after watching her last night - her face and body language were pretty revealing. Reliving what was obviously a difficult time for her must have been tough...




Well, that was quite the show. I know not everyone likes the drama, but you can't deny that it is interesting to watch - sort like a train wreck or car accident - a lot of rubbernecking happens when disasters strike. Human nature I guess. Anyway...I'll be ready with popcorn next week!

Golfgal

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