Next on the Tee

Well, here we are—the day after Clara’s first-ever golf tournament. I lay awake in bed for a long time last night, replaying moments from the day and praising God for the opportunity. I was, and still am, in awe of my sweet little Clara.

Clara played her first tournament with the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour at The Golf Club at Quail Ridge in Sanford, North Carolina. The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour has three divisions: Prep, Futures, and Discovery. Clara played in the Discovery Series, which is their lowest division for girls ages 9-12. In this division, they play 9 holes and are allowed a parental caddy. We live about 25 minutes from the course in Sanford, so she and Paul played it twice before the tournament to learn the layout and prepare as much as possible. With Clara’s Youth on Course membership, which gives kids access to courses at a steep discount, she was able to play 9 holes for just $5. After two practice rounds, their main takeaway was that the course was hilly with a lot of bunkers and fast greens.

We arrived at the course two hours early—much earlier than the recommended time—to give Clara plenty of time to warm up, use the bathroom, and eat a snack without feeling rushed. We didn’t know quite what to expect, so we figured it was better to be early than late—our M.O. for almost everything we do. Clara’s favorite practice is chipping around the green, so that’s where she and Paul started. They moved to the range for some full-swing warm-ups, where Clara also got her first glimpse of the girls she would be playing against. It was easy to tell that most of the girls had been playing golf for a long time. After a quick water and bathroom break, they headed back to the putting green and worked through a few drills.

After putting, Clara grabbed a snack and spent some time with her grandparents and mentors, who have generously given their time to teach and encourage her along the way. We felt incredibly blessed to have both sets of grandparents there to support her, along with the people who have invested so much time in helping her learn the game. Clara enjoyed hanging out with everyone for a little while before it was time to head to the first tee.

Standing behind the first tee box and hearing her name announced for the very first time is a moment I hope to never forget. My heart was pounding as she put her tee in the ground, took two practice swings, and then stepped up to hit her first shot. I think I may have even been holding my breath—I was so nervous! Later, after the tournament was over, I asked her about that moment and whether she felt any pressure with everyone watching her. She said no.

Her first shot went a little to the right, but it was still in the fairway. Unfortunately, her second shot went even farther right and landed close to the tee box on the second hole. Now she had to scramble to get her ball back toward the green, but a hill and large greenside bunker loomed between her and the pin. She hit a beautiful shot into the air, but it landed short in the bunker. After getting the ball out of the bunker, she two-putted and then gave me a thumbs-up as she headed to the second tee.

At the second hole, Paul subtly caught my attention by holding up his hand and wiggling all five fingers. It took me a second to realize what he was trying to tell me: Clara’s glove. She had dropped it somewhere between the green on the first hole and the tee box for her division. I started running back toward the first hole, and all of my attempts to look cute that day went right out the window. I quickly became sweaty, nervous, and increasingly unsure of what I was supposed to do. Of course, this was not the first time Clara had dropped something that required me to turn around and go find it. There was the time she dropped her visor somewhere in the tall pine trees at Knollwood Fairways, and another time when I had to hunt down her putter cover after practice. And now, on the very first hole of her very first tournament, it was her glove.

As I approached the first green, I saw another group of girls out on the fairway. I had to stop and wait for them to play their shots before asking one of the dads if I was allowed to go look for Clara’s glove. I was still trying to figure out exactly what I could and couldn’t do as a tournament mom, and I definitely didn’t want to accidentally break some rule I didn't know existed.

I looked all around the green and even checked the bunker, but I couldn't find it. I was getting more nervous by the second because Clara didn’t have a spare glove. Then my dad and oldest daughter, Olivia, drove up in a golf cart, and, thankfully, I spotted it in the native grass beside the bunker. “Thank you, Jesus!” I exclaimed as I hopped into the golf cart.

My dad took off toward the second hole as fast as he could, where Clara was waiting—in another greenside bunker. This bunker wasn’t flat like the last one. It was steep, and from down inside it, you couldn’t even see the green. Luckily, her ball was toward the back of the bunker, giving her more open space in front of her to swing through.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get out of the bunker with her first shot, and now her ball was even closer to the steep slope of the green. These were the kinds of shots we had been practicing, and Paul simply told her, “Do it again.”

He didn’t correct her or try to over-teach her in that moment. She stepped up, swung hard, and launched the ball in a beautiful arc onto the green. The dad who was caddying for one of her competitors called out, “Nice shot!” I thought that was such a kind thing to do.

Hole three was Clara’s best hole from start to finish. It was a par 3, and during one of their practice rounds, Clara had driven the green with her driver. Paul felt like this was one of the best holes where she could actually make par.

We had been working hard on teaching her how to properly aim her club. Clara had gotten into the habit of shifting her feet after setting up—usually moving her trail foot backward—which changed the trajectory of her shot. At this tee box, she set up behind the ball and then backed off. She went through all of her aiming steps again, and I thought to myself, Yes! That’s what we want her to do!

She hit a beautiful tee shot, but it went left of the green. Thankfully, she got a lucky bounce back to the right, and her ball landed just off the green, about 15 feet from the hole. Her chip landed short of the hole and rolled about four or five feet past it. She lined up her putt and missed the edge of the cup by mere millimeters. She was so close that one of her competitors even stepped behind her to watch the line. She had a short tap-in for an official bogey!

As the group played through the rest of the holes, we quickly saw that Clara lacked the distance of her competitors. About a month or two before the tournament, we had bought Clara a new set of clubs. That may or may not have been the best decision, but her first set had simply become too short for her.

With her new set, Clara now had a driver, 3-wood, 4-hybrid, 6-9 iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge, and putter. She had three clubs she didn’t have in her previous set, and new clubs come with new learning curves. Not all clubs are created equal, and the new hybrid, in particular, had been giving her some trouble. She and Paul decided not to use it for most of the day, trading distance for consistency by relying more heavily on her irons.

That meant Clara would sometimes hit two or even three iron shots to reach the green while her competitors could get there with one. What she lacked in distance, however, she made up for around the green. Her precise chips and ability to avoid extra putts kept her somewhat competitive. Her scorecard didn’t tell the whole story. She made smart decisions, played to her strengths, and showed skills around the green that the numbers simply didn’t capture.

As the tournament came to an end, Clara had one more first to experience: the scoring table. She had played the entire round in a group with two other girls, and now the three of them gathered at the scoring table to go over their scores. After signing their cards, Clara came over to our group, which we had lovingly nicknamed “Clara’s Clan.” Her first tournament was officially over, and she was surrounded by the people who had been cheering her on all day.

We stayed for the awards ceremony and told Clara that the top three girls in each division would receive a medal or trophy. Clara innocently announced, “I came in third place in my group,” completely unaware that she was talking about something different than we were.

She didn’t realize that there were 13 girls in her division and that the top three places were based on the scores of all 13 girls—not just the three who had played together in her group. In her sweet, innocent mind, she had finished third, and that meant she had earned a medal.

Our hearts sank a little as we realized she didn’t understand. We knew what was coming, but she didn’t. And as parents, there was something both incredibly sweet and heartbreaking about watching her stand there, completely unaware that she wasn’t going to hear her name called.

When the trophies were handed out, we all looked at each other, wondering how Clara would react. But she didn’t seem heartbroken or bothered at all. Instead, she simply said, “I bet I get something the other girls don’t. Ice cream.” Getting ice cream after a round of golf is our little family tradition. And just like that, Clara was already looking forward to the part of the day she knew she would love.

Looking back on Clara’s first tournament, I am so thankful—not because of where she finished, but because of the opportunity to watch her take this first step, surrounded by so many people who love her and want to see her grow. I’m thankful for the memories we made, the lessons we learned, and the joy of watching God unfold this new chapter in her life.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).