On Course Faith and FCA Event

This past week was a lot of fun. I had the privilege to make some new friends from Puerto Rico as I went to play Tuesday morning and had a great day today playing in an FCA Event with some fathers and coaches from The First Academy.

First, I'd like to share about my international friends. I arrived at the first tee of Panther Lake, one of the two courses at Orange County National, and was going to be paired up with a twosome, a usual request from the local starter. As I arrived to the tee, the men had already teed off. However, they signaled me to play up with them on the green. We were formerly introduced on the green after we had putted out. Joe and Carlos would be my playing partners for the morning. I soon learned they were from Puerto Rico and we struck up conversation since my dad was stationed there in the Marines and my brother in law's family is from there.

I am not sure how it would be when women play golf, but guys are into the game. Sometimes there isn't much conversation besides what happens on the course. There are times it is a real battle to get to know someone, expecially when you are trying to share Christ with them. However, God had a purpose for our round that day.

About 5 holes into the round, Joe asked what I did for a living. There was an open door to give them a peek. Usually, the response says alot about their personal beliefs. Joe responded to my work with GKTG positively and said, "I believe in God." Several holes later, we were standing on the green and noticed some skywriting. There is a local pilot in the Orlando area who frequents the skies with the message, "Jesus Loves You." Carlos was amazed at the artwork, as he called it. The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart to ask these guys what they thought about Jesus. After all, even the demons believe in God. So on the 18th tee box, I asked Joe and Carlos what they thought about Jesus. Joe's response was positive, however, he lowered his head in doubt as I asked him if he had Jesus living in his heart. He responded with, "I'm not sure." I offered to share more with him and Carlos, but they were sidetracked by the timing of their departing flight. I offered to share more with them if they wanted me to after the hole.

After the round, they didn't ask anymore about knowing Jesus, however, they did each give me their business card and said that when they come to Orlando again, in about 3 months, they wanted to play again. I have already heard back from Joe and they made it home safely and enjoyed the round. I told him to remember that question I asked them and to let me know if they wanted to be sure of their answer.

I believe that if you give God a chance, He always comes up in our conversation no matter what we are doing. It was neat to realize that the other day, God partnered me with a skywriting evangelist to share the good news of Christ with some new friends from Peurto Rico. Please pray for Joe and Carlos that they would seek the answer to the question and they would find a personal relationship with Jesus.

Today I played in an FCA Golf Event at The Palm at Disney. Coach Don from TFA had sponsored a team and I was asked to join them. We had a blast. It was a little different format, called a Shamble. Yes, I know, it is close to my last name, but I assure we, we left the course in shambles as we came in at -25. I have never been part of such a team. We were able to choose the best drive from the foursome, then everyone had to play the rest of the hole themselves. Your team score was the lowest individual score after the handicap was applied. For example, since one of our players had a handicap of 18, he received a stroke on each hole. In other words, if he scored a par, it would be a net birdie (-1) from his actual score. Due to our great iron play and superb partnering, we did not even come close to parring a hole. We recorded 4- 1's as we had a few actual birdies on par 3's then would apply the handicap to their score for a 1.

My highlight was a stretch of two holes. With my handicap I didn't get but one stroke. It was on the hardest hole on the course, according to somebody, and it became a hightlight as I holed my shot from 175 yards. With my actual 2, I netted a 1 on a par 4. The next hole was a par 5, which I was able to eagle on my own for a natural 3. So those two holes propelled us to a 1 stroke win. We had a blast and was very encouraged by the work FCA is doing not only in Central Florida, but around the nation.

I was thinking today how I need to get in touch with the Florida rep and share about GKTG. What a great missions opportunity for some college golfers who want to share Christ in their community. I think every Christian College should allow their golfers a chance to be on mission for him with children of their community and possibly around the world. I will start making some contacts soon.

Now my focus goes to my next big event. The Palmetto Pride Classic in Charleston, SC. I will playin a qualifer on Monday, October 16. If I qualify, I will have the great opportunity to play in the Nationwide Tour Event that following weekend. I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare for the event and that this could be the breakthrough week God has in store for us.

Can I count the Mulligan?

I Finally had a day off today and was so looking forward to playing a round of golf. However, I had some things to take care of this morning and did not get to the course as early as I had hoped so I decided to practice a bit then play 9 holes.

After checking in, I got a few range balls to hit and spent a few minutes at the putting green to get warmed up. Got to the first tee and hit a great drive right next to the 150 yard marker, a great spot to be on the long par 4. The GPS system on the cart said I had 153 yards to the pin. I took into consideration the pin placement, slope of the fairway, and the wind and decided to hit a smooth 9 iron. I hit the shot and was pleased, however, it wasn't really the shot I was hoping for, so I dropped another ball for practice. I imagined the same shot in my mind and this time as I watched the ball fly, it mirrored my thoughts. I knew that the ball was going to be close, but was somewhat shocked as I arrived at the green to find it in the hole. Too bad I can't count my mulligan. It would have been nice to have been 2 under after one hole. However, I did finish -1 for the nine with one three-putt.

The courses at Orange County National are always in great shape and very challenging from the back tees. Both courses come in at about 7300 yards and have ratings over 75. Those numbers will not mean much to those who don't play golf, however, they are impressive and tell how difficult they are. I am really enjoying the playing privileges and practice facility though. I know that God has me here for that purpose. Another cool thing about OCN is never knowing who you may run into. I was asked to join one of my bosses for the back nine last week and realized his playing partners were two Champion's Tour veterans (Larry Zeigler and Hugh Biaocchi). We were having a blast until the lighting came and ended our match after 3 holes. Whitney and I were up by one stroke though.

It has been neat to get to know some of my fellow coworkers at OCN. Most of them are younger than me and are just beginning to find out what they want to do in life. Some of them attend a golf college on campus at OCN. They are hoping to be a head Golf Pro or Director of Golf at facilities in their future. There has been some neat conversations with some of them as they ask me what I am doing there and why I just moved here from Charleston. God has a tendency to open doors when you are out in the world.

I have my eyes on a Nationwide Tour event coming to Charleston, SC in October. I will sign up to play in the Monday Qualifier on October 16th. If I get in the event, I will be able to play in the first two rounds that following weekend at Daniel Island. I am really looking forward to the event for the experience. Of course, my dreams have kicked in gear to have my first professional tournament possibly be in my old backyard. Pray for me that I will learn how to prepare for the event and play the way that God intends me to play.