Between storms...

The remains of Tropical Storm Fay are in Northern Florida and all eyes are on the next storm in the Atlantic--Tropical Storm Gustav. I spent the weekend enjoying the Florida sun...Saturday I played in a golf tournament at Binks Forest in Wellington...I played with three friends from the Executive Women's Golf Association (EWGA) and we managed a ten under score--good enough for third place in the mixed flight. The course was lots of fun and we had a good time.

Sunday Kathy and I met for breakfast at the Juno Beach Cafe, then walked two miles on the beach. We walked a mile south of the pier, then turned around and walked back to the pier. The weather was so hot that we actually walked along the shore in the water and it felt great. I spent the rest of the day watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, getting ready for another week of work and tracking Gustav.

~Le Ann

Tropical Storm Fay

The big news here in Florida is Tropical Storm Fay. We left the Keys on Sunday just in time, as the storm hit Key West on Monday afternoon. The storm then tracked north toward the southwest coast of Florida--near Ft. Meyers and Naples. Due to the threat of Tropical Storm Fay, our office was closed today...the Florida version of a Minnesota Snow Day! The weather has been strange all day--lots of rain, wind, then no rain and wind, then more rain, followed by more wind. The winds have gusted up to 60 miles an hour, but no real damage in my neighborhood.

Midway thru the afternoon the storm had moved north of us in Palm Beach Gardens--leaving lots of water and flooding in some places...up to 12" of rain. Thankfully the storm never turned into a hurricane and is headed out to the Atlantic Ocean up north.

Back to the PGA tomorrow!

~Le Ann

The Florida Keys

We got up this morning and ate breakfast outside poolside and planned our day. We had planned to take the Conch Tour Train to see the island, but when we got a block from the train station, we opted to rent an electric car for the day to tour all around the island.

We spent the morning taking in all the local sights--the Southernmost Point, Mallory Square, Duval Street, historic Whitehead Street, home to the Hemmingway and Audubon Houses and the Key West Lighthouse. Duval Street is known as the longest main street in the world because it goes from coast to coast - from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico in less than two miles.

After lunch at Cheeseburger Key West, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the beach. We first tried the Atlantic Ocean, but the murky water and sewer smell sent us to the Gulf of Mexico. The water was as warm as a whirlpool--but still a welcome refreshment since the temperature was 97 degrees and the heat index 107.

We ate dinner at the Raw Bar in the historic Seaport before returning to the hotel to watch some Olympics. We learned there is a tropical storm headed toward the Keys so there is an mandatory tourist evacuation for Sunday morning at 8 a.m. We will heed the warning and get up and head home right away. It's been a fun day and a fun weekend!

~Le Ann

The Florida Keys

This weekend finds me in the Florida Keys with three friends from work. We took the day off work today and drove south "to the end of the earth." Or at least to the Southern Most point, which is 90 miles from Cuba. We are staying in Key West, which is 247 miles south of West Palm Beach. We will be here for two nights and will take in all the tourist stuff in the morning.

~Le Ann

PGA Championship - Day 4

Here I am with the Wanamaker Trophy just a few hours before Padrig Harrington hoisted it on the 18th green. He played great golf today and it's so impressive that he has won three major tournaments in just 13 months. Padrig's amazing back-to-back rounds of 66 helped him edge out Sergio Garcia by two shots. All eyes will be on Padrig at the 2009 Masters and U.S. Open to see if he can win the next two majors.

It's been a long week but we had more than 19,000 consumers come through the PGA Learning Center to take advantage of ten-minute free lessons, free putting, free chipping and the golf simulator.

A quick Happy Birthday to David who celebrates a "big" birthday today! Tomorrow we head back to West Palm to catch up on some sleep before settling back into life at the office.

~Le Ann

PGA Championship - Day 3

Today started as a great day--nice and warm and sunny weather in the mid-70s. The rain quickly moved in and play was suspended at 2:16 p.m. Only 25 players had completed the third round and the final three pairings hadn't even started play at the first tee. We kept thinking play would resume, but just when it looked like it was clear up, a second storm moved in. By about 4:30 it started looking good again, only to have a third rain storm come--so play was called for the day at 6:28 p.m.

The third round will conclude Sunday morning at 7:15--with all players returning to their position on the course and the three groups yet to tee off to begin at 7:20, 7:30 and 7:40 from the first tee. Once the third round is completed, play will conclude at 11:50 from the first and tenth tees--with the players going out in threesomes. It will be a day full of golf and many lead changes.

~Le Ann

PGA Championship - Day 2

Our week of fun at the 90th PGA Championship continues. My personal highlight of today was a spur-of-the-moment interview on Golf Channel. The crew came to the PGA Learning Center for a quick five minute interview--asked me a couple of questions--then they headed to their truck to edit the footage and show it within two hours. I caught a quick glimpse of it when it aired on Golf Channel...once I get a DVD of it, I'll post it here on the Blog.

It's been fun watching some of the players up close this week. Although play was suspended briefly on Thursday, most of the first round players finished. Friday was a great day with some popular names missing the cut...Davis Love III, John Daly, Zach Johnson, Rich Beem, Fred Couples, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and Trevor Immelman. Should be a good weekend!

~Le Ann

PGA Championship

The long days and short nights continue at the PGA Championship. On Tuesday, the Director of Business Development and I hosted 60 executive business women from the Detroit area for an afternoon of "behind the scenes" action at the PGA Championship. We had lunch at the PGA Chalet overlooking the 18th green--with three guest speakers before touring the Media Center, Merchandise Tent and Learning Center. The highlight of the afternoon was arriving at the Learning Center as David Love III was finishing up a clinic.

Today I had a full day at the Learning Center, with consumers taking advantage of the complimentary lessons from 7 am to 7 pm. This evening I attended the PGA Distinguished Service Award banquet for Dennis Walters. The PGA Distinguished Service Award is the association's highest honor given annually. Dennis was destined for the PGA Tour until an accident in 1974 left him paralyzed from the waist down. Dennis is proof that one must never abandon their dreams--and he has toured for more than 34 years--giving golf shows that are a combination of golf mastery, techniques, trick shots and human inspiration. He gives nearly 90 shows a year, has been to 49 states and has performed more than 2,700 shows. He is truly an inspiration to all.

Tomorrow is round one of the 90th PGA Championship--I hope to catch some action on the course!

~Le Ann

The 90th PGA Championship

It's been a busy few days at the PGA Championship at Bloomfield Township, Michigan. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and went to Oakland Hills Country Club. It was neat to walk a few of the holes and get familiar with the course and clubhouse area.

Sunday we went to Oakland Hills University Golf Course for a walk-thru for Monday's Play Golf America event. We made sure our boxes of supplies arrived and everything was set up. In the afternoon we went to Oakland Hills Country Club for a walk-thru at the PGA Learning Center...a 6,000 square foot chalet where there are four hitting bays, a putting green, a chipping area and a golf simulator. This is the area where I'll be working all week--making sure spectators get a great golf experience through our ten-minute free lessons we're offering as well as trying the closest to the pin contest at the simulator.

Monday at Oakland Hills University we had a Community Relations event and hosted a youth clinic from 9 am to noon. The clinic drew more than 200 youth from across the Detroit metro area. There were 20 PGA Professionals from the Michigan Section who helped teach the clinic. In the afternoon, we had a Play Golf America Day where consumers came for a clinic taught by 2008 Distinguished Service Award winner Dennis Walters and an opportunity to demo equipment from Callaway, Cobra, Nike and Taylor Made. The highlight of the day was a second clinic from 2007 PGA Teacher of the Year, Jim Hardy. I had the pleasure of driving Jim to and from the golf course and had a great time visiting with him.

It should be a good week--lots of spectators expected and good weather for most of the week!

~Le Ann