After playing soccer and ice hockey, at age 14, I was a late arrival to junior golf. Weeks after my first golf lesson, I was thrown to the wolves, as my dad entered me to play in the 2013 FCG Junior Amateur in San Diego. While primarily a huge learning experience in the way of double bogeys, I left that first day knowing this is what I wanted to do. Less than a month later, I made my first road trip, heading to Chandler, Arizona, for an FCG event where I shot 37 on the front nine (don’t ask what I shot on the other nine). I think most kids can remember the first time they broke 40 on nine holes. I was hooked! On the drive home, I delivered some bad news to my dad…I wanted to quit playing hockey so I could focus 100% on golf.
In all, I ended up playing in over 20 FCG tournaments in my first year of golf. The tournament fields are really competitive and filled with great junior players, but the main reason I like the FCG tournaments is the serious yet mellow atmosphere the staff promotes at FCG. Antrone and Andrew and the supporting cast do a great job keeping the tournaments fun for all of us and they keep things in control and moving along…I hate slow play!
I also like the courses we play on the FCG tour. One of my favorite tournaments of the year is the Las Vegas Championship in Primm Valley. They have two great courses and kids travel from all over the country to play in the event. This year I played with a boy from Oklahoma and Utah. Other FCG tournaments I look forward to playing again in 2014 include the Santa Barbara Championship at Sandpiper (cool course) and the FCG International in July. Lots of great players compete in these events; it’s no wonder they sell out! My favorite event however was the North/South Cup. There is nothing like playing a team match play event. Go FCG!
FCG tournaments have helped me quickly develop into a much better golfer. Before entering my freshman year of high school, I felt I needed as much tournament experience as possible to play on the varsity golf team and my FCG experience helped make that happen. By playing in FCG events, I felt a lot less pressure in high school team matches and I felt much more prepared for the competition and that has helped me excel. I am also lucky to have great HS teammates who have helped and supported me before the season even began. They all play FCG events too, but I have also met a lot of other new friends at FCG events along the way, including kids from parts of California and other states. I look forward to seeing them every few weeks/months at FCG events.
I recently came in second (lost a card off for first) in a two day high school tournament after just over a year of playing in FCG events and I know that my experience playing against strong FCG fields helped prepare me for the success I have experienced my freshman year. I am looking forward to finally pulling through and getting a win in an FCG event (preferably an FCG World Series event).
No doubt, FCG has elevated my game much faster than I expected, I know if I keep competing in FCG events over the next three years, it will help me attain my ultimate goal of playing college golf…and beyond.
I was thrown to the wolves but I survived! – Shane Muldowney