After spending a week in Puerto Vallarta, I’d like to think that I’m fluent in Es-pan-yo. I should be able to speak it since I took Spanish from 4th grade all the way through 13 hours in college. My Spanish accent sounds a little different from the true Mexicans down south.
I’ll be honest, I was going to update while I was in Mexico but I got a little burnt out by typing and I was worn out by the end of each day so I put it off until now. I’m currently on a plane filled with Duramed Futures Tour players as we are heading up north to Houston and then I’m making It further north to OK City for a week to get rested and ready for Daytona Beach, FL next week. I’m very thankful for this week off so I can go home and see my dog Penny, who has probably forgotten about me. It’s going to be a busy week but I’m excited to sleep in my own bed, drive my Jeep (hopefully with the top off since we are expecting 80+ degree temps!) and seeing friends and family. Being on the road for two weeks straight, golfing every single day is tough and not a vacation like some people think it is. I was in bed by 9 o’clock every night and up by 6 every morning which is a shocker to people who know me. I’m hoping I can keep it up once I get home. I like having a normal human being’s sleep schedule!
So for people who are interested in how my last week spent in Mexico went, I’ll give you all some details…
I flew from Orlando to meet Mama Dye in Houston on Monday morning and we went from there down with a bunch of other Duramed Futures Tour players to Puerto Vallarta. The only time I’ve been out of the country is to Cancun for my senior trip so I knew I would be in for a culture shock. Once we landed my hair went POOF! I knew I would be sporting the braid the entire time I was there. We took an itty-bitty car to our resort and thank goodness my clubs took up the entire front seat because I think I would have screamed if I saw how the driver was driving. I don’t think they have to take a driver’s test in Mexico because it’s like Nascar. We had a simple check in to the resort and within a matter of minutes we were in our bathing suits soaking up the sun by the pool. We later met my good friend Lucy Nunn and her dad for an early dinner and watched the sunset over the ocean. Monday was a good day because it was the only day of my 14-day stint that I didn’t have a golf club in my hands. That makes it sound like I hate golf but everybody needs time off from something they do all the time.
Mama Dye and I at dinner the first night we were in Mexico
I woke up at the crack of dawn Tuesday and teed off with a group of fun friends at 7:30 Tuesday morning and saw the course, El Tigre, for the first time. It was in great shape compared to the prior week’s tournament course. I had a feeling that this was the week I would be able to fall in love with my new bag of clubs. I left the course pretty quickly once we were finished and met my mom down at the pool once again. This was the day that I got fried, but my skin loved it. Tuesday night was the Welcome Cocktail Party at the resort. The people down there do it up big! We had an open bar, tons of food, deserts, and a mariachi band to top it off. It was a lot of fun and everyone showed up looking nice.
Wednesday was a short day of practice because the pro am took up the course for the day. I got up early, practiced for a good 2 hours and called it a day. I’m not one to spend all hours of the day beating balls and killing myself before a tournament. I’ve always been quality over quantity but some people aren’t wired that way. I feel that if you don’t prepare before getting to a tournament site, you’re already behind. I grabbed the shuttle back to the resort and found my mom baking in the sun. My dad was due to get in a little after lunch and we made it easy for him by meeting us at the pool. I think he was happy to be there.
I had heard you could take a boat to downtown Puerto Vallarta so I made the decision to go ahead and made a reservation for the three of us, as well as Lucy Nunn and her dad Ron. We left out of a marina at our resort on a water taxi boat and made the 30-minute ride in the ocean downtown. It was later in the afternoon so the waves were pretty big and the “captain” told us that if we sat on the right side of the boat we would get wet. I was at the front ride part of the boat so I was excited! Little did I know that we would catch a huge wave and I flew in the air and landed into a strange man’s lap! I told the guy “well, it’s nice to meet you!” I gave everyone on the boat a show because they could not stop laughing. It would have been really funny if I would’ve flown to my right and out of the boat! There were dolphins jumping around the water taxi so that was pretty neat. Going downtown was crazy! They had cobblestone streets, action everywhere, and people desperately wanting your money. I didn’t buy anything but took quite a bit of pictures. We took a “normal taxi” back to the resort later that night and my gosh was it an experience! Those guys cut in between traffic like it’s no big deal! Going 90mph and then coming to a complete halt! We were talking crap about his driving and I can promise you he knew English. You’ll never believe this but the same taxi driver showed to take us the airport today! I think he recognized us as well.
Water taxi! Lucy and I getting ready to go!
Thursday was another early morning with my final practice round with my friends Kendra Hanson, Lucy Nunn, and Tara Goedeken. We had a great time and of course I headed to the pool afterwards. My parents and I escaped for a dinner by ourselves and made it an early night so I could get some sleep for my first round.
My dad and I at dinner
I teed off at 9:05am Friday and played with Garrett Phillips of Georgia and Kelly Lagedrost of Florida. It was good to play with some country girls but unfortunately my putter didn’t want to be my friend that day. I think I had a career high round with putts but hit the ball pretty well. I shot three over and the putting is what caused that score. I overread every putt and continued to do so throughout the entire tournament. At least I was missing it on the pro side I guess…
Warming up
Saturday I played with my friend Selanee Henderson, who has a famous UFC brother Dan Henderson, and a 13 year old girl from Mexico…pure talent! I had a better day score wise but still had an ice-cold putter in 85 degree temps! I shot one over and made the cut for the second straight week so that’s always good news. I went to dinner with my parents that night but as soon as we sat down I had to leave to go back to my room because sickness hit me like a freight train. I don’t want to get into details but I was up all night being sick. I was thinking that I would have to withdraw for the final round because there was no way I could play. Thankfully I kept it together and played a full round on a complete empty stomach and shot even par. I played with Alison Walshe who is a great player that I had never played with before. We had a good time Sunday and had trouble understanding each other’s accents ha! I ended up getting T46th and am currently 38th on the money list after two events.
I had Lucy and her dad come out and watch my final round as well as my friend Kendra’s dad. It was awesome to see them out there supporting them with my parents. A big group of us went to this neat outdoor restaurant called Fajita Republic. They would pour tequila over the fajitas and a huge flame would fly in the air. I pretty much watched everyone chow down but had the best time because my friend Kendra entertained the whole table with her craziness. She should have her own show! I keep her around so I can laugh and laugh and laugh.
Dinner with friends
I’m happy to be heading home for a week before returning to the east coast, Daytona Beach, FL. I’ve played that course for Final Stage of LPGA Q School so I should be good to go if I can figure out how to read those dang Bermuda greens!
On a side note, I’m trying to make my Facebook account a little more private but have added a Kendall Dye Golf fan page so please join that if you haven’t already and if you have a Twitter account, you can follow me at kendall_dye. Thanks so much!
What I’m Reading: The Help by Kathleen Stockett
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