Page 191 - AGC Journal 2018

AGC JOURNAL 2018

Snowboarding Golf Tour

By Lance Corporal Tara Ingham By Warrant Officer Class 2 Jason Moore

In January 2018, 18 members of the Corps had As we flew into Orlando it certainly didn’t feel like it had been three years

the opportunity to take part in Exercise Green since we last landed in the United States, but a few new to the group were
Hucker 4, joining up with the Intelligence Corps excited to be playing some quality golf.
Snowboard Training Camp and Championships at
Neustift, Austria. We were ready and buzzing for
two weeks of sun, snow and snowboarding.
The team at Bay Hill
Golf and Country Club
We all jumped onto the early morning bus; those with
a little less experience fell victim to the morning ‘bus
stumble’ where people scrambled to find their footing

as the bus pulled away to take us to our next stop, the
Stubai Glacier. Some of the participants had never even
seen a snowboard before, but everyone was eager to
get onto the gondola to take us up the amazingly white
mountain. There were blue skies, a chill in the air, and

the sun was beating off the glistening piste, what more
could you ask for?
Training Commences
We were placed into our respective groups: beginners,
intermediates and the advanced and made our way to
the slopes. For some this was completely new territory
and there were worries that they were going to be like
Bambi on ice. For others, they were eager to conquer The team, less
the whole mountain, making the most of the knee deep Brendan MacConnell,
powder during their stay. at Sawgrass
Training Progresses

As the initial training week progressed, people began

to find their feet, going to extra lengths and having the Warm Up Palmer had a home here and the event bears his name.
courage to push themselves outside of their comfort Each group had a caddie for ball spotting and assistance

zone. This was down to the amazing instructors that On the first day we were up early for an 18 hole warm up and with distances and reading the greens. It must have been a
frustrating day for the caddies as their advice bore little fruit
we had. Some of the days the weather conditions were skills training in the afternoon with more than a few aching, from the twelve supposed golfers they were accompanying.

old stiff bodies. Things did not let up on day two as we travelled
outrageous, minus 25 degrees with a wind chill of minus an hour to Mission Inn Resort for a fantastic, but tough 36
28 and barely being able to see two feet in front of your holes. Internal Competition
feet. However, before we knew it, the beginners were on
red runs, the intermediates were throwing themselves Matches As in previous years, the most heated competition was the
down black runs, and the advanced were showing off competition within ourselves to be the Tour Champion. Paul

their tricks in the Zoo Park. Some of the group were still sore from the previous day’s Dixon was the favourite going in, but thanks to the tricky

exertions but Red Tail Golf Course hosted us for our first match Florida grass, succumbed to the chipping yips. He still
Race Week of the trip. The members of this lovely course within a small managed to finish third leaving yours truly and Guy Wilkinson

community welcomed us with warm hearts and deep pockets playing off a handy handicap of sixteen.

Preliminaries Race week arrived with people getting the opportunity and it was fitting that the match ended in a pleasurable draw. Finale
to tackle the border cross and the Slalom. Many people
had not had the chance to try these before, so everyone Golf Lesson
On arrival at our accommodation, we sorted our was excited to give it their best shot. Both of these events LPGA International Golf Resort proved a testing finale having

equipment and stocked the cupboards with food. were based on the best time in which you complete After the previous day’s stalemate, students of Celebration hosted the US Open qualifier the day before with myself scoring

Everybody was then ready for a night of exploring the course within your respective group. After the University gave us a lesson in how to play golf, especially on a very important 32 points on the penultimate round when
the local area and getting to know their fellow competitions, there was an award ceremony where the their own tricky course with small undulating greens and lots everyone else found the going very tough and managing to
snowboarders. move from eight points behind to just one. The leaders tee’d it
winners were awarded a medal. of trouble. The weather also contributed with the temperature

hitting the mid eighties for the fourth day running. Everyone up together for the final round with Guy Wilkinson aching for
First Day on the Slopes Endnote was ready for the first day’s rest. his first major Corps victory and after some scares did enough

The night drew in quickly and the much anticipated Overall, the Exercise was an amazing experience that Legends Location to see it home.
morning arrived. Everybody proceeded to rush around gave everybody the opportunity to learn new skills, go Summary
ensuring they had all of their essentials for the first day outside of their comfort zone, have some competition We were offered a great opportunity to play a venue that had

on the slopes, including at least two freshly cooked rolls and hopefully head towards their ultimate goal of not long hosted a prestigious Professional Golfers Association Orlando proved a great location with over 50 courses to

with fillings of their choice. Tour event (won by Rory McIlroy). The golfing legend Arnold choose from with ideal weather. The golf proved tough but all
eventually competing within the Army Championships. participants improved some if not all aspects of their game.
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