Reviewing 2016

Hello all and Happy Holidays!

Can you believe it’s almost 2017!? I feel like it was just yesterday that I started my first season as a professional golfer and now I’m headed into my second season! It’s crazy how quickly time can get away from us! But since we have nearly reached the end of 2016 I thought it would be a good time to reflect on this past year and look forward to a new year!

Lately I’ve been seeing a ton of memes and articles about how horrible of a year 2016 has been, and it makes me kinda sad…personally my 2016 was not that bad, sure I didn’t play great as far as golf goes, but I got to play professional golf and tell people that that’s my occupation! And sure there were things that happened in the world and we had to vote for a new president, but at the end of the day if you’re still living and breathing, I don’t see what’s not to love? For me, I live in the United States of America where I am free, I have a roof over my head, I have food on my table, and I have a family that loves me. Now I know some people don’t have one or two or even any of those things, so for me to have all of those plus so many other great things, I feel so blessed and thankful for another year.

My year in review goes something like this:

• January-April I moved to Florida to play on a mini tour for my first season as a professional golfer
• May-November I came back home to Michigan to work and play in more tournaments for the summer
• August I went out to California for my second crack at Stage 1 of LPGA Qualifying School and just missed the cut
• November I came back down to Florida to start preparations for the 2017 season!

I learned a lot this year too. Going from college golf to professional golf is not an easy transition so this year included a long adjusting period for me. I had to learn how to practice by myself and learn what works best for me, and what works for me might not work for someone else. I'm still learning how to find a good balance between work and leisure and how to stay focused during practice. Golf has a lot of components attached to it: full swing, pitching, short game, bunker play, putting, mentality, etc. It can be a struggle trying to figure out how to deal with all of those and then play well during tournaments, but I'm learning and hopefully it'll all come together this upcoming season. I've also learned a lot about myself as a person. I have become more in tune with my faith and have been wanting to learn more about my Lord and Savior. It's been an incredible year filled with twists and turns, and lows and highs, but that's what makes a life worth living.

Now looking ahead I get both excited and scared for this upcoming year. But as part of one of my new year’s resolutions I am going to do my best to not get worried or anxious or fearful because I’m going to give all of that to God, He knows better than me what’s coming ☺ I’m still thinking about my other 2017 New Year’s Resolutions, as I’m sure most people are, but I hope that this year brings a lot of peace to people in America and around the world!

I just want to quickly thank everyone who has supported me both financially and emotionally during this year! We’re going to make 2017 a great year! #TeamElsholz

Xoxo Jen

Blessed

Hello :) Lindsey and I are back home in Sarasota after being over in Daytona Beach for a tournament earlier this week. Our 2016 campaign is now over and that concludes my first year as a professional golfer! Hard to believe this golf season has gone by so quickly, but now it's time to start preparing for 2017!

We played at LPGA International- the Jones course this week. I hadn't been playing very well recently so I was really using this event to gain some momentum and confidence as I start preparing for next season. I was pleasantly surprised when I shot 74 the first day and intended to keep it going the next two days; however, I seemed to struggle more the following two rounds shooting 76 and 80. I have to say I learned quite a bit this week though. I am really learning that a lot of what I need to work on is mental for me. Going from college to professional is a HUGE leap and I wasn't as prepared for it as I thought I was going to be and I didn't work as much as I needed to this year so now I have put together a plan (with the help of my Dad) and we are going to stick to the plan!

A quick thank you to Mary and Dave Caracci for meeting up with us and taking us out to dinner! :) You two are the best!

With that being said, I am really excited for the rest of the year. I am excited to get working on my golf game and I'm excited to just live every day to the fullest! I try to spend as much time with God as possible, but I make sure I spend a little bit of time every day with Him alone no matter what, and the more I've been doing that, the more I begin to realize what matters most. He has me right where I need to be and I simply need to embrace that and enjoy every moment I have.

Although golf can be hard and frustrating and annoying, what else would I want to be doing? I am so blessed! So if you're always complaining or whining about your job or about life in general, I challenge you to look at your life and look at those around you and look at the world around you...are you alive and breathing? Do you have a roof over your head and food on your table? Do you have people who love you and are willing to support you no matter what you're doing? If you have any of those things, then you are blessed beyond belief! Remind yourself every day that you are blessed, put a smile on, and be kind to everyone you see today :)

This world could use a little more kindness :)

xo, JAE

Honorary Florida Girl

Hello Hello Hello!

Well I am back in Florida, and let me tell you...I am so happy! Don't get me wrong, I love Michigan. It's home. But I have always felt a pull to go somewhere else and I loved being in Florida last winter and now I'm back! Lindsey (my roommate) and I drove all day to get here and we are just starting to get back into a routine. So far the weather has been beyond perfect...80+ degrees and sunny :) And I think it's supposed to stay like this for a while, so I'm not complaining! We will have this upcoming week to practice and prepare before we head to our final tournament of 2016.

After Stage 1 of Q-school I did a major evaluation of my life. I reflected on this past year of golf and have come up with a bigger and better game plan than last year. I have nothing holding me back at this point so I'm really going to dedicate my time to becoming a better player. As for the rest of my life, God has really moved within me. I've always known what I need to do to become more like Jesus, but thinking about it and actually putting it into action are two different things. Recently I have also decided to dedicate my life to living for God and trusting His plan and timing for my life. It's not going to be easy, but it will be worth it.

I am really looking forward to getting back on the grind and seeing what happens this upcoming season, but I'm focusing on staying in the present and being grateful for the blessings God has given me :)

Thanks for all the support and I will continue to keep everyone posted!

Anger Management

So, does anyone else get angry for no reason? Or at first thought it seems like it's because of no reason, but there's usually always an underlying reason for the way we feel and for how we act. Recently I've just been getting angry. And my mood changes within a blink of an eye. After some thoughtful alone time I think I've come up with a few answers.

Rather than telling you about my issues I'll just share the few things I'm trying to do to become more of the happy person I want to be known for.

1. Spending time with God. It seems simple enough but I haven't been doing it enough lately. I've been going through a breakup recently as well and there's nothing like a broken heart to remind you that God will NEVER break your heart. He will always be there; so it's my turn to always be within His presence.
2. Yoga. I love yoga. I will admit that I love following different yogis on Instagram. I love watching the fun and amazing things they're able to do with their bodies and it inspires me to get to that point! But what I love about yoga as well is that in order to get into a difficult pose you have to be patient and practice every day. It's kind of like golf :)
3. Planning. I like having a plan and I like having a schedule. I also enjoy the process of planning and scheduling so before I head down to Florida I am taking action and creating a plan for every aspect of my life. Granted, some plans don't work out like you had planned, but the more I'm prepared the better!

These are just a few of  the things that I am working on right now to become a happier, healthier person :)

In other news, I'll be setting my 2017 golf schedule sometime in November :) I'm really excited to get back to warmer weather and practicing every day! If you have any questions or comments or advice for me feel free to contact me!

xo, Jen

Thoughts

Hello everyone! Sorry that I have been MIA for a while. After California I took a break from golf and from blogging. The break from blogging was slightly unintentional, but I guess I didn't really have much to say or if I had something to say I didn't want to post it on here for everyone to read; I kept it all to myself, but now I have some thoughts to share and an update about golf!

So a few weeks ago Lindsey (my roommate) asked me to drive down to Florida with her and then play in a tournament. It's a long drive from Michigan to Florida and it's always better with a friend. We did the drive in one day...yes one day! But we were so happy to be back to warm and sunny weather! We were back for about two days before we headed off to Eustis, Florida for our tournament! I didn't play great and therefore missed the cut, but Lindsey played well the first two rounds, making the cut, and allowing me to be her caddie for the third round :) We had a lot of fun today, but we are thankful to be back in Sarasota especially since Hurricane Matthew is making it's way up Florida's east coast!

I am headed back home to Michigan tomorrow morning...although I don't want to go back I will be back down here soon enough!

In other news I have been reflecting a lot on my life recently. I sometimes think I'm not allowed to start over, but who says that that's true? You can always start over. With recent events that have been happening in my life I have decided to do a complete revamping of who I want to be and how I want to live life. There is a lot going on in the world right now; a lot of hate being spread around. I think the most important thing that I and any other person can do right now is to love. 

I have always been a lover and I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve which usually leads me to getting my heart broken, like recently. And recently I have again been having thoughts about shutting down and becoming cold; putting up my wall and just not letting anyone in, and then I think about that and realize that's not who I am, and that's not who God is calling me to be. I always say that I think I care too much, but I think that is exactly who I am supposed to be. I care and I love so much that when other people stop caring or stop loving it breaks my heart.

So here's to new adventures and to doing things that make me a better person :)

One Last Update from Cali :)

Happy Q-School Week!

Hello all! It's Q-school week! Today was the first day of registration and practice rounds. I am all signed in and ready to go! I have my tee times for the next couple of days and a game plan of what to work on before the tournament begins! It's been a few days since I last updated so I'll give you the run down of what we've been doing here in Cali :)

Friday- We played the Palmer course and my parents got to play along too! We belong to a course that allows us to play other courses around the country for a cheap price and they give us rental clubs to use so they were able to play which was a lot of fun for me! We also got to play along with one of the members out at Mission Hills and he had some good advice for me during the round so I'm hoping to use that to my advantage this week! When we got back to the hotel I got a quick workout in before Lindsey (you guys remember my best friend!) and I went to our friend's condo for dinner! It was nice to hang out with other golfers and just relax! This week is high stress enough so if you can find a few good people that can distract you from golf, you're going to do just fine :)

Saturday- We got to go to Disneyland!!!!!! You guys have no idea how excited I was about this day. If you have been keeping up with my blogs you know I am a HUGE Disney fan and I had never been to Disneyland before so my excitement was off the charts. We decided we were going to take a mental break from golf for a day and allow our inner child to run wild and it was an amazing day! We got there right when it opened and explored every nook and cranny of Walt's design. Although it is smaller than Disney World, it was still amazing to experience another Disney resort. I'm pretty sure I cried a few tears when I saw Sleeping Beauty's castle, but don't worry they were tears of joy! We stayed for most of the day before heading back to Palm Springs.

Sunday- I went to play and practice at the Gary Player course which is the third course we will be playing for this year's qualifying tournament. My parents went and played another round of golf so we both did our own golf thing for the day before they came back to pick me up. I got a short workout in then we did some laundry! Okay fine, MOM did the laundry, but I did get her some quarters :) I then sat in the lobby and did some of my Bible study and Lindsey joined me!

Now I sit here, again in the lobby with Lindsey, typing my short update :) We are ready to go for Thursday and looking forward to whatever comes our way!

The Golf Mom's first Blog :)

Hello Everyone! I am Jennifer’s mom. I thought it would be fun to help Jennifer by guest blogging.  But before I start to tell you about our time in California I need to thank everyone.  Michael, Jen’s dad, and I are overwhelmed with the amount of support that Jennifer is receiving. The one thing we have learned on this journey is you can’t do it alone. You need help.  So thank you very much. You would be amazed at how far a tiny message of “Good Luck” goes. Jennifer always tells me about who wished her luck either via text message, Facebook post, Instagram, or Twitter. They all mean a lot to her and go a long way in her knowing she isn’t alone on this journey.

Okay, now onto our California adventure. Today, Jennifer just finished a three day tournament.  This tournament is to prep for the Q-School Tournament next week.  Jennifer played well. Her scores were 73-75-76. But let’s talk about the heat.  We are in Palm Springs, California. The temperature was 115° …. and yes, I walked the golf course all three rounds, and her dad was her caddie.  It is hot.  Next week during Q-School it should only be about 105°. Thank goodness not as hot. The thing is though, it is beautiful out here.  When we are on the course and look out we see the mountains.  When we drive around, we see the mountains.  The sun is bright. It looks absolutely gorgeous out. But when we step outside, it’s HOT!!! I usually never go swimming and I always say it’s too cold and the temperature needs to be in the 90s for me to go swimming.  Well guess what I did yesterday after walking 18 holes on the golf course? I went swimming and the water felt so wonderful!

Other observations I have made here in Palm Springs: I saw a road runner yesterday as we were leaving for the golf course.  I have also seen a bunch of hummingbirds. This morning our tee time was at 8AM. (90°) and the hummingbirds were out in full force which was so cool to see!  When the sun is shining on the golf course you like to find shade so you find every tree you can.  Luckily, I was able to find shade.  The trees that give off very little shade are the tall palm trees.  These skinny trees are stingy with the shade as you can imagine, but the palm trees on holes 5 and 18 remind me of the movie “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Do you remember that movie? It was from 1963 staring Spencer Tracy and a bunch of other famous actors.  They were all searching for buried money. And if I remember correctly the money was under a big “W.”  Well the palm trees here remind me of that “W” at the end of the movie. (When you are on the golf course as much as I am, I need to think about other things to help calm my nerves as Jennifer golfs).

Thank you all for following Jennifer as she works to earn her way onto the LPGA. She is ready to go! 

Thegolfmom
 #TeamElsholz #believe

Update from Cali

Hello all! :) We are in California and we are loving it! Although it has been awfully hot (114 degrees) we are still enjoying ourselves!

Yesterday was Day 1 in Cali! We played a practice round at the tournament course in the morning and got some practice in before the round. Afterwards we came back to the hotel and just hung out in the room for a little bit taking a nap and gaining some energy back :) We also went grocery shopping and took a ride around town before coming back and watching some Olympics before getting some rest for round 1!

Today was Round 1 of the NWGA q-school prep event and luckily we had a morning tee time so we got our round in before the sun really beat down on us. I ended the day with a 1 over par 73. I played solidly all the way around making a lot of pars so hopefully the next two rounds I can take it low and make some more birdies! I have an afternoon tee time tomorrow so we're going to the movies tonight then going to watch some Olympics before getting some sleep for round 2!

Thank you for all the continued support; it really means the world to me! You can follow the tournament by clicking on the Live Scoring button on my website! Also, feel free to check out my GoFundMe page :)

www.jelsholz.com

xoxo
Jen

California Bound

Hello :) So for those of you that are following along on my journey I thought I'd give you a small update on me and my thoughts about the next two weeks.

Tomorrow my parents and I fly out to Palm Springs, California where we will be there for two weeks! Next week Tuesday-Thursday, 8/16-8/18, I will be playing in the Q-school prep event hosted by the NWGA Tour. After that I will have the weekend to relax and prepare for the biggest tournament of my summer so far, Stage 1 of LPGA Qualifying School. Round 1 of Q-school begins 8/25 and everyone will play three rounds then there will be a cut then the 4th round will be on that Sunday and a certain number of players will make the cut and head to Stage 2.

With all that being said, I'll be honest...I'm a little nervous. But if there's one thing I've learned about nerves it's that they aren't a bad thing. It just means I care about what's happening, but I also have to shake those nerves off once I get going. I am also very excited. How can I not be?! I wake up every morning and I get to go outside and play the sport that I love. Every day I get to wake up and push myself to be the absolute best athlete I can be.

I love quotes and I love being inspired by people and their stories. The Olympics came at the perfect time for me. I love not only watching sports, but I love watching the passion these athletes have. I'm an emotional person already, but if I see someone crying out of pure happiness I tend to join them from the other side of the television screen. These athletes have worked for years and have dedicated their lives to their sport and that motivates me to want to be my absolute best.

God has given me this amazing talent and I don't know exactly where He is leading me, but for right now I am taking what He's giving me and doing my best to bring honor and glory to His name.

I'll be blogging throughout these next two weeks and keeping ya'll up to date about what's going on, but some exciting news! My mom will be blogging while she's in California with me :) So look forward to those as well! I'll be putting the links up for live scoring on my website if you want to check that out! www.jelsholz.com But for now thank you for all the support and I'm looking forward to the weeks to come!

xoxo

Golf, Golf, Golf

In all honesty, I'm not very good at blog posts about golf. I do have a golf journal, but thinking about it now I haven't written in it about my golf rounds in a while :/ Writing to me is all about my creative juices flowing and words just coming out and onto the paper. I've never been good just writing about my golf rounds. I talk to my dad a lot about how a round went, and we talk about the improvements I need to make for the next time, but it's hard to write about them, but none the less I'm going to try and write about my golf tournaments more often! Especially for those of you who are following my golf career :)

I was on the road the past two weeks playing in a couple different tournaments. I went and played up at Boyne Mountain in the Michigan Tournament of Champions. It is a really cool event because players who play in it have won a Michigan sanctioned event! Since I won the GAM Women's Championship and the Michigan Women's Amateur during the summer of 2014 I get a lifetime invite to the tournament! What makes it so unique is that both men and women play against each other and they use four different set of tees! I have never played against men in a tournament, I have only played with my dad and some of his buddies at our home golf course just for fun so it was a cool experience! I played really well shooting 73,74,71 for a two over par total which left me in a tie for 22nd place. (Plus I beat some men so that is always fun!:)

Earlier this week, mom and I went down to Defiance, Ohio to play in the Ohio Women's Open. I again played well shooting 74, 71 (par 71) for a three over par total and that was good enough for 4th place!

I've seen a lot of improvements in my game over the past few months and I'm really excited to see what's to come! I have one more week of good practice before I head out to California for q-school! I'll actually be playing in a prep event hosted by the NWGA tour the week before q-school so we're going to be out there for just over two weeks, but it'll be a good adventure :)

As I'm sure some of you know golf is an expensive sport and playing professional is not cheap so because of this fact I thought it time to ask for some help. I have set up a GoFundMe account for anyone who feels lead to give. The link is below and I would appreciate any little thing! (Even just a quick visit to the site:)

https://www.gofundme.com/jelsholz

Thank you all and have a blessed day :)

Walk with me

I have always been told to never allow anyone to get in the way of my dreams (in my mom's advice it was always  to not allow boys to get in my way.) And I believe that to be true in many regards. God has a plan for each and every one of us here on earth. He has known what we were to do before we were born; He knows what will happen to us today before we know.

I think God puts people in our lives for a reason; whether they are meant to stay forever or whether they are just passing by, God puts them in your life for a reason. This is always something I have struggled with, mainly when friends who I thought were going to stay in my life slowly disappeared and no longer talked to me. Most of the time we want to know everything that's going to happen to us when the truth is we know nothing. Only God has that power to know everything...

The real reason I'm writing this is because I've just started a new relationship and it really gets me thinking about the people God brings in and out of my life as well as who is meant to get in my way or who is not. But in reality, the people who are brought into my life now I think are meant to walk with me, not get in my way or stop me. As I get older and experience more in my life, I realize I only need a few good people around me, my team, who is going to do anything and everything to help me follow God's plan for me and help me reach my dreams.

Pretending

"Pretending can help in so many ways."

So I'll admit it, I like to pretend. It's hard to explain, but inside my head I pretend different scenarios are happening and I play along with them. Sometimes I do it because I'm bored and other times I do it to escape reality. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and I love living in the moment, but sometimes I need a break; I think we all need a break every once in a while, but instead of laying in bed all day I tend to just pretend.

I read this quote in a book I actually never finished. Now that I think about it, I might have stopped reading the book after I read this quote because it hit me so hard. Do you ever have that happen? You read something or see something or do something that hits you so hard that you have to stop for a second and just let it sit with you...in some weird way it may even change you right then and there. That's what happened to me when I read this quote because I pretend all the time and pretending helps me; it helps me heal, re-focus, and sometimes re-energize me for what may lie ahead.

Life is hard. Sometimes things happen that throw us off the track a little, but how we handle those off road moments makes a difference. I like to pretend something else is happening so that I can escape life, even if just for a moment.

Friendship

Since the class of 2016 has graduated or is about to graduate, I have been reflecting on my college graduation which was 1 year ago, and where I am today. 

It's amazing how fast four years goes by, but it's even harder to believe that I graduated from college 1 year ago already. It was right before my senior year when I decided to play professional golf after I graduated, and it has been one wild ride so far! But one thing that I've been thinking about recently and something that has been affected after I graduated is friends.

I went to the University of Toledo not knowing anyone and counting on my teammates to be my best friends, and not just my best friends for the four years I was there, but to be my best friends for the rest of my life. Let me tell you something that no one told me: it doesn't work like that. I met a lot of great people at Toledo and I had the best teammates a girl could ask for, but when I graduated some of those friendships I thought were so great, didn't last. Don't get me wrong, I love all the girls that I got to be teammates with, I just wasn't prepared to have the cord cut with some of them.

But here's what I have learned: you only need a few good friends who really care about you. Once you have those friends you can trust 100% then hang on tight to them! My roommate down in Florida, Lindsey, has become one of my best friends and we just recently had this conversation about friendships. We both agreed that we were meant to be in each other's lives forever. 

I still struggle with the friendships that had died over the course of this past year, but I know there's room for new friendships to blossom in those empty spaces. God puts people in your life for a reason, some are meant to stay forever and some are just passing by.

Goodbye

As everyone knows, I am obsessed with Disney, and I love Disney quotes! When I found this one from Peter Pan I fell in love with it and since that day I have tried not to say "goodbye." But if you really think about it, it's hard to not say goodbye. We are, in a way, trained to say goodbye when we are leaving someone, but if you think about it, it's kind of sad to say goodbye and I think Peter said it best, "...going away means forgetting."

I bring up this topic because I'm making my way back up to Michigan for the summer and I had to leave all the people I met down in Florida, and say goodbye. Saying goodbye is hard. Especially when you realize how much of an impact those people and that place had on you. These past four months in Florida have been amazing! I have met so many great people and played some amazing golf courses that it was really hard for me to leave.

And it was hard for me to leave this girl...

Lindsey has become one of my best friends. When I first moved down to Florida, Lindsey and I hardly knew each other. We had played amateur golf in Michigan together and had seen each other at a few college tournaments, but beyond that we didn't talk much. When we were out at Q-school we hung out and had dinner together and got each other's numbers. A couple months later she texted me and asked me if I would live with her down in Florida and do this professional golf thing together, to which I responded, yes :) Being down in Florida together has been a blast and we have really enjoyed it! Lindsey comes back to Michigan mid-May so I'll see her soon!

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited to go back home and see my family and friends in Michigan :) Right now, I'm in Toledo visiting my college teammates and it feels good to see them and hang out with them again! I'm excited to continue this crazy adventure and see what God has in store for me!

xoxo

Memorizing Scripture

Hello reader! :) Thanks for finding my blog and for stopping by!

Now I should be writing about my last golf tournament and tell you how I did, but in reality this is my blog and I didn't play great so I have some other things to talk about instead! (But in case you were wondering I finished T24th and shot 79, 78, 76 :p).

So I follow Mary-Kate Robertson on Instagram and when I found out she has a blog I signed up for email alerts because I just really like her:) Her most recent blog post was absolutely fabulous and it really helped me out too! She was talking about memorizing scripture and how difficult it can be (I'm raising my hand over here because I'm in the same boat). I love reading from my Bible and growing deeper in my faith, and I have been trying to really memorize scripture, but it's really hard! But what Mary-Kate has learned and now shared with everyone has really helped me out! Drum roll please........ She writes the first letter of every word and she actually writes it on her hand! For a visual go check out her site: www.thelittleduckwife.com

I discovered this little tip during my last tournament and wrote Deuteronomy 31:6 on my hand during the second round and whenever I had a little down time I would look down at my hand and rehearse the scripture and let me tell you, I think it really works! I'll have to write down some more scriptures and take a picture to post on my Instagram and if I remember I'll post it on here too! But I just thought I would share because I thought it was a great tip and who knows, maybe it'll help one of you out there :)

Believe

Hey guys! So this past week we played over in Lake Mary, Florida at Timacuan Golf Club. We played there earlier this year, but this time around it was a completely different course! The first time it was cold and windy, and when I say windy I mean 40 mph gusts :/ Lets just say it wasn't fun, but this week was absolutely perfect! 85-90 degrees every day with little to no wind. I was standing on the 16th tee today looking up at the sky and the trees realizing that it had been completely calm all day! Fortunately I played better this time around too. I shot 79, 76, 76 to finish T28.

Overall I would say I had a pretty good week. I am making a few swing changes right now and I wasn't completely comfortable the first day, but I managed to finish with a 79. The last two days were much better. My swing felt like it was coming together and I made a few more up and downs than the first day which helped my confidence. 

The past few months have been a bit of a challenge because I know I can play better than I have been, but I keep getting reminded that this takes time and I just have to keep believing in myself.

Sometimes it's hard to always stay positive or believe that you can do something when things are going wrong so I tend to write "Believe" on my wrist as a reminder to stay positive and always believe that I can do it. Although I may not be playing the way I want to be right now, I know that tomorrow is a new day and it only takes one round to really turn things around so for now I will continue to work hard and keep believing! 

We're a Disney Family :)

Hey ya'll! So my parents are in town this week (it's my mom's spring break) and I just got back from Orlando where I spent a couple of days with them at Disney World! Anyone who knows me and my family know how Disney obsessed we are. In my 22 years of being alive, I have probably been to Disney World at least 25 times. Crazy you say? I know, and I love it! We usually spend Christmas at Disney and almost every year I get the same questions: Don't you want to spend Christmas at home? Aren't you sick of Disney? Aren't you a little old for Disney? And I have answers for all of those questions:

1. Disney is home. I know to some people that may sound crazy, but ever since I could remember we have been spending Christmas at Disney World so it's not weird to me, and to anyone who has ever been to Disney knows what they say to you when you check into your resort, "Welcome home!" Hearing those words makes my heart happy and it really makes you feel like you're at home :)

2. You can never get sick of Disney. I never get bored of the rides or the characters or anything they do there; plus they are always adding on new and fun things like Star Wars Land, Toy Story Land, and Pandora (from Avatar). So how could you possibly get sick of it!?

3. You are NEVER to old for Disney. And that's all I have to say about that.

This quick visit was a little different because my younger sister could not come with my parents, but it was nice to have a little time with these two! I even got my Dad to go on Splash Mountain with me which never happens! :)

Being able to see my parents this week got me thinking about how lucky I am to have them. They support me in anything that I do and always make sure to tell me that I can do it! Growing up they never told me I couldn't do something, but they did tell me that if I wanted to be good at anything that I would have to work for it and earn it myself. They taught me to work hard, but to also stay kind and encourage others. I have been so blessed by the life they have helped create for me.

My advice of the day: go thank your parents and tell them you love them. They are the ones who gave you life, the ones who raised you, and the ones who are watching you grow into your own person.

I love you mom and dad! Thank you for everything:)

Feeling Vulnerable

To anyone who has just discovered my blog, welcome! For the first time since I started this blog I have put it out there and told people about it which is incredibly scary... and I didn't realize how vulnerable I would feel after doing it. I just finished my website tonight and I have posted it on all my social media accounts, and I have a link on there to this blog so people can follow along and read my thoughts, but I forgot that my blog isn't even really about my golf, I tend to write about my thoughts and feelings and my life. It scares me a lot, but I also feel like I am a completely open book now. That's something that I feel is so important for people to feel in their lives. I think many of us put up so many walls and we may feel like we're living life, but in reality there are many parts of us that are hidden and that can really affect the person you want to become.

What also scares me is the fact that I have put all my golf scores out there for all my friends and family to see, and I haven't been playing my best recently so part of me is embarrassed because I'm supposed to be a professional golfer, yet I'm still shooting high scores. But here's the thing: no one really knows what I go through on a daily basis; no one understands how much work I put in; and no one understands how much more pressure there is at the professional level. At the end of the day I have to be proud of what I'm doing and I have to love what I'm doing so although my scores aren't the greatest, my scores don't define me, and I continue to battle with that, but I'm getting better each day.

So to everyone that's new, thank you for checking out my blog! And for anyone who is still curious go check out my website :) http://www.jelsholz.com/