NEW WEBSITE!!!

You can now find TeamBurbank on our new website!! The website will include a golf blog, bios, results, featured courses, sponsors and so much more!! Although I'm sad to see it go, this blog will no longer serve as my primary blog. HOWEVER, at some point I hope to be able to continue this portion of my blogging as well, and will talk less about the actual golf, and more about our travels, our journey together and the other things we love! Now, go check out our new website to see all things golf at www.cheyburbankgolf.com

The Impatient Perfectionist

Hello there,

        Bruce and I made it back from Ontario safe and sound, but unfortunately I didn't play anywhere close to as well as I was planning....

        For those you who know me well, know that I keep a pretty positive attitude and not a whole lot upsets me. However, recently the lack of good results in competition is starting to get to me. I am working harder than ever and the results have not fallen into my lap. I believe that in many things in life, you get out of it what you put in. Like a term paper, a relationship, or a perfectly construted cake, when you put a lot of effort and hours into those things, you can usually predict the results will be pretty good. I am slwoly learning that golf doesn't fit into that category....not even close.  You can practice, prepare, strive for perfection on the golf course all you want, but you have to know, as I am learning, that sometimes you will not play well. You will have bad days, weeks, and sometimes years.... Look at some of the best players in the world. Michelle Wie, for example, all but fell off the face of the earth for 4 years, and now she won the US Open last week, and is up at the top of the leaderboard again this week! Being the impatient, perfectionist I am, this is a very hard lesson for me to learn. When I have rough weeks like last week, I have to be reminded by Bruce that this has been a very successful first year of my career. Just to name a few....I have found my game and confidence that I lost in college, I have gotten to see new places and play amazing courses, Bruce and I have gotten to work as a full time team and relized how much we love doing this together, and I have had 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 10th place finishes. Not so bad!! I have to remember how lucky I am to have this opportunity, and remember that others would love to be in my position. Even when I keep those things in mind, sometimes it's hard to swallow a tough round, but I am so lucky to have so many people supporting me and believing in me. I couldn't do this on my own. With that being said, I need to be patient, keep working my butt off, and press on. My time will come. 

XOXO,
Team Burbank

CDA Summer

Greetings from Coeur d'Alene!

Beautiful Coeur D'alene River 

        I hope this post finds you all happy and healthy! Last time I posted, Bruce and I were heading for Seattle for the US Open qualifier, and then heading "home" to Idaho. So I'll pick there.... I won't delay and I will just say it, Rainier golf and country club in Seattle just hit the top of my list of "most challenging course ever". I was warned by many that this course was hard to score on, and they were certainly right. The fairways were tight, and the greens were diabolical! Although it was another great experience to add to the books, and Bruce did a great job for his first time carrying the clubs for 36 straight holes, we came up a bit short of qualifying in the end. This qualifier reminded me to always fight until the very end, because you never know what scores will make it!! Also, I want to give a HUGE thank you to my good friend Gary, who drove all the way from Eugene to watch me play. What a friend!

        Arriving back in Coeur D'alene is always wonderful. It's our happy place. It's hard not to adore a place that has a world class golf course that supports your dreams and does everything they can to help you succeed. Another HUGE
thank you, this time to everyone at Circling Raven, for hosting me for another summer. Such an amazing group of people!! Since arriving back, Bruce and I have been working out some kinks in the swing, planning for the rest of the summer, and continuing to improve every day! We continue to love working together and we are excited to see where to summer takes us.

At Circling Raven

     On a final note, Bruce and I were supposed to leave for Las Vegas today for a Cactus Tour event. However, a few days ago, a random swing tweaked something in my shoulder. Not wanting to irritate it more, we decided to withdraw from the Las Vegas event so that my shoulder would be better for Ontario. Although I am very stubborn, and dislike changing plans, I know this was for the better. We leave for Niagara Falls on the 17th, and the event starts the 23th. Watch our results at, http://golfcanada.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/rcga14/event/rcga147/contest/13/leaderboard.htm

Thanks y'all!
XOXO

Tough Course....EHHH?

Hi All,
    As most of know, Bruce and I left Arizona two weeks ago to chase the summer golf tournaments. We traveled up the west coast, visiting friends and family along the way, and headed towards Canada for the Women's Canadian Tour.

        We arrived in Parksville, BC to meet a wonderful host family, and were welcomed into a beautiful home just minutes from the golf course. That afternoon, we played a practice round with our host, whose name was also Bruce. We had a lot of fun and started to learn the challenging layout that Morningstar had to offer. The course proved to be very difficult with tight landing areas, and tricky multi-tiered greens. That Tuesday, I teed off for my first round of the tournament feeling a bit uneasy about the course, which caused me to be a little indecisive in my shot selection. My inability to commit to shots that day caused some trouble and I ended the day shooting a round of 80 and tied for 53rd place. Not anywhere close to the start we were hoping for....
          Although I had a rough first day, I worked out the kinks and was ready to go  play with confidence the following day. We arrived on the final day to see pins tucked in unimaginable locations and soon realized, it was going to be an even more challenging day. Despite the course set up, Bruce and I took it one shot at a time, and finished with one of the low rounds of the day, 74. I finished my first Canadian Women's event tied for 25th out of 80 women. Although those may not be the results Bruce and I were hoping for, but I am proud of the way I performed the second day and know what I need to work on the next week.

         After 4 great days of being spoiled by our hosts, Bruce and Kelly, and managing to get incredible weather, we headed south to Victoria to do some sight seeing!! Here are some pictures of the beautiful city:

Outside the Parliament building

Inside Parliament

On top of Mount Doug

    Next week we are headed to Seattle to compete in the Women's US Open Qualifier, wish us luck!! 

On a final note, my rally is half way done and we have reached over 30% of our goal!! I am blown away by the love and support be have received by our friends and family, we thank you all so much. You given us the opportunity to pursue our dream, and it is our sincere hope that we get the opportunity to do the same for someone else someday! <3

https://www.rallyme.com/rallies/650/burbankgolf

Hitting the Road

Hello Friends!
Sorry for the delay in posts, Bruce and I have been very busy with scheduling, packing, fundraising and squeezing in two more tournaments before hitting the road. I'll make it short and sweet as we are driving through Oregon at the moment......

Two weeks ago I played in another Cactus tour event at Ocotillo golf resort. I played alright and ended the tournament shooting 72-77-70 and tied for 4th place. Although I wasn't impressed with the way I hit the ball that week, I was impressed with the improvement in my putting and it was good enough to walk away with another top 5 finish.

After the tournament at Ocotillo, I had the opportunity to participate in the Gilbert Boys & Girls Club golf tournament. On that day, I played in a little competition called, "beat the pro" where players had the option to bet against me on a par 3 for a $5 buy in. If I beat them, I gave the $5 to the Boys & Girls club, if they happened to beat me, I doubled their money. It was a fun event and I got to hit a TON of 8 irons that day!! I had a lot of takers in the challenge and only a few came out victorious, but were generous enough to allow the Boys & Girls Club to keep their winnings. It was a great opportunity and experience to work with such an outstanding organization!!

The following day, I took part in the Shriners Pro-am which brought a ton of cold, wind, and fun!! My team didn't play well, but it was great to play with members of yet another great organization. After the pro-am I played in the Cactus Tour event at the same course, Legacy. I had a bit of a rough week but have made some adjustments and am ready to hit the road for summer!!

Speaking of summer, my tentative summer schedule has been posted in the "Schedule & Results" tab!! Bruce and I will be traveling around Canada, going to Washington and Las Vegas, and hopefully to North Carolina for the US Women's Open. We are excited to see where this summer takes us and see how my game continues to improve.

Lastly, Bruce and I have kicked off a crowdfunding rally to help provide funds for our summer entry fees. As many of you know, golf is an expensive sport and playing mini-tours makes it more so. If you all would help out in our journey by contributing or by passing on the word of our rally, it would be greatly appreciated. In the first week of the rally, we have reached 25% of our goal and couldn't be more grateful!! Bruce and I couldn't continue pursuing this dream without you all....
Thank you all for your support and continuous love!! 

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!

Hello Everyone,
As most of you probably know, I had a very exciting past week..... Bruce and I took home our first victory!!! We couldn't be more excited or feel more blessed from the all the support we received this week!! What's even better, is my mom got to watch the whole tournament unfold. I feel like this tournament has given me great confidence and momentum towards the end of my spring season, and into a busy summer.
          Here is a taste of how the two day tournament unfolded... Day one started and ended pretty uneventfully with many pars and just a couple birdies and bogies. I carded an even-par 72, five shots off of the lead.
          Heading into day two, we all knew the wind was going to be a factor in that days performances. I just kept reminding myself that we all had to play in it, and that I was confident hitting the ball under the wind with half shots. I did my best to stay calm and try not to get discouraged when the wind moved my ball around. I finished the front nine at one-under par with a pair of birdies, and a bogey on the 220 yard par 3 ninth. As we started the back nine, the wind started to pick up substantially! With difficult holes ahead, I kept plugging away trying to hit as many fairways and greens as possible with the tough conditions. The scariest and most exciting part of the round came on hole 15, a par-3 with an island green. The pin was only 125 yards away but the wind was swirling. I watched as many players before me hit the ball short and long, into the water. When it was my turn, I finally decided on a punch 9 iron. Without thinking too hard about it, I stepped up and hit it to the middle of the green. Perfect. I was so relieved!! The next few holes continued uneventfully but little did I know, I had pulled within a shot of the lead. With the wind blowing almost 25mph at this point, the easy,

reachable in two, par-5 18th became much more difficult. I smoked my last drive of the day just the way I planned but still had 220 yards out, straight into the wind. Although I knew I couldn't get the ball all the way to the back pin, I knew I could put it on the front of the huge green and allow myself to two putt for birdie. I did just that. The ball ended up on the front edge, leaving me with a nearly 90-foot putt. I stepped up and hit the putt almost as hard as I could to get the ball uphill, into the wind, 90 feet away. I left myself a three-footer. Although I didn't know I was putting for the win, this three foot putt was the toughest of my career thus far. Taking a deep breath, I knocked it in to turn in a two-under-par, 70. Moments later, I turned in my scorecard and anxiously awaited the final group to finish the 18th to find out if my steady play that day would be enough for a win. As I soon found out, it was!! I had captured the title by a single shot. I won! I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I shed a few joyful tears and proudly accepted my first professional trophy.
      Although this tournament was small, and only two days, I couldn't be more excited! This win has really given me confidence heading into my summer season and has given me a taste of victory. I can't wait for the day when I get to putt a 3 footer for the win, on the 18th green, in front of thousands. However, for now, I'll proudly compete for an audience of two. 

Check back soon to see our summer schedule and the start of our sponsorship rally!!

Such is Life.

Hi All,
        I have an interesting story to share with you about my current week. I'll start by sharing the fact with you, that many athletes don't participate in activities that may jeopardize their performance or their ability to participate at all. For example, since I started college, I do not snowboard, ice skate, wake board, or numerous other risky activities, in fear that I could get hurt. However, this past weekend, I made an exception. I took on what I knew was a strenuous hike the day before my
tournament because it was a friend's birthday. I know what you might be thinking, I probably slipped, tripped or fell down the mountain. NOPE. I actually made it 6 miles without such a mistake. Pleased and impressed with myself, thinking "I may not be as clumsy as I always think," I headed for a much needed pedicure.  Upon arrival, I picked out a Spring-shade for my toes and slipped off my sandals to step in the tub. Stepping in, the unexplainable happened.... something Bruce would call a freak
accident. (If you have a weak stomach, I suggest you skip to the bottom!!)  My foot slipped slightly, sending my big toe into the bubble-jet. It didn't even hurt until I felt my foot stinging in the hot water. I pulled my foot out, and to my surprise, I see a gash on the instep of my foot, at the knuckle of my big toe. As I hold it up, the gash opens up and starts to pour blood. The nail-techs did their best to stop the bleeding, sanitize the wound and wrap it up for me, but all I could think about was, how was going to play the next day? How would I transfer my weight from my right to my left and avoid the pain? Could I tough it out? As I arrived home, I am angry and discouraged knowing I probably won't be able to compete the next day, let alone put a shoe on. After some deliberation I pulled out of the tournament. The opportunity vanished, POOF. Although I was upset, because I had practiced on the tournament courses all week and was hitting the ball fantastic, I knew I had made the right choice.
         Although I missed a great opportunity at the tournament this week, the break did allow me to have time to whip up a fabulous pot of seafood jambalaya, start on the Burbank taxes, spend an entire day with my mother, and of course, update my blog.  This was a great reminder that as much as I want to control everything in my life, many times it's out of my control. So remember, when life gives you lemons .....make jambalaya?

  Jambalaya Recipe 

25 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
8 ounces chicken, diced

2 tablespoon Creole seasoning, recipe follows

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 14.5oz canned died tomatoes drained

6 bay leaves

2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 1/2 cups white rice

5-6 cups chicken stock

10 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced
Salt and pepper

 

Creole Seasoning

WARNING!!! Don't make the same mistake as many before you

 and add ALL this creole seasoning to your Jambalaya. 

This makes almost 1 cup so that you can save it for next time. 

Only add the amount called for in recipe.

Mix the following together and set aside:

2 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried parsley 

Servings: 10 grandmas or 5 large men 

Instructions: In a bowl combine shrimp, chicken and Creole seasoning, and work in seasoning well. (This makes a SPICY Jambalaya. If you aren't one for spicy, reduce to about 1 tablespoon of creole seasoning and adjust at the end if needed.) In a large saucepan heat oil over high heat then add onion, pepper and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes until tender. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces. Stir in rice and slowly add 5 cups of the broth. Save the last cup of broth to moisten later if too dry.  Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. If the mixture becomes too dry, stir in your left over chicken broth. When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture, and sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes more. Remove Bay leaves. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. 

ENJOY!

P.S. If you have leftovers, we do what's called, "put an egg on it" and call it breakfast.

Lessons Learned

Hello Family & Friends!
      As some of you may have heard, I had a successful tournament last week at Wigwam. I shot 68 69 72 (-7) and took 2nd place!! It was a whole new experience for me, as I was leading after the first two days. I did my best to stay calm and play the course the exact way I had the previous days. Although I ended up shooting par, it wasn't quite good enough to hold on to first place. Perhaps my nerves, excitement and allowing my thoughts to get ahead of myself, played a role in the end result. Here is just a little bit of how my final round unfolded.....
       I stood on the first tee excited and confident to get the day started. However, I didn't start as well as I hoped, and made a few bogies in the opening holes. A little frustrated, I pulled it together and made some birdies. From there, my day was up and down, compiled of missed fairways, good punch shots, great putts and a lot of boring pars. When I showed up at the treacherous 18th hole I was one over par but ahead of the other two leaders in my group.  I thought if I birdied the last hole, the way I had both days previous, I would have the win in the bag. I stood up on that tee box and striped the ball down the "alternate route" hole #1 fairway, while I watched my competitors tee off with irons down the skinny 18th surrounded by water. As I walked to my ball, having avoided all chances of water, my heart rate picked up thinking, "I may have won my first professional event". Arriving at the ball I had 210 yards over the trees to reach
the big par-5 in two shots. I took a few deep breathes and stuck it on the green for the third day in a row. When no one else was looking, I jumped up and down in excitement. Before I got out of control, I was reminded by my trusty caddy that I still had to putt and that someone already in the clubhouse may have had me beat. He was right...like always. I two putted for birdie and drove nervously to the scoring tent. As soon as I arrived, I saw the red numbers on the scoreboard, and saw that my competitor fired a 68 to beat me by a single shot. For many minutes I was angry, angry knowing I had lost and knowing I had hit only four fairways that day. After cooling off, a fellow competitor reminded me how grateful I should be because with the way I drove the ball that day, I could have easily ended up in 6th place. She was exactly right. Although the tournament didn't end how I anticipated, I am grateful for the loss. I learned how to lead, how to scramble for pars, how to stay in the moment, and how to act when you lose.
        With a week of rest, I take on Ahwatukee CC starting on Monday! Wish me luck!

A Word from the Caddy

Hello Everybody,

          As you can probably tell from the title, this post is being written by Cheyenne's caddy and husband, Bruce. Cheyenne has asked me to share with you all what we have been up to and how the 2014 season has started.  It has been two weeks since Cheyenne's first official professional season has began and everything is going as you would expect when starting a new career. There are always going to be ups and downs, and bumps in the road to overcome. In the first two tournaments of the season Cheyenne finished just out of the money line, but that's not important. We have learned how incredibly powerful the subconscious mind can be and how important confidence is to be able to perform at the highest level. Despite the imperfect results, I was very proud of the way Cheyenne conducted herself the last few weeks... she is slowly learning to not to be so hard on herself! Also, I am learning more and more every round how to be a better caddy and help her on this journey. Speaking of which, a few words on my caddy journey....

        When Cheyenne and I decided to pursue the desire to become a professional golfer, I knew pretty close to nothing about the mechanics of a golf swing.  It was a mutual decision that I would become her caddy to save on money and be able to share every step of this journey together. After that was decided I knew I had a LOT of learning to do. My first step was to research what being a caddy meant, and how to become the best caddy I could be. I found a book written by former and current PGA and LPGA caddies that taught me a whole lot about what goes into being a caddy. One of the biggest lessons I learned from that book is that caddies not only carry the bag and help determine club selection, they need to be encouraging, positive, knowledgeable, and many other things. These few attributes would be much easier to achieve if the professional golfer you are caddying for wasn't your wife. For those of you who are married, you know that when one of you isn't happy, the other isn't too far behind. The most difficult part about caddying for your wife is being able to separate personal from professional. This is something that we are both learning and will continue to learn for the next few years. With the ups and downs that have come with this journey, it has been one of the most incredible, yet difficult things we have ever done. Cheyenne has a very bright future ahead in golf and we are just tapping into her potential. We are working harder than ever and are very excited for what's to come. We take on Wigwam Golf Resort this week in Litchfield Park, AZ! Wish us luck!!

Ready to go!

Hi All,
       I hope that this post finds you all happy and healthy!! With one day left until the tournament season kickoff, Bruce and I couldn't be more excited. We have been working incredibly hard, on and off the course, to prepare for the season ahead. In the last few weeks I decided to become a practice club member at The Raven Golf Club in Phoenix. This course gives me the opportunity to practice at a good facility, has a course I can challenge myself on, and a has a weekly skins match for me to test my game. If you aren't sure what a "skins" game is, you may be better off to "Goggle" it, than to sort through my complicated explanation.

        Apart from spending a majority of his time on the golf course with me, Bruce has started a physical training program for the other golf students that work with Kene Bensel. This program combines flexibility, speed, and strength all into one. Bruce came upon this opportunity when Kene stated that he didn't think his students were working out correctly or at all. He believes that using heavy weights and doing slow movement exercises (like squats) are nearly pointless for a golfer. After talking more with Kene, Bruce knew he could help. With five years experience as a Decathlete, a lot of Bruce's training, in the throws division, involved what's called "separation" between the athletes' hips and chest. This same movement is incredibly essential in the golf swing and is commonly known as "X-factor". Along with that, this program also incorporates stability and balance to improve the players' all around fitness, including, flexibility, speed and strength as previously stated. Since starting this 3-day a week program one month ago, Kene couldn't be more pleased with the results he is already seeing in his students. Not only can his students perform the golf swing in the way he instructs, but some are also picking up yardage with all of their clubs. So far, this has been an awesome opportunity for Bruce to teach what he is great at, and a way to supplement our income.
       In the last month, Bruce and I, have put more effort than ever before into pursuing our dream of playing golf at the highest level. We are excited and incredibly motivated to keep moving in the right direction toward this dream. I can't wait to see if our hard work will pay off this season!
 

2014

Happy New Year, Everyone!
           I hope you all had as much fun ringing in 2014 as Bruce and I did. As we enter into this year, we have so much to be thankful for and feel so blessed that we get to spend the next 365 days chasing our dream of playing on the LPGA.

         Over the last couple days we have created our tentative tournament schedule for the end of January through the end of April 2014. We are so excited that we have the opportunity to play in so many events and gain valuable experience without having to leave the state of Arizona. You can find that tournament schedule on the new tab I have created at the top of the page.
       With so many tournaments coming up, Bruce and I are spending a lot of hours on the golf course. Mainly, we have committed to working hard on the mental part of the game, something I have foolishly neglected for years!! As golf great Bobby Jones said, "Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course...the space between your ears." I think he is exactly right. Along with improving my mental strenght, we are also working hard on routine and course management, things that won't break down in pressure situations. Bruce has done a great job so far of holding me to these commitments.

        Lastly, I just want to say how incredibly thankful I am for the generous family and friends who have helped me financially and otherwise thus far!! Without all of you, I couldn't pursue this dream.  I also want to give a huge THANK YOU to Outback Golf Academy, for allowing me to volunteer in exchange for range and playing privileges at Western Skies Golf Club. I have enjoyed the experience working with younger players and teaching them the game that I love so much. I can not thank Craig Hocknull, Outback Golf, and Western Skies enough for giving me this opportunity and for being so incredibly encouraging !!! If you live near Gilbert, and want to get your kids into golf, I suggest you look into Outback Golf Academy. 
        That's all for now, thank you all again for your continued love and support!!