Back in Cali

So,
Florida might not have gone as planned, but it was definitely another learning experience.

I think it took me a long time to write this partly because as soon as I got back home to San Diego I got sick and the other part was still trying to figure out what happend. I will always be more critical and harsh on myself than anyone else could ever be, so it took me a few days to really figure out what I really felt about q-school this year and what I wanted to say aout it. So here it goes.. (and I must admit that it took a chance meeting with a fellow diabetic at the Marshall Faulk Celebrity Classic to put things into perspective for me)

The ugly bit... 13 of 40 fairways hit

The bad bit.... 13 of 40 fairways hit

And the Good bit... I am truly lucky to have such an amazing support system that has even allowed me to book the flight to Florida. Back just 3 months prior to me going to q-school I would have never thought I could be ready in time for this event after being just devastated by diabetes. I did nothing wrong to cause this and there is absolutely no reason I should be put through this every day for the rest of my life. That was my attitude just 3 months ago.. This is the reality I should still be in too, but thanks in large part to my fantastic family and friends, I was able to put myself through one of the highest tests of one's skill as a professional golfer in 3 months. That is something I am so unbelievably proud of and no one can take away from me. Did things go smoothly with my diabetes down in Florida? No. Did I hit the ball well, except for off the tee.. Absolutely. (which yes was painful and difficult to watch myself go through) But honestly it wasn't about the result this time...it was about bringing me back to what I love and making me want it that much more.

Think that is it for now.. keep you posted on whats to come.

Cheers,

Carly

Here we GO!

So q-school tournament starts tomorrow for me at Ridgewood Lakes. I tee off #10 tee at 10:09 am. Storms are supposed to hit the next three days, so weather should be interesting. I played all 3 practice rounds without wind basically, so it should be interesting out there.

**Q-School consist of about 300+ girls that play a rotation of 3 courses over 3 days. After the 3 days the field is cut to the lowest 90 and ties. Those low 90 then play a 4th round to determine their overall eligibility for the following Tour season. **

Played my final practice round today at the new course Lake Wales CC. I think it sets up pretty nicely for me and I am definitely looking forward to playing there Thursday. Greens are a little slower than the other two courses, but overall I think its the most playable and generous off the tee.

Just looking forward to being back in competition and seeing how I do, both in golf and with my blood sugars. Thank you to everyone that has supported me and can't wait to let the week unfold.

Cheers!

http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/

Q-School...back in Florida

So back in Florida for Duramed Futures Tour q-school. I have definitely been looking forward to this week for a long time. Its been a tough winding road back here, but time well spent. My health is getting better and managing diabetes has been getting more rountined every day. I think it definitely has been more of a positive in my life as of late. I know I have grown to be more patient, understanding, and I definitely enjoy the simple pleasures in life a lot more. So with all of that said, cant wait to get back into competition and just have some fun on the golf course. That's the whole reason I got into this job in the first place...because it was a lot of fun.

Had my first practice round today at Lake Region, went well..just need to get driver to understand that we are a team and as any good team member would do in this situation...it should find the fairway for me!!

Tomorrow is another practice round at Ridgewood Lakes, which is another course I played last year. Then Monday is off to a new course, Lake Wales...holly cow just realized all these golf courses sound a tad intimidating with LAKE in their name. Oh well... its just golf no matter what the course!

Tournament starts Tuesday and you can keep up to date on the DFT website.. http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/

Thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout this process!! Much love..

@carlyaludwig on Twitter

Been AWHILE!

So as most of you know, back in April after I got back from the Futures Tour Tournament in Mexico I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Today just happens to be my 2 month anniversary. These past two months have been the hardest that I have ever had to go through. Its a mixture of emotions right now and I couldn't even begin to start explaining this ride that I have been on lately.The only thing I know for sure right now is that I would never wish this on my worst enemy. Currently I am in my 'honeymoon' phase of being a Type 1, which means that my pancreas is still producing insulin. (insulin -is a hormone that is vital in the regulation of energy and glucose metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells to take up glucose from the blood, thus reducing your blood glucose and allowing your body to use it as energy) With my body still producing insulin at different levels each day, it has made it very difficult to figure how everything affects me. Golf has probably been the hardest thing that I have had to deal with. If I wasn't a professional golf player, I don't think I would be as frustrated and mentally exhausted from this disease. 


I have played in three events, although I really only count two since one of the tournaments was played just 4 days after I was released from the hospital. So in the two events, I have struggled with not only low blood sugar (hypoglycemic), but just trying to figure out how to even manage my sugars on the course. I have started pretty high with my sugars both times and have gone hypoglycemic both times within 50 minutes.. which going from 260 to 60 isn't really the most calming situation. (blood sugar levels in most people range from 90-120 or 120-150 after eating) Then to add in the fact that I have to play golf and calm down, just has been difficult. I am sure it will get easier after I get out of this 'honeymoon' phase, which would mean that my pancreas finally stops producing insulin. At that point I can finally learn how each thing affects me on a general basis..or so I am told.


Anyway thats what has been going on for the past couple of months... I am still playing and practicing, just don't know when I am going to be in another tournament. Right now it looks like the middle of July, but again I will just have to wait and see. 


Thank you for all of your continued support and love!


Cheers,


Carly

Pictures!!

So here are some pictures from the trip to Mexico.. We stayed with family at Playa Escondida 

(www.playa-escondida.com)

It was sooo much fun just! Golf course was awesome and it was a great event (minus the food)! haha well next event is out near Palm Springs April 21-22!! More to come then!~

Bad Day!

Well I think I drank a gallon of pedialite during my second round... it was horrible! It was definitely a struggle out there to keep my composure and my white shorts clean.. hahaha sorry this trip has just been fantastic! I couldnt make this up if I tried.... I just had absolutely no energy :( I think I drank enough of that pedialite to double the weight of a small child!

Anyway I will write way more when I am back in the states!

Went horseback riding today on the beach and it was awesome minus the fact that my cousin cantered in front of me as we were going through the waves and I got hit in the face with enough sand to build a small sandcastle!

Cheers to the last night in Playa Escondida.. what a fabulous place!!

Carly...I'm too young to die!

Well those were the words out of my cousin's mouth when she was in the back seat as I drove her back to Sayulita after she came to watch me play... apparently my diving skills with a stick shift are a bit off! Especially when I tried driving like a local and took the sweeet Nissan off roading cause it definitely got around traffic a lot quicker!


Off to today's round! Well woke up and felt like a bus had hit me.. and there was a ninja in my head (and it wasnt from alcohol).... I felt and still feel like I am coming down with the flu AGAIN! ... So I had that going for me today! .. Thankfully I made it through my round!

So front 9... yeah was a tad nervous since this was the first tournament since November! Was a little pumped and was struggling to find my yardages as I was hitting the ball a bit farther than I have been. The wind also was a huge factor...afternoon tee times definitely got hit the hardest!  #11 Hit my drive way past what I had played it as all week and was between yardages and into the wind. Took the longer club and flew it past the pin into the water...  double! Other oops came on a par 3 #16 which probably was playing 178 into the a strong crosswind that I just left short in the bunker. Hit a great bunker shot to like 10 feet and then made a rookie mistake and tried to putt out when I should have marked and there was my second double of the front 9. Made some really good swings coming in and the rest of the round to salvage my 75 (par 73). Overall felt awesome to end on a birdie and close out my round!

Okay well I am off to dinner.... hopefully everything stays down and my fever goes down!

Catching up....

Okay well didnt have the internet last night... but back on again! Lets see here well yesterday my stick shifting got a bit better as I made it all the way to El Tigre (golf course) only stalling once... when i freaking past all the guards at the gate to get into the golf course... then proceeded to peel out and over revv the engine cause I didnt want to stall again! haha... ha Okay so practiced a bit and was feeling a bit better about things and my sunburn! Then the real adventure started cause I had to drive in the city... seriously they need to post street signs! Couldnt find the Canopy Tour office cause the freaking street sing isnt there and all the lady kept telling Audi was what street it was on!! Well anyway about 10 minutes late and sweating cause I stalled the car like 4 times in a row with very crazy Mexican taxi drivers behind me we made it! Then I had to park the car... yeah lets just say it was a horrible experience and I never want to try and parallel park a stick shift on a hill ever Ever again!! So finally go to the Canopy tour and had a blast zipping through the jungle going upside down with no hands... so fun! *will upload pics later* After zipping through the jungle and getting annoyed by 16 year old girls on spring break (like OH my gosh) who were there with their mom... and then making fun of them with the rest of our entire tour.. I then realized I had to drive all the way back through town and thats when I started to panic! Well that an our bus guy saying that Mexicans love stealing Nissan's and me getting a sick feeling cause my clubs were in the trunk... they like stealing those over cheeeevy's (this joke is wayyy better in person, but I tell ya the guy had great timing cause I believed him.haha). Well all was right with the world because not only was my car there... I got it up the hill and didnt stall it or roll back into another car! Oh and we made it back safely!

So this morning I didnt have my practice round tee time till the afternoon, which was awesome! Again stick driving is getting better.... I think Audi finally didnt have whip-lash today from me shifting gears! But I did stall out again when I freaking pulled into my parking space.. just got so excited that I had made it all the way to the course without stalling, that I forgot to push the clutch in! Anyway.. got to the range and had a great session and then hit the links by myself and really felt good out there! Every day is feeling better and cant wait to play tomorrow! Tee Time is 12.45 off of #10... should be fun as the afternoon winds really pick up! Oh on the way home... there was a HUGE steer that just was a walking down the 2 lane crazy dangerous curvy highway.... Only in Mexico and Indiana! haha

Cheers!

Always fun learning to drive a stickshift on the streets of Mexico!

Well today began at like ahhhh 4.30am... cause Sayulita is an hour behind Puerto Vallarta and I had an early morning tee time!!! So turns out my golf game was the least exciting part of the entire day... Played golf with a 13 year old girl that basically made me feel like I took weak sauce to a whole new level since she just happened to be out driving me at 13!!! crazy!! Finished the round at El Tigre and hit the range for some extra work on my swing (cant stop moving forward in my swing to try and save my back, which felt awesome today(! After the range session we decided to go pick up the rental car.. yeah i know what your thinking WHY in the world would you rent a car in Mexico... I am still asking that question!! Anyhoot..... so we got a taxi to the airport, where the cabbie scammed me out of $2 cause I couldnt do my math quick enough! Get to rental car place where me and miss thang behind the counter didnt see eye to eye to well....in fact she couldnt even see the freaking paper work in front of her, which had everything she needed from me!! As me an Audi were waiting for the car.. I started to think..automatic or stick-shift, I never really asked that question I guess cause we definitely got the stick! I started to laugh right there and then panic! ahaha ahhh yeah the most I have driven a stick is in valet at work, which is barely gets me into second gear....


Where to even begin on our journey back to Playa Escondida with me driving a stick shift...OH did i mention the car doesnt even have a radio! Okay so only stalled out once on the way to Walmart and then again on the way out of Walmart... then we had to go on a really curvy road that was one lane with crazy mexican drivers passing at every blind spot possible. Well I knew I needed to downshift, but had never done it and then when I went to go pass this truck that was doing like 10mph... lets just say that I floored it to like 11mph and barely passed him in 4th gear.... so lesson learned about downshifting when you go from high speeds to lower speed!! I was laughing so hard I was crying, but then I realized I kinda needed to pay attention to what the hell I was doing!! I think Audi was laughing to cover up the pure Terror that I was causing her!! Then I stalled it out again on the driveway to the resort..... but we made it back safe and the car is in the driveway of our tik-house. Now whether I get the car out of the driveway or not tomorrow is a whole other adventure awaiting us in the morning!!

And if you thought the fun stopped there you would be mistaken.... there was a whole incident with a cockroach and audi standing on a chair screaming its a JUMPING ROACH... yeahhhh they FLY!!!

Well enough for now and good night!

ps my tan>>> ahemmm burn lines are awesome, so much for tanning before I left! haha

`estoy en `mexico

well finally here in mexico and its just awesome!!! `staying at playa escondida in sayulita, mexico, `food here is amazing, views are spectacular and I just cant wait to play some golf tomorrow!

March 20

Well I leave tomorrow for Puerto Vallarta!! So excited (Probably should finish packing sometime soon)!! My mom even got me a little sombrero man head cover.. too bad he doesn't come with a few corona's and limes.. haha

Just cause I love dumb jokes...

Did you hear the one about the jump rope? Skip it.

Two peanuts were walking down the street and one was a salted!

What's brown and sticky?
A stick.

What do you call a Mexican with a rubber toe?
Roberto

What do you call mexican basketball?
Juan on Juan.

What did the brown chick say to the brown cow?
brown-chicka brown-cow!

HAHA

Finally got over the flu and if you talked to me this past week you know I have had an awesome SEXY voice going on cause I had an upper respiratory infection! All is well now though since I have been on antibiotics.

Had a great practice session with Dennis Sheehy this past Thursday and was hitting the ball really well, which of course meant that my sciatic spasmed on me! Perfect timing I know, but I have been trying to stretch and strengthen the past few days and it seems to be helping. So hopefully I will be ready to rock by Friday!

Good luck to Tiffany Joh in her final round today in the Florida's Natural Charity Classic! Go get-em!

For Real-Time Scoring for the Riviera Nayarit Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico please check-out www.duramedfuturestour.com! And check back here to get the play by play...


Cheers!

Mexico here I come!!!

So the good news is that I got into the Duramed Futures Tour event in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!!! So excited to go down there and play golf!! Bad news is that I am trying to get over the flu right now!!! Hopefully I get better soon so I can prepare the way I want to and be ready to roll for this tournament!! Other great news is that one of my friends got a sponsors exemption to the Kia LPGA Classic the same week I am in Mexico!! Too bad I cant be there to watch her and one of my other friends play on the big tour, but I wish them the best and hope we all play well!!


Donde esta la bibilotega? (which is the extent of my spanish....) Good thing my friend Audi is going with me to be my translator!!

Rain please go away!!

Well lets see here... been raining for the past like 4 days and I really dont like it anymore. Got a round in at The Grand Del Mar on Monday with some friends of mine.. one is on Futures and the other is on the LPGA! I think we giggled way more than necessary, but sometimes you need those rounds. They definitely keep me from burning out and always remind me why I play golf in the first play...cause its FUN!! Oh and I met Phil Mickelson there... his cart was blocking my way to the back of the range as his group was teeing off #10! He was playing with a guy I knew so it definitely made it a tad less awkward! I must admit though he was very nice... him and his big paws (his hands are huuuge)!..haha

Ahh yes I am officially going to Puerto Vallarta in less than 2 weeks!!! Duramed Futures Tour tournament is down there and I cant wait!! Currently I am 3rd on the alternate list..but I am hoping that I sneak in there!! I guess I should start trying to get rid of casper soon so I dont burn myself...yet again!! haha those of you who know me... will definitely get that one! hehe  

Last but not least... Christina its on!! Christina (one of my best friends and former teammates) and I have a bet going on who is going to have the better Puerto Vallarta beach body... as she is going to be there the week after I leave with her hunky bf.!! And yes I did give here a little extra time to catch up to me....haha BRING it CHRIS!!

Music and weather... I guess they go together (haha)

So just heard Justin Nozuka's new stuff from an album that is releasing this Spring and it is amazing. Went to his concert in April of last year at The Belly Up and the talented Canadian is fantastic live! I think the single Heartless is going to be pretty big for him... but thats just my opinion(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr1j7no1snM&feature=related)!! Also if you haven't been watching the Olympics and have been living under a rock then you might not know how amazing Matisyahu's single One Day is (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS9uTiEY9ag). Its the official song of the Winter Olympics..the live version with him free-styling is pretty impressive!  Last recommendation that I need to make is ... the comeback kids of Lifehouse!! They keep finding a hit every other album it seems like.. Halfway Gone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xodmwwNV18w) is definitely putting them back on top! (Jason Wade .. don't know about the bleach blonde color but I still dig your voice!!)

Well weather here hasn't been the greatest.. cold (for San Diego that is) and rainy!! :( no bueno... I definitely love falling asleep to the rain, but come on I want to practice in the heat..... where is the promise of global warming when you need it?? Hopefully the rain holds off enough tomorrow to get at least a little bit of practice  in! Otherwise it might be a movie marathon and gym day!

On Hold

So if you ever have some spare time and need a laugh...just call Southwest and be put on hold!!! They rap to you about Southwest Airlines... cause that seems to make the 17-27 minute wait go by faster some how!! hahaha

Yeah you know you want to call...

Feb. 16, 2010

Well today is my Ma's Birthday!!! She really is simply the best, if I grow up to be a tenth of the woman she is... I will be happy :)

On another note, golf at Santaluz was just spectacular this afternoon... think I even got a little burnt :(  Game is really coming along... now I just need to find a tournament I can play in soon!!

Just read an article from GolfWorld about the LPGA's new commissioner MikeWhan, pretty interesting. Definitely check it out if your at all interested. The LPGA in 2010 has just 25 tournaments compared to 34 tournaments in 2008. Think they have hit hard times.... think about how this has affected the smaller tours. Will it push LPGA players to play in smaller events just to fill the gaps or will it send the rift even further between the small town hero's and the largest stage in the world for women's golf? Just some things to ponder I suppose as the 2010 season kicks off.


Cheers!

HOLE in ONE!

Just had my first Hole in One yesterday at Santaluz #8 !!!! On a different note... first tournament was cancelled due to lack of players at La Costa. So I might be heading out to Arizona for the Cactus Tour in early March to get a warm-up tournament in before the Monday qualifier for the LPGA Kia Classic. Cheers!

Friday Feb. 12, 2010

Well just wanted to say HI to all. What an amazing February day here in San Diego. Already 60 degrees at 10:00 am and hoping to get into the 70's soon! Can't wait to practice in the sunshine this afternoon :) Only have a week left before my first tournament since the Duramed FUTURES Tour Q-school last November. I am definitely excited to get back out there and play in tournaments. Bring on the 2010 golf season!!!