H-Town Run Tourist: Experiences

Volunteering at the 2019 Speedgolf Championships

Volunteering at the 2019 Speedgolf Championships
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Jovan Abernathy is an international marathoner and owner of Houston Tourism Gym. To claim your free tour, contact her at info@tourismgymhtx.com. Follow her on Twitter @jovanabernathy. Instagram @TourismGymHtx. Facebook @TourismGymHtx

So, the last couple of articles have been about Speedgolf and Speedgolf USA founder, Scott Dawley. Let me tell you about my experiences with the sport and Scott.

​Golf course is so beautiful in the dewy morning.

Author’s own

It was August of 2015 when we met at his race Links Run. I had so much fun running on the green. It is really the softest surface and I got to take pics and whack some balls at the driving range. I was writing for my own blog called IHopeIComeBackAlive.com and thought this would be great for content. Scott was creating more events strictly for speedgolf. Now, this will make some great content. His next event was the next coming week. He allowed me to tag along with my camera.

That morning, I was to meet Scott at Cypresswood Golf Course at 5AM. I set my alarm for 3AM. It would take 45 minutes to get from my place in Memorial to Spring. I had to remind myself that I owed myself a new experience and to get out of bed.

Cari and Pardon striking a pose!

Author’s own

It was well worth it. There is nothing like a golf course in the morning when the sun just comes up. Fog is in the air. Dew is on the grass. And moss is hanging from the trees. Footprints in the grass. To get my content, I had to follow the speedgolfers to get great pictures in a golf cart. I had the time of my life. I didn't reallize how fast they could go until I felt like I was having a hard time keeping up in a cart. I got my story and we were done by 6:15AM with plenty to do in the day. It was worth getting up and everyone should have this experience.

October of 2019:

So, four years later I still do not know how to play golf. I flirted with it, but chose to do traveling marathons instead. I do not know even how to swing properly, but when I reconnected with Scott, he had another opportunity for me. This time, I wanted to share it with others. Scott needed volunteers for the 2019 Speedgolf Championships coming up. My volunteers showed up on Saturday, September 29 ready to work.

​Pardon learning his golf swing.

Author’s own

We arrived early to make sure we didn't miss anything. We got to tour the golf course, take pictures, and chill in the grill until Scott called for us. We had a great time getting to know each other over a margarita. (Yeah, I said margarita. See how hard it is to volunteer with Houston Tourism Gym).

Soon Scott come over to tell us what our jobs were. We had to choose our speed golfer that we would be working with. We were to follow them to all 18 holes in a golf cart and keep their score. (Don't worry, we were taught how to do this. By the way, the golfers would yell their swings to us before they moved on to the next hole. Still pretty easy volunteering).

​Pardon and his new golf coach Joey Froman

Author’s own

My speed golfer was David Harding from Lake Oswego, Oregon. I got in my cart and drove to the start hole. I had actually met David earlier, but reintroduced myself. For the next hour and 15 minutes, I gave David my undivided attention. I took this job seriously and knew how much it counted. But, I also got some great pictures.

After the race, I went and gathered my volunteers to see what they had gotten themselves into. I found Cari (from Conroe) at the entrance waiting for her next assignment. I found Pardon (from Zimbabwe) at the driving range whacking some balls. He found a benevolent golfer to teach him how to swing. Everyone had a great time on the golf course, as I knew they would.

To learn more about Speedgolf, visit SpeedGolfUSA or listen to Scott Dawley, founder of Speedgolf USA, on his podcast Pace of Change which can be downloaded from iTunes. Contact him directly at 832.524.9994 or by emailing info@speedgolfusa.com.

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How latest Astros news reveals puzzling path forward for Houston

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The future is bright! Composite Getty Image.

Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.

Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.

Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.

Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.

The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.

“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”

And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.

Astros plate discipline

Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.

Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.

Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.

Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.

What is Dana Brown saying privately?

Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!

We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!

The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!


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