She is one of only two Canadian rookies on the LPGA tour this year. But she took a decidedly American route to the professional golf circuit: She played collegiate golf at Purdue University where she helped the Boilermakers win the 2010 NCAA team championship.

To truly grasp the determination and zeal that this rising young golfer brings to the game, an anecdote from her Purdue days is revealing. To prepare to compete with golfers from southern universities where golf is played year-round, Maude-Aimee would practice in the snowy Indiana winters by driving shots from inside a garage out into the snow and then pull on her boots and winter coat to go out and retrieve the balls. That inventive persistence combined with a disciplined practice ethic and schedule makes LeBlanc a tremendous competitor.

Last week, she finished 51st in the RR Donnelly LPGA Founders Cup. After getting over the minor jitters of her first professional start, LeBlanc settled in to shoot an even par for the tournament. 

“My game is as good as any out there,” she said. “It’s a matter of consistency and experience.”

LeBlanc felt good about her long game, driving the ball off the tee in the 290 yard range. She has been working on her putting, which is improving and will only get better as she feels more comfortable, she said.

Getting her first LPGA tournament under her belt definitely helped bolster her confidence. LeBlanc feels like she’s on her way with her good showing last week. With Garda as her main sponsor, and Callaway and RBC, LeBlanc says she can put all her attention to her golf game. 

At the Kia Classic, she took a couple of practice rounds on the course before hitting the ball for real today to help her feel more comfortable out there. One thing Maude-Aimee LeBlanc knows for sure: She’s ready for the LPGA on her drive to the top.

For complete coverage, visit the LPGA Kia Classic website.

Anyone can nominate a golfer who inspires them by sharing their story at PinnacleGolf.com or Facebook.com/PinnacleGolf. Honorees will be determined based on four key criteria:

• A strong tie to breast cancer
• Personal dedication to the fight against breast cancer
• Impact on others’ lives or the community
• Connection to, and passion for, golf

The program runs until March 30. Winners will be announced in May to coincide with Mother’s Day. A judging panel that includes representatives from Pinnacle, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, and the golf community will choose the final ten Going the Distance Award honorees. The $10,000 donation made in each honoree’s name to Susan G. Komen for the Cure will go toward life-saving breast cancer research at the national level.

East Coast Golf Sales approached me about reviewing one of their newer golf gloves – one that lets you tan thru the glove so you don’t end up with funny looking tan lines on one hand after a day on the course (don’t forget sunscreen should still be a must) and this glove was different – it did not cover my fingertips. Interesting.

I took the Ladys First Tan Thru Golf Glove for a test drive last week and I will just say that I may never play with full fingered gloves again! While the tan thru feature is nice, the fabric used to make the tan thru possible is just so breathable and lightweight. The grip side is a very soft leather which gives you the ability to feel the club and grip it well.  And I never would have thought that having my fingertips uncovered would make such a big difference in the comfort of play, but it did. I can only imagine how much more comfortable it will be playing with this glove in July!

Another reason the half finger glove is perfect for so many women golfers, is that if you have long fingernails you don’t have to cram them into a regular glove. You can show off that manicure and not have to mess it up either.

Tan Thru Gloves sell for around $12 and they are available in additional colors and patterns, too. You can order them directly from East Coast Golf Sales which specializes in women’s golf gear.

Disclosure – I received a Ladys First golf glove for the purpose of this review, however, all opinions of the glove are entirely my own.

In a phone interview with ESPN which you can listen to below, Cheyenne talks about her legacy as Tiger’s niece and her goals to be competitive on the LPGA circuit one day.

Being the niece (or daughter, son, etc.) of a famous athlete has to be tough. For someone like Cheyenne, the comparisons to Tiger Woods will always be there and I can’t imagine that a single press conference would go off with out mention of his current play, life drama, or legacy. According to the reports Cheyenne is aware of that reality and seems poised to make her own name in the sport she loves.

You can read a little more on Cheyenne and her golf background on the Wake Forest site. I love her answer to the question about her golf influencer:

Who has most influenced your golf game? My mom because she was my chauffeur everyday for my golf lessons and taking me to tournaments during junior golf.

Way to go Cheyenne and we look forward to seeing you go after the ACC title again next and wish you luck in the LPGA in the future, too!

Here is a quick glimpse of Stacy and Yani as they were featured in the Prudential Rock Solid spotlight on the last round:

I was so impressed with how calm and cool Stacy Lewis played, but not nearly as impressed as I am now!! You see, after doing a little research on Stacy, I learned that she is truly one of those amazing and inspiring athletes who has defied the laws of medicine to achieve greatness!

Stacy began playing golf at age 8 and was diagnosed with scoliosis (a side to side curvature of the spine) at age 11. She had to wear a back brace 18 hours a day for 7 and a half years taking the brace off only to play golf. WOW!! When Stacy was a senior in high school she had back surgery to correct what the brace had not and was told she may not walk again, or for that matter play golf. Well, I guess she proved those doctors wrong! She went on to play golf at the University of Arkansas, winning an NCAA championship and became the #1 ranked amateur golfer before turning pro. What an inspiration!

Stacy gives back to the community in  many ways, but the one organization she supports greatly is the Scoliosis Research Society – actually she is their spokesperson. Through education and public appearances, Stacy helps other young adults with scoliosis achieve their dreams in spite of their scoliosis. Visit Stacy’s website for amazing photos of Stacy’s back x-rays and her story.

Congratulations Stacy! You are truly an inspiration and a champion!

They sent me a Herbie duffel bag and wallet to review and let me just say WOW! Now, I know this is supposed to be a “men’s” duffel bag, but I am going to put a red ribbon on the handle and claim it as my own. The leather is thick but amazingly soft and I love the brushed silver hardware. It has a zippered top closure, double handle and an adjustable shoulder strap. The duffel is available in brown genuine leather with brown silk lining or black genuine leather and a cool green silk lining.

As you can see from the photo, the Herbie duffel is plenty big enough to hold all the gear a gal (or guy) would need for a day at the golf course or a quick weekend trip. The silk lining is a very nice touch and there is a roomy interior zippered pocket and two open top pockets perfect for stashing your phone or wallet.

Speaking of wallets, Junior Drake also sent me the “Herbie” wallet that goes with the duffel bag. My husband loves it. Again, the first thing I noticed was the quality of the leather – it is just so soft! My husband likes the configuration of the slots for credit cards and ID and the divided pocket for cash (he uses one section for cash and the other section for receipts). Keep the “Herbie” line in mind come time for Dad’s birthday or Father’s Day. The Herbie line is definitely style meeting function – and doing it well!

Junior Drake will be adding an exclusive line of “Herbie” golf accessories which will include “Herbie” logo hats and golf towels, too. Now if we can just convince them to release a ladies golf line! I’m sure it would be beautiful – based on what I have seen of their handbags.

Junior Drake Handbags has teamed up with the Golf Channel reality show “Pipe Dream” with an exclusive offer for both handbag lovers and golf fans!

Watch “Pipe Dream” which premiered January 11th on the Golf Channel to see Mark Burk resume his journey to become a touring professional. After playing for many years, then leaving the game, Mark is picking up the club again and with the support of his friends, will seek to fulfill his dream. The Junior Drake Herbie line will appear on episode numbers 6 and 7. Enter “Pipe Dream” at checkout and receive 60% off your purchase.

And don’t forget what Herbie always says:
“You’ve Gotta FINISH!”

**Disclosure: I did receive both the Herbie Duffel and the wallet to review, however, all opinions of the product are my own.

Last week I had the absolute privilege of golfing the Ocean Course at the very spectacular Half Moon Bay Golf Course at the Ritz-Carlton as part of the ShareASale ThinkTank annual event. This is the second time I have played golf on the Pacific, and while this time was definitely a bit cooler, the views and course were no less spectacular. The Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay is a links style course that winds its way against the hill, down a valley and back up to the Pacific Ocean for the back nine. The views are amazing!

Since we were traveling I knew we would be renting clubs but I would need my own shoes. I was so happy to have my pink Cleatskins for golf because that meant I did not have to pack a spare set of tennis shoes for walking from our hotel room to the golf course and I didn’t have to ruin my cleats in the process. When we got to the clubhouse our cart and rental clubs were ready to go. My rentals were TaylorMade – how cool was that!! I had a TaylorMade Ladies Burner Driver, Fairway Wood and irons and my putter and wedges were TaylorMade Rossa. Sweet.

Just like when you drive a new car, you have to get used to a few differences in performance and using the TaylorMade clubs definitely took me a few holes to adapt. Well, add to that the greens at Half Moon Bay were ridiculously FAST! Whoa! Your ball would hit the green and speed up – or at least it seemed. After about 5 holes, we figured out how to adjust for the green speed, winds, and distractions brought on by the general silliness that can come with playing a relaxed game with some comedic partners!

I had a few really great drives – and a few really bad ones! My putting seems to be getting better, too, but that middle game still makes me a bit crazy! I am getting better with my fairway woods and my lucky number seven is truly my go-to club for my second or third shot. There were a few challenging holes that had water hazards between the tee box and the green and much to my surprise I got my trusty pink ball on the green in one stroke on the two trickiest holes.

We teed off at 1:30 in the afternoon so by the time we got to #16 the sun was going down, the wind was kicking up and it was getting cold. I didn’t really care, though, I was playing golf on a beautiful course with my favorite golf partner (my husband) and was loving every minute of it. Who needs to feel your hands when you golf anyway? The sunset was beautiful and I can now add Half Moon Bay’s Ocean Course to my list of courses I have played. Thanks again to all my friends at ShareASale for making this year’s event one I will not soon forget!

Here are just a few of the adorable girls golf items that The Littlest Golfer sells (so far I have found it online at In The Hole Golf, but you can also find The Littlest Golfer gear in select ProShops):

The Littlest Golfer Tour Polo – Girls The Littlest Golfer Performance Dress The Littlest Golfer Golf Polo Dress – Girls The Littlest Golfer Performance Shirt – Girls The Littlest Golfer Start Younger, Play Longer Visor The Littlest Golfer Tournament Cap – Girls The Littlest Golfer Plush Club Head Cover – Putter The Littlest Golfer Girls First Knickers The Littlest Golfer Putter Plush Toy

And my daughter just saw the Sandy Plush Golf Head cover and asked me to put it on her Christmas list! Kid approved for sure.

While catching up on my favorite sports blogs earlier this week, I came across a few posts by Heather at Real Women Golf about her very exceptional daughter, Miss E, who decided to try out for the boys golf team in middle school and made it!!!  I am awarding Miss E the Sports Girls Play Go-Getter Award for being a leader and an inspiration for other girls following their dreams in sports.

According to Heather, Miss E. made the declaration way back in second grade that she was going to try out for the golf team when she got to middle school. Just so happens, the school doesn’t have a girls golf team, so Miss E’s only choice was to be a trailblazer and be the first girl to try out for the boys golf team – ever – at her school. Trying out for any sports team is a challenge, but being the first girl to try out for a “boys” team takes a lot more courage and confidence.

It sounds as if Miss E is a fantastic golfer for her age and her teammates and coach are very glad to have her. They just have a few challenges like … they may need to rename the team and they will have to expand the team’s uniform to make sure Miss E has a shirt made for a girl.

Anyhow, congratulations again Miss E! Your go-getter attitude is going to take you a long way in life.

Photo – Provided by Heather of Real Women Golf.

One, I wanted her to try a new sport – she is a very good swimmer, but I want her to expand her horizons a bit. Second, golf is one of those life long sports and I’m thinking of my own future here – in addition to golf weekends with my husband, I think some Mother/Daughter golf weekends could be a lot of fun! Third, it was a bargain when it comes to summer activities for kids! Not only did the kids get 3 hours of quality golf instruction each morning for a week, they also fed them lunch from the cafe at the golf course – all for $120 for the week.

But, what I didn’t see coming was this… I have now created a golf monster. She absolutely loves it. She asks daily if we can go to the driving range, managed to talk us in to playing 4 different mini golf courses in a week on vacation, she just went to the backyard with a bucket of foam practice balls, and has even requested a golf outing tomorrow morning – the last free day she has before school starts again. Gotta love it!

Golf camp was a really great experience for her and I was really impressed with the entire staff at the camp. Each morning they started off with stations where they practiced their swing using various fun golf trainers, learned chipping, practiced putting and spent time at the driving range. After a quick snack they had sessions on golf rules and etiquette, then each day they had a different closing activity which ranged from a chipping contest to actually playing 4-5 holes the last two days.

The last day of camp they had an awards ceremony and really made a point of recognizing each child for their efforts. Something tells me that her great experience at golf camp this summer contributed to the creation of my little golf monster! She is already talking about playing in a tournament or two….