It’s been a whirlwind week with an In Stride magazine deadline as well as golf tryouts for Cameron. After facing three days of scrutiny on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, playing and practice, Cam made the Clarke County High School varsity golf team.

Today, the team had their first competitive outing in the Curly Licklider Memorial Golf Tournament, which is the traditional opening event for many Virginia high schools. There were 20 teams in attendance, with each fielding six players and the best four scores to count.

Cam was player No. 3 for Clarke County, and he finished the day with a score of 136 over 27 holes, the second best on his team. It wasn’t Cam’s best score, and he returned home a bit disappointed, but for a freshman in his first tournament, I’m very proud of him.

Since the tournament was held on a nearby course that I know well, I decided to take a break from my computer and drive over to take some photos. I’ve never actually used my professional equipment to shoot golf and, instead, use my point-and-shoot or iPhone, so it was my début of sorts as well.

In preparation, I read some blogs last night, including one from Olympic Games photographer Jeff Cable, who always provides great tips for shooting different sports.

Although I was nervous that I was going to disrupt Cam’s game, it turns out that he didn’t mind me following his group around for the four holes I shot. Since he was in competition mode we didn’t speak, and I pretended I was just a photographer and not a mom stalking her child. In fact, I photographed the other boys as well. It was good practice for me, and for them, just in case they make the PGA tour.

So, with the start of a new high school adventure for Cam and a new sport for me to learn to shoot, I have a feeling we’ll both be having a fun and busy time this fall.