“ You want the name players , and you also want the best players , and sometimes they ’ re not always the same . But we ’ re working at growing the tour , and if we play in the right spot , we always get good crowds . When we played at The Villages ( in Central Florida , where many retirees now live ), they were lining the fairways four deep . I asked my playing partner ‘ are you nervous ?’ She said ‘ I am now .”
NEW GIG , NEW GOALS After a divorce several years ago , Tschetter now is the single mom of two middle school daughters , Lainey , 14 , and Kyra , 12 . The modest sums she earns on the Legends Tour essentially constitute some of her moonlighting income . As Tschetter likes to tell people , for the first time in her life she now has a real full-time job , other than playing golf for a living .
Last January , Tschetter got a call from an executive recruiter who told her he was representing a tech enterprise in California looking for a high-level veteran player who could also represent the company . Tschetter was all ears . Soon , she had done four different telephone interviews with various executives and was hired as director of community relations for 18BIRDIES .
Based in Oakland , California , the company has developed a sophisticated golf app that handles scoring , individual statistics , and even keeps track of the bets . There ’ s also a social media feature to post photos and messages to fellow golfers . Whether it ’ s a charity event , a high school tournament , a pro-am or just 20 players going out for a day of golf with cash or prizes on the line , the app also allows its users to develop a live leaderboard .
“ It was developed by our CEO , Eddy Lui , who was always the one they asked to keep score ,” Tschetter said . “ He was just looking for a way to make his life a little easier . It ’ s growing like crazy . They have 25 engineers in China and another 25 people in Oakland . I can tell you it ’ s keeping me busy . This working for a living is hard on your golf game .” Not really . Tschetter still makes the time to practice , using the facilities at Stonewall , a high-end public course not far from her home in Warrenton , and occasionally at Creighton Farms , a Jack Nicklaus-designed private club in Aldie on the same property where Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden owns a home . Tschetter is Creighton Farms ’ honorary playing professional .
22 V IRGINIA G OLFER