If you are a musical theatre fan you probably are familiar with the story, Fiddler on the Roof. The opening scene begins with an older man working on his farm while singing a song called "Tradition". It's heartfelt, emotional, and sung with a very deep conviction that attaches to the importance of family and cultural heritage at the time. It is what knitted generations together and brought order and a sense of belonging.
Webster defines "tradition" as the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, which contributes to a sense of comfort and shared experiences, while reinforcing particular values.
The tournament we just participated in is called, The Landfall Tradition. A tournament begun nineteen years ago to elevate Women's Collegiate golf and help boost the scholarship opportunities of their particular golf team, the University of North Carolina Wilmington. We have been fortunate to have been invited to this prestigious event for many years. Traditionally it boasts some of the top teams in the country and offers a venue to play a challenging Pete Dye designed golf course, which is always in the "purest" of condition.
This tournament as the name implies, comes with many traditions that they have faithfully kept in place and created an experience for the players that goes beyond just competing in a golf tournament. Some of the traditions include; a college-am tournament in which a player from each team plays with a group of amateurs for their practice round, depending on your group this can be challenging for the lone college player. The rest of the team rushes out to the course before the sun rises to play a practice round before the fundraising tournament begins. That day is followed by a cocktail reception (not that any college players participate in the cocktail part) and banquet which adds to an incredibly long day. However, it is a day that they make connections and learn to appreciate that not every program in the country is fully funded by their athletic departments.
It has been customary to house the participating teams at the Holiday Inn Sunspree, which is located on beautiful Wrightsville Beach and although we have no time to enjoy the "surf" the view is always spectacular from our rooms. Another tradition is to have a "host" for each team that generally is an alumnus of their university. Of course, there is no shortage of Penn State alumni, in fact we have made special friends over the years with many of them from the Wilmington area. One of the traditions that follows any Penn Stater certainly involves enjoying creamery ice cream. So, it has been our "tradition" to bring the creamery to our alumni family in Wilmington. It is always a big hit! As a Penn Stater we all know that we find "family" in every state, every city, and every town we travel, and this is no exception. They have graciously invited us into their homes, treated us to a delicious meal, and entertained us with their many Penn State stories from years ago. We even have an alumnus that dresses in his plus fours and Ben Hogan hat to welcome the golf team.
We play a Penn State trivia game with the group that spans many different generations. We bring tee shirts for prizes which they all love. There is always so much pride associated with the connection to Penn State and the many accomplishments the University has had over the years both athletically and academically. It is forever heartwarming to see that the Penn State values and experiences that get passed down, some things changing and yet many so much the same, do bind us to that one thing, our Penn State "family". In the words of our dear alma mater written in 1901 and passed along to every generation of Penn Staters, nothing is truer than these words, "When we stood at childhoods gate, shapeless in the hands of fate, thou didst mold us dear Old State, dear Old State, dear Old State."
