BELMONT, Mich. — When you play on the LPGA tour you're in a different city every week. A different tournament and a different field of women. A lot of these women love coming to West Michigan for the Meijer LPGA classic because it gives them all the opportunities to play in a very competitive LPGA tournament but also being able to stay with host family and getting all the comforts of home.
"A hotel is just your room and it feels very closed off whereas when you're in a family home it feels more like home. You have living room areas, rooms, different things. You can go sit in the backyard. We went on a walk through the neighborhood the other night," said Plata.
Former Michigan State golfer Valery Plata and her mom are staying with a local family this weekend. She enjoys being in a family atmosphere and the support she gets after long days on the course.
"It's fun just to get to meet people and they're so supportive of us. They're such a big community that is involved around the tournament that it's fun for us and fun for them," said Plata.
Blythfield member Mary Bauman and her husband have been hosting players for the last 9 years and says that while she loves watching them compete throughout the weekend. The relationship she builds with them around the dinner table make it memorable.
"The women are very kind and they're very appreciative. We usually have dinner together each night and we sit around the table and talk together for a long time. And they're just really great gals to get to know," said Bauman .
Reigning Mejier champ, Jennifer Kupcho has stayed with the same host family for many years in Grand Rapids. They have two young sons who like to play video games and baseball with her and allow her to take her mind off of golf when she goes home at night.
"I compare it a lot to the other women out here, some of the moms out here, going home to their kid. They're not thinking about golf and I would assume that this week is what the probably feels like. It's something bigger and I'm hanging out with my host family and building that connection and that relationship and it's really special for me," said Kupcho.
Jen said that the boys love to play Mario Kart with her and now that they're getting older, they've started to play baseball with her and her husband, Jay.
"Baseball in the front yard is very small but it's wiffle ball so that we're not breaking any windows. But it gets very aggressive, we're all very competitive," said Kupcho.
Mary will continue to be a host family for many years to come and loves giving players a space to relax at night after competing on the biggest stage in women's golf.
"Anything that we can do to make their stay more enjoyable and less stressful is really a win," said Bauman.
They tournament might be challenging if you make the cut and depending on how you're playing but those comforts of home can really play into things if you're able to relax and recoup and rest your body so you can able to play in a really competitive tournament like this one. Round one starts on Thursday here at Blythefield Country Club on Thursday and we'll have coverage throughout the weekend.
