A lot of people in Maine know 23-year-old Emily Bouchard as the three-time women’s state golf champion, especially after she captured her third successive title four days ago at Falmouth.

But how many Mainers know the real Emily Bouchard, who is director of junior/senior golf for the Maine State Golf Association? And how many people are aware that Emily Bouchard probably should not be in that position, because she is highly and technically trained for something else?

Firstly, it should be said that Bouchard is doing excellent work for the MSGA. She runs the junior and senior tournaments as though she has been doing it forever. This is the product of the fact that she grew up in golf in Maine, and she was an MSGA intern for three summers. She knows the drill.

An example of her efficiency was seen July 5 at Fairlawn during a combination senior-junior two-day tournament day, as she stayed at the Bouchard’s family vacation home on Middle Range Pond in Poland Spring. Parents of the juniors wanted to rent carts to follow their children, while others wanted to walk with their offspring. This is contrary to MSGA policy, which Bouchard politely, patiently and repeatedly explained. The rule also states that no parent can be within 50 feet of their children or any other player. For some parents, this was enlightening.

“It helps that I’ve been in those shoes before,” Bouchard said, referring to her intern experience in running junior tournaments.

She added that by national standards the MSGA is parent-friendly. “Most associations do not allow parents on the course at all.”

Bouchard’s confidence in golf and her job is apparent to all observers. A former state champion said of her: “You have to be a little cocky to be a champion. I love that she has this attitude, because she’s such a good role model for the kids. But she also lets the bad stuff go and doesn’t dwell on it. This is what makes her a great fit for the MSGA.”

Maine’s golf season tends to be short because of the state’s weather, but the MSGA packs all kinds of competition into its schedule, which begins in April and ends the first week of November. Bouchard’s junior events are during the summer vacation of Maine school students — June 24 to Aug. 6-7 when the junior championships are held at ValHalla.

The playing season for Bouchard is not over with her state amateur repeat. She and her father John will be defending their Maine Mixed Golf championships Aug. 25 at Riverside. She is also a five-time women’s club champ at Biddeford-Saco, and was a member of the 2004 Thornton Academy boys’ Class A Maine State Golf championship squad. Her father is active in MSGA senior competition and her mother, Donna, is in the semifinal round of the Biddeford-Saco Women’s President’s Cup.

During the winter, Bouchard is an assistant girls’ hockey coach at Biddeford High School, which prompted her say: “Being a mentor to these kids is my way of giving back to them.”

But for a U.S. government ruling, which has put a freeze on the hiring of air traffic controllers, most likely Bouchard would not be an MSGA employee. Having been graduated from Daniel Webster College (Nashua, N.H.) last December, she is trained to be an air traffic controller. She has taken the air traffic controller certification test and scored 100, meaning she is eminently qualified for that job.

When jobs open, the applicants will be given two states they can list as their preferences. Maine definitely will be one of them.

“I love the area,” she said, “and I hear good things about the jetport.”

So, her streak of consecutive state women’s amateur championships could come to an abrupt halt, because she might be in no position to defend. That’s how it flies for Emily Bouchard.

Noteworthy

The Maine State Golf Association continues its torrid golf tournament scheduling pace this week with the junior championship Tuesday and Wednesday at Valhalla, a senior event Thursday at Augusta and the regular Friday/Saturday tournament at Turner Highlands … The Augusta Country Club was host to the MSGA’s State Amateur and State Open in July. It is the site of this week’s MSGA senior tournament, and will be an MSGA Friday/Saturday tournament host Oct. 19-20. Give the Augusta membership and manager/head pro Jason Hurd a lot of credit for undertaking all of that … Two North Port, Fla. friends, members there of the Heron Creek Country Club, who summer in Maine — Frank Papineau and Paul Connolly — have become rivals for mention in this column. Chances are this is their season finale.

Copy the Story Link