A CGA Intern's Thrill-Seeking Adventure

Aaron Perkins during one of the brief moments he wasn't riding Carowinds' Fury 325 roller coaster.
 

There's nothing like an internship to get a taste of work in the real world. CGA interns learn that each summer. Aaron Perkins, our communications intern in 2017, was the embodiment of the phrase “Work hard, play hard.”

While in Rock Hill, S.C. for three days in late July to cover the Carolinas Women's Match Play Championship, Perkins used his free time in the evenings to ride nearby Carowinds amusement park's Fury 325 - an astounding 50 times in 10 hours. Fury 325 is North America's longest steel coaster at over 1.25 miles long. Designed to simulate the flight of an angry hornet, the average ride time is 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

The all-time record for most rides on Fury 325 could be held by Charlotte local McLain Waddell. By his count, Waddell has taken over 3,200 trips on the world's tallest and fastest giga coaster since it opened in 2015. Ride operators have aptly nicknamed Waddell "Fury Guy."

One of the many perks of a CGA internship is traveling the Carolinas. The Monticello, Kentucky native buzzed over the North and South Carolina state lines through Fury 325's twists and turns. Perkins was treated to views of both states from 325 feet, followed by a dramatic 81-degree drop. The thrill-seeker was then sent swarming into a barrel turn and a high-speed S-curve where speeds reach up to 95 mph. 

"I liked how fast it was," recalled the 23-year-old Perkins. "Going that fast with how many drops it had was insanely fun.

If the lines had been super long, I might have tried other rides more, but because I was able to get on so quickly, it just made sense to keep riding it."

Each night after the tournament's daily press release was posted around 5 p.m. Perkins asked a CGA staff member to drop him off at the park - where he would stay till it closed at 10 p.m. After a 10-hour work day, Perkins said the coaster energized him. He rode Fury 325 twenty-five times each night he was there.

The affable Perkins used one word to describe Fury 325 following his 50 trips - "Furious!"

Perkins experienced his first roller coaster, Dollywood's Tennessee Tornado, at age 10 and was hooked by the exhilarating feeling. "The thrill when you go down the first drop and the wind hitting you in the face," Perkins described. "You can't beat that sensation in your stomach when you're free floating over the hills and turns." With Carowinds under his belt, he's visited nearly every theme park on the east coast.

 

What adventures on and off the golf course await this year's contingent of five CGA interns on their journeys across the Carolinas? Their tenure begins on May 14th.

 

About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)

The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization that was founded in 1909 to promote and to protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is the second largest golf association in the country with over 700 member clubs represented by nearly 150,000 individuals.

The CGA annually conducts 48 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 140 One-Day (net and gross) events and qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed more than $1,500,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.    

For more information about the CGA, visit www.carolinasgolf.org.

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