The first flowers are always male. After a week or two the females start. On most varieties the males outnumber the female about 10:1 all the remainder of the bloom period. Melons bloom as long as the vines continue to grow.

Hand pollination is best done right after the flowers open which is soon after sunrise. Mine get some early morning shade so it's about an hour after sunrise that I hand pollinate. Later in the day or with windy dry weather the pollen dries up and it is impossible to pollinate.

well my sugar baby finally got a couple of small melon, both about golf ball size. But i noticed when i gently touch/squeeze them, they feel a bit soft, not rock hard like a mature melon feels, that normal?
I water them every couple of days with temp mainly in the upper 80's to lower 90's...

Could be it will abort.

just noticed after i gave a good amount of water, the fruit hardened up a bit.... but i take it this is something most folks dont come across since nobody else chimed in.

Well....the small melons, if they take, shouldn't be soft and they should grow very rapidly. You usually know very quickly if you have a viable fruit or not. Sometimes the plant will abort a few, then set a few, and abort the rest. The bottom line...you'll definitely know when you have a good melon. I usually help the pollination process with a small soft bristled paint brush. It works really well.