Personal Narrative: Tennessee State Golf Championship

Imagine the sun bursting through the trees for the first time of the new day, the smell of freshly cut grass still potent to your nose as you tee the ball up for a round of golf in the cool mist of a spring morning. "That is what brings you back every time, the smell of the air, the coolness of the whether and the beautiful surroundings that make every shot enjoyable." (Suess, PI) This is the game of golf in its finest and most exquisite time to many people and many people it has touched in its long history. Golf is a lifestyle and not just games to people that are avid in playing. The game of golf has a history that is rich in technological advances and personal accomplishments, which through time has shown to shape

Marsden sat down with his swing coach to set up his objectives for his golf career. He realized he had a lot of work to do to reach that goal of winning a Green Jacket. Marsden’s father Jeff, had bought him a membership at Mattaponi Springs, where he would spend countless hours on the range and around the greens. Dyson had a routine he would do every day; he would hit eight perfect shots with each club in his bag. The young man then would move on to the chipping surface, he hit fifty perfect shots that had to land within three feet of the pin. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would be on the range practicing, if he didn’t answer the phone and you needed him he was at the range working. He would put in dedication into his golf game twenty four seven.

It just always seemed like something that I had to do. Ever since I was ten years old I’ve been playing, practicing, and talking about golf. I always have had a love for the game, but I never really thought about how stressful and painful it made my life. Even at ten I thought my future had already been planned for me. I was already thinking of life as a professional golfer. I was certain that I would go play golf for a big college, and instant fame would soon follow. It wasn’t until the last couple of years that life has changed for me.

It was a Monday morning on June 13, 2016 and I was not ready for what was to come of today. I was practicing for my tournaments all summer long and this day was the day for me to show that my work has paid off. Even though It was a qualifier into a high skilled tournament I need my game this summer to be one of my best years so I can send my resumes to coaches around the country. So now the round Is about to start and I was nervous. Playing against kids much older and much stronger than you is intimidating, but i knew that was not supposed to change what was going to happen today. This golf course is a tricky one with lots of trees and hills but that should change my mindset of trying to win this qualifier. And we were off, I striped my drive

The first day of this event was great. I shot one over par, seventy three, and was in the top twenty five of the tournament. I was confident in my swing and my game throughout the slightly breezy day. Over the course of the round, I had at least 5 different college coaches watching me play. Being watched by college coaches on any golf course is nerve-wracking, but being watched on one of the best courses in the country made me extremely nervous. I told myself throughout the day to just take a deep breath and focus on my game because that is the only thing that I am able to control.

Looking back on my three previous years playing for Edmond Memorial’s golf team, I realize how great I could have become. This is only because I decided to play safe golf. Hahn warns us of this in the story by saying, “we long for peace and security” (Hahn 91). As the famous quote states, “you miss one-hundred percent of the shots you do not take” (Wayne Gretzky). When I am near a creek or hazard on the golf course I imagine all the bad shots that could occur. This then leads me to hit one of those bad shots, whereas if I had imagined all the good shots I would have performed. Anyone who has golfed before is well aware that golf is more so mental game than a physical game; coincidently similar to life itself. Life and golf present us with two options, “we can recognize and embrace [fear] or act out of [fear]” (Hahn

I was walking towards the seventeenth hole of the Deep Cliff golf course, listening the rattle of the clubs on my back. My mouth dry of thirst from the pack of trail mix I had ate. I looked down at my scorecard and realized that I did not do as fortunate as I thought. My feet were aching and my arms were sore. I arrived at the seventeenth tee box after what felt like ages. I scanned the sign next to a decrepit bench. It read that the flag was one hundred seventy yards away. I dug deep into my pocket and pulled out a three inch tee and a golf ball. I teed up the ball, eyeing the flag in the distance. Little did I know, that the proudest moment of my life was waiting for me one hundred seventy yards away.

Thankfully, an older man who was warming up before his game saw me struggling. He came up to me and asked me if I wanted a few pointers. Slightly shocked, I accepted his offer. Over from the man’s golf cart, his partner yelled at him to hurry up and stop wasting time. However, the man signaled his partner to wait. He said to me, “Well first, your feet aren’t quite lined up with the ball.” I adjusted my feet to his liking. “Next, keep your left arm straight all the way throughout your swing. Lastly, just keep your eye on the ball. You’re looking up, and you aren’t hitting the ball in the right spot.” I lined up my feet, took my arms back, focused my eyes on the ball, and “POCK!” I looked up to see my ball soaring through the air and almost hitting the fence 100 yards away! I looked over at the kind gentleman, smiling. He smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Let’s see if you can do that again.” I did exactly what he told me to do, and sure enough, the ball soared. We practiced for

A matter of opinion has separated a variety of sports enthusiasts apart, due to the ongoing debate of whether golf is a sport or simply a skill. Famed golfer Arnold Palmer declared, “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented. (ThinkQuest.com)” These words state what every athlete experiences and feels when he/she is turning a double play, making the game winning three point shot, or throwing a hail mary pass for a touchdown. Golfers are athletes too, they train for that big moment just like any other athlete, but

Through this experience I learned to keep calm in situations that may not be the best to be in. But I also learned that no matter what the stakes are that your are playing under, you should always try your best to stay positive and play your best. Meaning sometimes you will not do your best and you need to learn to get through those tough times. This experience showed me how to deal with future sports events, and just stressful situations in general. But overall, I not only gained a new friend, but I also obtained a new life skill for my golfing

Fourteen clubs - four wedges, six irons, a rescue, a three wood, a driver, and a putter - this is golf. It is one of the most mentally challenging sports in the world. It can fool beginners who are deceived by its simplicity. Golf is often underestimated by those who have never attempted to play the sport. While it has often been known as a “rich man’s” sport, in recent years this perception has begun to change. There are a number of other generalizations made when talking about golf, yet these are most always from those who have never experienced, played, or followed the game. One should question how a critic with no knowledge of the activity could state whether or not golf should be considered a sport. Golf is a sport, regardless of what any critic has to say. Studies and experimentation, along with the experience itself, reveal all of the athletic aspects that make golf better than most sports.

A player's home course is special. He plays it so many times, he knows it inside and out. The hills, the hazards all become familiar to him. He is able to judge his progress one day against nearly

To play a better golf game…you’ve got to take a different approach than what you are currently doing. One that gets to the root of the problem. The one that’s causing those mishits and inconsistencies.

Since the age of four, when I was barely old enough to swing a putter, I have loved the game of golf. My dad, passing his love of the game down to me, would take me out every Sunday to Woods Edge Golf Course in Edgewood; he taught me the ins and outs and the dos and don’ts of the sport. One of the earliest memories I have of these trips to Woods Edge is being a mere couple of inches from driving the cart into a pond while dad was teeing off; this would definitely be considered a don’t in the world of golf. I received my first set of clubs for Christmas when I was eight and a year later, a pass to Pin Oak. Boy was I thrilled. I began to golf by myself and learn my own lessons through my experiences on the course. But as I grew as a golfer on my own, my dad was still there tweaking my swing in the back yard and taking trips to Edgewood with me. My dad is a big reason why I have a passion for the game of golf.

Many people take up Golf thinking that it is easy, after all, how hard can it be to hit a little white ball with a stick? This thinking evaporates the first time they step onto a driving range and attempt to hit that little white ball. Golf is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. My experience with golf began in May of 2005 when friends came to stay with us; my wife informed me that I would have to take Roy, her friend’s husband Golfing. I had not been to a driving range (since I was in my teens) and I had never played golf on a course before. It was quite an experience; the weather was cold, rainy and nasty the three times we played while they where here, the game hooked me badly, even with the bad shots and the nasty weather.