Personal Narrative: Tennessee State Golf Championship

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

After two patient years of golfing, the weather was perfect to play with. As I look over the lush green grass, my father besides me casted a shadow over me. The freshly cut grass, reminded me of possibly getting a hole in one. As I start to walk on the pathway towards hole one, I start to mentally prepare myself. “I can do it. Play confidently and play to win,” as I mumble to myself. It’s just important to be physically prepared as mentally. My dad, jokingly says, “I’ll give you a ‘gazillion’ dollars if you land a hole-in-one.” Well my dad, better get that “gazillion” dollars ready, because he is in for a surprise.

I’ve been playing golf with my Pa since I was 7 years old. I loved the alone time with my Dad, but until I turned 14, the game was just a way to get attention from him. When I was 11, we moved to Washington, DC so that my Dad could study English. He didn't have much time left for golf, but we did have lots of time to explore. I loved being in a new place, a new country, and I loved learning English. Even though I took golf lessons once a week, I didn't compete, and surprisingly, I missed golf!

The pressure was bearing down on me like nothing I’d ever experienced. My entire year, I thought, hinged on this one debate. My partner and I had put so much work into it, and I couldn’t bear letting him down. Then, everything fell apart as they announced the decision. “Congratulations to both teams for reaching the quarterfinals of the UGA Tournament, it is a 2-1 for the Affirmative from Gulliver.” We had lost. I lost. As soon as those words were delivered, my heart dropped into despair. Never mind that I had reached the quarterfinals, all the work and success that my partner and I had gone through felt erased with that big L.

In most cases, there is a flat green path between the hole and the player, but there has yet to be a golfer proficient enough to utilize that fairway every time, requiring the player to cope with the treacherous obstacles that lie in wait for every errant shot.

Hi im john, i like to golf and like dogs. I'm from the U.S. i’m gonna golf at the Olympics. I feel nervous but confident about my event. My competitions names are Joe, Thomas, Ryan,David,William,my friend Jack,and Jeff.they had a good run against other people now they have to go against each other. Their practicing their swings and teeing off. I am gonna try to get a lot of pars some birdies and gonna try for an eagle. Maybe a hole in one. We start and I start off incredible by getting a birdie on the first hole. Then it gets intense on the 5th hole. Goes back and forth and my position right now, I’m in 4th place so i have to put up some competition for my competitors i make a comeback at the 10th hole. Hopefully i get to 2nd place at least.

Nothing beat the overwhelming emotion of stepping up on the pitcher’s mound and hearing the chant of my name, my heart clawing its way out of my chest. Before throwing the first warmup pitch, my mind raced through the entire season. How, as a team, we have made history winning all three major tournaments in the high school level. We had beaten many top competitors and lost plenty crushing defeats as well. My mind pondered, which situation will I be in today, glorious victory or destructive loss. This is the feeling I lived for during high school, it was my sole purpose. However, this was merely one minute of that fateful day in which I played prodigiously trying to win a baseball game.

Therefore, when we learned that our regionals were there we were not happy at all. And when we all arrived we were more nervous than ever. We practiced on the green, the range, and the chipping green but we still could not shake out our nerves. However, having my team with me made me feel better. It also made me feel better that I wasn’t the only one who was nervous to go out and play today. I feel that I could have calmed myself more before I teed off but overall I think I did the best that I could. If I could change anything about that day I would have wished that I had my driver to hit with. I think I would have done much better, and I also think that I would have been more confident in my playing abilities. But overall that day did not go as bad as it could have.

In the fall, it was coming time to compete with my golf team for a state title. The entire team had put in a summer’s worth of practicing and preparing for these few days. After the first day we were just a few strokes behind and we knew that the final day was going to be a dogfight to the very end. I got to play in the final grouping. As I approached the final tee box, one of my teammates in the crowd tells me, “we’re up on them by two strokes.” I was confident in all of the preparation in had put into this day and when the final putt dropped and we had emerged victorious, it was pure ecstasy.

Did the golfing gods continue to have it out for me? Were they still pissed because I abandoned the game in spite of having the talent to hit a high fade or low draw at will with one iron, but lacked the balls to stare down the abyss at the end of a three-foot putt? Had they really bothered to chase me all the way from the lush tropical parkland courses of my native Florida to the southern edge of the Sahara desert in order to extract their justice? Like when other things that had happened to me since arriving in Africa, it was not the first time I had wondered if I was not enduring some divine retribution.

Our target was to break, or to make it into the elimination rounds. After a long awaited anticipation, we found out how many of our teams broke. My sister and I had broken with two other teams from our school. As we walked into the last round of the day we realized we were up against the 1st place team from the most recent tournament. The round had ended as the sun was setting. Although we did not manage to convince two of the three judges and lost, we participated in an aggressive debate. We shook the other teams hands and went back to the awards room. Everyone took their seats as the awards were announced. My sister and I were baffled with joy when they called us up for the 6th place team award. We were both ecstatic for each other, pride shinning in my eyes. "Good Job! I'm proud of you baby!," I told my sister. Additionally, I earned the position of the 5th place speaker. We left the tournament, accomplishing something we were proud of and had an important realization that day. We knew we could do anything we set our mind too and all it took was hard work. Debate would be something I will continue to participate in for as long as I

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.

There are many teams that I’ve loved being a part of over the last three years of high school. The first is the golf team. I was blessed to be on the Junior Varsity team during my freshman and sophomore years, and this year I’m now on Varsity. The first two years were incredible. I was with Coach Al VanderHart, and we had such incredible seasons, especially sophomore year. I was blessed to be a team captain with Natalie Mason, and I grew so close to the girls on my team. We had so many traditions, including dressing up on match days, bringing food to the Town Square at Break, devotions before every practice and match, and much more. Another reason my team and I became so close was through the tragic loss of Coach Al’s son. We all surprised Coach by going to the funeral as a team. It was one of the moments in my life where I could feel God the most. Our team gave a big group hug, and we all started crying together, including the coach. It felt so good to lean on each other as a team for support, and it showed me just how powerful God is through the people

Next we were off to the University Golf Club! It was kind of pricey to go, but we still had tons of fun trying to golf! Georgia and I have never golfed before, but Anna was a pro at it so she did WAY better than us. Georgia hit her golf ball into the lake a few times, but other than that we had a great time! After a fun day of golfing, crazy sushi places, and the Regional Park, we decided to go someplace simple and quick for dinner. For dinner we ate at Five Guys, and we all got the little bacon cheeseburger, which has always been mine and Sydney's favorite. After dinner we decided to end our day there and get ready for our next big day!