My Biggest Fan

A lot of my success and perseverance in golf can be attributed to the person who first introduced me to the game, my mom (awww). But really, she is my biggest fan and has been with me through all the ups and downs.She’s seen me shoot 68 and 95. She’s is a very good player who’s played golf all her life. She started following me at tournaments when I was 12 and is still following me today. This past year she made a trip to Florida, Louisiana, Chicago, and Indiana to watch me play. She’s gone out Washington with me and even driven me to Philadelphia to play in a junior tournament.

It’s funny, I know when she gets mad at me when she’s watching. When I make a dumb mistake or decision I know that she’s talking to herself and wondering why I did that. Then after the round she’ll call me and go through every hole and ask me what I was thinking on certain shots. She’s followed me when I’ve been in some pretty high pressure situations and sometimes she can’t even watch because she gets so nervous. I remember this one time I was on the seventeeth hole of a tournament and I had a 4 foot par putt. As I was lining it up I could see my mom out of the corner of my eye and she was turned away! She couldn’t even watch. I know she loves every minute of it though.

Me, my mom, and my bro in Seattle, WA

 

So You Want to Start Playing Golf?

I recently got asked for suggestions on how to start playing golf so here’s a short list on how to get started….

1. Find a friend (or friend of a friend) who knows how to play or get a lesson from a local teaching pro.

If you’re just starting out it’s important to find someone who knows what they’re doing so they can teach you the basics. You also need clubs to start so it will be easier if you find someone who plays and has clubs so you can borrow until you want your own.

2. Start slowly by going to a public driving range

It’s important to first start hitting at the local driving range. There is one in Ann Arbor called Miles of Golf that is perfect for players of all abilities. If you go on the course without ever hit ball before you’ll be overwhelmed and unprepared. Sounds like common sense but you’d be suprised at the amount of people who start on the course.

3. Read a few things online about the basics of golf. Like this one below!! Perfect guide for beginners!

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/golf-beginners-tips-section

4. Most importantly, don’t get frustrated or discouraged!

Golf is difficult so it’s easy for beginners to get frustrated and give up. It takes practice to improve but ultimately, like I mentioned in my last post, it’s a game and it’s a lot of fun. Enjoy being outside and having some time to relax. Hitting balls at the driving range is the perfect way to blow off some steam.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

 

The Great Northwest

Chambers Bay Golf Course. University Place, WA. Yes, I played here..

The Home Course. Dupont, WA. I played here too

In the summer of 2010 I qualified for the U.S. Amateur, the biggest amateur golf tournament in the world. It was played in Washington at Chambers Bay Golf Course. It is located right on the Puget Sound and will be the site of the 2015 U.S. Open.  When I played it the president of the United States Golf Association said “Right now this is the hardest course in the world.” The second round of the tournament was held on The Home Course in Dupont, WA.

I didn’t play college golf at the time and probably 70 percent of the field were collegiate golfers. I was probably the only college student in field not on a college team. My brother, Joey, caddied for me and it was an unbelievable experience. Playing with some of the best players in the country on one of the best courses in the country, it doesn’t get much better than that for a guy like me.

Anyways I hope even if you’re not a golfer you can appreciate the awesomeness of courses like this. Golf has taken me all over the country and Washington was one of the best and most beautiful areas I’ve been to. Awesome restaurants and amazing scenery with all the mountains and bays. Oh, great golf courses too!

me and my bro

different background

 

A Day In the Life

-Wake Up at 7 am for 7:30 workout

-Class from 10 to 1

-Practice from 2- 5 or 6. Practice can be just hitting balls on the range or playing 18 holes.

-Homework from 7 until whenever.

In addition to this schedule we also travel a lot! Just this spring we went to Florida, Puerto Rico, Arizona, California, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Indiana. All of this within a two and a half month stretch!

Put this schedule with my social life and the fact that I have a girlfriend and my life can get pretty crazy. However, having such a busy schedule has actually helped me with school because it’s made me use my time a lot more efficiency. Like a lot of college students out there, it was easy for me to keep putting off work until the last second (aka procrastination) but now because I have so little time I take advantage of it when I get a chance.

**Advice:  Even though a lot of you out there don’t have this kind of schedule, I strongly encourage you to make a study schedule/plan. It really helped me. Allocate some hours every day or every other day where you are going to get work done. You would be surprised how much a schedule will help rather than just telling youself ” I’m going to go to the library at some point tonight” or ” I’ll go to the library in an hour” but then your favorite movie is on TV or some of your friends convince you to go out. Make a schedule and try to stick to it.

Cheers!