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What I learned in my first 60 days playing golf
by Katy Soreide

In most people’s minds, golf is a term usually associated with either old men or Tiger Woods. People don’t generally think of teenage girls having anything to do with golf. I know I didn’t...until that fateful day when I first stepped out on the golf course.

It may sound horrible, but I am accustomed to being good at things, so stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something new is not something that appeals to me! Still, my friends had twisted my arm to go out, and now here I was, about to launch myself into something I knew absolutely nothing about.

Some people think golf is easy. I would love to take those people out on a course, have them play for five hours in the hot sun — with teenage girls that may or may not be much fun to be around —  and then go to their homecoming dance with a dark “V” baked onto their neck. Golf is NOT easy. In fact, it’s the farthest thing from it.

One surprising thing I learned early on is that golf is more mental than physical. In most other sports, if you are physically strong and coordinated you’ll do just fine. With golf you need to be smart, you need to think about your shots, and you have to not let what’s going on with other players affect you. The last is the thing I have the hardest time with. I start playing against them rather than against myself. Which, in golf, really only leads to failure.

Golf needs to be played in the right state of mind. You engage the other players in conversation when appropriate, but when it’s time for you to take your shot, all discussion ceases. You need to be in your head – in a trance of sorts – which is fortunately something I excel at.

As you address the ball many things may be going through your mind. Some of them are helpful, for instance: the yardage from your position to the hole, the angle of the wind, how much power you need in your swing, and the kind of hazards you need to avoid. Some are not so helpful, such as the other players’ scores, whether or not you look fat in your jersey, and what you ended up getting on that biology quiz.

With luck, by the time you finally take your swing, all else has left your mind leaving you tranquil yet alert. As your ball leaves the tee, you watch it, partly to decide how effective your swing was, and partly to avoid spending five minutes looking for your ball somewhere off in the rough.

The end of a golf game can be either disappointing or exhilarating depending on your point of view. There is a quote that I always remember for some reason by Abraham Lincoln: “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” The way I look at it, you can either beat yourself up over the bad hits, or reward yourself for the good ones. I have to continually remind myself of this, but it always seems to make me feel better once I do.

And, of course, that’s the kind of lesson one can use in life, too.

Author Katy Soreide, a sophomore in high school, had barely held a golf club in her hand before going out for girl’s golf in her hometown of Holdrege, Nebraska this fall.

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