Thinking back to my college golf days I've come to realize I was spoiled.
Not only did I have a course on campus that I could go out everyday (and should've taken more advantage of it) and was fortunate enough to play for three conference championships including a chance to go to Nationals but I had a great coach.
Even if I didn't think Coach was anything special at the time because that is all I knew, looking back he is one of the highest, well-respected golf coaches in the country. But I didn't know any different. I didn't put two and two together and realize the reason we were winning was because of all the perks McDaniel had over Gettysburg, Muhlenberg, Dickinson, F&M and Ursinus.
A great coach, just like a great boss, makes you want to do better and when you screw up you feel like you disappointed him. I never wanted to disappoint coach.
I tell this story a lot but it's true. I wasn't supposed to go to the first tournament my freshman year at Kutztown. Coach was going to take Webster because at the time we had similar games but he did tell me the #4 girl was injured and if she couldn't go I would be going in her place. I ended up going because #4 was hurt and #5 had a concert she wanted to go to. From that point onward I never missed a tournament.
But that does not mean I played well in every tournament and when I played terrible I always felt like I let him down. My mindset (even if I didn't know it at the time) was I wanted to prove to him he didn't make a mistake. When I didn't live up to my high standards I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for what felt like a month.
My last post about Coach laying into me after the Kutztown Spring Invite. my senior year was an example of it. But of course I have more examples. It's not necessarily a bad thing but a learning experience.
Another story I like to tell is the day I missed a six-inch putt at the Mt. Holyoke Invitational. To the average listener (and recreational golfer) it is funny but if you really new me and what I was thinking at the time you know that it was not joke. We started the day on 10th hole so on my 17th hole (the 8th hole at The Orchards) I was on the green in three and had a long putt for par. I missed the par putt but had a tap in for bogey. It was a putt I was thinking I couldn't miss even if I tried but I didn't give it the time it deserved and the ball rolled around the lip of the cup. Three-putt for a six.
Coach was watching from afar and the next thing I saw was him walking back down the fairway towards the green. There was only one way to the next tee so I had to walk by him but I made no eye contact. I couldn't make eye contact. It was not something I was proud of at that moment. I just felt him next to me and remember his words to this day (although it was five years ago) "that's not going to happen again, is it?"
All I could do was shake my head and with my head down, say no.
To this day, that putt still eats away at me. Maybe it shows my testament that I don't like to disappoint and feel ashamed when I do, even if it is something small and can be overlooked such as a six-inch putt.
There are more of those stories on the golf course (and off I might add). Remembering the time we had a chance to go to Nationals sophomore year competing for second in the region against Mt. Holyoke. The head-to-head was tied at 1-1-1 and we needed to beat them in our Spring Break tournament in Jekyll Island.
We all played terrible the first day of the two day tournament and we felt like we were pissing away our chance at going to Nationals. The second day I didn't feel like I was doing any better than the first day. Just treading water and hoping to stay alive.
I came to the par three 16th hole at the Indian Mound course. It was a two tear green and had a slope so daunting that you could not be over the green. I was just short of the green and coach said to me "chip and a putt, make par" before he drove off.
There was no doubt in my mind I couldn't make a nice chip up close and one-putt for par but I screwed up, I hit it over the green (exactly where I didn't want to be) and ended up with a double.
It came down to my score. Our #4 shot 100 and we were trailing Mt. Holyoke at the time then I came in with an 89. It was what we needed and tied Mt. Holyoke but only I knew it could've been better. We should've been at Nationals that year. Six years have passed since that day in Spring Break but I can still vividly recall it like it was yesterday.
There is one last story about my days on the golf course I'd like to share. It was my senior year, the final day of my last college golf tournament of my career. Muhlenberg was in the lead thanks to a ridiculous #1 player. That day after three straight bogeys on the first three holes responded draining a seven-footer for birdie then followed it up with four straight pars to shoot three-over on the front. I was on my way to a having a great day. But as good as I was playing on the front, it was a complete 180 on the back as I blew up and ended up turning in a scorecard of a 92.
Just like the day I missed a six-incher or in Jekyll Island I felt terrible that after four years I let Coach down. Now I know that's not true but Coach has this thing about him that no matter what you shoot he always wants you to do better. And I love that about him.
No comments:
Post a Comment