Discovering my Dream
A group picture of everyone who went; I am kneeling down in the front.
As I have mentioned before, I discovered my dream of playing college golf at age 10. In November 2014, Eric MacCluen, my swing coach, planned a trip for some of the high school girls and their parents to visit East Tennessee State University. Stefanie Shelton, the head coach of the women’s golf program at the time and still to this day, was one of Eric’s students back in her junior golf days. The trip was geared towards the older girls that took lessons from Eric, but he invited me and my dad to go as well.
I remember that weekend it was frigid temperatures, as you probably can tell by my very colorful winter hat and winter jacket I was wearing. We had the opportunity to see and practice at their golf facility, which was located on campus, and hang out with the players on the team. We did team building activities, toured campus, and practiced with the team doing different drills and games. I will be honest, it has been almost 10 years since we took this trip, so I remember bits and pieces of it. But one piece I vividly remember was the one morning Coach Shelton shared her words of wisdom with us.
She had an entire speech about the difference between a good player and a great player. A good player will only practice when the weather is nice, or when they feel like practicing. A great player will also practice during those times as well, but in addition, they will practice in the cold, wet, rainy, and windy conditions when there is not a soul to be found at the golf course. They will practice when that is the last thing they want to do. They will practice when no one else is willing to.
She said that being a great player requires tough choices to be made. She specifically said that great players do not make sacrifices, but instead they choose to be a great player over attending a birthday party or sleepover. I decided to become a great player. I made the tough choices throughout growing up in order to become one. I chose to miss out on birthday parties, sleepovers, homecoming, school dances, high school football games, and the list goes on. I did this because I saw on this trip what golf could bring to me in life, but only if I worked for it.
Now that is not to say the lightbulb switched overnight. It took me a while to truly comprehend what it took to be a great player. I understood the concept at age 10, but I was not mature enough then to understand the work ethic. That came over the next couple of years. But I left that trip with discovering my dream, and putting me on the path to discover my strong passion for golf.
