Passion - Friend or Enemy?
Something I have always heard people tell me is that I am super passionate about golf. “Your passion is so evident in how you play”, “You have a strong passion for golf”, “It is clear in your work ethic you are passionate about golf”. These are just a few examples of what people have told me over the years.
What’s crazy is that I’ve never thought of it as being passionate. I have always thought of golf this way and don’t know another way of approaching golf. My passion is what drives me to work hard and always want to be the best at it.
However, sometimes it is too much and it completely takes over my brain. It turns from passion to fear very quickly, and the line between passion and fear of failure is thin, extremely thin. If you don’t keep your passion in check, then it gets the better of you.
My passion is my friend, most of the time. It drives me to achieve my goals, always want to work hard, show up to practice early, practice on my own, workout on my own etc. I believe it also drives me to accomplish things most college golfers don’t ever accomplish in their careers. Breaking records at one program is hard, but to do it in multiple is extremely rare, not to mention breaking conference records and having three tournament titles under my belt (so far).
Photo Credit: Brian Brakebill
Something I have always heard is that you can’t teach passion, you either have it or you don’t. No one can force you to have passion. They can teach you how to swing a club, read a putt, manage your emotions, but no one can teach you how to be passionate, that comes from within.
Passion is where your heart truly lies when you are playing golf, and your level of passion can change over time. I was not passionate about it the way I am now when I first picked up a golf club. Through practice and encouragement from my parents and coaches did my passion start to develop. You don’t have to be passionate about something right away in order for you to be passionate about it at all. It can develop over time.
However, like I said before, passion can be too much for me sometimes. Passion can make my emotions cloud my judgement on the course and cause me to make poor decisions. This is when passion is my greatest enemy. They always say, what is you greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness. Passion is definitely my greatest strength, but also my greatest weakness.
What I have learned about passion is to let it develop overtime. Don’t force passion as forcing it will make you unhappy and burnt out. When you do have passion, use it to your advantage. Use it as a tool to help you grind on the course on bad rounds. Use it as a driving force to help you win tournaments. Keep the passion in check. Always check your intensity level with it, and never let it cloud your judgement. Never let passion turn into fear of failing. Always let passion be your greatest strength.
