Personal Narrative-Yorktown Golf Course

Isaac Richards. This was the name of my first opponent in the Jim Lee Memorial tennis tournament. He was a familiar foe, and someone I knew I could beat. Just earlier that summer, we played, and I beat him 6-3, 7-5. I had played in many tournaments that summer and the summer prior, but this tourney was different. It was the first time that I was playing in a higher age division. I was also entering my Freshman year of highschool, and knew that I would play a handful of these guys again during the season. I was determined to play well to earn their respect. Over the next couple of days, I spent hours getting ready. I would wake up early to hit five baskets of serves, later that day I would two baskets of forehands, and two baskets of backhands. As the match drew closer, I

A football flies through the air with the velocity and height of a throw from Peyton Manning and finds its way into the ungainly hands of a four year old, who inevitably drops it. Upset, I pick up the ball again and try to throw it back to my brother. He would always say to me “Andrew, Keep your eyes on the prize and catch this ball”. Although it seemed I would never catch the ball, he never took it easy on me. This repeated process happens over and over again. Until, I finally catch the ball, for the first time. It was an incredible feat. My brother, 12 at the time, ran to me picked me up and celebrated with me. For the next 12 years whenever I am faced with a difficult challenge, my brother always reminds me of the football.

I walked proudly up to the stage to retrieve my first place trophy. I was on the verge of sprinting to the stage and snatching the trophy and just hug it till it broke, but I remembered to stay calm. In my mind, I was filled with butterflies and thought no one would have the same trophy. So close to the stage only to see that everyone else got the same trophy just for participating. I felt embarrassed for getting my hopes up to high. Although trophies are a great way to make someone feel good, you shouldn't get a trophy just for showing up. Some experts say that giving trophies to everyone might send the wrong message to a child, therefore everyone should not get a trophy just for participating because trophies can lose their meaning once everyone gets one, you shouldn't get a trophy for simply doing what is asked, and kids need to learn how to make mistakes and learn from them beneficially.

The smell of horse clogged up my nose, The freshly cut grass of the area crunched under my boots. I was excited to compete in the teton county fair, I was very hyper. I love to compete with other people and I was determined to do the best that I ever could, even though I was trying a brand new horse that had never been to fair. I was about to step up into the spotlight with my horse, when the moment stopped in time. In this situation I used Relationships and Independence to help me make it through the fair that year.

I stood silently, not moving. I could smell the scent of the freshly cut grass as a gentle breeze heaved across the crowded golf course. The nerves were building up in my body. I was so nervous and hoping I didn't miss. The club was gripped tightly in my hands. This was it. Clang! the ball whizzed into the air .

The day of the golf tournament, I was extremely joyful to be at Baltusrol Golf Club for the Drive, Chip, and Putt championship. It was late September; a beautiful day in fact, and the atmosphere was nothing before seen. In this situation, I was determined and hard-fought to do well. My father was supportive and proud of me being in the tournament. Even though I was participating in this event, I had a broken wrist. Thus, as I learned, you should attempt to proceed into everything with your best attitude and put no pressure on yourself.

As a freshman in high school I failed to make it onto my school’s junior high golf team. The worst part of it was I had a close friend, Cooper, who tried out for the team with me and made it. From that point on, I was determined to make the team. Unfortunately, the only golf teams a sophomore can play on are Varsity and Junior Varsity, which contain the top twelve players out of all of the students at my high school. Another very unfortunate circumstance was the fact that I attended the largest high school in the state of Oklahoma, containing almost 3600 kids. Knowing this, I realized I would have a lot of work to do to be able to achieve this goal.

My team and I walked out to the filled driving range to warm up before the 18-hole meet at Battleground Golf Course. This course was a said to be a little difficult because of the elevated greens and that it was lengthy. Although the course was a bit difficult, it didn’t help that it was a rainy, cold day.

Number eight, long and curvy, called my name to make my first birdie. It was one of the hardest holes on the Cobbs Glenn Golf Course. My dad and I cruised off the 7th hole to number eight. We gathered our equipment: golf clubs, balls, tees, and gloves. Together we leaped off the golf course and approached the tee box.

I led my team to the finish line, being close to the first teams to finish. The feeling of exhilaration went through my head until I heard "Garner Raider team Disqualified".

I wake up in my hotel room feeling groggy and sleepy. I look around my room and see the white walls, the T.V in front of me, the door to my left and window to my right. I go over to the window and open the curtains and see the vast city before me. The skyscrapers towering over me and the empire state building of in the distance. I open the window and I feel a brisk wind that sends a chill down my spine. I’m in this wonderful city for one reason. Tennis. I’m playing in the U.S Open and today is the finals and I’m in it.

As I threw my final shot, my fate was sealed. Whether I struck or not, it would change my life forever. Beating Kyle Lewis, who was just one inch short of being a complete beast would earn me a spot in junior gold and scholarship money. I watched the ball gliding over the heavily oiled lanes, the lights flickering as if time was in slow motion. I then saw the ball hit a dry patch and make its flip, and turn into a deep, heavy roll. The ball hit the pins, my stomach dropping out. This, is what I live for.

walked out of the gondola at the top, and I could see the sun that is just about to rise behind the mountain further away. The sky was clear, and the cold temperature made my breath heavy. The snow crunched under my skis when I walked in the snow, and I felt that today was going to be a good day. I took two perfect runs on the slope before it was time for inspection of the course. I normally like when the course is changing from turn to turn, and the course today was just like that. I did the inspection run, and I realized that this is going to fit me perfectly.

Sports are often things that people look at as success or failures. “Oh you did not win the game, that means you have failed.” Most often times losing can have a bigger impact on a person's life rather than a win. I can recall an experience during golf season where everything just started falling apart. Golf is a mental sport that takes roughly six hours of concentration, and I thought I had failed.

I began to take golf lessons in the 5th grade. At the time, I stereotyped all golfers as rich and lazy people with too much time on their hands, respecting them the least of all sportsmen. It was the cop-out sport that did not require much effort or physical ability, played by pretentious folk who wanted to appear sportsy without putting in the effort. Simply put, the game was unprofessional. Some of these convictions were based on my knowledge that it was one of the only sports in which players hit a stationary ball and walk, while some even had the audacity to smoke, drink, or drive golf carts during play. Furthermore, it is not a contact sport, and does not call for stellar reflexes such as jumping, dodging or catching. To add insult to