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Grace Wells

Prof. Vaughn

English 2089

2 February 2018

Golf: A Never-Ending Lesson

“Resolve never to quit, never to give up, no matter what the situation.”

– Jack Nicklaus

Being literate means learning and mastering the skills or techniques required for a

particular subject. Literacy is present in every aspect of our life: school, sports, jobs, or hobbies.

All literacies are unique and have differing degrees of difficulty. To successfully master a

literacy, determination is a necessity. This applies to golf as well. The literacies for golf include

terminology, scoring, etiquette, or the act of swinging a club properly. The sport is filled with

tumultuous ups and downs, and frustrations are bound to arise and hinder progress. My drive to

improve my game arose out of my frustration from my swing. With the help of a professional, I

was able to overcome my issues and improve my literacy of golf.

Preseason was in full swing by July, and my practice scores showed I was going to be of

no help to my team once the season started. Time and time again I counted my score after a

round and calculated over 50 strokes for 9 holes; most of the courses we played were par 31.

Double and triple bogeys became my norm, and pars were scarce. My frustration grew after

every practice. I was not making solid contact with the ball; I “chunked,” “topped,” or sliced the

ball on every shot. “Chunking” is hitting the ground before the ball and “topping” the ball caused
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it to line drive down the fairway. I longed for a pretty shot, but my coach and I were not able to

fix my swing. This called for a private lesson with the Meadowlinks golf professional, Matt.

To say I was nervous would be quite an understatement. My stomach was in knots at the

thought of a professional watching and correcting my swing. It was daunting, and I did not want

him to judge me based upon my poor golf skills. I was automatically more at ease when my golf

coach offered to come along and take notes as reminders for me later in the season. When I

arrived to Meadowlinks, I anxiously introduced myself to Matt and met up with my coach.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as we drove back to the empty, secluded private lesson area

with a natural turf driving range and two practice greens.

Matt began the lesson by simply asking me to hit the ball like I normally would; he

observed my routine and swing before getting out his phone and recording my swing from a few

different angles (Figure 1). After getting a feel for my weaknesses, he began with small changes.

Throughout the lesson, he continuously referenced the video he took previously; it was

enlightening to watch it in slow motion and pinpoint the flaws of my swing. Matt reviewed all

the basics of golf with me and fully explained his reasoning behind his corrections. He

understood I had been playing golf for over a year now but knew I needed a stronger foundation

since my technique was slacking.

He started with posture. “Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, back pockets up in

the air and chest to the ground. This gives you a more athletic stance.” This was a simple

correction compared to the rest, but it was difficult trying to remind myself of this posture. Next,

he altered my backswing. “Turn your belt buckle so it is behind the ball. Keep your elbow tucked

in. Stop your backswing when your left shoulder hits your chin.” Referencing the video, he

showed my club always went past parallel on my backswing. Going past parallel made it nearly
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impossible for my club to be positioned correctly when I made contact with the golf ball.

Stopping my backswing earlier created a more compact swing, which dramatically improved

contact with the ball.

Figure 1: Before and after video of my swing.

Matt then described the path of the club through a swing. While guiding me through my

swing, he paused to observe the club head at the bottom of the arc. “Control the club face – feel

the club face rotate more closed or pointing to the left through impact to help keep the ball

straighter and on line.” In addition to my slice, the position of the club head was forcing the ball

to the right immediately. Matt also mentioned there should be a divot in front of where the ball

was after my swing. This concept repositioned the bottom of my arc and decreased the chance of

me “topping” or “chunking” it.

To finish the lesson, Matt instructed me “to swing out more to the right and finish high.”

Swinging to the right causes the ball to draw slightly to the left, which is more desirable than a

severe slice to the right. Finishing high ensures I follow through without losing momentum on

impact. To condition my new swing path, Matt placed a large, orange traffic cone in front of me,

slightly to the left. If I hit the cone, I knew I was not swinging correctly and had to swing out
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right more. I utilized this practice later in the season, when I started to struggle with my swing

again.

Flashforward two years to the most memorable golf

match in my life: state. The road to state was difficult and

uncertain, but our team made it. Every year, the match is held

at the Ohio State University Golf Club on the Scarlet and Gray

courses. Hundreds of people excitedly milled about the course

bundled up in rain jackets and hoodies (Figure 2). The

borderline freezing temperatures and on-again-off-again rain

could not damper the spirits of family, friends, and certainly

not the players. I can remember the excitement coupled with

Figure 2: The inclement weather
nerves that hit me as soon as we entered the course. The conditions at state.
butterflies were back, but we made it. Now it was time to prove why we were there.

I could not keep from smiling during the practice warm up. A grin was plastered to my

face for the two hours before my tee time, but the second they called my group, my smile quickly

faded. My hands were clammy, and the butterflies swarmed back. Tee off was intense; the rules

were strict, officials were circling the course like hawks, and my opponents were intimidating

and impersonal. I felt extreme pressure to play a perfect round to prove to my opponents (and to

myself) that I deserved to be there alongside them. But anyone familiar with golf knows

perfection is what everyone strives for but can never attain.

The first few holes at state went smoothly, a few bogeys. But soon my game plummeted.

My heart sunk as I realized my swing was off, and I was unable to identify the exact reason why.

My ball was soaring all over the course and I was not making good contact. Some would blame
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it on the inclement weather conditions, the soggy golf course, or the pressure from the posse of

family and friends following, but I knew I had slipped back into my rut from a couple years

earlier. Frustrated, I took a few deep breaths and reflected upon the basics Matt taught me. His

words were engrained in my head and my mind reeled trying to solve my current problem.

“Athletic stance, control the club face, swing

out to the right.” My next shots did not

dramatically change, but eventually my ball

started following the imaginary path I was

aiming for (Figure 3). Improved contact with

the ball followed shortly after, and I was back

Figure 3: Hole on front nine where I was
solving my swing. on track.

Like any other literacy, at first glance, golf can be overwhelming. Finding a start amongst

all the rules and techniques can be tricky. And practice one day could be entirely different from

the next. Not all the problems encountered have simple fixes; the solutions take hard work and

determination. This is a truth across all literacies. Stephen King wrote about the literacy of

writing and said, “you can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed,

ready to kick ass and take down names” (106). As with writing, mentality and attitude have a

major impact on success. Playing golf with a confident and resolute attitude allowed me to

overcome my weaknesses and improve my game. And although attitude plays a key role, having

a trustworthy and informed literacy sponsor present throughout this process is just as important.

Matt inspired me to continue playing the sport I loved and to not give up hope when I hit a rough

patch. To this day, I still utilize techniques he taught me as well as recall the reminders he

repeated throughout my lesson. Just like Sherman Alexie, “I refused to fail” (Alexie 365). Alexie
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was determined to prove he was more than just an Indian boy on his reservation; he wanted to

learn to read and expand his knowledge. I wanted to master my swing technique to prove my

worth as a teammate. Although our literacy goals were different, a persistent attitude is crucial to

achieving those goals. With tenacity and dedication, I was able to learn more about my golf

literacy.

Golf is an endless rollercoaster, with highs and lows fluctuating day to day. Without the

help of my literacy sponsor Matt, I would have easily succumbed to the frustrations and quit

playing the sport. Watching your ball fly in the wrong direction time and time again is

disappointing. With the help of a private lesson, I was able to relearn and improve techniques

where my weaknesses lie. The patience and work ethic I gained during this literacy lesson has

stuck with me for over two years and continues to be a reminder that dedication can overcome

any challenge.
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Works Cited

Alexie, Sherman. "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me." Writing about Writing:

A College Reader. 1st ed. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St.

Martin's, 2011. 363-365. Print.

King, Stephen. "What Writing Is." On Writing. New York: Scribner, 2000. 103-107. Print.

Park, Ryan. “50 Best Golf Quotes of All-Time.” Colorado AvidGolfer, 19 June 2013,

www.coloradoavidgolfer.com/50-best-golf-quotes-of-all-time/.