Golf and College

by David N. Smart

You might not think that playing golf has very much to do with being a college student, or would be very helpful unless it won you a scholarship, but you are mistaken. I want to share with you how even a “duffer” like me has learned something from the game of golf. The two aspects of college life that golf has taught me a lot about are frustration and determination.

Golf is very frustrating to me because I’m just not that good. I’ve played for years, but I have never really mastered the game. Even on those rare occasions when I do play well, golf can still be very frustrating. One of the worst times I’ve ever had on the golf course was a day last summer when my friends and I went out to play one night after work. We were happy to be finished with work and enjoying the beautiful weather, even though the forecast had called for rain. After the fifth hole, I was even par. I know that doesn’t sound that great, but for me it was nothing short of spectacular.

As we approached the sixth tee, we noticed that clouds had started to move in from the west. I had never been in a cloudburst before, and I didn’t think it could rain that hard, but believe me, it can! We decided to walk to the clubhouse and wait for the rain to stop because it had started to lightning. We weren’t worried about getting hit by the lightning because we all had our one irons above our heads. As every golfer knows, you are safe in a lightning storm with your one iron over your head because even God can’t hit a one iron.

Even though it was storming fiercely, I was still hoping we would be able to finish because I was playing so well that day. As we headed towards the clubhouse, we noticed that the pond in front of the ninth green had flooded and there was a river to get to the clubhouse. The water was up to my knees. It was at that time that I finally accepted the fact that I wouldn’t get to finish that day and have my chance to shoot par. Another day, perhaps, when the sun is shining and there isn’t a deluge in the forecast. . .

College life can also be frustrating. Superficially, it is frustrating to have to hassle with registration, drop-and-add, parking stickers, or trying to get anything accomplished through the campus bureaucracy. But college life is also frustrating for me on a deeper level because I am just not sure what I am doing here. I am in the pre-business program, but I haven’t made up my mind on my career goals yet. This can be frustrating because I sometimes feel like I’m just wasting my time here.

My experiences with golf have taught me that frustrations are temporary; that there are some things you cannot control, and that it doesn’t help matters to get in a snit about them. I know that sooner or later I’ll make it through registration; sooner or later I’ll get to the front of the line in drop-and-add; sooner or later I’ll get a parking sticker; and sooner or later I’ll decide what I want to do with my life, and that my basic classes will count toward graduation.

The patience I have to develop to deal with frustrations also contributes to the determination for me to go out and play golf night after night, knowing it will be a rare occasion when I shoot par. But I do it because I love the game. In college it has taken determination for me to take this public speaking class, which is something I wanted to avoid. It takes determination for me to get up and go to class day after day—especially when it’s cold or raining and I have to walk a mile from my dorm to the classroom. One accomplishment that I’m most proud of is that I haven’t missed one class yet in four semesters of college.

My experiences playing golf have given me this attitude about college: I don’t let the little frustrations bother me and I keep going no matter what happens. In golf, even though you hit a bad shot, you still have to go and hit the next one. You have to shake off the frustration and be determined to hit a good shot. You can’t walk off the course just because things aren’t going your way. College life is the same way. If you have a bad day or do poorly on a test, you can’t just give up and go home. You have to get up the next day and keep trying.

I know that someday my golf game will finally fall into place, and I will play consistently and do the things I want to do on a golf course. Just as I know that day will come, I know the day will come when college also finally falls into place, and I will start heading down the right road and have my career goals set. I just hope these days will come soon.