College Admissions Essay: My Passion For Golf

Passion is a word used to describe an uncontrollable desire to improve or succeed. People develop a passion for many different things and reasons, some use passion to drive them towards success in a sport or activity, others use passion to be successful in raising children or performing well in their career. My passion is to become a successful bowler. Even though I did not start bowling until I was eighteen years old, it was apparent that I had a certain feel for the way the lanes worked. I was able to become the best on my high school team with only using a straight even though the rest of the team used balls that hooked and were proven to produce higher scores. After I graduated high school I took a year off from school to work. During that

The sport that I have dedicated the most time to, golf, has become a part of me—in my soul. To me, golf is more than a sport; it is a lifelong journey of training to temper myself both mentally and physically. Playing golf opens my eyes to observe the world in a unique way, and it lets me taste the bliss of striving. The Georgia State Golf Championship in my sophomore year was one of the most memorable experiences that influenced me, not only by contributing to my interest in golf, but also by building my character and teaching me life lessons. It did not push me to the road of being a professional golfer, but it instilled the spirits of a golfer within me.

Basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I’ve played since I was little and I still play the game today. I played basketball at my elementary school, St. Cecilia, from Kindergarten till 8th Grade and also played AAU basketball for about 2 years before entering High School. Going into my freshmen year of High School, the first sport I played was basketball. Tryouts began in about the start of November and ended about 2 weeks after. I had made the Freshmen A team. I was excited and as the season progressed, we didn’t win many games but I still had fun playing. Nearing the end of the season, golf was another sport coming up that I also wanted to try and play. I say “try and play” because at the time, I was also going to play AAU basketball. I had set in my mind that I was going to play basketball for all of my four years of high school, but my parents pushed me to tryout for golf. When the basketball season ended, golf tryouts started. Tryouts lasted for about 2 weeks, and I made the JV team. When I found out I made the team, I was very surprised. I hadn’t put in the hard work as others before tryouts came around, but the coach saw potential in me and that I can become a great player. The coach saw so much potential in me, that every week, I kept progressing in skill and fine tuning my mechanics. Halfway through the season, about 4 or 5 weeks after I made the team, my coach gave me the chance to play with the Varsity Golf team for a couple days. I was excited and eager to

“Are you interested in this?” , my dad asks multiple times about multiple sports. I as a four year old just learning about sports, and watching them with my family decide that basketball is for me. So I go on to rec league… I learn how to dribble, pass, and shoot. Time passes and by middle school I can shoot left-handed layups, cross-over behind my back and in between my legs. High school is here.. and I become even more advanced not just with fundamentals, but mentally, and even more aggressively, and physical. I have a purpose, I love the game, and I want to play it as long as I can.

After winning junior tournaments I wanted more and therefore; I challenged myself to the next level. I remember having a chat with my dad, he was giving me a father to son chat about life and what is best to focus on whether academic studies or sport? As he was concerned because I was spending more time playing sports than doing school work. He said life of sport is hard but, I reassured him that everything will be fine. I knew I had a mind set and ability not to give up because my strength lies on mental toughness and my settling for second best wasn’t /is not satisfying outcome.

I have always loved sports ever since I was a little kid. Some of my earliest memories are of playing soccer with my friends on a wet, cold spring day or hitting a ball off of a tee and feeling like it went a mile, when in reality it only went about fifty feet. Even to this day I still can never get enough of sports. I get about four weeks off out of the entire year where I’m not technically in a sport, but I’m still always practicing and trying to get better because that’s the only way I know. I love everything about sports: the friendships, the competition, the passion, the atmosphere, the unity. Sports are one of my true loves and they consume my life. It is this strong desire that I have for sports that has driven me to want to pursue a

Not only in golf, but also in life. I began to make myself exercise and loose weight. I had more confidence at school even if being a champion golfer wasn’t the coolest thing I could have told people. By my ninth grade year I had lost 25lbs. This made me feel better and be more athletic. I started at football, basketball, and I was one of the two best golfers on a very respected high school golf team. Things were much better at school, but it was taking away from the time I use to spend practicing golf. I had a terrible freshman year as far as golf goes. I was playing terribly and I had no clue as to why. The whole time it seems as if I was always trying to fix my faults quickly, and not really put in the work that golf demands. I was spending the majority of my time doing teen stuff: learning to drive, going to the movies, parties, and keeping up with my girlfriend.

In my younger years, I have played a couple sports like soccer and baseball. As I grew up, baseball has always stood out the most to me. Something about running the bases and hitting RBI’s brings a thrill that no other sport can give me. So I play, and I play with everything I have because that’s what baseball makes me want to do. Sure in basketball and soccer I play hard and do what I can, but I know when I’m playing baseball that’s where I excel and exceed my own expectations. I started when I was five and have loved it ever since. Some things have kept me from it in the past but I can’t help but play.

Firstly, passion helps me succeed in playing basketball. For example my love for the game has built my endurance because I used to only be able to play for about two hours per day; now when I get the chance to, I will play for six to eight hours in a day. Therefore, it is pure passion that I am able to play a physically demanding activity for such long periods of time. Secondly, passion gets me excited about certain chess moves. For example, a friend of mine once fell for a trap I had set up in a chess game, and I yelled “Yes” really loudly.

I learned to enjoy the sport through the loses and the wins. There were times when I was unsure that I would make the cut for a more elite practice, but I did my best and made it through. Things are always scary in the beginning but with courage and persistence I was able to make the cut.

I had never thought of golf being a sport that I would want to make a high school career out of, but it dawned on me that if I try my hardest and put in the time I could possibly succeed at this sport. That summer I put the time, effort, and work in to get good. I’m going to be honest, I would not have any success at the start. I would chunk it while trying to take divots like the pros, or I would top it and it would roll down the fairway. I couldn’t figure it out. Once again I wanted to quit; I wanted to give up. But a very unlikely person would not let me.

Growing up in a small town, where there wasn't a whole lot of activities to do, when you did find something to do, you stuck with it. When I was around five years ago, my parents signed me up for soccer. I didn't know anything about soccer, but my dad was the coach and taught me almost everything I know. He coached me until I started playing for the middle school team and had a different coach. I was nervous but dad never missed a game. Another new coach when I went into high school, but still, dad was always there.

Four years ago I would have never expected to be a golf team captain. Due to my variety of hobbies and interests, I like to consider myself a jack of all trades so it was hard to decide on what sports to play in high school. Upon asking my father if he had any recommendations, he told me that if I could learn the fundamentals of golf I would have a tool that could benefit me for a lifetime. I wrote down golf on the dotted registration line and, well, forgot about it.

Throughout my life, I’ve been in many different sports. Basketball, baseball, football track, and golf just to name a few. Though some of these weren’t enjoyable on my part, I always stuck them through to the end. Football is the most forefront example. I never fully enjoyed playing football, so when I started football my freshmen year, I wasn’t too thrilled. The work

In 7th grade, after trying out for the golf team, I made it. Prior to trying out for the team, I imagined it would be something entertaining to do with my spare time. Making the team sparked the greatest passion for a game I have ever had, and it has become my life rather than a hobby. Discovering this passion made me realize I prefer having to work to become better and that I do not enjoy things coming easy. Especially when all the practice showed results, then it made it remarkably fun.