Mini Project 1

PHOTO ESSAY ON LEARNING IN GOLF AND LIFE

THE 5 AREAS OF GOLF THAT RELATE TO LIFE

1. Putting- When somebody is about to putt, no matter if it’s Tiger Woods or just your average weekend golfer, they will always analyze the “break” of the putt before actually hitting the ball. The break is the curve that the ball will travel on during the shot. When one is analyzing the break of the putt they are determining what direction to hit the ball is the best choice, this can be related to life simply. This is similar to when you are in school and you are taking a test. You will never answer a question without reading it first, so you analyze the question and answers to make the best choice, just like reading the break of a putt.

2. Short Game- The short game is widely known as the most vital part of a golfers arsenal. The short game is considered shots from 100 yards and in; it is so because golfers very rarely take full swings in this range of distances. To have a good short game one must have good vision and selection skills. What this means is one must be able to envision the best path to the hole, sometimes that can be a high shot that stops when it hits the green or a low shot a rolls a long way once it hits the green, and then be able to select which one of those paths is best option. This can be seen in college when someone is trying to major in something. They have many ways to get to their end goal, but it is up to them to determine the best option on how to get there.

3. Long Game- The long game is the hardest part of golf. It takes the most time to prefect and is usually the thing golfers pay the most attention to. It takes a lot of practice to develop a solid long game and mistakes are bound to happen from time to time. The lesson you can take from this is to have the ability to learn from your mistakes. Even the pros hit bad shots every once in a while, but what makes them better than amateurs is their ability to learn from their bad shots. In life we all mess up, we all make mistakes, and we all fail. We can learn something from golf that can help with this, that is to learn from our errors and use that knowledge to try and keep it from happening again. Experience can never hurt, failing multiple times can help you realize what you are doing wrong and having the ability to use that experience will take you far in life.

4. The Mental Game- All great champions associate their success with their mental toughness. The way you mentally approach something in golf is similar to how one should do it in real life. You need 3 things: A decision on what you want to do, a plan executing that decision, and the ability to move on if your plan fails. In golf you decide on what kind of shot you want to hit, you create a plan supporting that shot, and then if it doesn’t work quite as planned you accept it and move on. This is a GREAT way to mentally approach life!! Make a decision on what you want to do, make a plan supporting your decision, and if things don’t work out accept it and move on.

5. Physical Skills- You need discipline and determination to get into good shape. Being in good shape allows your body to perform better. This puts you in a position to succeed on the golf course.  In school it’s not so much physical strength that you need, but you need to do physical things to succeed. An example of this is studying hard so you know the material and that puts you in a position to succeed and do great things.