Many people are well aware of competing in a fast-paced sport such as basketball or football. The adrenaline, hype, screaming, shouting, exciting wins, and tough losses. What many people do not know much about though is competing in a sport like golf. Golf is a much slower-paced sport, and it is different from basketball and football.

First off, there is a leading up to the competition. In golf, many people like to do different things. Most golfers will get to the golf course around an hour early. The order and amount of time that people spend at different spots warming up are different, but they typically get the same things done.

Hitting full shots, like irons and drivers, and putting are the two main pieces. Other spots to warm up are bunker shots, chipping and half shots. Bunker shots are shots that are hit out of the sand and are typically near the green. Chip shots are shots that are hit when you are just off the green. Knockdown shots are typical with your wedges. For example, if you hit a 52 degree wedge one hundred yards, but the flag is only eighty yards away, that would be a knockdown shot.

After warming up, going to the first tee can feel many different ways. I have felt excited, happy, nervous, and even just nothing before. I usually do not have problems with my first tee shot. I usually hit my first tee shot well when I am playing under pressure.

Playing under pressure puts me in a mindset where I feel very alone but usually in a good way. I enjoy it a lot when I am playing well because I know I am doing something good, and it is all because of me. On the other hand, playing bad is one of the worst feelings. You have no teammates to help you out or give you a break on a shot. I usually feel vulnerable and not confident in myself.

Finishing the last holes with a lot of pressure is also a different feeling. For me, one of my biggest moments in golf was this year at regionals. My team was tied with another team to make it to sectionals, and I had two holes left to play. During the time in between the shots, all I was trying to do was stay calm and focused because I knew that if I was not everything could collapse in the blink of an eye. We ended up beating the other team by two shots and made it to sectionals as a team.

Competing in golf can either make you feel like you are the greatest golfer alive, or you end up wondering why you even play golf. The good moments though definitely make up for the many bad moments that happen in golf.