- November 2014
Personal Statement
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I can think back to when I was 9 years old and first started to take my golf seriously. I had such a passion for the game, was hungry for it, and there just weren’t enough hours in the day to play! But the day I actually fell in love with golf, the day I knew I had to become a seriously good golfer and nothing else would make me happy? Well that didn’t come for a couple more years after that. At 11 I was introduced to a Pro named Charles Gough, and he worked on my swing with me. He filmed me, and studied me, and asked me about what was going on in my head when I thought about, and played each shot. How he spoke about the psychology of the game fascinated me. He got me to relax, and we worked over and over on envisioning the perfect shot. After a couple of hours I started to believe that I could create what I envisioned. The tension I was carrying disappeared and I began to focus in a completely different way. That afternoon I hit my first pure shot. It felt totally awesome and I knew at that moment I was hooked.
Six years on from that 11-year-old cadet, in February of this year I was selected and appointed Junior Captain 2013 -2014 by the committee of West Herts Golf Club, an honour of which I am very proud. I am enjoying my tenure thus far and am hopeful my efforts will be rewarded with success for the club.
My love of the game extends beyond just my performance as an individual player. Since the beginning of this year I have assisted Charles Gough in coaching the Beginner and Intermediate Juniors from West Herts Golf Club. I have found it a great way to encourage the younger Juniors as they are often able to relate better to someone closer to their own age. Each weekend I have a group of 6 boys whom I take through basic techniques, the fundamentals of the golf swing, and their short game. I have found that through coaching these young golfers, I have become more appreciative of the various styles of swing and technique, and I am able to better notice the imperfections in someone’s game, and give feedback that they can use to rectify these issues. It is highly rewarding when you can see the before and after effects of your advice and know that you have made a visible improvement to someone’s game.
I know that being a great golfer isn’t only about what you do on the course, and to that end I take my practice routines very seriously as these are the perfect opportunities to iron out mistakes. I practice 4-7 hours a day twice a week during school terms, and this will increase to around four times a week in school holidays. I go to my school gym 3 times a week and I am extremely health conscious, taking measures to ensure that my diet is appropriate for a high performance athlete. I am always in pursuit of self-improvement. I regularly film my swing for evaluation by my coach and myself, as well as mentally recapping every shot from previous rounds to determine where shots were gained or dropped so I can decide where I could have made a better decision. I never rest on my laurels and I am sometimes my own harshest critic because I am always looking for ways to improve my game. However, I have learned from my coaches and mentors that golf is a complicated mix of many things, a combination of athleticism and intuition – having good judgment, being able to constantly assess and make adjustments are all incredibly important aspects too.
My plan is to become a professional, playing on the PGA Tour and to be consistently competing with the best players in the world, in the best tournaments in the world. Being able to play on the highest stage, to conduct myself on and off the course with integrity and ultimately playing my best golf with great athletes. I am a determined and driven individual. I think I have a good sense of humour, a good attitude, philosophy, and psychology towards my life and golf. My upbringing has encouraged me to be self-disciplined and I am resilient.
I understand that in order to achieve great things I need to work hard not just in training for my sport, but also in the academic side of my life. I am aware of the importance in balancing the amount of time I spend on my schooling, golf practice and physical training. Being as strong as I can be in both the physical and mental disciplines will be the key to me reaching my short-term and long-term goals.
