Golf is like life, a constant struggle never quite reaching perfection. I have had many experiences with the disappointments of life as well as golf, and I have also had many successes, including many tournament wins and a player of the year award. Golf has been a very big part of my life, considering I started to play at the age of three. Some people tell me I was born to play the game, and personally I agree with them.

Ever since the first time I picked up a club, I have been striving to reach a state of perfection with my game, which I very quickly found out is not possible. This is also true in life. As soon as one piece of my life comes together, it seems as if another piece falls apart. Stress plays a big part in this and can cause many problems in golf also. Stress can result in bad grades, issues with emotions, and can also affect the people around you. In golf stress can cause swing mechanics to seemingly disappear when it really is just a result of too many thoughts racing through a stressed out mind. Every time I step onto the golf course and set up to the ball, I feel myself relax as I walk across the green, freshly mowed grass. With every birdie and par, I fall farther into a relaxing almost trance-like state.

Life and golf both require huge amounts of work and large sums of time. Balancing school work and sports, such as golf, is tough to do. This is also a very large source of stress for many people, especially student athletes who sometimes have practices very late into the night and hours worth of homework waiting at home. Some people, including myself, even add a job to the mix, which makes it nearly impossible to get everything done and get a decent amount of sleep, which builds up stress and results in bad grades and sometimes emotional problems.

Golf can also be a very good stress reliever, trust me I play every single day that I can. Golf can allow a stressed mind to forget about everything and just being on the course with the beautiful scenery can be very relaxing. Every time I step on the course, I feel like all the worries that come with trying to balance everything in life just disappear. Golf has become almost like a good friend to me. It helps me forget everything else that I was worrying about before I started the round. I focus on one thing, and it really puts my life in perspective.

Golf has been a great balance for my life. It helps me keep my stress level in check and pretty much keeps me from going insane trying to balance everything life throws at me. Whenever life gets hectic, I can just step onto the golf course and let my mind relax and just forget about anything that may be bothering me at the time. What I’m trying to get across is that if you feel like life is getting the best of you or you are just stressed out find something that you love to do and just let your mind forget about whatever life has been throwing at you. I know doing what I love always helps me relax, even if I feel like my whole world is falling down around me.