2008-09 Golf Blog - Week 6

by Martha Elson - May 5, 2009

As a warm breeze blew blue skies toward us at noon on May 2, twenty golfers waited at Nehoiden Golf Course to tee off the first hole. Our final scheduled golf tournament of the 2008-09 season was hosted by Wellesley. We were competing against Wellesley, Amherst and Williams.

As one of the two seniors on our golf team, I had warned everyone on my team that if they so much as mentioned that this was my last collegiate tournament, the floodgates would open, and I would not be able to close them. Well, it was not until the last hole that I lost it. Coach Durocher walked over to me, as I was waiting to hit my second shot across the creek.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked innocently.

“Coach, don’t!!” I said, as I covered my head with my towel and started to cry.

I managed to finish the last hole with a tap-in par for a total of 83 and big hugs from Coach and my teammates.

Katie Banaszak, our other senior, finished the round with an 86 (and no tears). Katie and I have been through countless van rides, $7 meals and early mornings. We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly both on the golf course and off. We have lost balls, missed putts and shanked approach shots. And, we have sunk putts, striped drives and chipped-in. I will never forget our four years on the team.

Five years, ten years and fifty years from now, when I think back on my time at Mount Holyoke College, I can honestly say that my favorite part of the experience will be my time with the golf team. There is nothing like the game of golf, and, although I may be biased, I think it is the most difficult game to play and the best sport to play. There is no shot clock, no referee, no one out there except you, your ball, and eighteen holes. It’s a game where you have no control over your playing opponents, only control over yourself.

In Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book, he writes, “You must accept your disappointments and triumphs equally.” It is a difficult thing to do, to bounce back after a poor shot with a great one. I will never master the game of golf - no one will. And, I am so grateful for that. I am so fortunate to be able to continue to play my sport for the rest of my life. Not many athletes can continue to competitively play their sport once college is over. I will miss my coach, my team and my course incredibly, and I will always cherish the golf memories.