Personal Narrative: My First Golf Tournament

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The day was June 29, 2016 when I played in my first golf tournament at the age of 16. Even though I had only been practicing and playing the sport for less than a month, I felt confident in my knowledge of the game going into the tournament. However, I was actually very naive. After one of the girls in my group asked me to “tend the flag,” my confidence went down the drain and I realized that I lacked the understanding of everyday language among golfers. From that point on in the tournament, I tried my best to hide my inexperience and fit in with the other girls, who were much more experienced than I was. Looking back now, I realized that I was not yet literate in the golf world and that I had far more to learn than I realized at the time. …show more content…

Living in the tennis world my whole life, I knew exactly how to dress based on experience. However, entering into the golf world so late in my life, I had no experience and didn’t know how the other girls dressed for the sport. The only piece of information I knew was that wearing a collared shirt was mandatory. I didn’t know if the girls wore shorts or skirts or what type of golf shoes they wore. As I played in more tournaments over the course of the summer, I picked up on different trends based on what I observed from the other girls. I realized that most of the girls wore skirts with sleeveless collared shirts, while only a few wore shorts. I also realized that most of the girls wore tennis skirts to play in, which was very convenient for me considering my vast tennis wardrobe. By wearing outfits like the rest of the female golfers, I was able to dress the part while still working on the other areas of my game. Not only are there clothing trends among the golfers, but there’s also a distinct language used among them. I had to learn the terms like “birdie”, “par”, “bogey”, and so forth, which are the terms for the score you made on each hole. I remember being asked to “tend the flag,” and not having any idea what that term meant, but I soon learned and will never forget. Being surrounded by veteran golfers in my tournaments, I was able to pick up on common phrases and begin to use them in my own

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