Senior Maya Fitzgerald has considered golf her passion ever since she was nine years old when she began golfing with her dad at The First Tee, a youth golfing organization. She began taking classes and learning about the sport of golf there, having fun with golf games, and absorbing important life skills to take from the experience.
She began competing competitively in local competitions shortly after her first class, solidifying the fact that golf was the sport for her.
“So, I got started with golf classes, and I just really enjoyed it,” Maya said. “I tried a lot of different sports when I was younger, and I didn’t find enjoyment in any of them, but golf was different. It’s an individual sport with a team aspect, and I liked that. I got really good at [golf], so I continued.”
The sport of golf has been in Maya’s family for as long as she can remember, with her grandparents beginning their hobby of journeying to the driving range before Maya was born. Her dad initially taught her the basics of handling a golf club before she began taking lessons at The First Tee, taking her out for trips to the driving range. Her stepmom also plays golf, so occasionally Maya will play with her dad and stepmom.
With golf being a family sport, Maya’s love for golf has only grown over the years, especially with the characteristic of individualism in the sport. While other team sports provide tons of pressure on one certain athlete, Maya feels that she can relax when playing her round while still being part of the team.
“I like the aspect that it’s an individual thing,” Maya said. “So you go out on your own as a player and play your own game. Sometimes I don’t like team sports where other people are relying on you to do things. It’s a lot of pressure. So I like it when I’m working toward a goal by myself, but there’s also a team aspect where your scores still count together, and you still practice as a team.”
Maya plays golf as much as she can all year round, even with the cold, brittle weather in the winter. Her swing coach has an indoor facility where Maya can practice chipping and full swings around three times a week. During the spring and summer, she utilizes the warm Michigan weather and usually plays almost every day, if not every day.
Her hard work and dedication over the past few years have paid off. Maya made the varsity girls’ golf team as a freshman, and in her senior season this past fall, the team won their regional competition and qualified for the state finals. This massive accomplishment became Maya’s favorite memory of playing golf.
“[Winning regionals] was a really good memory, because that was my goal since I made varsity as a freshman,” Maya said. “That was my goal, to make it to state finals, and it was just a cool memory to win and then go [to state finals], and have it be my senior season. That was a pretty cool ending.”
In addition to Maya’s success in high school, she plans to bring her talent to college. Maya is planning to sign a letter of intent to play Division Ⅱ golf at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Ever since she began playing golf in the first place, her ultimate goal was to play golf in college. Now, she’s making her dream come true.
Even after high school and college, Maya plans to continue playing golf throughout her life. For Maya, golf is something that can be enjoyed for the entire span of a lifetime, since it is enjoyed by all ages and isn’t extremely physically demanding.
“I think that’s one of the cool things about golf,” Maya said. “It’s something that you can do forever; I mean, my grandparents still play [golf]. So I think I will continue doing [golf] and maybe try to get my kids one day to do it. I think it would be a fun thing to be able to go out with friends and play golf. I want to continue it for as long as I can.”
Maya would highly encourage anyone to give golf a try. It’s a fun way to meet new people, and it can also be an enjoyable way to spend time with family and friends since golf isn’t a sport that requires any insane prowess to play recreationally. Golf can also provide multiple opportunities, as it has for Maya. She’s received many opportunities through golf alone, such as getting national notices as well as working as a junior coach at The First Tee.
Maya believes that finding a passion is extremely important for everyone. A passion in life can motivate someone in their daily activities, and also bring great pride and happiness to themselves. Maya knows that this is what golf does for her.
“I think getting into finding something that you’d like to do, whether it be sports, theater, or anything, is great,” Maya said. “To just find something that makes you feel proud of yourself and then you can accomplish a lot of things. I think it’s great to find something that makes you happy. And golf is my thing.”
