There are some feelings that one can’t quite replicate; they’re feelings that only through the genuineness and authenticity of the moment can those feelings be truly felt. For junior Jacob Elliott, nothing could replicate the feeling—that moment—of winning.
However, it’s not a cheap, fast win that gives him that wave of adrenaline he searches for. Rather, it is through continuous and deliberate effort that he feels the most accomplished. It is playing golf where he excels.
“[Nothing can beat the feeling of] winning,” Jacob said. “The day-long tournaments where you’re just walking 18 holes, and then, you finally find that you ranked really high on the leader board. That’s always nice.”
While golf has become a sport that he is passionate about playing in, it is not one that he has been playing his entire life. Golf is not even his first sport. Prior to his start with golf, Jacob dabbled in an array of various other sports—ranging from baseball to hockey. In spite of that, none of those sports had truly stuck with him; they hadn’t truly piqued his interest.
That pattern of sports continued on—until four years ago. Four years ago, he found his love for golf. As if it were meant to be, everything aspect between him and the sport clicked, and he has been playing ever since.
“I preferred it a lot more than baseball, so I just stuck with it,” Jacob said. “I did baseball, I did football, and I did hockey before. [But the less physical aspect of golf] is definitely a part [of why I like golf more.] Golf is the one I liked more; it felt more natural to me. It felt like it came easier to me than other sports: learning how to play and everything you have to do to get the ball in.”
Even though the initial appeal to the sport may have been its ease and fluidity, it was the people who ultimately kept him coming back. Unlike other sports he had played, golf is a more social sport.
Since golf is a much less physical sport, it leaves more room for communication between the different people playing, and it is that aspect of the game that appeals to Jacob so greatly.
“It’s simply the fact that you can talk to the people that you’re going up against [that appeals to me],” Jacob said. “You’re not just shouting at them and trying to hit them. It’s more of a social sport for me; mainly [you talk to] the people you play with: your opponents, your teammates, and occasionally the official because someone did something wrong.”
Originally, when Jacob first began to play, he played golf as a solo player: playing primarily by himself or with others who’d go against him. However, in recent years, the idea of joining a golf team intrigued him, so he decided to entertain the idea.
Since being on the team, he has seen the highs and lows that accompany playing alongside other people. Even so, it has yet to deter him or his passion for golf.
“[I joined the school team] because I wanted to see what I could do on a team,” Jacob said. “[Being on a team has made golfing more interesting because] it definitely feels like you have to rely on people more, which is something I sometimes prefer. In my first year of JV golf, some kids would always score high, which is not good. But, being on a team is good because someone will get a lower score, which will lower the team’s average.”
Doing more than just working alongside them, Jacob’s teammates have become people he now considers to be friends. They are there to support one another on the course but they are also there to laugh and argue with one another outside the course.
“Golf’s definitely introduced me to more people at our school,” Jacob said. “[I would describe our relationship as] a love-hate relationship. We either love each other, like when we’re just talking on the course, or we’re enemies. It’s a friendly beef, like when you and your friend cheer on a sports team: your friend’s cheering on one sports team, and you’re cheering on the other. You’re both kind of screaming at each other—but playfully.”
Golf is incomparable to any other sport that Jacob has played; it has brought him friends unlike any other.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Jacob. “I love golf. It’s a lot more complicated than any other sport I’ve played, and because of that, it’s more fun; more people should join.”
