Well, Almost
Eli 17.8 didn't make the golf team.In fairness, it was a very tough lift. He'd only taken half a dozen lessons, hit indoors over the winter, and had been hitting on an outdoor range for a couple of weeks before tryouts. Plus, his high school team is the favorite to win state.
Like I said, a tough lift.
He was hoping to make it as a "character pick," as he laughingly called it, or maybe the coach would see his potential.
They played nine holes at six different courses for tryouts. He struggled, which is not surprising. His scores ranged from 45-51, although he did shoot 40 at a very, very short course they played on.
So going to the last day of tryouts, he thought he still had a chance, but he was definitely on the outside looking in.
This last course is the home course for the high school team, and it's challenging.
He was +6 after four holes, and he said he knew he was blowing it. Then he went par-par-birdie-par-par to finish in 41.
It wasn't pretty. He said he was all over the course, and was scrambling on every hole. He one-putted seven greens.
I don't know how he did it. It's one thing to be clutch when you have a high level of skill. It's another thing entirely when you don't have the skill yet, but you're just willing it to happen.
The coach told him he knew that he was going to be an outstanding player within six months, but the season was too short for him to take a development pick. Which is fair.
We played three times last week. On Saturday, it was 45F with 15 MPH winds.
For the first time, he was missing straight. He'd hit the ball a little thin, and lost some distance, but he wasn't wild. Plus, he can afford to lose distance--he was toeing his driver a bit, but it was still going 280. "I'm starting to understand what my swing is doing," he said.
He was +4 after three holes, then went even par for the last six. It wasn't a fluke, either. There was no drama, no long putts, no miracle shots. Just steady golf.
He was laughing in the car. "I just needed another week!" he said.
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