My Wish For My Daughter

I love golf.

I love playing, love practicing, love the history, love the architecture, love the equipment, even love finding golf balls for less skilled playing partners.

And I'd love to see my eight-year old love the game too.

But that hasn't happened yet.

My wife, who's quite an accomplished player, and myself have tried our best to introduce the game to her. When she was an infant, we would place her car seat in the golf cart and play nine. Then it was clubs, summer camp where we were members and taking her out to the range to hit a few.

We've come up with all sorts of games, from running around the putting green to see who can drop golf balls into the cups the fastest to hitting old balls into the lake- on purpose.

We've taken her friends out to the golf course to see if that might light the spark for the game. Even introduced her to Hank Haney. Nothing yet.

So, it got me thinking. Why do I want my daughter to play golf? Is it because we think she'd be really good at it? Or maybe that we think its a sport she'd have for a lifetime? Maybe we think she'd be more likely meet the "right" boy at the club. How about being able to go on vacations and share the game as a family? I could go on...

What I've come to realize is, although there's some truth in all the above thoughts, the real truth is I just want my daughter to find something that she can love as much as I love golf. I know how much the game has given me, taught me and meant to me. In the end, I just hope she could have that same blessing.

She's only eight. There's still time.

That's my view on the game.

Mark Gonsalves
CEO
Hank Haney IJGA