A Glimpse into my Golf Journal

I have been around golf through my father, who coaches a lot of elite golfers, including golfers who play on the European Tour, Asian Tour, Symetra Tour, Ladies European Tour, WAPT, and Cactus Tour. I started competing in the game at the age of 13. My first year of high school was when things got serious with golf. I feel very fortunate to practice and play around top players. It has helped move my game along very quickly. As COVID-19 has currently created a turbulent golfing world, other countries, as well as the United States, had completely shut down all tournament play. Once again, as life would have it, I found myself in another fortunate situation. I was able to compete on the Cactus Tour, a Ladies mini tour based out of Arizona. 

Through numerous tournaments and watching better players, I started to develop my focus and my ability to control my emotions much better. By being around so many different players, I was able to observe how they were doing it. I am incredibly fortunate to have had that experience. The Cactus Tour has helped me understand this when you can see it repeatedly in top players. 

It was great to see not just the players I usually play with, but others as well. Sometimes we become accustomed to competing with the same group of golfers, and it takes playing and seeing other players spark a missed detail. Which, in turn, helps me become a more polished golfer. Because of these experiences, my mental game is starting to become one of my strengths, which is a great feeling. I talk to my Dad a lot about it, and we work on my mental as well as my swing, but what most people do not know is that my Dad gives me swing advice maybe once a month. The rest of the time, he tells me that it is up to me to figure it out and find my way in this great game of golf. 

He is there to guide and encourage me to do it on my own and “if you do it on your own, you’ll always own it, and nobody can take that from you.” 

I have one more year of high school left and am very fortunate to be playing Division I Women’s Golf  after I graduate and for that, I am grateful golf is such a great game. If you allow it, it will teach you a lot about life and about yourself.

My Dad shares countless stories about when he was a policeman and how things are tough. But he’s a huge Ben Hogan fan, and he always quotes to me that “there are no secrets the secrets are in the dirt and it’s your job to go find them.”

I owe a lot to my Dad, but if you ask him, he will tell you it’s all me, that he’s just a tour guide. He keeps me from going down the wrong rabbit holes, continuously encouraging me to do my best and push myself to my limit. One thing that most people don’t know about my Dad is he doesn’t give a lot of pats on the back, but if he does, that means you’ve earned it. You wear it like a badge of honor. 

BY HANNA MONTGOMERY JULY 15, 2020

About the Author

Hanna Montogmery is an amateur golfer who began playing golf at the age of 13. She currently attends Granite Bay High School.