keep looking up

The smell of the freshly cut grass was intoxicating. The humid summer air enveloped me and gave me an exciting feeling of anticipation. As I was warming up at the practice range, I could not help but feel the surging of adrenaline through my body. I was so excited, today was the day of my first tournament of the season. I had been practicing and preparing harder than I had in my entire career. Everything was going to be perfect and I could feel that I was about to have a record breaking round. I had been waiting for this moment for a long time and now was my chance to prove myself.
I was in a pairing with two other girls. One of them had dark brown hair  and was short and pudgy. The other was wearing head to toe designer wear. She had light blonde hair and she was about the same height as me but she had a nasty look plastered on her face. The atmosphere was very intense. No one was saying anything and everyone was trying to get in tournament mode.
I was handed a white scorecard with my name written across the top in red sharpie. I started to get very nervous. I could feel moisture forming in the palms of my hands and my mouth started to dry. I felt like someone had released hundreds of butterflies into my stomach.
An old, bald man called my name to approach the first tee. I felt his beady, black eyes scutinizing me as I took my first practice swing for the tee shot. Suddenly, I felt my entire body freeze. It was like someone had taken all of the bones out of my body. As I took the club back to hit the ball, it was as if I was someone else watching myself hit the ball. I had rehearsed this very shot hundreds of times and now it felt foreign and awkward.
I finally made contact with the small, white ball. It made a funny noise on the stainless steel club face. The ball was propelled into an area with many thick oak trees. There were roots springing up from the ground and wrapping themselves around the bases of the trees. The ball hit one of the roots with a thud and disappeared, taking all of my excitement and anticipation with it. Everything inside of me sank. It was the beginning of a terrible day.
After that awful shot, all of my hopes and expectations for the day came crashing down and hit me like sharp rocks. I felt so stupid for wasting so much time on practicing and expecting so much. I had one of the worst rounds of my career. I felt my heart drop when I saw the old man with the beady, black eyes writing my dreadful score in red ink next to my name for everyone to see. No matter how hard I squinted, the crimson colored ink seemed to burn my eyes. I had practiced for hundreds of hours and none of it had paid off. Later that night, my mom came up to my room and interrupted my moping.
"Trust me, tomorrow will be a better day. Just stay positive and it will turn around."
The next day I went out to the course with hardly any expectations or goals. After warming up at the practice range I walked over to the teebox where the disaster had taken place the day before. I sat there calmly and tried to relax. I was paired with the same girls from the previous round. The old man called my name to hit my teeshot. As I walked up to the first tee I felt cool and collected. The old man that had seemed so menacing before, was now as intimidating as my pink, fluffy headcover on my driver. I stood over the ball and took a deep breath. My swing was as comfortable as it was when I played with my brother. The club met the pearly, white ball with a satisfying ping noise. The ball was launched straight into the warm, summer air with a high arc. It landed softly in the center of the green fairway in perfect position of the green. I felt a smile spread across my face.
I ended up having the best round of my life that day. Everytime I get down on myself, the memory of that ill-fated round and the phenomenal round that followed pops into my head. It reminds me of how no matter how hard things can get, in some situations you have to keep going because a good "shot" will come your way if you relax.