Hannah the Golfer
It seems like a long time ago now, but there was a time when I played golf. It seems silly to say, but it does feel like a different lifetime ago! I played in school, I played for fun, I played professionally. It feels like that chapter of my life was a different Hannah. I don’t necessarily feel like that’s a bad thing, but it does make me a little nostalgic.
I was evaluating my own Instagram page (as one does) and I noticed how, by looking at it, one couldn’t tell I played golf unless you scroll down to my last golf post, which was on March 30, 2021. Even then, that was just announcing my move to Colorado. My last “I play golf for a living” post was June 28, 2020.
I used to think that all I was was a golfer, as if that was a bad thing. I was “Hannah the Golfer” and nothing else. I used to feel like it was the only thing people would talk to me about, like there was nothing else interesting about me. I used to even get a little annoyed when people would point out my skill. For a long time growing up, I tried to force myself to not be seen as “Hannah the Golfer.” I even tried to balance out my Instagram page so it didn’t look like I was “too much” of a golfer. Like Hannah Montana, I tried to live this double life as part athlete and part “normal” human.
For the last 4 years, playing golf has become incredibly difficult due to my health. But with a benign mass on my liver removed and forced downtime, I find myself scrolling through old golf photos on my camera roll. I went to Bandon Dunes for the trip of a lifetime in October of 2022 and didn’t post a single photo about it! (Yes I know–not everything needs to be posted. But this trip absolutely deserved to be shared).
Scrolling through these Bandon Dunes photos sparked something in me. Call it nostalgia if you want, but I’m looking at it as more of a recognition. Golf is who I am. “Golfer” is a part of my many personal adjectives and I am so proud to be one. I am Hannah the Golfer and I am so proud of that. I find myself now trying to weave golf into my conversations, analyzing old swings, finding joy when people want to talk about golf with me in any capacity. My uncle plays in a group every Sunday, and every Sunday afternoon I wait for his texts detailing his round and how it went. Without golf, the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve had would never have happened. I am so thankful for this sport and the life it has given me and my family.
My personal definition of “Hannah the Golfer” has evolved so much in the 15 years I’ve dedicated my life to this sport. From “Hannah the Amateur Golfer,” to “Hannah the Professional Athlete,” and now to “Hannah the (almost) PGA Golf Professional.” Everyday I get to be in the sport I love, in my little corner of the world I know best.
Everyone evolves and grows, your personal adjectives do the same. There isn’t much of a point to this post. It was all sparked by nostalgic photos of Bandon Dunes. Maybe it’s a reminder to myself (and whoever is reading this) that as we are many things, it’s okay to also have “a thing.”
I hope you’re proud of your “thing,” if that’s your thing.