Warning: This post is rather lengthy. However, it shouldn't take that long to read... Enjoy
When we started practice for the second semester, I was playing a lot better than I had first semester. My scores were actually normal and I was competing with the guys on the team. My coach watched me play a couple times, and he said my game looked a lot better! I was ready for qualifying! Or at least I thought I was.
We started qualifying for our first tournament and everything fell apart. I completely fell back to where I was first semester. I had zero confidence on the course and shots were going everywhere. Sometimes I would hook the ball out of bounds, and other times I would slice the ball into the water. Wherever there was out of bounds, water, or sand, my ball was usually there. I was hoping this poor play was just a temporary thing, but it definitely was not.
As we continued to qualify day after day, my scores continued to climb higher and higher. I can remember one of our qualifying rounds at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club. I played terrible on the front nine; something I did quite often at Quail Creek. I made my way to the back nine hoping I would be able to salvage my round. I came to hole 12, a par 3 over water. The hole was about 175 yards into a strong wind. I pulled out my 3 hybrid club. I accidentally hit a high fade into the wind which is THE WORST shot I could have hit in this situation. The ball failed to make it to the green and ended up splashing in the water. I pulled another ball from my bag and dropped it on the tee-box about 8 yards in front of where I was. Now I was hitting my 3rd shot. Once again, I hit a bad shot and the ball landed in the water. Now I was hitting my 5th shot from the tee-box. I hit a low 4 iron right of the green. I was just happy this ball did not find the pond. On my 6th shot I chipped the ball a little too hard and it ended up rolling into the water. Now I had to drop ANOTHER ball and hit my 8th shot. I chipped it to 6 feet, and ended up making my putt for a 9. I just got a 9 on a PAR 3!!! I was embarrassed and mad. I think I escaped that day with a final score of 93.
What made all of this worse was that some of the guys did not seem to be affected by the wind or the fact we were playing a tough course. On that same day I shot a 93, I think one of the guys on our team shot a one-over par, 73. A 73 on a day that windy was absolutely ridiculous. The wind was blowing about 30 mph all day. I felt like I was playing against PGA Tour pro's.
After posting plenty of rounds with scores in the 80's and sometimes 90's, I talked with my coach and we both decided it would be a REALLY good idea for me to redshirt. For any of you who do not know, when you redshirt, you keep a year of playing eligibility. So, instead of wasting a year, I still had four years of eligibility after my freshman year of college. In other words, I was put on the 5-year plan.
I spent the rest of my semester working on my game and trying to get out of the slump I had been in for the last 6 months. I spent plenty of time working on all parts of my game. Every part of my golf game was absolutely terrible. I couldn't drive the ball straight, I couldn't hit my irons very well, my chipping was bad, and I couldn't putt well either. I had A LOT of work to do.
One of the reasons I am here at Oklahoma Christian is because one guy took the time to talk with me and introduce me to the coach at Oklahoma Christian. Coach Mike McGraw from Oklahoma State took me under his wing and kind of became a mentor to me. In the Spring I started going to his house about once a month for a Bible study. One night there was a Bible study scheduled, but everyone backed out at the last minute for different reasons. Coach McGraw told me there would be no Bible study, but asked if I would like to come up for dinner. I happily agreed.
I went to Stillwater where I met Coach at his house. We drove to Hideaway Pizza were we sat down for dinner. Coach McGraw asked me how things were, so I decided to pour out my heart to him. I told him everything. I told him how I had completely lost all parts of my game. Every time I went to play a round of golf, I would walk off the 18th green discouraged and embarrassed. I told him how I had been shooting in the 80's and 90's and had zero confidence. Coach McGraw just listened. When I had finished telling him everything, he had some very encouraging words for me.
Coach McGraw told me about one of his former players. He said that one of the guys who used to play for Oklahoma State went through a slump in college too. His scores were often in the 60's... for nine holes. I sat there in amazement! I couldn't believe one of the former players for OSU used to shoot in the 60's for nine holes! This in itself was encouraging. I continued to listen.
Coach McGraw told me this kid just continued to practice and tried to improve each day. The next school year, the kid was out of his slump and playing the best golf of his entire life. He went on to lead Oklahoma State to a National Championship in 2006. This story gave me hope. Coach told me something even more encouraging though.
He told me he had a conversation with this kid after they won the National Championship. Coach McGraw asked him what was going through his head during the time when he wasn't playing very well. The kid replied by saying that was probably the best thing that happened to him. He said it was during this time he realized that if golf was taken away from him, he would be alright. He realized golf is not the only thing that mattered in life. He said he still had his health, his family that loved him, his friends, and most importantly, his faith.
This is what brought me the most encouragement. It was during this time I realized golf is not what defines Kyle Knierim. The scores I shoot, whether good or bad, are not what makes me who I am. I still have my family, I still have my friends, I am still in good health, and most importantly, I still have Christ who loves me more than I could ever imagine.
We drove back to Coach's house where I thanked him for taking the time to invest in my life. Not too many people, especially NCAA Division I college coaches, would take the time to sincerely care for a struggling NAIA golfer. I left Stillwater that night with a new attitude.
I know you all may be expecting some sort of miracle story here, but that's not the case. It's not like I started playing unbelievably great golf after speaking with Coach McGraw. My scores continued to consistently be in the lower 80's with the occasional round in the 70's or the occasional round in the 90's. I was still playing terrible golf during the Spring of my freshman year.
Many things brought me comfort during the Spring of 2010. Every night on the phone, my parents would encourage me. They told me to keep my head up and keep practicing hard because eventually it would pay off. They were always praying for me which brought me great comfort.
Many songs brought me comfort too. Every time I went to church, the songs we sang during worship seemed to hit me exactly where I was. I was often brought to tears with the comfort I received with each song. A few of my favorites were "You Never Let Go" by Matt Redman, "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt Redman, "No Sweeter Name" by Gateway Worship, and "Revelation Song" by Gateway Worship. Each song seemed to be telling me to hold on; there ARE greater days ahead. If we hold on to Jesus, everything will turn out okay. I always left church with hope and peace.
There were also a few verses that brought me a lot of comfort. James 1:2-4 was, and is, one of my favorites. It says this, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
I felt like the past two semesters had been a testing of my faith. I was at Oklahoma Christian University to play golf, and every time I stepped on the course I was completely embarrassed. I felt like God was saying, "Will you still follow me if I take away something that means soooo much to you?" I continued to persevere hoping my game would soon return.
Once school ended the last week of April, I drove back home to Missouri where I was determined to improve my golf game over the next four months. I was not about to let my sophomore year be a repeat of my freshman year. I was going to fix my golf game!
