Dinner with Rory by Micah

Dinner with Rory by Micah - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

I spent quite a while thinking about this question. The typical, and somewhat predictable, names came to mind like Abraham Lincoln, Jesus, George Washington, Thomas Edison, etc., however, I cannot honestly say that I would choose to have dinner with one of those famous people over the one name that kept coming to my mind—the world famous golfer, Rory McIlroy. Is he as famous as Albert Einstein or Mother Theresa? No. Is he considered “historical” in the standard way of thinking? Maybe not, but he is certainly making quite a name for himself in the golf world, and will definitely have his place in the history of the game of golf. Therefore, truthfulness won out over predictability, and Rory is who I would definitely choose as my dinner partner.

A little background on Rory, for those who have little, or no, interest in golf--he is a 26 year old from Northern Ireland, who now lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. At the young age of fifteen, he was a member of Europe’s winning Junior Ryder Cup team. In September 2007, at the age of 18, he turned professional. He plays on both the European Tour, and PGA Tour. He was ranked the number one golfer in the world for 95 straight weeks, and is currently in the number three spot.

Part of my interest in Rory is that he was introduced to golf at a young age by his dad. His dad instructed and encouraged him. My Grandpa did the same for me. He introduced me to the sport that I have loved for as long as I can remember. My grandpa and I would roll golf balls on the floor of his office into a little rubber putting cup when I was just a little guy. He bought me my first set of junior clubs and showed me the fundamentals of grip, stance, swing and follow through. He gave me a practice net for the backyard and he watched me hit balls again and again. Grandpa always made sure that I was practicing with the correct swing. He also helped me with the rules and etiquette of golf. His instruction and encouragement helped me become good enough to compete on my high school varsity golf team. I don’t expect to become a touring pro (even though that would be amazing) but I love golf, and want to continue to improve my game to become a low handicap golfer. Rory could certainly help me with that.

I would like to talk with Rory about his childhood years, and share our childhood golf experiences. I would also like to talk to Rory about his current practice routine, and any strength exercises that he would recommend. I am also interested in his approach to a round of golf. What does he want to know about each fairway, green, and hazard? How does he get set up for each shot, physically and mentally? I would enjoy some input from Rory on equipment. He has a contract with Nike, so I already know about brands of clubs and balls, however, what is his preference in shaft flex and ball compression and why? What putter does he prefer? How many wedges does he (actually, his caddie) carry in his bag of the 14 clubs allowed? I would want to get some feedback on his mental approach to the game as well. How does he deal with a bad shot? My guess is, not always very well, since he tossed a club into a lake last year. I have never done that, but it would be useful to know how Rory attempts to put that occasional missed shot out of his mind completely and strike the next shot with confidence.

You can see that this may be a very long dinner with appetizers and a dessert or two. Perhaps, an eight course meal would suffice. I would certainly be grateful for our time together and let him know that I would like to get the opportunity to communicate with him again sometime, perhaps by text or email, and of course I would ask for a selfie with him to document the meal. I sure would love for this to happen in real life, and not just my imagination for an essay. One can dream, I suppose. And while I’m dreaming, maybe he’d even ask me to play a round with him at his favorite course, and he’d surprise me with a brand new set of clubs. Yes, I’m definitely dreaming.