Teeing off with the President

One of my goals for this semester is to keep up with events going down on campus an try to make it out to as many as I can. Especially if they are free! So even though I didn’t know the first thing about golfing or how to hit a ball, I set out to test my aim at the Tee Off With the President event in the Varsity Dome last week.

So, did I really get to meet David Naylor, the President of U of T? Yes, I did! We chatted for a few minutes as he watched my (not-so-great) swing and offered some helpful tips. He made it look effortless, but I found it to be really challenging! I had to think about positioning my hands and my feet properly, and twisting the right way, and then actually hitting the ball… but I’m happy to report that I did manage to get it in the air a few times. Hitting it straight… well, that might take a while. If there’s one thing I learned about golf during this experience, it’s that it must take a lot of practice to get good at it!

Even though my arm was a little sore by the time my half an hour was up, I’m glad I went out to this despite having almost zero golf experience. Members of the Varsity golf team happily offered me some much-need pointers, and I could tell that the other students, regardless of skill level, were enjoying themselves too. U of T hosts a lot of events, but this was one of the coolest opportunities I have encountered yet. I mean, how many university students can say they went golfing with their President?

If you missed the chance to try out your own golf skills last week, that’s ok! All full-time, part-time and graduate students* have FREE access to the driving range in the Varsity dome using their T-card. There’s drop-in golf offered every weekday, and you can even print out a handy schedule. On a side note… this marks week three of my tennis lessons! And so far, so good! I’m having a lot of fun and I think my hand-eye coordination is getting better. We’ve been moving slowly and covering the basics, like practicing controlling the ball, keeping a rally going, forehand and backhand swings… Oh, and just yesterday we worked on nailing those serves! Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to practice yet in between lessons. In the meantime, I’ve have been trying to wrap my head around the rules and the score keeping. But hey, at least I know what love means now! -Lesia * See this link for full details.