Two and a half years ago, two young men came separately to the OB Sports Golf Academy. They both had big goals and dreams, but also had big work ethics to match those goals and dreams. In the time since, they have experienced peaks and valleys both in performance and confidence. Yet, their dedication to their goals never wavered and so they were always able to rise to the top again.

This month they will leave together to go to the University of Nebraska on golf scholarships, one as the Arizona State Junior Champion and the other as the Nicklaus Award winner as the top community college golfer in the nation. This is not a story about Kolton Lapa and Jimmy Kozikowski, but rather about having goals, a plan of how to accomplish them and the determination to stick to that plan.

Most junior golfers play with the goal of reaching the collegiate level. What separates those who reach that goal from those who may not is not the setting of goals, but actually understanding the amount of work it will take to reach them.

College coaches can require their players to be at practice anywhere from 20-22 hours per week. That is in addition to a college class load and tournament travel. Not to mention the rigors of the everyday life of a college student. If a junior golfer is not putting in that same kind of dedication during high school, then they will be hard pressed to get to that collegiate level.

The competition for spots on college golf teams is intense. Coaches are now recruiting earlier and earlier in a golfer’s development. It is not unheard of for a coach to be tracking the progress of an eighth grader!

At the OB Sports Golf Academy we have a group of very dedicated and motivated young men and women all striving to reach a very high set of goals. We encourage them to match their work ethics to those high goals and constantly remind them that there is no substitute for hard work. Unfortunately, hard work alone does not guarantee success but the lack of hard work can almost certainly guarantee that success will not come.

Setting goals is the easy part. The hard part comes in devising the plan to accomplish those goals, and the really hard part comes in sticking to that plan. There will be peaks and valleys as well as distractions and diversions. Sacrifice will be required and hardship a given. However, for the person who is able to conquer all of those things, the reward of a goal accomplished will be more than worth the effort.

Jeff Fisher is the Director of Instruction at the OB Sports Golf Academy at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. Jeff can be reached at 480.414.9330 or jfisher@obsports.com.