The Driving Rangeby:JohnMoug

Life is filled with special places where individuals feel safe and comfortable. It can also

be filled with places that they don’t like and are not at all peaceful. My sanctuary that I feel

absolutely at home at is the driving range at Willow Park Golf and Country Club. This golf

course driving range is my home away from home. Whenever I reach a point in my life where I

feel I’ve sunk to the lowest level I could, I drive over to the Willow Park driving range.

As soon as I step foot onto the greenest grass that I’ve personally ever seen, all thoughts

and problems in my head fly away. In the mornings, when I’m hitting balls on the picturesque

field of grass, it makes me feel like I’m the only person in the world. The morning dew on the

freshly cut grass shines to make the range look like a silky smooth tarp of moisture. As the sun

rises from the east, it flickers at me as if to say goodmorning. When I sail a ball into the blinding

sun, I feel like it’s going to reach the yellow glow, but it never does. The trees are cut out in

straight lines on both sides like soldiers standing at attention. There is a stream that flows up the

left hand side of the range. It glistens under the sun, and gets fed with many of my golf balls.

Seeing the Canadian geese scurry out of the way when my golf balls land in the stream always

gives me a little chuckle. These beautiful triumphant birds, take over the stream throughout the

day, and always look to be at peace, even when they have golf balls whizzing by their heads. I

see my breath in the morning chill, but no cold weather could ever keep me away. Every time I

arrive at the range, I always choose the same stall to hit my practice shots, it is my lucky stall. I

align myself down the acres of grass always doing my same routine between my shots. When I

look across the rows, I see empty stalls with pyramids of balls waiting to be hit. The smell of the

dampened evergreen trees fills the moist air and gives me goose bumps as I prepare for my next

shot.
 As I work my way through my buckets of balls, I start to wonder why I would ever leave

this place. Living in Canada, golf isn’t really the sport of choice. But something caught my eye

and penetrated my soul when my uncle took me to this driving range for the first time. I knew

from the start that this driving range would be life changing for me. As soon as my uncle brought

me onto that perfectly mowed grass, I knew I found my sanctuary. Watching the professionals

on television gives me drive, because I want to become professional one day. I spend countless

hours working on the mechanics of the golf swing and I hit ball after ball until my body just

can’t take the stress of it anymore. Most golfers dread it when they have to go practice on the

range, they would rather just play. I am quite the opposite. The driving range is special to me. I

would rather practice all day at the driving range than walk 18 holes of the golf course.

I’ve had countless fond memories at the range but nothing tops the time that I was hitting

golf balls like I normally do, and I look up and Samuel Jackson was staring right at me,

analyzing my swing. He kept complimenting me on my swing and told me to keep working on

my game, and one day it will pay off.

Whenever I get into a situation with my girlfriend or my family, which is very often, I

come to this beautiful place and hit golf balls as hard as I can. It acts as my stress reliever. I

never leave the range until my mind is fully clear of all negative thoughts. This place not only

acts as my practice facility, it also acts as my psychologist, my home, and most importantly, my

friend.