About the Author

Meera Trudeau is a 9-year-old, who loves to play golf and read. She loves to read on a rainy day all curled up in her bed. She aspires to be a lawyer one day, because she loves to debate against things she doesn't think is right! Meera hopes this book helps other young golfers like her learn not to be let down if someone tells them that they can't do it. 

This story starts with a girl named Jenna, living in the northern side of California. Jenna had potential at an early age and loved being outside all the time. Her father, a golfer at the time, wanted to share this sport with his daughter. She got her first set of golf clubs at 2 years old, but she was going to need a lot more practice if she was going to play this sport. Jenna's dad realized that she was going to have to get used to golf because at first it can be very frustrating.

A NEW SPORT

To ensure that she had proper practice material, they bought a net for her that she could hit foam balls into, she was not ready for real golf balls yet. On Jenna's 6th birthday, she finally got a real set of clubs, consisting of a driver, a 9,7 and a 6 iron and a putter. She would have to wait a few more years until she could start at a tournament level. In school Jenna was a very hard worker and didn't let anything break her learning spirit

When Jenna was 7 years old, her family moved to a different neighborhood. This neighborhood was a bit different because it had a golf course and a coach to teach people how to play. So, her dad enrolled her for a lesson, just to see how good this coach was. On Saturday, Jenna had her first lesson. The coach introduced himself as Coach Grant and said he had 23 years of teaching under his belt. Jenna showed him her swing, and he said it was impressive for her age. "Your daughter has got a wonderful swing," he told Jenna's father. 

Her father had to go to the restroom, so he told Jenna he would just be a little while. As soon as Jenna's father left, Coach Grant immediately started saying very mean things about her swing, such as, "You've got a terrible swing" or "I've seen babies swing better than that!". Of course, Jenna felt very hurt by this, thinking it was only the first time. After the lesson, she told her dad that Coach Grant wasn't very nice, her dad said, "It was only the first day, and you were just probably very nervous for swinging for someone besides me or your mom."

 Finally, at 9 years old, her dad registered her for her first tournament on Sunday. Nervous and excited, Sunday came quickly, her dad told her just to have fun and put any bad shots behind you. Jenna was playing with 2 other girls, Cory and Violet.  Cory went first and sent it down the middle of the fairway.                          

Violet went next and absolutely smashed it but still sent it bouncing a bit left. Last it was Jenna's turn, she put her aim, did a few practice swings, took a deep breath and hit the ball. Her ball went a bit right but went almost as far as Violet's ball. The first hole was a really hard par 5. Her dad handed her a 6 iron, and she hit a nice approach to 5 feet. Violet, Cory and Jenna walked down to the putting green with their putter and started setting up their aim. Violet shot and missed by 2 inches, Cory did the same and tapped in. Then it was Jenna's turn. She practiced, swung and hit the ball in the hole! Birdie!

The Yips

Something really big was coming up for Jenna. The LEAP test, a test that decided if you should go in the next grade or not, so this was a pretty big deal for her. But, on the day before that test she would have a really big tournament. If she won that she could go to the county tournament. This made her really nervous. Jenna had a lesson with Coach Grant tonight, through the 2 years that she had been with him, he had never actually praised her swing.

Once they arrived at the clubhouse, he greeted them and gave her dad last week's review. Jenna's dad told her that he knew Coach was a bit strict but said he was just pushing her to do the best. Coach Grant said that she needed to adjust her grip, and put the right hand above the left hand, even though she was right-handed! Jenna remarked that she didn't think this would work for her, and he said all of his other students do it, so she should do it to. Jenna tried the other grip and of course, it didn't work. "You're not doing it right!" Coach Grant groaned.

The practice session with Coach Grant made her really nervous. Should Jenna try to do the other grip if she's right-handed? Her dad said she could practice a little bit on the practice range at the golf course. Jenna grabbed her 9 iron, she skidded the ball across the range. She tried again. She spun the ball left. Jenna tried one more time. She hit the top of the ball, and it went 5 feet. She took out her 3 wood, grabbed 5 balls and hooked every single one of them. Jenna was getting very frustrated. She told her dad that she wasn't hitting the ball very well. "You might have a case of the Yips" her dad said. "What's the Yips?" Jenna asked. 

"Why, the Yips are something that happens when you know you are really good at something, but you are not doing it very well". Her dad explained. "But, why do I have the Yips dad?" Jenna questioned. " You are probably very nervous about the test and the tournament" her dad replied. "Just try to relax and take it easy on your golf swing and save it for the tournament. Jenna tried a nice easy swing and made                   good contact with the ball. It didn't go                     very far but still made good                                 contact.

It turns out that Jenna's coach would be coming to the qualifying tournament. Which wasn't ideal for Jenna. Her Dad said that she shouldn't be nervous, and there is always next year to try again if you don't make it. The night before her big tournament she couldn't get ANY sleep, because she was up all night worrying about if she was going to do well in front of Coach Grant. But still, the morning came quickly. Her starting time was at 11:00 am, and it was currently 8:00 am. On a Sunday!