The PNC Championship Reminds Us What's Important — Both About Golf and Life
By Brendon Elliott
Published on
Charlie, Sam and Tiger Woods.Getty Images
Without fail, year in and year out, the PNC Championship reminds us of what is most important about the game of golf.
Normally the Monday after a tournament, we typically present you with a swing tip or two on PGA.com. We may also suggest an aspect of the game to work on to help you play better golf.
My intention is to still offer that up to you today. Yet, not by way of a mechanical aspect to focus in on or a drill to use as you practice. Instead, and it's just as valuable as any tip that you would otherwise get, this is more of a reminder and the foundation of how all great golf is played.
12-year-old Will McGee, son of Annika Sorenstam, was interviewed alongside his mom after the final round of the PNC. You can tell how much this means to Will, and his mom, who both love golf as much as anyone.
Or perhaps you saw Padraig Harrington’s interview yesterday. He talked about what he feels is most important about getting people, especially young kids, to love the game.
Some constant themes played out throughout this weekend’s PNC Championship. Golf is all about family. Golf is about having fun. Golf is about love. As Harrington said, you must learn to love golf first in order to be good at it.
You can tell the love for golf is evident with Tiger and Charlie Woods, with their fist pumps and smiles that appeared all over the course this past weekend:
I had one of the most powerful examples of this a couple of months ago with one of my students. Sebastian is an 18-year-old senior at Lake Brantley High School near Orlando. He has been playing and participating in programs at my academy since he was 12 years old. Over the last two years, he has gotten very serious about his game and has been working with me extensively because he wants to play in college.
A great deal of progress has been made over the last year. But, like many talented teen players, Sebastian was struggling to have a breakthrough round in competition. He could shoot par and under routinely in practice, but in competition, it was always more of a challenge to do so.
That breakthrough came a few months back at a tournament here in Orlando. The following is a text conversation I had with Sebastian the day after he shot a 4-under-par round in that event to secure a victory. It was the first time he scored in the 60s.
Take a lesson from Will and Annika, Padraig, Tiger and Charlie, and all who competed in Orlando at the PNC Championship this weekend. Take note of what my student Sebastian realized in his breakthrough under-par win.
Love golf, have fun playing it, and be thankful that it’s a part of your life. The game will reward you if you do.
Brendon Elliott is considered by his peers in the industry as one of the top youth golf coaches in the world. He is a multiple local, state, regional, national, and world award-winning instructor who focuses on junior golfers ages 3-18. With numerous appearances on Golf Channel's Morning Drive, local TV, nationwide radio, and countless publications, Elliott is one of the foremost experts in the youth golf arena.
His Little Linksters organization is recognized as an example for introducing children as young as three to the game as well as how to help introduce youth with disabilities to our golf.
Elliott has been recommended by industry titans such as Nicklaus, Player, Floyd, Sorenstam, Speith, and more. Among his numerous accolades, Elliott was named the PGA of America's 2017 PGA National Youth Player Development Award Winner in 2017.
Additionally, Elliott is a very busy freelance golf writer who works for various golf media outlets, including PGA.com, Golf.com, and many more. You can catch his three weekly columns on both GolfWRX.com and rg.org/news/golf.
The PGA of America is one of the world's largest sports organizations, composed of PGA of America Golf Professionals who work daily to grow interest and participation in the game of golf.
Leaderboards 
Become a Member 
Shop 
Trade In 
