The ULTIMATE Junior Giveaway

[GatorBait]

WINNER ANNOUNCED!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay juniors – it's time to let the cat out of the bag. We just got finished with my first junior giveaway and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your responses. I needed to see what kind of a response I got and you guys did not disappoint. So, given the overwhelming positive response from my first contest, it's time now to unleash the ultimate contest for juniors here on WRX. And…here…we…go!




THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER WILL RECEIVE…


*ONE Brand New Callaway I-MIX Head – FT-5 or FT-i (Tour or non-Tour model)

*ONE Brand New Callaway I-MIX Shaft – You may choose any available I-MIX shaft

*ONE Brand New Callaway X-Forged Chrome Wedge – Any set-up/shaft available

*ONE Brand New Mascot Headcover for your new driver – If I am able to get your team

*ONE Brand New Golf Glove of your choice – Any brand or model currently available

*ONE Dozen of your Favorite Golf Balls - Any brand or model currently available

*Additionally, your new shaft and wedge will be gripped with your favorite grip







The COMPETITION

"Describe why you believe the game of golf has made you a better person."

The question is rather broad and you can tangent your answer in any way you deem fit. But you must be complete and thorough. Short, thoughtless, and relatively impersonal answers are not going to be considered. This is a question that I personally answered in 3 pages of Microsoft Word. So 3-5 sentences will not suffice. ALSO – I was lax in the last giveaway on your grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. That won't be the case on this one. I would suggest that you write your answer in a Word document before submitting it to the thread and use the tools provided. Most of you expressed interest in attending college after high school. As a recent college graduate, I cannot stress enough the importance of good clean writing skills. I'm not asking you to write a doctoral thesis. Just try to show me you know the basics of good writing.

With that being said, the cleanest answer will not necessarily win since I'm predicting many age brackets competing. I do not expect a 13-year old to write better than an 18-year old. Conversely, if an 18-year old's response is written a lot worse than a 13-year old's response, chances are that 18-year old will not win. I hope that makes sense. I'm not going to actually require a certain length, but I would imagine that you should spend at least an hour on your response. I realize many of you are busy with actual schoolwork, but one hour is not exactly a lot of time. I think many of you will agree the results of your best writing here are a bit sweeter!

Also, for those of you who are going through the process of applying for colleges, your answer here could easily be submitted for your application's personal statement (if it requires one). This is the EXACT question that I created and answered in three of my law school application essays.

THE WINNER
I alone will select the winner but I am going to have input from one other person who will be left anonymous. Each response submitted will be copy/pasted into a word document for me to read. I would hope that I don't see too many red and green lines. The grand prize winner will go above and beyond not only with grammar, but with quality of answer (and not necessarily quantity).










NOTES, RULES, and REQUIREMENTS (please read before responding)

*This competition is only open to junior golfers who have not yet completed high school. It is also open to both right-handed and left-handed golfers and international juniors. You do not need to be living in the United States to win this competition. Please note that left-handed I-MIX heads and wedge lofts/lies are fewer in option but I'm sure you lefties are already aware of that. Similarly to the shaft options, please make sure you become aware of the I-MIX head options and wedge loft/lie options that are offered. You can find all of this information listed on Callaway's website.

*On all prizes, your selection must be a product that is currently available. I won't be waiting for a new prototype shaft to come out. Once you complete your entry and you feel especially confident, I would suggest you research the list of I-MIX shaft options as not all shafts on the planet are available in all flexes. For example, Diamana Whiteboard (83) is currently only available in X-Flex. Also, not all steel shafts are available for Callaway's wedges. So, have a basic idea of what shafts you are most interested in before the end of the competition. I will work with the grand prize winner on selecting shafts if that person is unsure. This may require getting some launch monitor data for me to analyze.

*I want to make sure you have your new equipment ASAP after the competition ends. But remember, I am going to have to order whatever you want so it will take some time before you receive your winnings. If the winner is a lefty, it could take upwards of 3 weeks.

*Please do not include your name, age, or grade in your actual answer. You will read shortly how you are to structure that information. Also, I want no mention of what kind of golf balls, golf gloves, or clubs/shafts you want in your answer or anywhere in your response.

*Once you have submitted your answer, I ask that you please do not edit it. If I see that you have edited your response, I'm probably not going to count your answer in the competition. Once you have submitted your response and you notice something absolutely God-awful terrible about your response, PM me and we can discuss the possibility of you editing it.





I NEED TO STRESS THESE NEXT TWO, even though I shouldn't have to…



* Please, if you are NOT a junior, do not ruse me into thinking you are. Please respect the competition and if you are not a junior, do not feel compelled to destroy this opportunity for them. The winner is going to have to prove to me in someway that they are their stated age. If this becomes a problem, I'll end the competition immediately.

*If your plan is to win this competition and then sell what you win, please do not participate. I'm not interested in reading your response if your goal is to turn a profit. There are juniors here that would really like to use this equipment, so leave the competition to them! Again, if I suspect this, I'll end the competition immediately.



*Structure your answer like this:

First Name:

Age:

Grade:

Answer:






DEADLINES

Competition Starts: Saturday, January 3^rd at 12:00pm Noon (EST)
*No answer will be accepted before that exact time. I wouldn't honestly expect to see any answers for the first few days but I could be wrong.

Entry Submissions: Saturday, January 31^st by 12:00pm Noon (EST)
*This gives you a grand total of four (4) weeks to submit your answer. This is plenty of time so you don't necessarily have to rush matters right away. Take your time and submit when you are ready. I am going to thoroughly read all answers several times and not until after the competition has ended – early answers won't be forgotten and late answers won't have an advantage. No answer will be accepted after this time. I know this seems like a long period of time, but I want to make sure everyone has ample time to participate AND can write the very best that they are capable of.

Winner Announced: Saturday, February 7^th at 12:00pm Noon (EST)
*I'm going to need some time to sit down and read these thoroughly. I want to make sure I read every response at least three or four times. Plus, it should add to the suspense a little. I will announce the winner in the actual thread. That person will also receive the congratulatory PM from me. In that PM, we will discuss what it is exactly that you want. Also, you will be required to verify your age in some manner. This will be discussed once you win!










WHY AM I DOING THIS?
Well, someone asked me that during the last giveaway. So, I'm going to respond in the exact same manner. I'm currently 24 years old and a college graduate. I won't say my junior golf career was extremely successful but I won a few tournaments and I played consistently. I have carried a handicap less than 5.3 since I was 14 so I always considered myself a good player. But, I realized at an early age that I would have accomplished nothing in my junior or college golf career without the help, guidance, and support of friends and family. I never asked for handouts, but I always received them. Golf balls, clubs, bags, free lessons and instruction, etc. Without the assistance of these folks, I never would have enjoyed the game of golf like I do now. With that being said, I understand that there are junior golfers out there who haven't been given the opportunities that I have.

That's why I am doing this. I feel like I owe something to the junior community – I owe what I received. I work countless hours with juniors at our local club. I assist in coaching of high school teams. I work with junior camps as much as time allows me to. I routinely give equipment away that I no longer use because I don't like turning a profit on it. There are juniors out there that could use it but might not necessarily have the money to purchase it. Like I said in the beginning, my first giveaway was a great success. I have tried this on two other golf forums and the responses there were not close to half what I got here. And I personally believe there are some that didn't get the time to respond. This is the largest and most gracious junior community that I am aware of so you guys are the beneficiaries. Pat yourselves on the back! And GOOD LUCK! I look forward to reading what you guys have to write.

[GatorBait]

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

 

*So I can choose a high-end shaft?

 

--YES, Matrix, Mitsubishi Rayon, etc…I don't care. This is for you!

 

 

*How will you ship?

 

--UPS, NEXT DAY AIR when I have everything at once to ship to you

 

 

*I'm not in high school yet?

 

--You can still participate. Write as best as you can.

 

 

*I live in Tahiti

 

--PLEASE participate. You don't need to be living in the U.S. to participate.

 

 

*My English is lacking. What should I do?

 

--I speak and read Spanish fluently so I can handle that. Any other language, please let me know ahead of time so I can have it translated.

 

 

*I'm a college student. PLEASE?

 

--No, sorry. As a college student, your writing should be far more advanced and gives you an obscene advantage. Additionally, college students have much more access to discounted equipment. I'm currently trying to work something up for college students for a possible future giveaway.

 

 

*PM me with any other questions you may have!

[GatorBait]

ADDITIONS....

 

In order to participate, you MUST be a member as of NOW. New members are not eligible to participate in this competition. Any new memberships to Golf WRX starting now will not qualify.

 

 

 

ALSO --- Please be sure to submit your responses IN THIS THREAD. Do not PM me your response. If you feel uncomfortable writing your name down, then don't. Leave it blank. I want EVERYONE to be able to read what you guys come up with, not just me and my one assistant.

 

PLEASE

READ

ALL OF MY INSTRUCTIONS

BEFORE

POSTING ;)

[TM golf guy]

Insanely nice gesture, but since you are a Gator it isn't terribly surprising (Can't wait till the 8th!). Wish I was still a Junior LOL. Good luck to everyone and GO GATORS!

[funkyfedora]

Wow, thank you. I will start writing this up tonight and should have it up by early AM at the earliest.

[GatorBait]

Wow, thank you. I will start writing this up tonight and should have it up by early AM at the earliest.

 

Remember, I don't want to see a response BEFORE Noon EST tomorrow. Don't DQ yourself too quickly now ;)

[golf fanatic16]

GatorBait, how do I save a post? I wrote it and then I read we can't post until noon tomorrow. Can you even save a reply?

 

 

Mike

[GatorBait]

GatorBait, how do I save a post? I wrote it and then I read we can't post until noon tomorrow. Can you even save a reply?

 

 

Mike

 

I sent you a PM

[funkyfedora]

Glad I checked back. I will save it and hold on to it.

[golf fanatic16]

GatorBait, how do I save a post? I wrote it and then I read we can't post until noon tomorrow. Can you even save a reply?

 

 

Mike

 

I sent you a PM

 

 

 

Thanks. I just got it.

 

Michael

[GetinDAhole26]

I better start writing. This is a good opportunity because there the game of golf has affected my life in so many ways. It is true as I am going through the college application process now, this essay could be submitted to certain colleges. Thanks for the opportunity.

[nchladek]

GatorBait,

Wow, I was getting really excited until I read the rule about college students, oh well. Either way, this is a generous (to say the least) giveaway and you're going to make someone very happy February 8th.

[whatsamatta]

Wow! Thank you so much for this opportunity! I will start writing and post it up in a couple of hours. You have no idea how nice and generous you are being and have been to juniors.

[funkyfedora]

Good luck everyone and thank you for the opportunity.

[mrbsmells]

Sorry i dont know if this is alright but i actually wrote my college essay on this topic.

 

Brendan Allen

 

17 yo

 

Chelmsford MA

 

 

 

EDIT: Senior

[golf fanatic16]

Michael

 

 

15

 

 

9th grade

 

 

First of all, I'd like to say that what you are doing, GatorBait, is truly generous and unbelievable. My answer to your question is that golf has made me a better person by instilling good values and work ethic. It has given me something to work toward. My goal is to play college golf at a D-1 school. It has also made me strive to get good grades in school. I work at a local golf course. So, I get to play for free and hit free range balls. I take my practicing seriously and try to achieve something every time I practice. Golf has taught me how to be discipline and how to overcome things when they don't go my way. Golf has taught me to work hard and to never give up. One of the most important things golf has done for me is surrounding me with good people and friends. Golf has taught me to control my anger. It has also taught me to manage my time. I can't imagine myself having the work ethic and good values I do if I weren't involved in golf. Thanks again for this great opportunity.

[ERuhling]

Evan

15

9th Grade

 

Golf has made be a better person because of its lack or popularity. Being a teenager in a school where our football team is one of the best in the state and our golf team is lucky to have three wins a year, it's not exactly the coolest thing to do and play golf. Golf has made me a better person because it has made me a stronger person on the inside. Playing golf has never been a sport that would boost my popularity.

Growing up, I have played golf all my life and through the years I would be ridiculed for playing a "sport" that is not a sport; it is a "game." I have always debated anyone that would object to the sport of golf. Golf has made me a better person because I love this sport. I have never cared what people think about my favorite sport, but I am always ready to inform them of the difficulty of this sport.

This sport has given my self-confidence that I play this sport and I know what I love and what I'm good at. To paraphrase a quote by Tiger Woods, "Yes they'd make fun of me, call golf a wussy sport, but I knew I found something I loved." The game of golf has given me the "thick-skin" to shrug off all the negative remarks against my sport.

This has made me a better person in life because I have learned to accept many things. I have learned to accept the fact that I do not play a "cool" sport. I can use this new found perspective on my every day life. I have learned that in life, I will not agree with everyone. In fact, the majority of the time I will find myself disagreeing with people on various subjects. I can admit to myself that not everything will be the socially accepted idea. Everyone that plays junior golf knows that they are not going with the pack. They are "going against the grain."

I consider myself lucky to not care what people will think of me for doing something I love. Golf is my favorite sport and it has changed my life to be a better person. Without golf who knows where I would be.

[Golf Rat]

 

 

Jarom

 

11

 

5^th

 

 

 

Jarom

11

5th

 

 

 

The game of golf has made me a better person in three ways. One way is it has taught me how to work hard. I practice a lot and all that practice has given me discipline and the desire to work hard and be successful in life. I practice my short putts every day. The three, four, five, and six footers have definitely given me discipline because when I miss your 29^th out of 30 three footers I start over instead of just shrugging it off and saying it doesn’t matter.

 

Also I have learned to control my anger. Before I started playing golf I didn’t control my anger super well. I’ve since been able to control my anger. So when I am mad I can calm down easier because I’ve learned to control my anger and golf helped a lot with that.

 

Another way that golf has helped me is how I manage my time. I plan my day out with my practice.

 

Thanks Gatorbait the giveaways are very generous of you and will help juniors in many ways. Again thanks for your opportunities you have provided for me and all the other juniors here on golfwrx.

 

 

 

 

[Baraethon]

Dude... You are awesome. I doubt I'll win this, even though I think my writing is decent, but still - thank you for doing this. Hope I'll be able to whip something up in time.

 

Edit: Probably a no, since you didn't mention it in first post, but can we get a FT-iQ driver?

[tjewell1994]

Tommy

age 14

grade 8th

 

Golfing has made me a much better person in a multitude of ways. It is not just a sport; it is a lesson in life. Just by playing golf, I have improved as a person in three main ways. It has made me work harder, it has given me better ways to act, and it has made me feel better about myself. Without golf, I would probably be one of those kids who just hang out doing nothing all day long, and find joy out of getting in trouble.

 

To get the ball rolling, golf has made me persevere on and off the course. Before I started playing golf, if a difficult situation came upon me, I would simply give up. I play in tournaments a lot, and as we all know, you don’t always play to your full potential. By sticking to my game and not giving up, I often turn my game around and manage to post a decent score. I have learned from this outside of golf in a plethora of ways. If a challenge comes along, I know that if I try my hardest that the challenge will resolve itself.

 

Growing up as a boy, I would often get in trouble for acting rude to an adult or having a temper and making a bad situation worse. Even when I started playing golf I had a bit of a temper. This seemingly unbreakable habit got me in a lot of trouble on the course. After being penalized in a tournament for acting childish, I knew that I had to start acting better on the course. Since then, I have not even done a bad gesture on the course like getting mad and swearing, or something bigger, like throwing clubs. Ever since I realized that, not only have I been better on the course, but I have acted more like a young scholar off the course. Just by changing my attitude and behavior on the course, my whole life has improved.

 

Before I played golf, I was just a little kid six inches shorter than everyone else, and lacked self-confidence. There was really nothing special about me, sure I could play basketball well and I could run fast, but so could a million other kids in the world. In fourth grade, I started playing golf and by sixth grade I was pretty good. I got a lot of attention for my golf game and my results in tournaments. I’m now one of the best junior golfers in southwest Florida. I feel good about myself and my golf game and get recognized by other juniors as a really talented golfer.

 

Golf has helped me in countless ways. It was by far the best decision of my life to start playing this game. It has made me a better person by making me work harder, making me behave better, and it makes me feel better about myself. I don’t know where I would be in life without it. Probably nowhere.

[GatorBait]

One question that I have been asked a lot so I'll answer it for everyone.

 

You may either write your answer directly into the thread or you may attach it as a file for download.

 

Either way, I am taking everyone's answer and putting it in an individual word file. So, regardless of how you submit your answer, I'm going to putting into document form.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dude... You are awesome. I doubt I'll win this, even though I think my writing is decent, but still - thank you for doing this. Hope I'll be able to whip something up in time.

 

Edit: Probably a no, since you didn't mention it in first post, but can we get a FT-iQ driver?

 

The iQ is not available in I-MIX until early March (at the earliest) so that's probably a "no" but I'm not going to guarantee a "no" - if that makes sense. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure the WINNER gets whatever that person wants (within reason). So, in short to answer your question -- POSSIBLY ;)

[lilhellmaker17]

Thanks gatorbait.

 

Jaden.

[Baraethon]

So if we didn't mind waiting until early march, we could get the FT-iQ?

[MR MIZUN0]

Thanks for the opportunity!!!!!

 

 

[GatorBait]

So if we didn't mind waiting until early march, we could get the FT-iQ?

 

This is something I will discuss with the winner. I'm going to say it is a possibility.

[PAjunior90]

Unbelievable. I cannot believe some of you guys are actually making equipment requests. Gator is GIVING AWAY brand new top of the line clubs to us (PLUS MORE) and you are making requests of him. I'd be irate if was Gator man. Downright irate.

[italianstallion]

Gatorbait, your last contest was awesome but this new one is flat out unbelievable. Again I'd like to thank you for all you've already given to our junior golfers. You are providing not only a very nice grand prize to the winner but lessons to learn for life.

 

In the almost four years I have been a member here there have not been many site-wide contests on this scale with this much to win, much less exclusively for the juniors only. That being said, I must say I am disappointed with some of the posts I have seen so far asking for a different model of club or a whole new manufacturer all together.

 

There are two things that irk me about these kinds of post. First is the fact that Gatorbait is being extremely generous in offering this equipment to begin with. Second is it seems that those who ask such questions feel as if they have already won the contest and have a right to ask.

 

I don't know how Gatorbait is going to determine the final winner here, but if I was him I wouldn't have a good impression of those who have asked for what they aren't entitled to yet.

 

 

Vince

 

Jr. Mod Squad

[GatorBait]

I'll clear this up guys once and for all.

 

 

Once I have selected a winner, I will work with that one person on getting what that person wants. If the winner desperately wants something other than an I-MIX setup, then I will do my best to accommodate their request. While I won't make any guarantees, I'm not going to rule anything out either. But this discussion will ONLY take place with the WINNER, and nobody else.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, with that being said, I don't expect to read anymore posts regarding special club requests (or PMs). First, you need to win, then we can do that ;)

[Baraethon]

italianstallion/PAjunior: I don't know if it way my post you are talking about, or someone else, but either way I just want to mention this:

Personally, I'm not expecting to win against high school students, whose writing is probably a ton better than mine. I was simply wondering - were we able to get any model other than the one offered?

 

And thanks to GatorBait, my question has been answered.

 

My entry:

 

Name: Alex

Age: 13

Grade: 8th

Answer: is attached

 

Good luck to everyone.

[tjewell1994]

Tommy

age 14

grade 8th

 

Golfing has made me a much better person in a multitude of ways. It is not just a sport; it is a lesson in life. Just by playing golf, I have improved as a person in three main ways. It has made me work harder, it has given me better ways to act, and it has made me feel better about myself. Without golf, I would probably be one of those kids who just hang out doing nothing all day long, and find joy out of getting in trouble.

 

To get the ball rolling, golf has made me persevere on and off the course. Before I started playing golf, if a difficult situation came upon me, I would simply give up. I play in tournaments a lot, and as we all know, you don't always play to your full potential. By sticking to my game and not giving up, I often turn my game around and manage to post a decent score. I have learned from this outside of golf in a plethora of ways. If a challenge comes along, I know that if I try my hardest that the challenge will resolve itself.

 

Growing up as a boy, I would often get in trouble for acting rude to an adult or having a temper and making a bad situation worse. Even when I started playing golf I had a bit of a temper. This seemingly unbreakable habit got me in a lot of trouble on the course. After being penalized in a tournament for acting childish, I knew that I had to start acting better on the course. Since then, I have not even done a bad gesture on the course like getting mad and swearing, or something bigger, like throwing clubs. Ever since I realized that, not only have I been better on the course, but I have acted more like a young scholar off the course. Just by changing my attitude and behavior on the course, my whole life has improved.

 

Before I played golf, I was just a little kid six inches shorter than everyone else, and lacked self-confidence. There was really nothing special about me, sure I could play basketball well and I could run fast, but so could a million other kids in the world. In fourth grade, I started playing golf and by sixth grade I was pretty good. I got a lot of attention for my golf game and my results in tournaments. I'm now one of the best junior golfers in southwest Florida. I feel good about myself and my golf game and get recognized by other juniors as a really talented golfer.

 

Golf has helped me in countless ways. It was by far the best decision of my life to start playing this game. It has made me a better person by making me work harder, making me behave better, and it makes me feel better about myself. I don't know where I would be in life without it. Probably nowhere.

 

hey, GatorBait, just to let you know, my edit was to change the name i typed in, i put my last name as well as my first and went in and changed it to just my first. hope this doesn't DQ me for editing as i did nothing to change the actual text of the essay.