Eldrick T. Woods

Eldrick

Have you ever dreamed about playing in the Olympics? How much would receiving an Olympic gold medal mean to you? For me, it would mean everything. All of my life I have grown up around golf. As a little girl all I can remember is my dad getting ready to leave. I would ask him where he was going, and he always said the same thing, "I'm going golfing." And to this day, I still ask my dad where he's going, his answer is always golf. It has always been a dream of mine to win an Olympic gold medal playing the game I love most. The problem is golf is not an Olympic sport. I really think that it needs to be included because years from now I would love to play golf in the Olympics, and I'm sure many other people would too, but that want happen unless golf gets included in the Olympics. I would hate to see mine and someone else's dreams come to an end.

Tiger holding the Buick Open trophy (www.businessweek.com)

Starting out young, with hopes and dreams of making it big, Tiger Woods has made a vast impact in the golf community. Since before he was eight years old, Woods has been enjoying the game of golf. Now in his mid-thirties, he has been the dominate force. Since he went pro and joined the PGA, he has had he has had 70 tour wins. That's more than anyone else on the PGA Tour. This proves that he is one of the most unsurpassed golfers in the United States. But, what is next for Tiger? In order for him to move on and continue to get better, he needs to compete with other players from around the world. This is true, not only with Tiger but with many of the other golfers. Research shows that competition brings out the best of a person's abilities. It is no fun if you are regularly playing the same people and beating them. Believe it or not, golf actually was in the 1900 and the 1904 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee decided to withdraw the sport as part of the Olympic games after only 1 competitor showed up to compete in 1908. This means that it has been 105 years since golf was last in the Olympics. To try and change that, Tiger has made an abundance of speeches to different people and has even sent a thirty-two page brochure to the IOC telling them how important golf is and why it should be in the Olympics. He has went around talking to many different golfers, whether they are pros and amateurs, trying to convince people that putting golf back in the Olympics would be a huge step in the growing of the sport.

The Olympic Symbol (www.olympicmonitor.com)

So now the question is, what can I do to help get golf back in the Olympics? Well, I am going to start by spreading the word about the issue. People need to be knowledgeable with what is going on. Following the fine example set by Tiger, I will then go around asking people what they think. If they say that golf should be in the Olympics, they will sign their names on a petition. If I get a bunch of signatures, I can go to the IOC, talk to them and try to persuade them that golf needs to be in the Olympics again. If more and more people get involved with golf, it will not only help the sport grow, but help it, once again, reach Olympic status.