The Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cites
Shane Moncrief, Third Place
Grade 3, Ocean View Elementary
Teacher: Scott Danielson Principal: Sarah Butler
“Eagle!” I yelled as my ball went in the hole. I could tell my mom was very proud ‘cause she was already celebrating in excitement. I had just won my golf tournament … or had I?
My mom and I walked into the pro shop like we were superstars. We saw my friend Ben and his dad explaining something to the U.S. Kids Golf Central Coast tour manager, Jordan. I told everybody that I eagled the last hole, then I found out what the problem was. Ben’s dad said that I had hit my ball out of bounds on the third hole and then kept playing that ball. He was right. Even though he was the one who told me to hit that shot, the player (me) is responsible for playing by the rules. So because I had to take a 10 on that hole, I ended up in third place … not first. I was crying and crying and crying, so upset that I wouldn’t even come up and accept my medal.
This is how I used the 4-Way Test that day. I had to ask myself, “is it the truth?” when Jordan asked me if I hit the ball or not. The answer was yes, I did hit the out of bounds ball. Telling the truth is an important part of golf. It would make you feel better if you told the truth rather than to lie.
I had to ask myself, is it fair to all concerned? It is fair because it is a golf rule. At first it didn’t feel fair to me, but in the end, I realized that I can’t win all of my golf tournaments.
I had to ask myself, “will it build good will and better friendships?” It will because if I would have lied, people wouldn’t believe me in the future. I didn’t lie, so now Ben and I are good friends.
I had to ask myself, “will it be beneficial to all concerned?” It was beneficial to me because now I know that golf rule and I can make sure it never happens again. It was beneficial to my competitors because they had an opportunity to beat me. I was happy for my friend Ben who won first place.
The 4-Way Test helped me learn some important lessons that day. It helped me learn honesty, fairness, friendship, judgement, and taking responsibility for my actions.