University of Georgia Athletics
Savich, Reynolds Flip-Flop Sports
August 01, 2011 | Women's Golf
Aug. 1, 2011
During the past two weeks, Georgia golfer Milena Savich and tennis player Will Reynolds "flip flopped" and gave each other a lesson in their sport. The first of the two-part series aired last Saturday. This Saturday at 12:30, the second installment will be shown on Bulldogs Gameweek on WSB-TV. Savich authored the following on her experiences as coach and pupil.
By Milena Savich, UGA Golfer
Most athletes who play a sport in college think it'd be pretty easy to excel in another sport, right? We've been perfecting our form, technique and most of all the mental toughness behind every hour of practice. If you can hit a small, white, stationary ball 260 yards and get it to shape from right to left or left to right, keep it from being moved in the wind and manage to avoid the trees and carry the ponds, how hard can it be to return a serve on the tennis court?
Unfortunately, a lot harder than anticipated. Before I got to test my tennis skills, I got to spend one afternoon watching Georgia tennis-star Will Reynolds hit some golf balls on our driving range. We got to switch sports for the afternoon to see how tough it would be.
For the most part, he was not too bad! At least he had a set of golf clubs, which means he had done it before. Although a few too many shots strayed to the right, he managed to make contact every single time. Hand-eye coordination is something all athletes have to have to be successful. He had this part down pretty good, but he lacked some basic fundamentals you develop over time with lots of practice. After giving him a few pointers and comparing how different the two sports are he managed to make some major improvements on his swing. By the end of the lesson he had fully grasped how to get the ball traveling straight and to my surprise he actually hit a draw. To all you non-golfers, that is the toughest shot to hit! Will definitely showed me how to stay patient and not get frustrated so easily when trying to hit some golf balls. The real question is would I be able to stay as calm and composed as him when I took on the tennis courts?
Once I stepped into the big green box, I was empty handed considering I had hardly played before. I didn't even own a racket. Unlike Will, I was unprepared for my big lesson. Will started off by showing me how to hit a few forehands and I was pretty confident that was my "go-to" shot. But I learned in tennis that you don't get to pick which shot you always hit. In golf, you always have choices depending on what kind of shot you want to play based on creativity. Once Will served it left of me, it was obvious my backhand needed some work. After a few more pointers from him, I started hitting it better. The fun part of the day came when he served his "normal speed serve" to me to see if I could return it. It went by me so fast I didn't even have time to move. That's when we both agreed we had chosen to play the right sports. Golfers might have some creativity and patience, but the one thing we don't have is reaction time. We both had a lot of fun trying something new. I think it's safe to say we have a new appreciation for not only how hard other sports are, but also how tough it is to play our own sport!
