Interviews
Noah Goodwin
Interviewed at 2016 US Junior Amateur
2017
US Junior Amateur Champion
Medalist AJGA CBI /Simplify
Boys Championship
#1 Ranked Player Junior Golf Scoreboard
2016
# 1 Ranked Player Junior Golf Scoreboard
2016 AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year
Finalist US Junior Amateur
Medalist - AJGA BIshops Gate
Runnder Up - AJGA Thunderbird
2015
Second Team - AJGA All American
Runner Up - AJGA Ping
Top 10 PGA Junior Championship
Noah sat down with us after his round to talk about his love for the game, himself and his future.Tell us how you got introduced to the game.
I have played all my life. I went to the golf course with my dad. But I also played other sports. I played soccer and I loved it. I played T-ball but I hated T-ball. I also took Tai-Kwan-Do and got my black belt when I was seven. I would play all these other sports but I would always come back to golf. Some people know I have a growth hormone deficiency. I was always a small kid and I never wanted to eat. The one thing I loved about golf was that there was no size requirement. It was all based on the amount of work you put into it. I loved not only the grind and the practice it took, but that you could never be perfect at it. It was also the accountability it put on you. In basketball if you are 6 foot eight you have a natural advantage on everyone but in golf it’s a very fair and an even playing field. There is no home court advantage, you have to take apart every golf course and dissect it. You have to work your way around each one. It’s the one thing I love about
You mentioned accountability. That is certainly true when you walk by a scoreboard and it’s your name up there with a score next to it. .
Yes that is so true. One of the problems I have had is not allowing myself to shift blame to something else. For example I could hit a golf shot right where I wanted, right of a pin. Say a gust of wind comes up and blows the ball in the left bunker, totally out of my control, I would blame myself. The game keeps you accountable but I took it too far. I was trying to be too perfect with golf. I would not allow myself to leave the range because I was always trying to find something to fix. This really started to change when I started working with Cameron McCormick. He explained to me that the environment has a bigger effect on the game that I was letting it. I like accountability but not to the extent where I am misplacing it. But at the same time I am a scoreboard watcher because I always want to know here I am at.
You have come to this realization about yourself because you spoke about how when you were younger you really struggle with the mental part of the game. .
True. You can allow your mental game to grow with you based on experiences. Bob Rotella’s books are amazing. They provide a foundation but each person is different in the way they think so each person has to sort through their own mental process and also mature.
Let’s switch gears. Talk about Noah away from the golf course. .
When I am away from the golf course I like to separate myself from golf. It cannot be your entire life. Family is the big thing in my life. I am an only child. My mom was an only child and my dad was an only child.
There are no aunts and uncles on either side? .
No. Only grandparents and no cousins. My mom and dad are very important to me and we are very very close. Spending a lot of time with them is important to me. But I also like to spend time doing things that will make me better. I love working out in the gym especially since I was a small kid. It is connected to golf but it has other benefits too. I like hanging out with friends, mainly non-golf ones. I don’t talk to them about golf since they don’t grasp what the sport is about. I get impatient with them when I do try to explain why I am playing or look at colleges so early.
On a scale on 1 to 10, 1 being very impatient, where would you put yourself. .
I am not a very patient person at all. I used to be a 10. As I have grown I have become a five. It’s more impatience with myself than other people. In school it might be not being able to wrap my head around some part of algebra.
Sounds like you are still very hard on yourself. .
I am very very hard on myself at certain times. I know more now when not to be. If I try to push I make mistakes.
All right, I just took golf away from you, then what. .
I love love soccer.
Describe yourself. .
I am talkative. I believe I am loyal. If you are a friend I would do anything for you. I am disciplined. I can be intense.
What is one thing people do not know about you? .
Hmm – I don’t know.
Are you a reader or a writer? .
Reader
Best thing about this sport? .
You can play it no matter how old you are. It brings you together with other people. You join a threesome at your course for nine holes and now you have met new people and maybe playing buddies.
Where would you like to go where you have never been? .
England
What would like to do you have not done? .
Base jumping with a wing suit. Mom is not happy about that. White water rafting, Something fast paced.
Life goal – golf goal? .
Take this sport as far as I can.
Non golf goal? .
Using this sport to create a charity. Helping people. My parents and I have talked about his.
Does faith play a part in your sport? .
Yes. It’s difficult knowing that in the end this really doesn’t matter when you are out there grinding every day. You are standing over an 8 footer thinking that it matters but in the end with God it doesn’t. I would be the first to say that I get way too into it. But I would say going out there and playing for him (God) and one day being able to inspire others is a motivator. I struggle with putting God first on the golf course. It is something I continue to work towards.
We are blessed to play a sport that expects and demands honor, integrity, and discipline and those are values that are important. .
Yes they are.
That’s a good place to end. Thank you Noah. I have enjoyed being with you. .
Thank you.