By John Tranchina

For Baylee Wood, a big aspect of playing golf is mental and it requires a positive mindset.

That’s why the Enid junior makes sure that while on the course, she keeps her focus on one hole at a time. 

“For me, I always like to think about the hole that I’m on,” Wood said. “If I have a bad hole, I just try to shake it off and not think about it, I leave it on that hole and the next hole is a new hole. So I can forget about the bad one and just start fresh.

“My goal is just to improve every time, so as long as I have improvement, then I’m happy.”

Also, encouraging her teammates to stay upbeat and forget any bad shots also helps foster a closer-knit team, which helps, even though golf is for the most part an individual sport.

“I try to help out my team, I try to keep us together, practice together and get along more as a team and I try to keep the positives,” she said. “Whenever they say they’re not doing too well, I say, ‘Hey, it’s okay, we still got the rest of the holes.’ I try to keep the positivity.

“It’s kind of hard with golf, because it doesn’t really seem like a team sport, because you’re all playing on different holes, but really, it’s important to think about it as a team, because if you don’t do so good, then it actually affects the team score. So it’s important to have a positive team outlook. Everyone has a part.” 

While she is involved in the Enid student council, golf is the only sport Wood plays. She is also taking a lot of advanced classes academically, which takes up a lot of time. And golf is her favorite, as she’s been playing for several years now, during which time it has turned into a family activity she shares with her whole family – her parents and brother.

“I’ve been playing since a little before middle school, I’d go out there with my dad every now and then,” Wood said. “I’d definitely say my dad got me into golf. It’s turned into a family thing now, we go out almost every weekend.”

That helps keep the game fun and why she may get to the point where she can play it in college.

“I’ve thought about it here and there and I’m still kind of thinking about it,” Wood said of possibly playing in college. “If I keep improving like I have, then I’d say I want to.”