Hello from Hayward California! (Bay Area)

[rauhlyfe]

Hey All,

My name is Ethan-Patrick Dizon, I was born and raised in Hayward and was introduced to golf at the age of four. My dad had enrolled me in the Nike Golf Learning Academy at 5 years old and in about 1 and a half years, I was the only one remaining in the program and the only one to actually graduate (sadly) yes, it was pretty lonely at times, but it was worth it to get that graduation badge! Shortly after, I joined the JGANC short for The Junior Golf Association of Northern California. at the time I was very small compared to my peers, and that stayed true all through my years of junior competitive play, but that didn't really stop me, I was playing with a lot of kids twice my size and still contending for top 10 in most events. At around 11 years of age School became more of a priority, and my dad and I just didn't have as much time or money to play or practice. So, as you can imagine, I lost a lot of my feel and game sense. Although, I did get some practice here and there, but the consistency of practice was on and off.

By the time I graduated from 8th grade I was accepted into the High school I wanted! The only high school in my district with a golf team!, the only problem.... IT WAS SO DAMN EXPENSIVE. So I ended up going to a Charter school which was known to be mainly academically driven. We didn't even have a football or volleyball team, let alone a gym to even play basketball! we only had black top courts, you can imagine how much more golf practice I got then, considering the greater workload than previous years. So, again I was on and off with the game.

Come graduation time, I found a summer job at two of my local Golf courses, SkyWest and Mission Hills, both of which are in Hayward. My Boss, who just so happened to be PGA certified, was very friendly and after a few months of working there, we developed a good relationship. He offered to be my coach and give me free lessons as long as I worked there, I even got a free club fitting done with him! I was very grateful for the opportunity and his kindness. I was able to play more often and practice almost every day. He taught me a lot both about my golf game, and even just myself! He was a great mentor and I will always be grateful for the opportunity I was given.

Sadly, I just couldn't stay at that job because of class schedule and work availability, so I had to find another job for the time being, which leads to now...

I currently work at a DICK's Sporting goods store in a local mall and I am now a Golf Tech in the Golf Dept. I've learned few cool things here and I am also getting trained to do fittings and club repairs, which I find very useful in case of any club mishaps I have in the future, I will be able to fix them myself!

Now that I have more money and Time as a College student, I am playing and practicing much more, and hope as well to be a member of my Colleges golf team with some more practice!

I look forward to getting to know many of you on TST, helping you guys out with my knowledge, and expanding mine through you guys as well!

[Shindig]

Hey there.  Welcome to TST.  Always good to see more Californians on here too

[boogielicious]

Welcome!

[CarlSpackler]

Welcome to the site!