Listening to the slow hum of the golf cart and breathing in the scent of freshly cut grass, Rosina Cui (9) prepared to tee off at the league finals, Oct. 23. Moments later, she took her swing, keeping her eyes focused, before finally looking up at the ball soaring across the Goat Hill Park Course. This was the shot that won Cui first in League Finals. 

Ranked first in the Palomar League for her low differential, Cui finished the season strong, placing first overall in league finals. However, Cui said that she felt very nervous in anticipation of the tournament.

“I felt pretty confident, but also a bit stressed because I knew that league finals would decide my league ranking,” she said.

Adding to the stress, Goat Hill Park is known for its diverse terrain, including undulating hills that require blind shots.

“This course might have been one of the hilliest courses I’ve walked,” Cui said. 

Because of this, Cui said she had a rocky start, pulling her tee shots on two consecutive holes. Still, she was able to recover with approach shots that landed the ball relatively close to the hole each time. 

“At that point, it was more about the mindset than anything else,” Cui said. “I was just thinking, ‘Since I already made one birdie, I can make another.’”

However, that first birdie marked the start of six consecutive holes where Cui lost her putting stroke.

With only 11 holes left to go, Cui took a more aggressive tactic, aiming directly for the pin and trying to “shorten” the course.  With this new strategy, she made three birdies out of nine holes. 

In the final stretch, with only five holes left and a score of -3, Cui took an even more forceful approach, causing her to overshoot and miss hole 13.

“On the final five holes, I started playing more aggressively, and maybe a little too much so, because I ended up struggling,” Cui said. “I got overconfident after three birdies, and was messing up a lot.”

Realizing that she was playing too confidently, Cui said that she quickly changed tactics, switching to her previous conservative approach and taking lower-risk shots.

Cui finished with a score of -2,  placing her at number one in the league overall.

“I’m not upset over it but I’m not completely satisfied with it either,” Cui said. “The issue in golf is that you can always do better. I’m always pushing myself to the limit, trying to be the best that I can.”

Cui said she continues to strive for personal improvement, motivated by the mental challenges that golf provides.

“Golf is one of the sports that require a lot of mental strength,” Cui said. “It’s one of those sports that relies less on the physical capabilities than the mental ones because you’re not running around all the time.”

Cui discovered her passion for golf at the age of 7 when her father put a match on TV. Her father encouraged her to pursue this interest, and Cui started training, which quickly evolved into a blossoming passion.

“There’s something about it that draws you into the game itself,” Cui said. 

Cui started competitions immediately, and seven years of practice and dedication led her to where she is today.

“I got interested and that started something that lasted for seven years and it’s still going,” she said.

Cui said the sport has not only provided her with a platform to excel but has also taught her important lessons about perseverance, resilience, and mental fortitude.

Over the last seven years, golf has branded Cui’s life in unimaginable ways. 

“Your experiences shape your personality in a way,” Cui said, “and golf has changed me in a lot of ways.”