Athlete of the Week: Jack Beecher

1. For you, what was a highlight of your most recent competition? 

The highlight of my most recent competition was rebounding after a tough hole, and sticking a wedge to 2 feet for birdie. This was monumental as it helped to turn the day around for me. With that, the highlight of our meets is always interacting with teammates and playing well together.

2. What makes your sport special and different? 

Golf is vastly different compared to other sports. It’s not as physical, but the mental challenge golf proposes is very hard to overcome, and is what separates levels of competition. 

3. How long have you been into this sport, and what were the early days of your participation? 

I’ve been playing golf since I was 2 or 3 just riding around on the cart with my dad swinging at balls. Some of the earliest tournaments I played in were when I was 8/9 playing in small statewide tournaments with people who I still connect with today.

4. How did/do you cope with any setbacks/losses you’ve experienced in your sport? 

Anytime I experience any type of setback or frustrating moment in golf, I always cope and rebound by playing and practicing on it more. For example, if I putted terribly in a meet, I’m trying my best the next day to fix those mistakes and grind it out.

5. Who has been particularly influential in helping your growth in this sport? Why? 

In my life, many people have greatly influenced me into growing my golf game. Most importantly my dad, who got me into golf, and is always there for me and trying to help with any struggle I face. Secondly, my coach, who is by far the best coach, always keeping the team focused and trying his best to get us to play our best, and lastly my fellow teammates, especially the seniors, who are all great role models for us and help the others including me with whatever we need help with.

6. What do you do to prepare yourself before a game? 

Before a meet, I always try to get as loose as I can by hitting balls and not really worrying about how I hit them. Next, I usually make sure I have the speed of the greens down by putting a lot of long putts on the practice green, and lastly—most importantly—I do my best to stay focused on the round to come and my gameplan for each hole.

7. How do you work on improving your skills in this sport? 

I work on improving my skills by repeating everything I do in great numbers and making sure everything I do is repeatable on the course in a meet. For example, if I’m generating a left to right ball flight on the range, I want to make sure that if I were to go out and play that I would be confident enough to hit that shot every time, so I focus on reps and doing everything consistently.

8. What’s a personal skill that you are targeting lately?

The biggest skill I’m working on right now in golf is putting. More specifically, controlling my speed in my putts and making everything super consistent. This is my biggest issue, as sometimes I end up blowing a putt by and leaving myself a tough comeback putt.