Howard Shu '23 Recruiting Profile

I shook my head as I walked from the 9th to the 10th hole at the 2015 Veritas Junior World. I had started the day leading by four shots over second place, but my constant anticipation of the results led to one errant shot after another, which chipped away at my lead and now dug me into a four shot deficit to the player now leading. 

I recalled the mental notes I had made to myself during my months of preparation for that tournament. I had told myself to never stray away from positive self-talk and always remember that I had performed well in high stakes situations before. I also knew that my best performances came when I played like I had nothing to lose and never got anxious about the results. 

With a mindset shift towards focusing on one shot at a time, I became more relaxed and regained trust in my abilities. Throughout the back nine, I gave myself reminders to keep my mentality on track, and I came back to win the tournament by four shots. 

This mentality improvement is a microcosm of what I have done throughout my journey with golf. I was the first person in my family to take up golf and have never let go since I was first introduced to the game. In fourteen years since, I have been relentlessly improving my craft, whether through working on technical skill, mental processes, or physical strength. For instance, I walk myself back through my practice rounds and tournaments to identify areas for improvement, both technically and mentally. This often results in me modifying my practice plans to focus more on  the consistency of my putting stroke, getting my distance control dialed in with wedges, or reducing lateral movement on my backswing for full shots. Mentally, I work towards viewing every shot the same, no matter what hole I am on, what my score is, or what my placement is. I also read books such as Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella to further sharpen my mentality. 

Golf has played a big role in shaping my personality and values by taking me on a wild ride around the country to meet many new friends and gain unique experiences. 

The sport boosted my level-headedness, concentration, and calmness under pressure. It made me ready to face future challenges with a consistent mindset, resilience, and self-trust.  Moving into college, I trust in my work ethic, talent and experience in high pressure situations and strongly believe that an athlete must value the coach's input, teamwork and should want to be in the middle of the action when the game is on the line.