After sweeping Holderness in its last game, Andover All-Gender Golf continued its streak of shutting out its opponents on Wednesday against BB&N. The team eagerly anticipates future performances similar to its latest match, which was fueled by its ability to maintain consistent hits throughout the game. Andover’s record now stands at 4-1.
According to Joey Zheng ’23, each member of the team delivered an outstanding performance on every hole. While golf is typically viewed as an individual sport, he pointed out that the collective performance of the entire team is crucial to securing these wins.
Zheng said, “Today, I think everyone on our team stood out. We swept them, so everyone won and contributed to the win. At the end of the day, we are really striving for team efforts like that. Our last two matches have been sweeps now, and we want to be the team that gets the cat out of the tree.”
Jack McVeigh ’25 highlighted Zheng’s commanding performance on the first hole, which set the pace for the entire match, and energized his teammates from the get go. McVeigh noted that Zheng’s unwavering determination and focus helped him and the team to maintain their momentum.
“Someone that stood out today was our team number one, Joey Zheng. In golf, the number one players from each team are the first to tee off at the beginning of a match, and Joey really set the tone early by winning his first hole. This gave us good momentum for the rest of the match,” said McVeigh.
Leading up to the match, Zheng pointed out that the team worked on both its physical and mental skills. The team spent time practicing its swings, working on accuracy and distance, and perfecting its short game. At the same time, they also prioritized developing their mental resilience and focus, recognizing that golf is a sport that requires both physical and mental agility.
“Practice is typically just nine holes of golf so it is pretty standard. We mostly practice our skills but recently a big thing has been the mental side of it. You are playing your opponent rather than playing the course and most of the time in golf you are playing the course, so your performance is based on how your opponent performs. Something that I have been working on is getting out of the gate stronger and winning the first hole to get my confidence going. When your opponent wins you can’t let the beast think first. When your opponent goes up one hole in a match it tends to affect you mentally, so working on our mental game has been important,” said Zheng.
According to McVeigh, the team’s ability to handle pressure and respond effectively, a key aspect of golf, was a direct result of practice. He also emphasized that the team consistently performed well throughout the match, regardless of the situation.
McVeigh said, “One of our strengths as a team right now is playing well under pressure. There have been a number of times so far this season when one of our players won their match on the final hole. Being able to stay calm and perform under pressure isn’t easy, so I’m proud of how our team has handled that pressure thus far.”
Moving forward, Sean Niu ’25 reflected that though the team has been doing well, it needs to remain focused in order to continue to improve. He wants the team to keep training hard and listening to the coach in order to prepare for the Andover Invitational, one of the most important matches of the year.
“Coming off a sweep, we need to continue being humble and follow the training plans of our coach. We will only continue to play well if we stay focused and maintain our high intensity. This will hopefully prepare us for future matches,” said Niu.
According to Zheng, the team could aim for more birdies, even though they had performed exceptionally well in its last game. The fewer the strokes, the quicker and more efficient the matches will be.
Zheng said, “In golf, you obviously have driving, approach shots, chipping, and putting which are the four main shots. Birdies were especially important in the match today because my opponent was playing well.”
Andover will play at the Andover Invitational on Saturday.
