Grounding his feet parallel to the hole 250 yards away marked by a distant flag resembling a mere fluttering yellow speck, NYU golfer Jomyuth Luangtana-anan had just one thought: keep it simple.
The sophomore from Bangkok has quickly made a name for himself, achieving All-Liberty Second Team status, taking home the Liberty League Rookie of the Year award and was selected as Second Team All-UAA last season. This season, he has already received the title of Liberty League Performer of the Week Honor Roll on Sept. 17. With a calm and measured approach, Luangtana-anan let the game come to him, positioning himself for a birdie.
In an interview with WSN, Luangtana-anan spoke about his experience on and off of the course.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
WSN: What goes through your head when you are about to swing?
Luangtana-anan: I think of one thing that I worked on — it’s usually the same thing over and over: just to prepare. Mentally, if your mind is in a good state, you’re able to perform better.
Luangtana-anan did not always have a relaxed outlook on the game. He recalls a time when he took golf too seriously, pushing himself to outperform competitors. The stress of each shot at the tee became mentally exhausting, leading him to reflect on why he started playing the sport in the first place.
WSN: Could you describe your mindset throughout a challenging tournament day?
Luangtana-anan: I forget the bad shots, as golf is a game of mistakes and whoever makes the least mistakes wins. But at the start of my career, I was trying to beat everyone, grinding and not talking to anyone, but it wasn’t effective — I wasn’t winning. Then I just said, ‘I’m here to have a good time with my friends.’
WSN: What’s your relationship like with your teammates?
Luangtana-anan: Our team is really close — we are a family of golfers. Every now and then, we’ll meet up after practice and get some food, catch up. It’s especially important in the offseason when we don’t regularly meet for practice and tournaments.
When he is not on the course, Luangtana-anan is in the classroom or the library. He described balancing the academic rigor of majoring in civil engineering at the Tandon School of Engineering while competing as a student-athlete.
WSN: How do you balance class work and being a student-athlete?
Luangtana-anan: We don’t get as much practice as we would like here in the city, and unfortunately, I just have to start working in the car on the way to practice, especially having hours to kill on the commute. There’s practice and then once I’m back home, I just start doing work again. I’m a pretty driven person, I’ll try to do what I can to meet my goals and expectations. But I also understand that one of the most important aspects is to have fun as well.
The Violets practice at two golf courses — Galloping Hill Golf Course and Skyway Golf Course, both about an hour away from campus in New Jersey.
Luangtana-anan aspires to play professional golf in major tours like the PGA, while also pursuing a career in sustainable home building within the renewable energy industry. He believes that golf has taught him valuable lessons to help him navigate his career and schoolwork.
WSN: How does golf translate to how you approach your studies?
Luangtana-anan: Most of these soft skills such as being patient, time management and understanding things won’t always go your way are skills that have translated and helped me in my engineering career.
WSN: What role does golf play in alleviating the pressure from school?
Luangtana-anan: After a stressful day, once I step up on the course, I forget what was stressing me out and focus on enjoying my time on the course. Just like that time flies in that four or five-hour round. And when I get back, the clarity helps me with schoolwork again.
Contact Logan Holland at [email protected].
