Matt Freese ’17, Conner Delaney ’17: “Golf is a game where you’re judged not by how quickly you get the ball in the hole. You are judged as much by the process of the experience.” Thomas Kent, coach of the Varsity Men’s Golf Team, went on to describe his team’s co-captain Andrew Jannetta ’14. “He’s impeccably honest…He’s the sort that when he plays, he calls the penalty strokes against himself; he doesn’t bend the rules; he doesn’t cut the corners.”
Kent explained that it is Janetta’s positive attitude and leadership that have been essential to the team’s success. Janetta has been on the team officially since his sophomore year, but often played at the varsity level as a freshman as well. “He’s so much fun to work with because he’s real; he’s authentic. He’s got a great warmth of spirit,” Kent added.
When asked about Janetta’s leadership qualities, Kent replied, “I think he’s developed into a really good leader. His teammates respect him and respond to him. He’s genuine and supportive.” Kent also stated that the reason Janetta is such a great golfer is his “willingness to practice” and “passion for the game.”
Janetta’s deep interest in the game comes in part from his role model, professional golfer Matt Kuchar. “I got to walk around with him when the U.S. Open was at Merion, and he’s just a really nice guy,” he explained. “He’s also a pretty damn good golfer.” Jannetta said the structure of the game itself has also deepened his own passion. “It’s a nice sport in that it is so mental that you can make up for lack of physicality with just mental strength.”
Throughout the interview, both Janetta and Kent constantly referred to the senior’s unusual attitude. One way Kent described this mindset was, “He doesn’t make excuses. He knows what he has to do and he goes out and does it.” Another time, he referenced that, “It’s finding that balance. AJ is doing everything he can to grapple with that challenge and find that appropriate middle balance. And he models that each and every day, and he does it with a patience, a patience with others and himself. That is worthy of applause.”
Jannetta explained his approach to golf, saying, “I try to stay pretty calm with it.
That’s tough because [golf] is frustrating. But again, I like to have fun with it; I enjoy it. This is probably my last year playing competitive golf, so I’m just going to try and enjoy it. I think that correlates to my attitude [on the course].”
When asked about what he thinks sets himself apart from other golfers, Janetta responded, “Probably my attitude because not many people go out looking to have fun with it; people just go out trying to win, and they do well sometimes, but they just end up beating themselves up.”
This unique mentality is what puts Janetta in a class of his own. However, it will be tested in this year’s tough Inter-Ac season. With Jannetta at the helm, the EA Men’s Varsity Golf Team is looking at the season with a few goals in mind. “Winning the league would be great; it’s really competitive though, so I just set the goal for this season as: Let’s have the most fun as a team, because it’s my last year so I’d like to enjoy it.”