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Inspired Voetsch won NJSIAA title

Jim Hague
Correspondent

It didn’t take much for Will Voetsch to find inspiration to become a better golfer. All he needed was to look in the same living room of his home.

The Delbarton senior, who won the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions title this year and is the 2015 All Daily Record Golfer of the Year, followed in the footsteps of his older brother, John, who was a standout golfer at Delbarton and went on to play at Vanderbilt.

John Voetsch was the 2012 All Daily Record Golfer of the Year after one of the best seasons ever recorded by a Morris County golfer. A three-time All Daily Record First Team honoree, John Voetsch finished second at the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions that year.

Will Voetsch didn’t lack motivation to improve on his brother’s feats.

“When it came to the Tournament of Champions, I was definitely in a zone,” Will Voetsch said. “I remembered that he shot a 70 when he finished second (actually 72) and I would be lying if I didn’t want to do better than him, but I wasn’t worried about it too much. I kept it in the back of my mind. He had a great career, but we have different games and different mentalities. I just knew I had to play my own game.”

In fact, the Voetsch brothers finished the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament in a tie that year, both shooting rounds of 70. But older brother John prevailed in a one-hole playoff.

Knowing that his brother never won the T of C, Will Voetsch made it his goal to capture the state’s top honor this season.

“Will really wanted it,” Delbarton head coach Sean Flanagan said. “He’s more competitive than anyone. I’m really proud of him that he was able to do it on the biggest stage in the state. ... He’s been chasing John his whole life. I think it was great motivation for Will to beat his brother. They’re both phenomenal players.”

Added Voetsch, Over my career, I got a lot of seconds. This year, I wanted to get through sectionals, win there, then go to the T of C and win there. I always tried to win. What I want to do is win.”

That’s what Will Voetsch did last month, shooting a 69 at the Hopewell Valley Golf Club, and becoming the first Delbarton golfer to win the T of C in 16 years.

“Winning the T of C makes everything else look pretty good,” said Voetsch, who also won the Blue Devil Classic and tied for second at the Morris County Championships with a 76. “All in all, I had a great experience. It’s helped me become a better person and a better golfer.”

Voetsch changed his mental approach this season, after getting lessons from the sports psychologist Dr. Mo Pickens, known in golf circles as “Dr. Mo,” who has worked with PGA stars like Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson and Davis Love III.

Voetsch went to Georgia to work with Dr. Mo before the season began.

“He helped me to enter rounds in a different way,” Voetsch said. “He helped me gain a different mindset.”

Perhaps the biggest change in Voetsch’s approach was that he got less angry on the course. In years past, Voetsch would hit a bad shot and the effects of that shot would linger for the next few holes. Not anymore.

“It definitely helped me a lot,” Voetsch said. “I can’t focus on one shot. I just had more confidence. If I make four or five birdies, then two bogeys won’t hurt as much. I learned from John. He’s very good at recovery shots and always thinks he can make par. I picked up on that.”

Voetsch also became a proponent of the mental shot approach, visualizing shots in his mind before actually addressing the ball.

“I want to practice the shot in my head,” Voetsch said. “I focused more on my general routine. I made sure I did the same thing over and over again. One of the biggest challenges of a golfer is the focus on hitting the ball the same way. It’s definitely more of a mental thing. You can always fix the physical thing.”

Voetsch will head to Rice University, where he is planning to major in business and economics while working on his golf game.

“I loved playing golf with my brother, my dad (Greg) and my mom (Susan),” he said. “I started when I was 6 years old because John was playing. I saw that he liked it, so then I liked it. It got me involved and it just took off from there. ... I guess I always thought I was pretty good throughout high school. I just had a little something extra this year.”