A couple of years ago, on his 14th birthday, Metea Valley junior Aman Shah orchestrated the perfect moment.
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Playing on the 17th hole at the Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora, Shah recorded a hole-in-one from 198 yards out.
It underscored everything he loves about the game.
“The biggest difference with golf from other sports is there’s so much more personal responsibility,” he said. “Your score only matters on your shots.”
As Metea’s No. 1 golfer, Shah demonstrates a bold and declarative style. He’s long and angular with a wide, sweeping swing that generates tremendous force. He makes the disparate parts all flow together.
“I am a pretty aggressive player,” he said. “I like playing longer off the tee and having the shorter clubs in. That is my definite strength.
“My biggest weakness right now is probably putting, but that is also what is great about the game. No matter how good you are, you always have areas that you can improve upon.”
Shah’s style of high risk and high reward is rare at the high school level. His shotmaking prowess means he can extricate himself from even the most complicated of scenarios.
“He is fearless on the golf course and sees how to pull off shots that a lot of players would not even consider,” Metea coach Pat Brusveen said. “He holds himself to a very high standard on and off the course.”
A varsity player since his freshman season, Shah is the leader of a young, talented group for the Mustangs that also features Arjun Vyas, Eli Oakes, Johnny Kerns, Kyle Bucher and Zach White.
As Metea’s top player throughout much of his sophomore year, Shah said his playing style was shaped by the volatile experiences he went through as a freshman.
“The high school season is so short,” he said. “One bad stretch can define the whole year, and that is pretty much what happened with me where I did not play that well for about two weeks. It felt like the bulk of the season.”
His physical talent was always there. Shah realized he needed to navigate the particular mental demands of the sport to elevate his game.
He adopted the Latin expression “carpe diem” — seize the day.
Shah designed his own ritual of listening to music on the way to the course and during his warmups as a means to calm his nerves and prepare for each meet.
“Handling the mental game is definitely one of my biggest challenges,” he said. “As I make the next breakthrough in my game, that is going to be the point I focus on.
“From my freshman year to now, I feel like my course management has gotten better and has become one of my strengths. I no longer get mad about the decisions of which shots to hit.”
Shah, whose personal-best score is a 68, grew up playing soccer. He was an outside defender and center midfielder with some of the best club programs in Aurora.
With the boys soccer season shifting to the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, Shah said he might try out for the team.
Golf, however, remains his current fixation. His father introduced Shah to golf at age 6, and he responded immediately to the particular challenges of the sport.
The hole-in-one marked the perfect blend of chance and opportunity.
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“His best attributes are how hard he works, his humility and what a great teammate he is,” Brusveen said. “He is an absolute pleasure to be around.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.