Myers Park golfer setting records with supreme focus

Henry Shimp always tries to stay in the moment on the golf course.

The Myers Park junior’s ability to focus has made him the top player on a talented Mustangs golf team and one of the top junior golfers in the state – and nation.

Shimp, 17, has the top scoring average on his team, is ranked No. 5 in the state by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association and is No. 125 in the country according to Golfweek.com.

Shimp has proven himself in the some of the biggest junior events in the country, winning the Carolinas Junior Boys’ championship in July,qualifying for the U.S. Amateur, and playing in the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball on May 2-3 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, with Myers Park teammate Nolan Mills.

No matter what stage Shimp is playing on, he has the same focus.

“You have to be able to stay in the moment in golf and just think about what you need to do on each shot,” Shimp said. “Golf is already hard enough. So you can never get ahead of yourself and think too far ahead, it just doesn’t work on the golf course.”

Myers Park golf coach Jason Lockwood agrees that Shimp’s focus is the key to his success.

“Henry’s biggest strength is he doesn’t try to do too much; he just takes things hole by hole,” Lockwood said. “He’s not one of those guys who goes out and says he’s going to shoot 68. He tries to make every shot count and just lets the game come to him.”

Shimp may never have been more locked in than when he shot a school-record 29 (7 under par) on the front nine of Myers Park Country Club on April 14 in a match against Charlotte Catholic.

Shimp birdied holes one, two, four, six and nine, and had an eagle on No. 8 to beat the old Myers Park nine-hole record of 32.

“It’s nice to have a round where your game comes together like that,” said Shimp, who had a 29 before in junior play at Roaring Gap Club. He finished that round with a career-best 62.

“The thing that really stood out was my putter. I made all the 10-12 foot putts,” he said. “It’s great to know I can go low and make a lot of birdies.”

The significance of the 29 wasn’t lost on Lockwood.

“You think about how often professionals even shoot a 29 and it makes it even more special,” said Lockwood, who made Shimp play the back nine, where he shot a 36 to finish at 65. “Twenty-nine is just not something you see that often at any level.”

Shimp’s 29 was just one of the highlights of his junior season at Myers Park. He also won the Piedmont Natural Gas High School Invitational, shooting a 3-under-par 68 – the only player in the 74-golfer field to shoot under par.

He also finished third, with a 69, at the Southwestern 4A conference tournament April 28, helping his team to its sixth consecutive conference title. Teammate Walker Simas won the tournament.

Shimp leads the Mustangs with a 35.3 nine-hole stroke average. Behind him is a loaded lineup with seniors Mills (36.3), an N.C. State signee, and Hoke Carlton (37.0), a Davidson signee; and juniors Simas (37.4) and Will Simmons (38.6).

The Myers Park five all are ranked in the top 43 in the state by TYGA.

The Mustangs have had a great season already, winning the Carmel Country Club High School Challenge and the PNG High School Invitational at Pine Island Country Club.

What matters most for the Mustangs comes in the next two weeks, first at the 4A West Regional at NorthStone Country Club, and then the 4A state at Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4.

After coming close in each of the past four seasons – third in 2012 and 2014, and runner-up in 2011 and 2013 – Myers Park wants nothing less than a state title.

“Winning a state title is something that has been our goal since I got here,” said Shimp, who with Mills could miss the 4A West Regional if the two advance in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball event. “I believe we’ve had a state championship-caliber team every year. We just got to put it together for two days and play our best golf.”

Shimp, who won the regional and finished tied for ninth at states individually last year, would also like to pick up some individuals titles in the process, but he is “focused on team goals first.”

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound junior is being recruited by Duke, North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia and Wake Forest, and hopes to make his decision in the next few months.

He shouldn’t have trouble qualifying academically, with a 4.9 GPA.

Shimp, who drives the ball 290-300 yards off the tee, has been working on a lot of his short game and putting, and believes it’s paying off.

Regardless of what he accomplishes, Shimp says it all makes him hungrier.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned winning tournaments and playing in some big events like the U.S. Amateur, is that I want to qualify for even more of them,” Shimp said. “I like to play on the big stages. That just motivates me more, to work harder on my game.”

This story was originally published April 29, 2015 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Myers Park golfer setting records with supreme focus."