MEMPHIS, Tenn. – When Anna Heck grabbed her golf bag and walked off the ninth green at Windyke Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee, you wouldn’t know whether she just finished a round to remember or a round to forget.
The St. Agnes Academy senior rarely showed any emotion while breezing through nine holes of a match against Hutchison, St. Benedict and ECS as if it was just another day on the course. For Anna, it was just another day on the course.
She never gets too high or too low. She knows not every round is going to be her best. She also knows the mental side of golf is tougher than the physical. So, she keeps an even-keeled attitude at all times.
“Anna’s not the type of person where her self identity and her mood is going to rely on the golf course,” her older sister Rachel, a junior at Stanford, said. “Golf is kind of part of her journey and a small part of who she is.”
Anna could easily let the pressure of following her older sisters dictate how she plays. But that would take away from the fun of it.
Sure, Abby, the oldest of the Heck sisters, won two individual state championships at St. Agnes. And Rachel – arguably the most decorated golfer in Shelby County history – won titles in all four years of high school. But Anna being the only sister not to win an individual state championship (yet) isn’t distracting her from her love of golf.
“Obviously every year I go into the state tournament, trying to get that win,” said Anna, who has committed to play at Notre Dame. “But, like I said before, just try not to let a good or bad round determine that.”
A sweet introduction to golf
Golf has always been a part of the Heck sisters’ lives. It started out as their dad, Robert, finding a way to bond with his daughters.
“He has three daughters, he told my mom, ‘I don’t know what I’m really going to do with them,’” Rachel recalled. “‘I think I’ll just take them to golf.’
“And my mom said, ‘You can’t make them like golf.’ And he was like, ‘Watch me.’”
It started as innocent fun. He came up with different games for them to play, and made it an overall fun experience. It was never intended to be taken competitively. And a reward for a hard day’s work at the golf course? Ice cream.
“Soon a love for ice cream turned into a love for golf,” Rachel added.
There wasn’t a specific point where Rachel, Abby or Anna became good. As they continued to play together, naturally they became competitive.
“I feel like even though it is serious, there’s still going to be that innocent, fun part of golf in it,” Anna said.
Added Anna: “It was fun, then it was, ‘Oh, we’re not too bad at this.’”
Abby is at Notre Dame, where she finished her career with a 74.61 stroke average, the third-best stroke average in program history. She’s now happily retired from competitive golf and enrolled in medical school. She still plays recreationally.
Rachel is at Stanford and has quickly become one of the top amateur female golfers in the world. With the success she had in high school, she spring-boarded at Stanford, grabbing eight wins through two seasons, including an individual NCAA championship as a freshman. Rachel plans to play professionally.
As for Anna, she hasn’t quite figured out her plans. She doesn’t feel any pressure to continue professionally. She always was going to have her own path. While she enjoyed watching her sisters succeed on the golf course – while also having her own success – she didn’t have in her plans to continue with a professional career.
“I definitely want to continue with golf my whole life, but personally I don’t think I want to go pro,” Anna said. “Obviously, I’m 18, anything can change and I don’t know exactly what I want to do with my life.
“I couldn’t be more excited with golf and just see where it takes me after.”
Paving her own path
When the opportunity came for Anna to become involved with a foreign exchange student program, she was interested, but knew she wasn’t going to be able to do that and keep up with golf. It was her best friend that pushed her toward signing up for the program.
“I cannot overemphasize how amazing that was,” Anna said of the experience.
That coupled with a chance to go to Costa Rica for two weeks. It was more time away from golf, but Anna was OK with that.
Anna was always going to do things her way. She never let what her sisters accomplished or how quickly Rachel emerged as one of the top amateur golfers in the world, dictate her path. In a way, as much as their success motivated her, it also inspired her to find more interests outside of golf.
“Overall, that is so important for her wellbeing and even her golf performance,” said Abby, the oldest Heck sister. “I played my best golf once I kind of felt very fulfilled and well-rounded in my life.”
Because of that foreign exchange program, Anna has taken an interest in foreign languages as well as the sciences. She hopes to find a career that will allow her to intertwine the two. And she’ll do it while still having her love for golf.
“Just having these other activities,” Anna said, “pursuing other interests and finding other passions are really important for your mental health.
“And just being happy, knowing that you can put your all into your sport, you can love it with your whole heart, but it not determine your every emotion you have.”
Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on Twitter @wynstonw__.