Soarin' Beyond the Sport is a series in which members of the Post University Athletic Communications Team sit down with student-athletes across all the varsity athletic programs offered at Post University to learn more about interesting stories about the players off the field, court, ice, etc. in a short interview format. All the interview questions, filming, editing, and write-ups are done by the featured member of the Athletic Communications Team to help them gain new experiences in a variety of important aspects in the field.

In this episode, Sports Information Assistant, Jarrett Michaels talks with senior Men's Golfers Joe Ensign and Amal Jha about their friendship on and off the golf course, balancing work and school, going to the NCAA National Championship last season, and much more.

WATERBURY, Conn. -- Senior Amal Jha picked up a golf club for the first time at the age of seven as he was introduced to the sport along with many more sports at school. Golf stuck out to Amal right away as he developed a passion for the game and has been playing ever since. Golf is a very hard sport so starting Jha at a young age was very important in giving him more of an opportunity to grow and refine his skills over the years which lead him to where he is today at Post.

Since he had an option of what sport to play at school and decided he wanted to get into golf, he and his dad decided to reach out to his dad's friend who was involved in golf. One day his dad's friend saw Amal playing cricket and noticed how his swing resembled a golf swing and suggested that he give golf a shot. From that moment on it was the start of his golf journey, "His observation sparked my curiosity, and from there, I discovered my love for the sport" said Jha.  

Rory Mcllory is somebody who Amal enjoys to watch as he has a natural talent and carries himself very well. Rory's mixture of power and finesse in his game is something that Amal tries to emulate in his game as well. Jha also looks up to Shubhankar Sharma who has made a name for himself in the international golf scene. Amal said about Sharma, "as someone from India, it's inspiring to see a fellow Indian golfer achieve success at the highest levels, and I enjoy watching how he manages different courses and situations." 

Meanwhile, senior Joe Ensign transferred into Post his junior year not knowing anyone at Post. One of the first people that Ensign met here at Post was Jha. Since meeting each other they have become best friends even rooming with each other on their golf trips. Amal wanted to make sure that Joe felt welcomed here at Post because he said he knows how it feels to not know anyone at first and he wanted Joe to feel like he fit in right away. When they would room together on golf trips they would also room with then-graduate student Bill Koch who graduated in 2023. On these trips Amal, Joe and Bill would order food late at night which was part of them bonding and building a deeper connection as friends and teammates.

Amal even went out of his way to help Joe learn the courses around here that he had never played before, which he really appreciated. Since Jha was one of the older guys on the team he felt that he should help Ensign learn the courses that he had not played before coming to Post. Amal wanted to do this because he has played these courses more than anyone else on the team so he felt like he had some good insight for Joe whether that had to do with reading the slope on the greens or when to use certain clubs because of how the course played. 

Ensign's proudest moment as an athlete was making it to the NCAA National Championship last year. This was an unforgettable experience for him as he got to get on a plane and travel just to play golf and compete against the other best golfers in the country. While this was a great experience for Joe he told me that he wished that Amal was able to come with him to experience it first hand because of how cool it was and he did not want him missing out on it.  

Joe is not just a student athlete but he is also working while taking classes and playing golf. Being a student-athlete is a full-time job in itself but Ensign manages to find some free time to be able to go into work as well. This is something that he has been able to balance together with the help of the schedules his coaches give him, how lenient his boss is at work, and the support and understanding of his professors.