Trenton Kurtz was in a treacherous spot. He was one shot back headed into the last hole of a 36-hole tournament and just hit his drive into deep, unrelenting rough. In front of him was a thick batch of trees and a creek that cut through the heart of the par-5’s fairway.
“The shot was really difficult. I knew I was one shot back, so I had to be aggressive,” he said. “I hit a punch shot over this creek that’s probably 150 yards away and it carried (it) by … a foot and rolled into the fairway. But my … ball (ended up) in a divot and I was like ‘oh boy, this is going to be bad.”
8-iron in hand, Kurtz hit a 175-yard approach shot to about 10 feet, before lipping his putt out for a harrowing par to finish the round with a 72. He ultimately lost in a playoff, finishing second in the American Junior Golf Association preview tournament in Findlay, Ohio, his second runner-up finish this year.
The 17-year-old junior at Stevenson High School said the experience of that hole and the entire weekend was a product of course management that is prominently taught at The Golf Practice.
“There was one Friday class where we were going over strategy aspects, like missing in the right spots and aiming in the right spots…it really resonated with me,” said Kurtz, who participates in TGP’s M360 program.
“At the right time it is okay to take strategic chances. Not something that’s just stupid, where the success rate is like 10 percent, but risks that are worth it. That is something I’ve taken away. You have to wait for the right time to take a chance,” he added regarding what he has learned.
Kurtz said in the past, he would be playing well during a round and then, suddenly, he would blow up and post big scores on a couple of holes.
“I always felt like I was playing better than what I was scoring,” he said.
Now he is playing more conservatively and picking his spots to be aggressive, such as that high-stakes approach shot a few weeks ago.
I’m “just trying to avoid big numbers,” he said. “I’ve had a couple doubles, but I’ve played 12 tournament rounds (this year) and I’ve only lost two golf balls.”
Kurtz’s favorite shot is flushing a driving iron off the tee.
“Because it’s hard to hit a long iron well. So hitting a driving iron that’s perfect, that’s the best feeling,” he said.
Kurtz is coached by Chris Oehlerking, the Dean of Instruction and co-owner at The Golf Practice. He plans to compete in about 10 tournaments, including the Illinois State Junior and a qualifier for the Illinois Open, this summer.
“I definitely want to play in college,” he said. “I don’t really care where I play, as long as I play at the college level, that’s what I want. Then from there, I’ll just see what happens.”
