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Nolan Otto '18 Recruiting Profile
Height6'2"
Weight170lbs
Age25
Primary PositionGolfer
Dominant HandRight
Video
June 2016Personal Statement
Hello. My name is Nolan Otto and I play on the the Big Spring High School golf team and one of the top of my class. I, however, did not grow up playing golf like most of my peers.
I was introduced to baseball at a young age and played the sport for most of my life until I was 12 years old. I went to the doctor for some recent (major) ankle pain I was having and it turned out that I have a bone coalition that prevented certain movements of my foot. The only sport that I was cleared to play was golf. I had swung a golf club before but just for fun and not for the sake of competition.
Not a day after my diagnosis, I asked my parents if I could go to the golf course. After months of practicing and a few lessons form Larry Bryan, I started to see results. After a few years, 90s went to 80s, 80s went to 70s, and 70s started turning into more consistent rounds, either a couple over or 1 or 2 under. Next thing I know I'm playing on a varsity golf team in the hardest region in Texas, standing toe to toe with players who have already committed to D1 colleges who help me aspire to stretch my limits and keep going until I succeed, whether that's winning a tournament or getting a scholarship or just simply giving a fellow competitor a run for their money.
I honestly do my best to not think of the past, nor do I try to think into the future. I prefer to focus on here and now and play to the best of my ability, whether it's trying out for the US Open or in a high school practice. But just as I try to play to the best of my ability, I also need to focus on what I want to major in and what college will provide the best for that. As of the moment, I'm split between becoming an Architect or a PGA Professional or if I continue to get better, play on the PGA Tour. When I go to college, I couldn't see myself doing anything else but golf. Of course, there will be classes and obligations for me to take care of but I couldn't see myself not playing competitive golf.
I know not every round is going to be my best one, there will still be bad rounds here and there, but I can keep pushing myself for perfection. Of course no one can be perfect, but if they strive for perfection, they can make it to excellence.
Athletics
High School Information
- Years w/ Varsity
- 1 year
- 2017 Varsity Team
Individual Awards
- 1st Team All-Conference, 2nd Team All-State, Top 3 District and Top 3 Regional 4A, 1st Team All-Region
Team Awards
- Conference 2nd Place, Regional 2nd Place
Coach References
- High School Head Coach
- Chris Joslin
- Other
- Larry Bryan
- High School Head Coach
- Ariel Falcon
Events
- Camp/Event
- Sherwin Cox Amarillo Shootout
- 10/21/17 to 10/22/17
- This tournament was associated with Junior Golf Scoreboard, the AJGA, and the NTPGA All-American Tour. This was the most demanding tournament I've played in awhile. The biggest factor this week was the wind. But aside from that, the course had a very demanding layout, with rolling hills, 3 foot long and extremely thick fescue, and greens that were as smooth as silk and felt like you were putting on ice, almost like an Erin Hills sort of vibe. The wind was upward of 30 mph and would occasionally gust over 45 mph both days of the event. The first day, I was even par through the beginning 13 holes, but backed up quite a bit by my own faulter and shot +4 on the ending 5 holes. Although a disappointing finish to the tournament, I recongized my mistakes and intended on bettering myself the second day and not get ahead of myself. The second day, the golf course played a lot longer due to the frost from earlier in the day. However, I held my ground with a slight hiccup on the par 4 5th hole, hitting it into the 3 foot high fescue and ultimately getting double bogey. I would go on to hit 6 out of the 8 next greens and left every birdie putt in the heart and frustration was beginning to set in. I bogeyed the 14th again after having to lay up after hitting a wayward drive where the only option was to punch back into the fairway and ultimately lipping out for par. I would trip up again on the par 5 16th and have another bad lip out for par, making me move to +4 on the day, but I wasn't about to repeat my mistake from yesterday. Having known the error in my thinking, I would go on to make a 40 foot birdie on the 17th and nearly hole out on the par 5 18th to pull the round back to a 74. Although I was a little sad and frustrated on how I ended both days, the two round total was good enough to win the tournament by 3 shots over friend and competitor Andrew Chow. This was my first of hopefully many nationwide wins and was a great way to really make this fall semester a good way to catapult into the spring semester. Having knowledge of how to finish out my rounds now and hopefully in a much more consistent way, I am hoping to improve my tournament scoring average by a few more shots.
- Camp/Event
- Battle at the Bridges
- 10/07/17 to 10/09/17
- The Bridges was by far one of the hardest, most demanding, and yet one of the most breathtaking and fun golf courses I have ever played. I opened up my first round with a +5 77 with only a single birdie on the card which was a devastating blow. This was my first time ever seeing the course, let alone playing it. The wind didn't really pick up until later in the round and proved that precision is key with every shot. The second day I shot my highest round in regulation play since sophomore year, shooting a +10 82. My round was described by three shots: a triple on the par 3 2nd, a double on the par 3 8th, and a double on the par 5 14th, along with 4 bogeys and a birdie thrown into the mix. I made the turn at a score of 45, my highest ever nine hole score since freshman year and I regrouped and fought back on the back nine with a 37. I finally finished the tournament with a +4 76 and never really figured out the greens until late Monday afternoon. The greens at The Bridges were a Bermuda grass with a poor graining system on the greens, whereas in West Texas, Bent grass is the popular green. I ended the tournament knowing three things: 1) My score, although very poor by my standards, was a fairly good score considering that the third day was the one true day where I knew the misses on the golf course. 2) This was my first tournament with my new irons, a Titleist CB/MB mixed set, and I more or less wanted to use this opportunity to put these irons to the test, in which I believed by my standards their performance was exceptional and I was pleased with their first appearance in my now somewhat diverse bag. 3) I also believe that in all three days, I could only pick about 5 shots that I thought could have been hit better. Everything else I felt as if I gave 100% on the read of a putt or the yardage of an approach shot or located a precise placement of a tee shot to give me the best look at a putt. After the round however, I reflected upon this thought and the fact of how I could shoot so bad but feel so good about the shots I hit. My dad being a former baseball coach made a parallelism to my golf that I had played and some of his game situations and how a baseball player could a screaming liner every at bat, a ball right out of the center, and still go 0-4. In my head, I thought of my saying that I made from a verse in the Bible, swapping the word God with golf, making the statement "golf giveth and it taketh away".
- Camp/Event
- Pro Junior Two Man Low Ball
- 7/24/17 to 7/24/17
- Although this was a low ball tournament, I still was required to play my own ball throughout the tournament. I shot a bogey free 66 and shot the low round for the juniors playing in the tournament. My team got third place with a -13 129. I did not receive an award for the low junior but I did get some bragging rights.
- Camp/Event
- Big Spring Championship
- 7/22/17 to 7/23/17
- I had two rough days in this event. As I was playing as a minor in something equal to a public club championship, no matter how I played, I would be ineligible to win any money. I shot 75 the first day with a double bogey which I was not happy about. I followed this up with a 76 in which I had a triple bogey. I finished third in this event and I was not happy with the way I played.
- Camp/Event
- Regional Golf Tournament
- 4/26/17 to 4/27/17
- The wind forecast for both days of the tournament called for winds averaging 25-45 mph with occasional wind gusts over 50. Despite the demanding conditions, I shot a -1 71 the first day and held the lead over a roughly 100 man field. The second day I started out slowly, as I was +4 thru 7. All of a sudden, I pressed on the gas and got my score down to +1 thru 16 before an untimely bogey on 17. I finished out at +2 for the second day and +1 for the Regional tournament. Although I have been to Regionals every year of my high school career, this year was different. This was a great milestone in my career path, as I got third place in our region, as our region, even though classified as 4A, has been known and proved to be the hardest region to advance to state in. My team and I will be playing at state May 22nd and 23rd at Apple Rock in Horseshoe Bay.
- Camp/Event
- District Golf Tournament
- 3/27/17 to 4/10/17
- The first round took place in Sweetwater. The course was probably at its peak, as the greens were rolling nice but the surrounding fairways were in horrible shape. Although hitting my ball into a water hazard, I still managed to hold the lead after round 1 with a +3 75. The next round was at Big Spring. The fairways were lush and beautiful, but they had just aerated the greens, so putting was an extreme difficulty. I had one of my worst days of the season, as I shot a +8 79. Our final round was at Brownwood. I started the day 5 shots off the lead and after 10 holes, I was on pace to win district. However, after having a lost ball penalty on 14 after hitting a nice drive, I finished the day where I started and shot a +2 74. I placed third in district, as my team would advance to Regionals.
- Camp/Event
- Big Spring Invitational
- 2/11/17 to 2/12/17
- This is the third event I've played in this year. The tournament conditions had wind that gusted into the 40-50 mph range and a field of about 65 guys. I shot a 68 (-3) the first day in the gusting wind and held the lead by 4 shots. The next day, the wind was a little quieter but still a factor. I didn't play my best and shot a 75 the second day which I was definitely not the happiest about. I won the tournament with a two day total of 143 (+1) by 3 shots. I would have liked to play better but the golf season is far from over.
- Camp/Event
- Del Rio Golf Classic Tournament
- 2/03/17 to 2/04/17
- To start out, both courses were in horrible condition and the tournament was structured very unprofessionally. The first day, I parted 14 holes in a row but received horrible bounces on 15 and 16 as one bounced from 30 yards inside the stakes to a yard OB. I managed to shoot 76 the first day on the horribly kept golf course that basically had hard pan as greens. San Felipe CC was in slightly better condition, but was still in horrible condition. Despite early bad luck and no knowledge of the course's layout, I evened it back out on the back 9 to shoot 78 the second day. I got 2nd in a 115 player field in a 6A tournament.
- Camp/Event
- West Texas New Year Classic
- 1/21/17 to 1/22/17
- This was by far one of the hardest tournaments I've played in, not only because of the people competing, but also because of the gale force winds playing important roles for part of the first day and all of the second day. I took advantage of what I could on the first day to end with a 75 (+3) with an unfortunate ending double bogey. The second day the best score in the field was a 77. I had one of the worst days I could, hitting two balls out of bounds and another two balls into water hazards to shoot an 80 (+8). I got second in this event behind Jeffery Maciejewski, who has committed to Sam Houston who shot rounds of 71 and 79.
- Camp/Event
- West Texas Junior Champions Tour Championship
- 7/28/16 to 7/29/16
- This event included 22 of the best golfers from nearly every part of Texas on one of the toughest golf courses in West Texas. I shot an even par round of 72 the first day and faltered a little on the second day with a 77 to finish in solo 2nd.
- Camp/Event
- POPS Memorial Tournament
- 7/09/16 to 7/10/16
- I shot a 75 (3 over) at Snyder Municipal Golf Course and a 74 (4 over) at Sammy Baugh Golf Course. I tied for 3rd overall in the tournament.
- Camp/Event
- West Texas Junior Open
- 6/15/16 to 6/16/16
- Both days begin with a 9:00am shotgun start. I shot a 78 at Fairway Oaks and had never seen the course. I also shot 78 at Abilene CC. I expected to shoot better and was disappointed, but I guess that is why it's called golf.
- Camp/Event
- Snyder Shootout
- 6/02/16 to 6/03/16
- This is a West Texas Junior Champions Tour tournament. Day 1 score - 73. Day 2 score 5 under 67. This was my personal best score. My best score before this was a 2 under 70 at Shadow Hills in Lubbock. I won this event by 15 strokes.
- Camp/Event
- Central Texas Shootout
- 5/07/16 to 5/08/16
- This was a Hurricane Golf Junior Tour Tournament. Day one score - 80. Day two score - 78
- Camp/Event
- 4A Regional Golf Tournament
- 4/11/16 to 4/12/16
- Day one score - 79. Day two score - 73. Missed qualifying for state by 3 strokes as an individual
- Camp/Event
- District Tournament
- 3/24/16 to 4/04/16
- Day one at Lamesa - 72. Day two at Shadow Hills in Lubbock - 70. Day 3 in Snyder - 80. Finished second overall in District.
- Camp/Event
- Regional Preview
- 2/26/16 to 2/27/16
- Day 1 score - 79. Day 2 score - 77.
- Camp/Event
- Snyder Invitational
- 2/12/16 to 2/13/16
- Day 1 score - 81. Day 2 score - 78. Won on the first playoff hole to finish second overall
- Camp/Event
- Andrews Invitational
- 11/13/15 to 11/14/15
- Day 1 score - 78. Day 2 score - 76. Finished 6th overall
Statistics
| Statistic | 2017 Varsity Team |
|---|---|
| Handicap | 0.7 |
| 18 Hole Avg. | 72 |
| 18 Hole Low | 63 |
| 9 Hole Low | 32 |
| GIR | 13/18 |
| Putts per 18 | 26 |
| Driving Accuracy | 65.3% |
| Sand Save Pct. | 50% |
| Longest Drive | 360 |
Academics
Grades
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Test Scores
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Academic Accomplishments
Are you in honor classes?
NoAre you in AP/IB classes?
Yes. Pre-AP: U.S. History English 1 and 2 Chemistry Biology Algebra 2 Geometry Physics AP: Pre-Calculus English 3Registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center?
YesAwards and Activities
- AwardsNational Junior Honor Society National Honor Society A Honor Roll-multiple times Ranked #6 out of 279 students All State Choir District 1st Chair Bass - 2015 Regional 2nd Chair - 2016
- ActivitiesChoir-Secretary