About Nate
I took a liking to sports at a young age. For as long as I can remember, my biggest passion in life has been athletics. I played baseball in the spring, golf in the summer, basketball in the fall, and ski raced in the winter. Playing sports was my way to meet friends, have fun, and scratch the competitive itch that I have always possessed.
I started playing golf at the age of four. My grandpa was the starter at a short tree lined golf course in the Columbia River Gorge called Skamania Lodge. I played my first round of golf there, I beat my dad for the first time there (9 years old), and I broke par for the first time there. I played in my first golf tournament at the age of seven and I can still remember the nerves.
Golf was just another sport back then. It was fun, but, as a young kid, I preferred team sports like baseball and basketball. I made some of my closest friends from summer baseball teams and school basketball teams. Competing for and winning state championships in both baseball and basketball gave me a competitive edge that a lot of golfers don’t have. I fell in love with competition and I fell in love with trying to be the best.
I also loved watching the best. I have always been enthralled by watching college and professional sports because there is so much to learn from them as a young athlete. My favorite team to watch as a kid was the Portland Trail Blazers (they’re not fun to watch now), and with family ties to the Seattle area I grew up a Seattle Seahawks and Mariners fan. Seeing the best athletes in the world compete right in front of my eyes lit a fire in me as a kid. It made me want to be as talented as them some day, and I think it improved my work ethic from a young age.
In high school, it was time to start choosing sports. Golf and baseball are both spring sports in Oregon, and I couldn’t play them both. As a scrawny 120 pound 14 year old, I couldn’t have made a better choice. I knew I had a much better chance at playing golf in college so I decided to go that route. As my focus on golf became sharper, so did my game. I had great results in high school as a freshman, and that continued into summer tournaments. After qualifying for the US Junior Amateur that summer, I knew I had a chance to play in college.
As my golf career began to gain traction, I continued to play basketball. It wasn’t until my junior year in high school that I became a full time golfer; practicing in the winter to prepare for the spring and summer seasons. This yielded great results. I was able to win the state championship my junior year, qualify for another US Junior Amateur at Baltusrol Golf Club, win the Hogan Cup at Riverside CC, and be honored as the Oregon Junior Golfer of the Year.
This success piqued the interest of some power 5 schools, but the facilities, coaches, and culture of athletic greatness at the University of Oregon is exactly what I wanted. Fresh off a pair of National Championship appearances, Coach Casey Martin offered me a scholarship, and I happily accepted.
Growing up in Portland, my family never belonged to a country club. I didn’t have a consistent place to practice until I came to UO. All of a sudden, I had access to Eugene Country Club, and the state of the art practice facility ten minutes south at Emerald Valley Golf Course. This is where I would work for the next four years to take my game to the next level.
College golf has been the best experience of my life. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to play five years at an athletic powerhouse like Oregon. I have learned many valuable things in my time here that have helped me take my game to another level. Playing for Coach Martin has taught me elite course management strategies and a multitude of mental techniques to employ during tournament golf. I have also learned things unrelated to golf that have helped me in all areas of life; how to workout and eat properly, how to stretch and do yoga, how to pursue mindfulness through meditation, and so many other life skills that have made me into the person I am today.
All of these things have helped me achieve results on the golf course and in the classroom. I was a good player for my first three years at Oregon. I qualified for every event and had a scoring average of 72.6. My breakout occurred in the spring of my senior season, when I won the Duck Invitational at Eugene Country Club. It was my first collegiate win and it gave me the confidence to excel the rest of the year. I rattled off four top 20 finishes in a row, including fifth place at the PAC-12 Championship. I finished the season with a 71.33 scoring average highlighted by a 70.05 scoring average in the last six tournaments of the year.
After deciding to come back to Oregon for a graduate season, the success on the course continued. I finished in the top 10 in two out of four tournaments in the fall, including a third place finish against the best field in college golf at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational. This tournament showed me that I can beat the best amateurs in the world. As someone who didn’t have much national success or recognition as a junior golfer, it is extra sweet to routinely beat the guys who got recruited over me. My scoring average this fall season was 69.67 which is on pace for the second lowest single season average in program history.
My fifth year spring season was a model of consistency with four top-25 finishes and 33 out of 34 counting rounds for the team. I finished the season leading the top-20 ranked Ducks in scoring average at 71.03.
This success could be attributed to more consistent ball striking or making more putts, but the biggest difference has been a mental shift in the way I approach tournaments. Earlier in my career, tournament golf seemed completely different from practice rounds — I placed too much importance on them. This led to tension, angst, and frustration on the course. Going into senior year, my only goal was to try to have fun and enjoy my time on the course. Through meditation and visualization, I have been able to change what felt like a different game into the game I’ve been playing my whole life.
I am excited to apply everything I learned in college as I begin this journey as a professional golfer. I look forward to continuing to learn and get better with every practice session, tournament, and experience in pursuit of a PGA Tour card.
The short, winding tree lined resort course at Skamania Lodge is where my golf journey began, and I am beyond excited to see where it leads.
