Columbus North’s John Merritt walks off the No. 4 green during the Conference Indiana golf tournament at Timbergate Golf Course in Edinburgh, Ind., Monday, May 15, 2023.
The Republic file photo
The way John Merritt sees it, he really doesn’t have much pressure on him as a golfer.
The Columbus North senior has been playing relaxed, and it’s paid off in a big way. He led the Bull Dogs to a third-place finish in Thursday’s Providence Regional and a berth in this week’s Boys Golf State Finals.
“The one thing I learned is to just enjoy golf,” Merritt said. “I’m doing this for fun. I’m not playing in college or anything. I enjoy it more than I stress about golf, so it’s a lot of fun. I think I’ve been playing pretty relaxed, just trying to simplify my game and not overreacting to bad shots. Sometimes, you have bad shots, and you just have to deal with them. Just looking on the bright side and the opportunities that I have help me eliminate the double-bogeys and triple-bogeys in the round.”
It was all birdies and pars on the front nine for Merritt Thursday at Champions Pointe. He fired a 3-under-par 33 on the front nine before settling for a 1-over 73 for 18 holes.
“John got off to a good start and hung in there,” North coach Doug Bieker said. “When he was 3-under and leading the regional the first 14 holes, he got a little nervous. But he handled it pretty well, and hopefully, if he’s in the same position (today) and Wednesday (at state), he can finish it off.”
After playing JV for most of the regular-season last year, Merritt made it into the postseason lineup and played in the sectional and regional. This year, he’s been on varsity from the beginning.
“He was kind of an unproven commodity, and he just keeps getting better,” Bieker said. “It’s kind of what we needed him to do. We needed him to step up with losing the ones that we did. He’s one of the real keys to how we perform.”
Merritt has spent the past few winters playing hockey for the Columbus Icemen. This year, he won the J. Howard Guitard State Mental Attitude Award at the Indiana Hockey State Tournament. The award and scholarship is given to a senior for academic achievement, leadership, community and school service and dedication and sportsmanship playing hockey and includes a $1,000 scholarship.
“I had to work around my hockey schedule,” Merritt said. “There would be a couple stretches throughout the winter time where I wasn’t able to golf. Now, I’m all golf, and I think that’s been a huge difference in my game. My scores have been lower and better.”
After starting off the season with an 87 and a couple of 81s, Merritt has consistently scored in the 70s. He led the Bull Dogs with a 72 in last month’s Conference Indiana Tournament at Timbergate.
Merritt credits his improvement to work with his swing coach, Andrew Weisheit at Harrison Lake Country Club.
“It was really just a lot of practice with my swing coach and getting my tempo right and working on my short game,” Merritt said. “That’s helped me a lot. I feel like my swing is very smooth, and I know what my shot will be like. Andrew always told me you want to be playing better at the end of the year than the beginning. He’s done a lot for my game. I wouldn’t be where I am without him.”
“John just gets it done,” Bieker added. “He doesn’t really play great in practice. He hasn’t played in a whole lot of tournaments out of high school. But it seems like the bigger the tournament, the better he does. I think he’ll play well, and if he does, it will go a long way toward us help us accomplish our goals.”
Merritt plans to attend Indiana University and major in marketing with a minor in Spanish. He is considering playing club hockey or golf.
Monday’s practice round at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel was Merritt’s first time playing the course. He was there last year to see then-senior Luke Schneider and current senior Willy Davis play at state as individuals.
Merritt hopes to lead North to a top-four finish as a team, be in top-15 individually and earn All-State honors.
“I’m really excited,” Merritt said. “I watched Willy and Luke Schneider play last year, and it just made me eager to want to play there this year.”
