2022 NewsTribune Boys Golfer of the Year

Landen Plym first started playing golf at Spring Creek Golf Course in fifth grade with his cousin, Grant Plym, and their grandma.

It was love at first swing.

“We just walked the front nine, and it was a lot of fun,” he said. “I knew right after the round I just loved golf. It’s a lot of fun hitting the ball. I wasn’t any good at it, but it was a lot of fun.”

Golf became a lot of fun for the Hall sophomore this year when he qualified for the IHSA state tournament for the first time after a disastrous sectional round his freshmen year.

Plym carried a 38.1 average for nine holes, earned all-conference first-team honors as the Three Rivers runner-up and was the regional champion on his home course at Spring Creek.

For all of his accomplishments, Plym is the 2022 NewsTribune Boys Golfer of the Year.

“If I could describe Landen’s golf game in one word, it would be ‘control,’ Hall coach Mason Kimberley said. “I’ve always said that playing great golf isn’t about hitting great shots, it’s about minimizing your bad shots, and Landen is one of the best high school golfers I’ve ever seen with that ability.

“He’s also in control of every situation from a mental standpoint. He has exceptional on-course demeanor, and he forgets about his bad shots quickly. He’s able to stay in the same frame of mind for every shot.”

Plym said it came in handy at a young age having an older cousin such as Grant who knew the game.

“I was always asking Grant what club to hit because I had no idea what the numbers were,” he said.

The cousins’ matches were always “competitive but friendly rounds,” he said.

Landen joked that he and Grant now routinely beat their dads, Luke and Zach.

An early-season tweak to his swing put Plym in a good position to excel this year.

“Coach Mason said I was shutting the club face going back, so I would either pull it or hook it, so I had no idea where the ball was going to go,” he said. “The first 18-hole tournament, I shot a 78. Fixing that led me to be confident for the rest of the season knowing my swing was right.”

The Plym cousins teamed up to lead the Red Devils to their first sectional berth since 2013. Landen was medalist with a 78 at Spring Creek in the Class 1A St. Bede Regional. Grant tied for eighth with an 86.

“That really meant a lot because we hadn’t made sectionals as a team in nine years,” Landen said.

Plym shot an 80 at the Class 2A Riverdale Sectional at TPC Deere Run to qualify for state by one stroke, tying for 12th place. Although he played a better round the day before in practice, he said, “It was a lot of fun. It’s my favorite course. It’s a nice course. I love playing there.”

The shot that punched his ticket to state was a memorable one: his third shot out of a green-side bunker on the par-5 17th hole.

“The ball was in the back of the trap on a downhill lie, and only had about 15 feet of green to work with,” Kimberley said. “He hit a perfect shot just over the lip of the bunker, took one bounce and checked up right next to the hole. I bet there aren’t five high school golfers in the entire state who could duplicate that shot. It was special.”

Plym almost wasn’t able to play at state. He was running a high fever just two days before and not feeling well. Despite not feeling his best, Plym shot an 87, missing the cut for the second round by just one stroke.

He said it was a learning experience.

“I learned to grind through it even though I didn’t have good enough numbers to go to the second day. You just have to grind out because that one stroke matters,” he said.

Kimberley said Plym was pushed to play his best with a friendly rivalry with St. Bede ace Jake Delaney. They played a half dozen rounds with each other this year with Plym having a 4-2 edge.

“It always seemed that they always brought a little extra intensity whenever they were paired together,” Kimberley said. “It was always the featured group of any event they were paired together. The great thing is that it was a friendly rivalry and they both have a ton of respect for each other.”

Plym will be keeping his golf game sharp over the winter using the golf simulator at Hall a couple days a week.

“It gives you numbers so you know how much side spin you have and how much it curves, and it shows distance and it’s pretty exact on distance. It shows like your exact shot, so that helps a lot,” he said.

Next year, he wants to win a couple of invites and make the second day of state.