With his red, plastic driver and wiffle ball, senior Nick Hardy started golfing at 13 months old, according to his father John Hardy. At eight years old, Nick signed up for his first tournaments in the Illinois Junior Golf Association. Now at 18 years old, Nick has played in three different national championships with the United States Golf Association, also called USGA, and during his junior year, committed to play Division I golf at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“I had no idea how good he’d be [at 8 years old],” said Nick’s father. “So I signed him up for seven or eight events, and he won all of them.”

One year later, Nick beat his father in a round of golf. It was then that Nick was taken to meet Brett Packee, president of Core Golf. Packee has coached Nick for ten years.

“I fell in love with the game when I was young,” said Nick. “And I’ve stuck with it ever since.”

Head Golf Coach Justin Gerbich has coached Nick for four years, and recalls recognizing Nick’s golf talent before he started playing on the high school team. He saw Nick practicing at the Anetsberger Golf Course around five years ago, and he was told Nick was trying out for the golf team soon. Gerbich said although he did not dominate the golf course as a freshman on varsity, Nick was still very good.

Gerbich said no player could out-work Nick because he plays golf every chance he gets. Nick said golf is a full-time job because he practices around 42 hours a week. This year Nick was 37 under par, scored a 65 at regionals and a 66 at sectionals.

“For me, I was really impressed with his match against Highland Park where he shot a 30, 6 under par in nine holes,” said Gerbich. “I mean you play as a team and everybody contributes, and you hate to say that somebody won it or lost it for you. But I pretty much think he won that match for us shooting 30 that day.”

Nick holds two course records. He shot a 65 at Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, Mich. and a 64 at the Merit Country Club in Libertyville. The Merit Country Club offered him a membership at a deal to play year round when he was a sophomore.

“My favorite memories playing golf are just messing around at the Merit Club with my friends,” Nick said.

His best score is a 63 during the final round of an American Junior Golf Association tournament his junior year, and he has shot 14 hole-in-ones.

“It started out as me loving to play the game,” said Nick. “But now it’s me loving to get better at the game.”

Nick said he is most proud of his performance at the U.S. Amateur Championship on Aug. 11-17, 2013. Won in 1994, 1995 and 1996 by professional golfer Tiger Woods, this tournament is organized by the USGA and features many of the top ranked amateur golfers each year according to the USGA. John Hardy said mostly college-aged men come from around the world to participate in this televised tournament. After the first round, Nick, then a high school junior and the first person from Glenbrook North to compete in this tournament, was the overnight leader, and he finished two rounds of stroke play tied for sixth. He lost in the second round.

“During the U.S. Amateur, Nick called up and asked how [high school golf] tryouts were going,” said Gerbich. “That’s something that not too many people realize. He’s always been more focused on how the team was doing than his own personal score. It was cool that he called to see how things were going when he had one of his biggest matches of his career going on.”

John Hardy said Nick does not get nervous for tournaments because he is prepared for them, but Nick remembers one time he was nervous. Nick once played former professional athlete Michael Jordan at the Merit Country Club last August. Nick considers Jordan the best competitor sports has to offer and highly respects Jordan’s athletic ability.

“But the funniest thing about that the whole ordeal was the day after at Georgie V’s,” said Nick’s father. “Nick was with a couple of his friends eating breakfast. And guess who walks in? Michael Jordan. Nick says ‘Hi Mr. Jordan.’ And Michael Jordan goes, ‘Hey Nicky, how’re you doing buddy?’”

Overall, according to Gerbich, Nick has been very consistent throughout his high school season.

“He was so good to us for his last four years,” said Gerbich. “I [valued] his reliability…He never had a terrible day.”

This past season, Nick came in third in the Class 3A Boys State Golf  Tournament and his teammate Brian Ohr came in first place at The Den in Fox Creek in Bloomington,  IL.

“[The] Sky’s the limit,” said Packee. “If [Nick] keeps learning and keeps improving and keeps getting better, I don’t see why he can’t make it to the elite status of a [Professional Golf Association] Tour.”

Other Division I athletes in the Class of 2014: