Emeralds' Nagy a Hidden Gem No Longer
May 10, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An opposing golf coach joked this spring that he'll always be able to say he beat Manistique's Michael Nagy – when Nagy was 12.
Other opposing coaches consider it a privilege to grant their players the opportunity to walk a match with the reigning Upper Peninsula champion.
What does Nagy mean to U.P. golf? His signing with the University of Tennessee last fall might be considered on par with a basketball player going to a power league like the Atlantic Coast Conference, or a football player heading to the Big 12.
All happen – but rarely, especially to U.P. athletes playing warm-weather sports. Plus, when Nagy signed in November, he guaranteed he’ll become only the second Division I athlete in any sport from Manistique High since Ron Rubick finished his football career at Michigan State in 1963.
“I thought it was a remarkable stat,” Nagy said. “It makes me want to do good and keep getting better.”
Nagy received a Second Half High 5 this week as he puts the finishing touches on a career that has included Upper Peninsula individual championships in 2009 and 2011 and a runner-up finish in 2010 when he fell in a two-hole tie-breaker.
Though the story of a star golfer emerging from the cold-weather north gets told on occasion, a feat like Nagy’s is rather uncommon.
Although high school season starts in mid-March, in Manistique it takes until the start of May for the weather to come around completely.
And while some bigger towns have indoor domes or other facilities where players can hit balls during the winter, Nagy’s indoor practice facility is a net in his garage, plus another smaller net he uses for chipping.
But this fall, he'll begin his college career with the Volunteers, who play in the Southeastern Conference and like many schools in the south fill most of the roster with players from states in warmer climates that allow for more play throughout the year.
“Mike is very hard-working, very humble. That would be the word for it,” Emeralds coach Deb Taylor said. “He has just blown everybody away when he plays. But he’s not the one to go bragging about it.”
Each Peninsula has its own MHSAA Finals for golf, meaning Nagy gets to see the best from the rest of the state only during summer events – the closest of which is a three-hour drive from home, with most more than six. He made trips about twice a month last summer, spending most of July playing in Wisconsin, and still had the kind of success that ranked him among the best in this state for his age group.
Golf isn’t the most popular sport among his Manistique friends. Nagy also played basketball – he set a school record this season with six 3-pointers in a game – but most of his course time spent with friends is low-key.
With golf teammates, he won’t give suggestions unless asked. But players on his and opposing teams no doubt benefit from his presence.
“A lot of coaches now say they are putting so and so with Mike today, (or) they want someone to golf with Mike,” Taylor said. “It makes them better players too. They want that competition.”
Although Nagy also has a job at his home course, Indian Lake in Manistique, he didn’t grow up in a golfing family by the traditional definition. His older brother was friends with Steve Larson, a Manistique grad who went on to become the 2006 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year at Grand Valley State. At 11 or 12, following his brother and Larson, Nagy started giving the game a try.
“I just kinda got hooked on it,” he said.
A year later, Nagy began taking lessons from former Rock Mid-Peninsula standout Casey VanDamme – who also played collegiately, rose up the teaching ladder and became Tennessee’s assistant coach in 2009.
VanDamme told Volunteers’ head coach Jim Kelson about Nagy, and Kelson came to watch him play – and was sold.
Par at Indian Lakes is 36, and Nagy’s average the last four seasons usually has hovered around that mark. He’s at 35 for nine holes currently, and set a school record as a sophomore with a 31. Although he wasn’t sure if it is an 18-hole school record, Nagy shot a 66 in last year’s Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference championship tournament at Gwinn’s Red Fox Run. He shot a 60 at last summer's Indian Lake's club championship to set that course's record.
He shot a 74 to win Wednesday’s Negaunee Kiwanis Invitational by five shots – the fourth time he’s won that tournament. He’ll go for his third MHSAA championship the first weekend in June – and then leave a legacy that could go unmatched for years to come. Click to read more about Nagy's dream playing partners and future plans.
PHOTO: Manistique's Michael Nagy has signed with the University of Tennessee and is set to become his high school's first Division I college athlete since 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Manistique Pioneer Tribune.)
Hackett Catholic Prep Returns from Break as D4's Best Again
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2021
FRANKENMUTH – Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep officially won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Golf Final championship with its play Saturday afternoon, but the seeds for the victory were planted Thursday.
The Irish played a practice round at The Fortress Golf Club a day before competing in the two-day tournament, and what was learned during that round played a crucial role in a back-nine surge that clinched their second-straight title.
“We try and come out the day before the event, and we were able to do that this year, and I would say it was very crucial,” Hackett coach Jim Holton said. “We stress, ‘We’re not here to shoot a score (Thursday), we’re here to learn,’ and that’s what we did when we got here.”
Hackett finished with a two-day total of 640 strokes, finishing ahead of runner-up Lansing Christian by six. Charlevoix was third with 646, followed by Maple City Glen Lake at 677.
Clarkston Everest Collegiate’s Remy Stalcup was the tournament medalist, shooting a two-under 142 to win by seven strokes.
For Hackett, a course far from home felt familiar enough Saturday afternoon as it held off a Saturday morning surge from Lansing Christian.
About halfway through the round, the Pilgrims inched ahead, but it was the work done on the back nine that lifted the Irish to a victory.
Their scoring foursome of Tommy Keyte, Ben Bridenstine, Ryan Chafty and Niklas Johansson combined to shoot 158 on the back nine, while Lansing Christian’s top four came in at 166 down the stretch.
“I think we all went through a tough stretch there as a team,” said Keyte, who was the individual runner-up at 149. “Back nine, we just kind of locked in and we picked it up. Made some good birdies, made some good putts. Everything just kind of clicked together on the back. The practice round, we really focused on where we wanted to hit our golf shots. It wasn’t driver every hole, it’s 4-irons, hybrids – you have to place your tee shot because there’s trouble on every hole.”
Holton said he and his team had identified the back nine as the key during Thursday’s practice round.
“We realized the back nine can cause problems for teams,” he said. “We discussed that in the practice round, made our gameplan based on the holes and what we needed to do to keep ourselves ahead of the other competition. We started off great, had a little lull, Lansing Christian went by us and I was a little concerned. But I knew those tough holes were ahead, and I knew we planned well for those holes.”
The second-straight title for Hackett was actually the team’s second in three years, as there was no 2020 season. The senior-laden group – Keyte, Bridenstine, Chafty and No. 5 player Grayson Walters are all seniors – was focused on retaining their title, despite the year off.
“It felt great,” Keyte said. “The whole team was really excited for this weekend, and we’ve been waiting for this for two years now, because we were trying to go back to back. We did it today, and we had a great time. It was a grind out there.”
Following up Keyte’s 149 for Hackett were Bridenstine (158), Chafty (163) and Johansson (171). Walters wasn’t far behind at 173.
Davis Garrett (150) took third individually to lead Lansing Christian, and was followed by William Combs (156), Caden Kinnas (167) and Baylor Brogan (173).
While Hackett was repeating as team champ, a new face was dominating the course in the individual race. As a sophomore, Stalcup was playing in his first MHSAA Finals, and he led nearly wire to wire. He essentially put the tournament away with an eagle on No. 1 (his 16th hole of the day) on Saturday.
“I hit my drive in the right heather, so I took a 5-iron out from about 230 (yards), and it almost went in, actually,” Stalcup said. “It was, like, not even a foot for a tap-in eagle and it got me back into it with a big lead.”
Stalcup had played the previous four holes at two-over par, and while the eagle ended up just padding his lead, at the time it seemed necessary.
“I thought it was close; I didn’t know if I was winning by a bunch or not,” he said. “So that helped a lot, for sure. I was happy then. I didn’t look at the leaderboard. I don’t want to know until the very end.”
Stalcup had played at The Fortress earlier in the season, and it was kind to him then as well.
“I love the course; I love it,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite courses, actually. I always play good here. I played good earlier in the season here, too. I putt really well on these greens, I love these greens. I made a lot of long putts. It helps a lot, too, I hit it pretty far. I hit a lot of wedges into greens.”
Jake Beaudoin of Charlevoix and Luke LeBourdais of Saginaw Nouvel tied for fourth at 153, followed by Brady Krohn of Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker (154), Michael Zanoni of Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (155), Lansing Christian’s Combs, Blake O’Connor of Glen Lake (157) and Jeffrey Andrus of Royal Oak Shrine (157).
Full results will be linked when available.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep, with a golfer putting here during Friday's first round, repeated as Division 4 champion. (Middle) Clarkston Everest Collegiate's Remy Stalcup drives during Friday's first round. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)