Relaxed Approach does FHN's Schab Good

May 27, 2016

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half

GRAND RAPIDS -- Spencer Schab has a different approach to the game of golf this season.

The Forest Hills Northern senior isn’t taking things as seriously as in past years.

“I thought of it as, this is my senior year, it’s my last high school season, so why put so much pressure on myself and make it less enjoyable?,” Schab said. “I’m just going to go out and have fun.”

Schab’s change of attitude has served him and his team well.

The Huskies entered this week’s MHSAA District Tournament ranked No. 2 in Division 2, behind only Ottawa-Kent Conference Bronze rival Ada Forest Hills Eastern.

Schab, a two-time Lower Peninsula Division 2 all-state first team selection, has felt the pressure to produce low scores in recent years.

“The last couple years I’ve put too much weight on my shoulders to play well,” Schab said. “I’ve found that when I’m more focused on having a good time, like talking to my playing competitors, I end up playing better. This year has been fun.”

Schab has been a mainstay as the Huskies’ No. 1 golfer, but coach Brian Telzerow said his teammates have helped to ease the tension.

“He’s been the go-to guy so to speak and he’s always played in the No. 1 spot, but the nice thing about this year is all five guys who play can easily be the lowest score of the team,” he said. “Spencer doesn’t feel like he has to be the lowest guy, and so I think he is enjoying the game a little bit more because of that.”

Forest Hills Northern has a talented cast of seniors to accompany Schab in the top four. They include Phil Lodzinski, Chase Lebster and Brian McHale.

Josh Belfer is another senior, along with two freshmen.

The experience of the seniors has sparked the team’s success. It’s a group that has played together the past four years and has a strong bond on and off the course.

“That’s my favorite part about the team,” Schab said. “We’re all such good friends, and it makes the experience so much better for all of us because we’re a tight-knit group. We were friends before we were on the team, and being on the team has only strengthened our friendship.”

Lodzinski said the closeness among the seniors helps drive them to perform their best.

“We’re all best friends, and I think you try a little harder when you have friends on the team because you don’t want to let them down,” he said. “We have a good time together, and that makes it an enjoyable experience overall.”

The seniors played key roles in last year’s third-place finish at the Finals. They’re pulling together once again in an attempt to make a repeat trip.

“These seniors have played with each other for four years,” Telzerow said. “They know each other, they like each other and they have a good connection. They have a sense of we’re doing it for each other, just not for our own accomplishments.”

The ability to stay consistent also has been an important aspect, according to Lodzinski.

“We’ve had at least three or four scores in the 70s every tournament, and that comes with our maturity,” he said. “Compared to our freshman and sophomore years, we’re a lot better at managing ourselves on the course, and it’s led to better scoring and more consistency.”

All of the seniors recently graduated, and Schab said the stresses of the past few months have finally subsided. It has allowed time to focus solely on golf.

“I had a lot of extracurricular activities going on earlier in the year with AP exams and graduation, but it’s time to focus on practice and sharpening up for the postseason,” said Schab, who averaged 38.2 strokes for nine holes during the conference season. “Overall, I’m happy with how well I’m playing considering my shift in focus.”

Telzerow said Schab is starting to peak at the most important time of the spring.

“He’s starting to play better,” he said. “I think he did this last year where he kind of had a lull in the middle of the season and then really came on strong in the postseason. He shot 72 at the post-conference tournament and he’s the kind of guy that can go low very easily.”

The Huskies finished runner-up to conference champion Forest Hills Eastern. The two engaged in a competitive tussle throughout the season, and Telzerow hopes it pays off.
 
“We knew coming in that both of us had high-caliber players and we would be battling each other constantly,” he said. “And that happened. We both want to do well in Districts and Regionals. Our hope is to finish strong at the state tournament, but we recognize that you have to get there first.”

Districts begin today for the Huskies, and expectations are high. A lofty finish at the Finals would be a fitting ending to outstanding high school careers.

“Our whole goal is to win a state championship,” Lodzinski said. “We’re planning on working hard to make it to state and making a run at the championship.”

Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.

PHOTO: Forest Hills Northern's Spencer Schab follows through on a swing. (Photo courtesy of Forest Hills Northern yearbook staff.)

Top PGA Pro Finish Latest Greatest Highlight as Cook Continues Climb

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

July 19, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS – Ben Cook grew up rooting for PGA Tour star Phil Mickelson. 

Made in MichiganThis past May 23, the former Grand Rapids South Christian High School standout received the thrill of a lifetime when he posed for pictures beside his childhood idol following the PGA Championship.

Cook, 27, was the low PGA Professional, while Mickelson became the oldest golfer to win a major after a two-stroke win at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.

“I’ve always been a big Phil fan, my whole life growing up,” the 27-year-old Caledonia resident said. “And then it just happened to be him that won and I got to stand next to him, which was very special.

 “I was like, I’m totally part of history right now and this is crazy. The oldest guy to ever win a major, and it being Phil. It was really cool.”

Cook earned the Crystal Ball as the low PGA Professional after finishing the tournament in a tie for 44th at +4. 

He made the cut for the first time in his third appearance at the PGA Championship.

“I definitely can tell that playing on the weekend is a lot different than watching on the weekend from years past,” Cook said. “Once I made the cut, it felt like a huge weight lifted, and at that point I was like I have to go after every pin and try to make as many birdies as I can.”

Cook played with Webb Simpson in both weekend rounds and shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday.

“Overall, I played really good,” Cook said. “I was under par on the weekend, so I was happy about that.”

Cook turned some heads with his performance and received unwavering support from family, friends and the West Michigan community.

“It was quite the experience,” Cook said. “The support I got, and all the random text messages and people who came to the event. Just so many people wishing me good luck and prayers. It was overwhelming.

“I would get done with a round and have 100 text messages and almost 200 messages on Instagram. All these people saying, ‘good job’ and ‘we’re thinking about you,’ it was quite the feeling and very cool for sure.”

Grand Rapids South Christian golfCook was one of the state’s top high school golfers under late coach Rod VanDyke, who died in 2014. As a junior, he helped the Sailors to a runner-up finish at the 2011 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final with a 10th-place individual performance.

South Christian finished among the top 10 again Cook’s senior year, this time in Division 2, as he placed sixth individually.

“I had a very influential and memorable golf coach in Rod VanDyke,” Cook said. “He made everything super light and was always hilarious.”

Cook played collegiately at Ferris State University and led the Bulldogs to the Division II National Quarterfinals his senior year. He was a two-time Player of the Year in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and twice earned All-America recognition.

“I just wanted to make the lineup as a freshman and travel, and I was really fortunate to play really well in qualifying,” Cook said. “That allowed me to play in every match that I was eligible to play in, and I never missed an event through my five years there.

“It was amazing to travel around the country and play in golf tournaments. The friends that I made playing golf at Ferris I still hang out with today. They are like my closest buddies.”

Cook graduated with a professional golf management degree, which granted him the opportunity to play in PGA sectional tournaments. 

He played in his first PGA Championship in 2019 at Bethpage Black and missed the cut by three shots. 

“After my senior year I knew I was going to try and play professionally,” Cook said. “I got a job that allowed me to work on my game and play as much as I can while still working to play the bills.”

Cook has four professional victories on his resume, including the 2020 Michigan PGA Championship.

He is currently the director of instruction at Yankee Springs Golf Course in Wayland. 

“Teaching and coaching is a lot of fun,” Cook said. “Just being able to help people get better and seeing how excited they get when they finally start to get it and they hit it good. That’s what makes it fun for me, and I get the whole spectrum.

“I teach kids who are 5 to parents who are over 70. From the college player to the beginner. I get a variety, and that makes it fun and keeps you on your toes.”

Cook has status on the Latin America tour, and is currently 20th on that points list. He travels to Mexico next week, and will lock up a Korn Ferry Tour card with a win or runner-up finish. The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour that feeds into the PGA Tour.

He intends to head to PGA Qualifying School in the fall if he doesn’t get a card.

2020-21 Made in Michigan

July 16: TC West Standout Renews Ties to Titans, Cheers Past Teammates' Gold Pursuit - Read
July 8: 
Caro Champs Find Common Ground Again as Mental Health Providers - Read
June 28:
Michigan's Minor Leaguers Making Up for Lost Season - Read

PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids’ Ben Cook reads a putt during the 2020 Michigan PGA Professional Championship, which he won. (Middle) Cook watches one of his drives at Katke Golf Course during the 2012 LP Division 2 Final. (Top photo by Greg Johnson/Michigan PGA. Middle photo by High School Sports Scene.)