Noah Griffith didn’t pick up a golf club until he was 14 years old, but the Rochelle Township High School senior failed to let a lack of experience hold him back from accomplishing his goals.
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NORMAL — Noah Griffith didn’t pick up a golf club until he was 14 years old, but the Rochelle Township High School senior failed to let a lack of experience hold him back from accomplishing his goals.
Griffith began his high school career as one of three freshmen on the Hubs golf team in 2014. Since then, Griffith has molded himself into one of Rochelle’s top players, and after medaling in second place at the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference Meet late last month, Griffith advanced out of both the IHSA Class 2A Regional and the IHSA Class 2A Sectional, becoming the first RTHS boy to reach the state tournament since John Crystal in 2009.
“Anything is possible if you work towards it,” Griffith said. “I glorify God in everything I do, positive or negative, because He helped me get to where I am today… Just keep working hard and never quit. Put in the time and it will pay off just like it did for me.”
The first-time state qualifier said he enjoyed his experience at Illinois State University’s Weibring Golf Club this past weekend. Griffith shot 96 over his first 18 holes before recovering during the second day of competition with an 84. The senior finished tied for 101st with a final 36-hole score of 180.
“I can’t thank my family, my friends and my coaches enough for helping me mature as a player and as a person,” Griffith said. “I struggled quite a bit on the first day and it’s hard to overcome bad holes… I just tried to stay as positive as possible. My short game was pretty good and my approach shots were much better during the second day.”
After battling through tough conditions during his regional and sectional rounds, Griffith was excited to play under clear skies this past weekend. While the course’s numerous water hazards presented his biggest challenges during the state tournament, Griffith said the conditions overall were much better than previous rounds.
“The atmosphere was really cool,” he said. “Just being there was a pleasure and I was glad to be there. The course was really nice. It had a lot of water which usually isn’t my friend, so that was tough since I went in the water quite a bit, but the conditions were a lot better than regional and sectionals.”