It’s hard to imagine a more unlikely golf champion than Kevin Meixner.
Growing up, the Glenbrook North senior saw himself as a football or baseball star, not as someone who would find glory knocking around the little white ball.
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Then there’s the fact he never played a competitive round until he tried out for the North golf program as a sophomore. And did we mention he was cut in varsity tryouts last year?
So there he was last month, standing on the 18th tee in the Central Suburban League North tournament at Glencoe Golf Club, nursing a one stroke lead. And there he was, sticking a wedge shot a foot from the cup to set up a birdie.
That led to a 73, a two-stroke victory and a major boost to what soon would be North’s third straight conference title. And all this from a kid who had a 15 handicap a year ago and plays in an area that produces standout prep golfers the way the Cubs produce standout migraines.
“I don’t even know how to describe it,” he said of his first tournament title.
We duffers don’t know whether to hate him or just applaud in the hope we might someday break 90 — OK, 100, ourselves.
Glenbrook North coach Justin Gerbich recommends applause.
“I give him a lot of credit,” Gerbich said. “A lot of kids get cut and don’t try out again or do and get cut.
“It was great he came back his senior year. He has been awesome for us.”
Meixner felt anything but awesome in August 2006 when Gerbich announced who had made the varsity team, and his name was not among them.
He had played golf since he was 9, but strictly for fun. He participated in football and baseball for North as a freshman but decided there probably wasn’t much future for a 5-foot-3-inch nose guard and dumped football for golf as a sophomore.
Meixner made the frosh-soph team, though he did little of note and focused on baseball the following summer.
Still, he seemed to be in good shape to make the varsity golf team after shooting 81 in the first round of the three-day, 54-hole tryout.
He slumped badly after that, however, and was neither surprised nor angry when Gerbich cut him. He was upset about not being on the team, though, especially because he was giving up baseball.
Meixner immediately vowed to make the cut in 2007.
“I was frustrated because I knew I could play better and didn’t and because I couldn’t play on the team I wanted to be on,” he said. “I knew right away I would try to work on it.”
Within days he took a major step toward that goal by getting a job at Sportsman’s Country Club, North’s home course. The money would come in handy, but the real draw was being able to use the course and driving range for free.
Meixner played there almost daily through November and again last spring and summer. By late last fall he was shooting in the low 80s routinely; by last spring it was the high 70s.
By the time tryouts started Aug. 8 it was the mid-70s, and Meixner made the team comfortably.
“I was really excited,” he said. “It was really gratifying because of how hard I worked and how much time I spent.
“It was the first time I felt passionate about something like that.”
Golf teams tend to be small — Gerbich kept 12 varsity players last season and 10 this year — so it’s not extremely unusual for a player to get cut and make the team later. Senior Kevin Knoll, who missed out last year, made the North team this fall too and was its No. 4 finisher Tuesday when it won the Class 3A Elk Grove regional.
Few golfers, though, drop a 15 handicap to 3 in one year and exceed their goals almost as fast as they set them, especially when all the help they get is occasional pointers from some helpful pros at Sportsman’s and one formal lesson.
Meixner has been among North’s top four golfers virtually all season, along with seniors Bret Carroll and Michael Koehler and sophomore Julius Leterman.
He is averaging 78.5 strokes per 18-hole match, including a 72 his first match of the season, the 73 in the CSL North tournament and a 75 at regionals.
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“I think Kevin’s biggest strength is he’s a grinder,” said Gerbich, whose team plays in the tough Hersey sectional Tuesday. “If he makes a high score [on a hole], he keeps going and toughs it out.
“He has been an anchor for us. He has really worked hard and gone from someone who plays golf to a golfer.”
It’s clear now that Gerbich’s best coaching move was cutting Meixner, who by virtually living at Sportsman’s developed such a passion for golf he plans to pursue a college major in professional golf management.
Besides finding a career there, Meixner also found his game.
“If I had made the team as a junior, I never would have gotten the job at Sportsman’s then and played as much as I did,” he said. “I don’t think I would have improved to the extent I did, and I wanted to be competitive this year, not just on the team.”
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*Read Barry Temkin’s blog “Upon Further Review” at chicagosports.com/temkin