By Marc Hardin
NKyTribune contributor
Cooper golfer Rylan Wotherspoon dreams of a day in the not too distant future when he stands tall in the tee box and hits the ball so hard and so well that it travels 300 yards. For now, he can swat it 230 yards on a good day. Not bad for a high school freshman standing 5 feet 3 and weighing 118 pounds.
Rylan Wotherspoon
“It’s not the biggest thing in the world right now, but yeah…,” Wotherspoon said. “I think my growth spurt is coming which I think will help me hit it farther. All my friends have had theirs. My doctor says mine is a little slow. My dad is 5-10. My grandfathers are 6-1 and 6-2, so there’s a little bit of height there.”
There is a lot of talent wrapped up in Wotherspoon’s diminutive frame and his game is solidly on the upswing. When the precocious golfer’s size and strength begin matching his skills, he’ll quickly catch up with bigger peers some of whom currently outdrive him by 80 yards for a huge head start on every hole.
“He still needs work getting from point A to point B but he’s only a freshman,” Cooper coach Terry Trame said. “Rarely do you see a guy this young have the knowledge and the ability that he has. He’s got proper technique. He’s got the short game. He’s grown mentally. It’ll be interesting to see what he does as he gets stronger.”
He’s already making a case for being one of the best prep players in the commonwealth, according to Golf House Kentucky and the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association, who announced their high school all-state selections last week. Wotherspoon, a 14th-place individual finisher at the state tournament, is one of five area players on the list. He joins Ryle first-team pick Olivia DiPaolo and fellow second-team selections Justin Gabbard of Highlands, and Tyler Mitts and Ryan Mitts from Grant County.
It marked a historic moment at Cooper. Wotherspoon is the first Jaguars boys’ golfer to be named all-state.
“I’ve had a lot of good golfers at Cooper but nothing with the dynamics he has. His work ethic is unbelievable and he’s super competitive,” Trame said. “He talks a lot about repetitive movement, and I think all these junior tournaments he’s been playing in keeps him from getting rattled. He wasn’t in awe at state. He was just golfing with his buddies.”
Rylan Wotherspoon at the end of his follow through on a golf shot. (Photos provided by Wotherspoon family
A member at Traditions Golf Club, Wotherspoon has been competing in junior tournaments since he was 8 years old. He was at it again last week, finishing second in his division and fifth overall at the Kentucky PGA Junior Fall Classic. He shot a two-round score of 11-over-par 153 (78-75) at the University Club of Kentucky’s Wildcat Course in Lexington and finished seven strokes behind winner Miles Parroco, a senior from Louisville Ballard. He was three strokes behind 16-under winner Andrew Marrs, a junior from Lexington Christian.
Wotherspoon’s patience and consistency have also played key roles in his success as he waits for the arrival of his long game. “I can count on one hand how many double-bogeys he had this year,” Trame said. “I’ve never seen a kid go 14 tournaments in a row shooting between 70 and 76. He has this ability to get the ball up and down and into the hole.”
As he grows into his playing style, Wotherspoon will continue following the exploits of another not-so-tall golfer from Kentucky who as a teenager had to figure out ways to beat opponents to the hole.
“I like Justin Thomas,” Wotherspoon said of the 5-10 former St. Xavier High School standout and 2017 PGA player of the year. “He tells a story from his childhood about how he tried to generate power. I’ve done the same things with technique, using my hips and lower body, making good contact, using the ground and just listening to my swing coach.”
This offseason, Wotherspoon is working on launch angle as he tries adding loft to his drives while minimizing spin, and he’s hitting the weights in earnest. All the while, he’ll be tightening the screws on his vaunted short game.
“I still have time to grow but I’m not waiting for it,” Wotherspoon said. “I’m hoping to do some things that will allow me to come back next year with more yardage on my shots, so when I do get my growth spurt, I’ll have a little bit of a bump.”
