Larson | Lessons from a high school golf coach

Former Belvidere high school golf coach Andrew Werhane (left) with Clutch Sports Media co-founder Larry Larson. Photo provided.

Coaching golf at Belvidere High School is not for the weak.

Belvidere, located east of Rockford, is a football town through and through. And the best athletes who don’t play football usually wind up on the cross country team. 

The golf team, in the school’s long history, has never won an IHSA regional plaque or come close to sniffing a title in the competitive NIC-10 Conference. Only one Bucs golfer has ever made the state finals. 

However, what’s so often lost is that true success of a high school team or coach isn’t measured in wins, losses, or trips to state.

Good high school athletics coaches produce results. Great ones help develop well-rounded individuals. 

I’ve realized this more and more in each year since I graduated from BHS in 2018. I was lucky to have played four years of varsity golf, three of them for one of the best coaches, educators and people I’ve had the privilege to be around: Andrew Werhane, who coached the Bucs for nine seasons. 

Werhane passed away suddenly over the weekend, leaving behind his wife and two school-aged children. 

Since I heard the news, I’ve been reflecting on all the lessons I learned from him through golf and the impact he had on me and my teammates. Here are a few of the biggest ones that come to mind. 

Give people a chance

As you could probably gather, our golf teams were a conglomerate of eclectic individuals. 4.0 students, baseball players looking to stay busy, football drop-offs, marching band enthusiasts — you name it, we had it. 

Coach Werhane welcomed it all with open arms. And no matter the skill level upon entry, there’s a 100 percent chance that the player improved. If not as a golfer, then as a person. 

I remember multiple instances of players wanting to try out for golf that had never played before. Many didn’t own a golf shirt, let alone clubs. They still had received a spot on the team and hands-on coaching. Every once in a while, one of those players turned into a varsity scorer. 

As a result of the team’s high scores (we had a player shoot 183 in an 18-hole round once) and rag-tag nature, the golfing Bucs were often looked down upon. 

Werhane went to bat for us. 

A school in the NIC-10 hosts an annual tournament at a high-end public course. At one point, that school considered splitting the field, moving the best teams to play at a Country Club while sending the lower-skilled teams, such as the Belvideres of the world, to another, lower-end course. Coach didn’t stand for it, and we never played in that tournament until that was no longer being considered. 

His compassion and care was also reflected in the classroom, where he was an engaging English teacher and eventually, an elementary school assistant principal. He, ultimately, worked hard to ensure all of us — athletes and students — had a shot at success. 

You can teach yourself almost anything

Werhane was not a boastful person, but he did love repeating one fact when I played for him: he never paid for a golf lesson. 

This was particularly impressive because he was a consistent low-80s golfer. I can count on one hand the amount of times I beat him in our frequent summer rounds. 

He relied on books, YouTube videos and practice to work himself into a good player. Werhane didn’t play golf in high school — just football and baseball. He didn’t play much growing up. But that didn’t matter. 

That led me to spend a lot of study hall time watching slow motion videos of Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy — and then dissecting them with Werhane later. These days, I spend a lot of time dissecting broadcast tape. The habit has stuck. 

The best teachers, and I’m lucky to have been around many, have a tendency to present things in a way where the student comes to proficiency on their own terms. This happened a lot on the range at Timber Pointe Golf Club. 

The only time you heard do’s and don’ts at practice was in relation to golf etiquette (there were more than a few of those conversations with our bunch). Instead, it was far more common to hear — "let’s try this or “have you thought about it this way.” 

He had a special deftness to meet people where they were at - on the golf course, in the classroom, in life - point them in the right direction and allow them to flourish. 

He eventually did pay for a golf lesson in recent years. Because it never hurts to have a good teacher guide us in the right direction every once in a while. 

Life’s about the next shot

There are a lot of golf-specific lessons I remember Werhane conveying — how to hit a knockdown wedge, the advantages of bump-and-run chip shots with a 7-iron — but none more impactful than ones about the mental game. It was what he taught best. 

Decision making, risk mitigation, course management, or so often in my case, anger management. 

Perhaps the biggest, most valuable thing I learned from Werhane is that playing golf isn’t just how you swing. It’s about how you make your way around the course and everything that it presents. 

Turns out, that applies quite directly to everyday adult life. Life is one tricky track. 

It took quite some time for that lesson to get through to me. And more than anything, it’s what Werhane coached me hardest on, deservedly so. The concept of focusing on the next shot after hitting a poor one was a foreign concept to me entering high school. 

The common refrain I heard from Werhane’s animated, yet calming voice was “next shot” or “just keep playing.” If worse came to worst, “have fun.” 

Despite the coaching, I never fully grasped that concept until years later. Life turns out to be more about punching out of the trees and less ripping the driver with the wind at your back. 

In scrolling through Facebook messages from his former students, fellow teachers and family, it’s clear that Werhane had incredible feel for giving advice, helping people through hard times and being positive. His impact on the lives of others was indelible. 

He is a wonderful example of coaching and education at its very best. 

To sum it up: he knew his way around the course of life. 

You played one heck of a round, coach. Thank you.