Girls golf: Indian Creek's Nolan eyes state berth

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As a sophomore, Indian Creek golfer Sara Nolan experienced the euphoria of reaching the state tournament with her entire team, which finished eighth overall.

Last year, Nolan was the lone Timberwolves representative at state. It was quite an adjustment for the senior, who is aiming for her third consecutive trip to state in October.

"It was a lot different last year," Nolan said. "You have no one to compare yourself to. Aside from your coach, you're kind of alone. I kept looking for my teammates, and I was by myself."

Add in the late sectional Indian Creek participated in last year, and Nolan had about 12 hours to get packed and get the trip planned. Once there, she finished tied for 84th at the Class A meet with a two-day total of 221.

Spurred on by that success the past two seasons, Nolan decided to expand her summer program to include some Illinois Junior Golf Association events, something she figures will help her as regionals approach in the coming weeks.

"It was good," Nolan said. "It shows you the harder courses, because we don't really play that many difficult courses during the season. It really puts pressure on you with the girls from the bigger schools playing. It showed me a wider range of courses. Some courses are more physically challenging, some are more mentally challenging."

Nolan was Indian Creek's most improved golfer as a junior, dropping her scoring average six strokes and settling into the No. 2 slot in the lineup behind Lindsay Richardson, the daughter of coach Rosalyn Richardson.

So far this season, Nolan has been sitting around 44 in nine-hole events and has shot a 92 in an 18-hole tournament. But Rosalyn Richardson sees room for even more improvement before the state series begins.

"She's coming around," Richardson said. "I would still like to see her get to the low 40s, which I know she is capable of. She was down in the low 50s early in the season, so she's getting better."

A focus on her short game, something Nolan admits has always been her bugaboo, helped her break out of her early-season slump.

"Things are starting to pick up," Nolan said. "For awhile, my long game was good. I pulled my driver together well this season. My short game has always been worse. My chipping has always struggled. I've always been pretty long with my chips, but I'm working on that."

Nolan is one of three seniors, Devon White being the third, that has been on varsity four years and reached the state meet as sophomores. Freshmen Kalia Foster and Taylor White, Devon's sister, have filled out the varsity roster.

Nolan is hoping that the team can come together in time to reach state once again. And she is hoping for some company this time around.

"I hope my whole game comes together soon," Nolan said. "It would be a lot nicer to qualify as a team, and that is a possibility."