Downingtown West’s Nick Gross repeats as DLN Player of the Year
DOWNINGTOWN >> Nick Gross has crammed a lot of memorable golf moments into his 15 years. And the Downingtown West sophomore also manages to produce many of his signature accomplishments on the biggest stages.
He did it again in mid-November while competing against an elite field at the Notah Begay Junior Tournament in Louisiana when he notched the first hole-in-one of his career. He did it on camera, of course, and the footage was later featured as one of the top-10 plays of the day on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
“That was really, really cool,” Gross said. “It’s not something you ever think about. It’s just a dream that came true.
“I got a bunch of texts from people saying: ‘Hey, I saw you on SportsCenter!”
If his career path is any indication, it will be the first of many aces to come. Gross is not just the reigning two-time Daily Local News Player of the Year, or merely the top high school golfer in the state. He is consistently ranked among the top-five in the nation for his age group, which is the class of 2024.
“Nick brings the best to the table when the pressure is the highest – and golf is defined by pressure,” said his coach Rob Coyne.
“This is something I am probably never going to see again.”
The longtime coaching mentor at West, Coyne understands that talents like Gross do not come along very often, if ever. Last summer Coyne got a unique, up-close look at his star pupil when he served as his caddy after Gross became the youngest qualifier (at age 14) for the Pennsylvania State Amateur at famed Merion Golf Club.
“That was a lot of fun. It was pretty cool for both of us,” Gross recalled.
“How detailed I had to be was very eye-opening to see at the level he is at,” Coyne reported. “I’m talking about details like which way the grass is growing, if the ball is going to jump or turn over if the shot is slightly down slope or up slope. He is very detailed about where he wants to hit shots.
“There aren’t many kids in the country who go into as much detail in executing a shot as Nick does. It felt like I was caddying for someone playing at the mini-tour level, and he was 14.”
That attention to detail keyed an extraordinary 2021 high school season that included successfully defending his Ches-Mont individual championship, and culminated a few weeks later with a state title. At the PIAA 3A Championship in late October, Gross captured the crown in style by staging a late comeback.
Trailing the leader – North Pocono senior Billy Pabst – by four strokes at the turn, Gross proceeded to play the final nine holes in 3-under-par to get into a two-way playoff.
“I knew I could do it. I tried to stay patient and put pressure on Billy, and it worked,” he said.
On the first sudden death playoff hole, Gross sank a pressure-packed 8-foot putt to extend the match. He then won it on the next hole to become the first Chester County player to win the crown since Unionville’s Kyle Davis in 2003.
“Nick just finds a way to make it happen,” Coyne said. “He knew he needed to make a move because he was running out of holes.”
Earlier, Gross took the league title with a sterling 66 at Applecross Country Club. At the District 1 Tournament, he earned his way into the playoff but fell to Holy Ghost Prep’s Calen Sanderson on the second playoff hole. It prevented him from winning his second district crown in two tries.
“It was one where I woulda, coulda, shoulda won,” he explained. “I didn’t want to finish second – I never do. But added a bit to my desire in states.”
A couple inches taller and 15 pounds heavier than he was a year ago, Gross is ranked among the top-50 among all junior golfers (18-and-under) in the country. Late last month he competed at the American Junior Golf Association Tournament of Champions at PGA National in Florida, and shot 18-under in the four-day event to finish 12th overall.
“I put a lot of time in,” he said. “School is obviously still important – you just can’t be all about golf.
“I don’t take many days off. I’m probably spending 3-4 hours a day on golf, not counting the days I’m playing in tournaments.”
For someone putting so much time into something, there is always the threat of getting burned out, but Gross is conscious of finding a balance between golf and everything else.
“It hasn’t been a problem because I love (golf),” he said. “You hear the stories about people who get burned out – it’s a real thing. It hasn’t affected me yet but you do have to watch out for it.”
Gross acknowledges that when he was in middle school, a lot of elite private schools in the region wanted him to come to their school and play golf. And it even continued into his first year at West.
“But I never put much thought into it,” he said. “I always wanted to play at Downingtown West and I’m set there.”
Gross readily admits that his biggest challenge right now is the process of learning to accept shots or outcomes that aren’t up to his lofty standards.
“He is a perfectionist,” Coyne said.
“It is, hands down, my biggest challenge,” Gross admitted. “I am still working on it.
“Over the course of my entire golf career, I do not have much patience for bad shots or bad results. But it’s an imperfect game, and there is never going to be a perfect round. You have to accept that.”
Per NCAA recruiting guidelines, he cannot be contacted by any college coaches until June 15, 2022. But Gross is well known nationally and has already attended summer camps at big-time colleges like Oklahoma, Virginia, Auburn, Illinois and Tennessee.
“He is obviously going to be able to go wherever he wants,” Coyne said.
“He knows he has a gift and he wants to bring out the best in himself. He lives and breathes it – he just wants to be the best golfer.
“I’ve never seen someone, at this age, put as much work into it to be the best he came be.”
