By GARY VAN CLEAVE
Special to Great Bend Post
At 5-foot-10, 155 pounds Talon Reynolds may not win many “Longest Drive” awards at golf tournaments. Then again, he doesn’t need 300-yard drives to compete on the course.
His faith in God and a ridiculously insane short game tend to take him far beyond any 6,000-yard golf course.
“He’s money with his short game,” former Larned High Indian teammate Easton Fitzpatrick said of Reynolds’ strong suit.
Once Reynolds gets anywhere close to the green, Reynolds’ par and birdie chances increase because of his beloved trust in his wedges and 9-iron.
“He doesn’t hit it super far, but he seems to always find fairways and greens,” Pratt star Grant McAtee said of the recent Larned graduate. “His short game is pretty consistent as well.”
“It is very difficult to hit a golf ball straight 300 yards,” said Reynolds, who’s consistently driving 270 as he prepares to play this fall for nearby Barton. “I’m starting to get the straight part of it pretty good right now, but hitting 300 yards you will need some serious ball speed and swing speed. I’m kind of a little guy so I’m not quite at hitting 300, but I’ll be at that point soon.”
When he does, watch out golf world. The three-time state qualifier will be a force on the course.
The two-time winner of the Hoisington Invitational, Reynolds earned four runnerup finishes this spring and finished top-six in every tournament.
“Short game for me is the most important part of golf for me. I know I can’t beat players with my distance but everyone has the same chance from 10 yards away off the green,” Reynolds said. “I work on my short game double the amount of time as I do on the range. Short game has always been my thing and that is truly a difference maker in your score because if you get up down from 20 yards away consistently you’re gonna have a low score. Also I just love short game, chipping is my favorite part of golf because there are so many different ways to get the ball to the hole.”
Being top six every tournament this year also was huge for the three-year Indian captain.
“Meant that I knew I had an opportunity to win every tournament this year,” he said. “The only difference was just missing a couple easy shots here and there can separate you from winning to getting sixth.”
He was second medalist in this year’s Central Kansas League meet with a 73 at his home course in Larned. Reynolds won all-league accolades and honorable mention all-state.
Now he will join Fitzpatrick at Barton this fall.
“The chance of playing college golf is a dream come true. I’ve wanted this for a long time, but I knew it wasn’t gonna be given to me so I had to work hard for it,” Reynolds said.
“He’s a very hard worker that has a great short game,” Fitzpatrick said. “Overall a very consistent golfer than can go out and post consistent low rounds, occasionally go really low as well.”
Reynolds’ biggest improvement that Fitzpatrick has witnessed is that he stays true to his game.
“With him not being the longest of hitters whether off the tee or with his irons, he’s focused on being very accurate with his shots,” Fitzpatrick noted. “And he thinks around a golf course well.”
Barton was truly the only golf school that reached out to Reynolds in the recruiting process.
“The reason I chose Barton and didn’t look back was because I knew coming out of high school I didn’t want to go too far from home. And Barton isn’t far from my house, that’s a great reason,” Reynolds said. “Another was how the people there make me feel. Everyone at Barton is so welcoming and nice that for me it was a no-brainer decision.”
Reynolds called himself a unique golfer.
“I play the game with a very mellow attitude,” he said. “I don’t get too excited on birdies and don’t get frustrated whenever I make bogeys. I’m also very happy when I play because regardless my score I know God has a plan for me out on the course. I would say I’m very brave as well. I take a lot of tight lines and shots that I probably shouldn’t but majority of the time I make those shots work out.”
Reynolds didn’t start playing golf until he was a freshman in high school.
“I remember the day I truly fell in love with golf was the CKL tournament that year was at Hillsboro. I was hitting my 3-wood dead straight all day long and I finished the day with a 93,” he said. “I kinda knew from that point on that if I worked hard on golf that I could be something special.”
Reynolds joins uncles Dusty and Lance Schartz, who respectively played basketball at Pratt (Dusty) and baseball at Nebraska-Kearney (Lance) in the sports-loving family.
“I think He (God) wants me to realize no matter the score He will be proud of me and so will my friends and family,” Reynolds said of God’s plan for him. “Golf has made so many great connections for me and I’m sure that will keep happening.”
“Talon is a pretty good guy. He has his moments, but he has helped me and several other beginners on our team with swings, stance, etc.,” Indian teammate Gavin Lemuz said. “He is very serious about golf and very good at golf and I think he is and will be a great player.”
“He will be very consistent and provide the team with a score that puts them in a good place,” McAtee said.
Reynolds was asked to define success.
“Success in my eyes is seeing yourself improve every day and competing at a high level,” Reynolds said. “Through the past four years playing golf, I have seen myself improve every single day. I was able to compete with some of the best kids in the state and sometimes I beat them and sometimes I didn’t. But you can’t let a medal define success. It’s how well you played in your eyes, that is the real success.”