Jack Keigher is a golfer who also plays hockey, not the other way around.
The Homewood-Flossmoor High School junior has always viewed things that way. He started golfing young. He thinks it was around kindergarten or first grade when his dad bought him a set of junior clubs and began taking him to the range at Coyote Run golf course in Flossmoor. Then he started playing on the three-hole learning course there.
“I developed a love for the game and always wanted to stick with it,” Keigher said. “Golf is an escape for me. I love it. I’ve played it all my life and I’m just intrigued by it. I know there’s always more to come for me.”
Growing up, Keigher played a lot of sports. He dabbled in volleyball, basketball and lacrosse. Golf and hockey were always the ones that got him excited as the season approached, though, and the links were always the priority.
It’s the second year at the varsity level on the golf team for Keigher. He’s the Vikings No. 1 after the team lost seven from last year’s group. That changes the way he approaches the sport.
As a sophomore, he knew he had other guys in front of him who would turn in a card to help the team. This season, he’s the one H-F counts on.
“I need to be the guy that steps up and goes out and shoots a great score,” Keigher said.
The best part of Keigher’s game, he thinks, is his wedges. He’s pretty comfortable taking a shot from about 75 yards to give himself a chance at a birdie putt.
The area for improvement is just a little longer. Off the tee, he’s long enough to get in position to hit greens in two shots. If Keigher can be a little more consistent from about 130 or 140 yards, coach Chris Stiglic feels like he can take his game to another level. The 15- to 20-foot putts could be eight to 10-foot ones, potentially turning some pars into birdies and some birdies into eagles.
Closing out rounds is also important. Keigher tends to stiffen in the last few holes when he knows he’s among the leaders. At the Lincoln-Way West Invite on August 12 at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington, he was two over par going into the final three holes. He finished nine over.
“He’s got to learn to not think about the score and just play,” Stiglic said. “He can just put too much pressure on himself to try to get strokes back and you can’t do that. That’s the biggest thing I think he’s got to work on.”
Keigher is one of four hockey players on the Vikings golf roster. The H-F hockey program recently merged with the Cobras hockey club due to issues with the H-F Ice Arena, low numbers and the collapse of its competitive league. Some players decided to trade skates for cleats.
“Those three guys are some of my best friends. It’s a huge help (to have them with me),” he said. “They love it and I love it. It’s fun to have two seasons with them.”
As golfers, hockey players tend to be good with the driver but can be lacking in the finesse part of the game, Stiglic said. There’s nothing on the ice that compares.
Keigher said there are some similarities to the sports, though.
“There’s a mental part of golf that’s also there with hockey, being in the right mental area to play a round when you know you need to play well or shoot a low score,” he said. “The last five minutes of a hockey game, you’re down 3-2 and you’ve got to score a goal. You have to get in the right mental spot in order to do that.”
Only one of the Vikings golfers is a senior. Few even inside the program think they can compete with the top teams in the state or even the area, as a whole. The depth just isn’t there, yet.
“My goal from this point forward is just about growth, putting them in a better spot so that they can see by the end of the season that we can do it,” Stiglic said.
Individually, Keigher is thinking bigger. He posted some low scores in the early season including placing ninth overall August 15 at Naperville Central’s Bob Sterr Invitational.
The aim now is to continue to build and grow as the postseason approaches. It’s admittedly a rebuilding year for the Vikings but Keigher has his sights set high.
“My goal this year is to make it to state,” he said. “That should be everybody’s goal, but I feel like I have a good chance of putting up some low numbers and getting to state this year.”