By Patrick Geshan
It was the winter of his freshman year. He just finished a career-worst performance at a Jacksonville, Florida tournament. Nothing was going Jack Herceg’s way.
“I never shoot in the 80’s,” he said wryly. It was tough trying to diagnose what went wrong.“I kept working but nothing was improving. I knew I was gonna have to change something or else I wasn’t ever going to play again.”
Herceg doesn’t remember the first time he touched a golf club. He tried every sport as a kid. But after the Dublin, Ohionative won his first ever golf tournament in sixth grade, Herceg figured the sport was something he should invest in.“I started that tournament terribly,” he mumbled between bites of a Chipotle burrito.
On a hot summer day at Bent Tree Golf Club, sixthgrader Herceg started off with a 47 on the front nine. Everything was going wrong.
“My dad was on the bag caddyingfor me and that just gave me a lot of confidence,” Herceg said. He finished the back with a 35. It was good enough for the victory in a field of rising players. “That’s when I really fell in love with the game,” he said.
The next major stop on the train was Dublin Jerome High School, known for its pedigree of exceptional golfers. He gave up high school basketball to focus on golf.It was Herceg’s goal to make the top Varsity team the summer leading into ninth grade.
“I’ve never been more nervous than I was standing on the first tee to start off tryouts,” he recalls. Hercegshot a 69 during that first round on a blistering hot August day at Golf Club of Dublin, beating everybody. He called it “even unbelievable for me.”
He passed the test with flying colors, making the A team after a third place finish in tryouts. After finishing 20th out of 70 in the State Tournament, his team took home the Ohio title for its third straight year. Despite the instant success of Herceg’s freshman campaign at Dublin Jerome, a sophomore slump settled into not only him, but the entire team. Jerome failed to even qualify for the state tournament after the three-peat. It taught him an important lesson.
“In golf, you can never take anything for granted,” he said. “There are too many good players out there. You can’t underestimate anyone.”
The summer between sophomore and junior year was important for Herceg. He worked hard, trying to get his game back into peak shape after a disappointing sophomore season. And with the rest of his teammates selecting their colleges, he decided to commit to Miami for golf.
“I looked at a lot of Power 5 schools and towards the end of the process it was either here or Ohio State. I grew up a Buckeye fan, but when I visited Miami it felt like home.” What sold him?“I think the thing that stuck out between here and everywhere else was that the team was so closely bonded,” he explained. “The guys [at Miami] put their teammates before themselves. Everywhere else it was golf before teammates, and the idea of having good friends on the team is pretty attractive tome.”
As an accounting and finance double-major, Hercegalso cited the good business school and the excellent treatment from Golf Head Coach Zac Zedrick for choosing Miami.
“Everything about this place felt awesome,” he added.Hungry to bounce back during his junior season in high school, Herceg found himself in a new role. He was the number one guy —and that brought pressure. He was also coming off a pretty impressive win at The Hudson, a renowned junior-am tournament in Northeast Ohio. Herceg calls it the biggest win of his career.
The season ended on a sour note, however, with the team finishing in second place at the Ohio State Tournament behind Cincinnati powerhouse St. Xavier. Herceg didn’t perform as well as he wanted.Nerves got in the way. “I’ve proven to myself that I could play well, so it's a matter of letting yourself execute. You have to trust what you’ve got,” he said. Herceg’s senior high school season produced a third place finish at state. Instead of always being the youngest on the team, he was now the elder. With his past teammates and good friends moving on, it taught a lesson he can take with him anywhere.“My senior year was when I realized the value of working with people who are different than you,” he said. “My younger teammates were a little immature and it bugged me. I learned how to adapt. I learned how to change my ways. It turned out to be an awesome year.”That summer between high school and college, Herceg prepared for the next level of the game by playing as often as he could. Now with a fall and spring season, it was important to remain sharp the entire year. The fall of his first season started well. Herceg got to play in every event as an individual, getting called to the lineup late in the season. A 4th placefinish at the Flyer Invitational in Dayton gave him plenty of confidence moving forward. But, Herceg admitted, the college game was different. And much more difficult. “You have the best of the best going at it and playing well every day,” he explained. “The greater intensity was noticeable.”
By the time his freshman spring campaign rolled around, the “golf gods” were messing with Herceg. Irons began hooking left and slicing right. Hitting a fairway was almost non-existent. Putting was off. His confidence was dropping.That’s whenhis career-worst performance atthe Jacksonvilletournamenthappened. Shooting in the 80’s was alarmingfor a player of Herceg’s skill. February and March brought much of the same story. Over thefollowingsummer, he missed the cut in three tournaments. He finished 85th out of 90 at one of them.His golf game in disrepair, Herceghadn’t struggled this long, ever.
Coach Zedrick proposed something one day after practice.
“He wanted me to consider red-shirting,” Herceg said. “So I did.”
Though it was disappointing for Herceg to take a break from competitive play, he knew it might be what he needed to get his game back on the fairway.Herceg worked with renowned swing coach Kevin Jones at Moraine Country Club in Cincinnatiat the beginning of his sophomore year. Anything to give him a fresh outlook. The sessions gave him a revamped swing for November and December. He took the club back differently. There was more focus on pelvic and shoulder rotation. Everything got fine-tuned.
But as everyone who has picked up a golf club knows, those changes take time. But things were still hard. Herceg wasn’t seeing the kind of improvement he felt he should be showing at that point.By February and March, Herceg felt he was falling behind. He told himself to trust the process. The goal was to get better at one thing—just one—every day. Coach Zedrick and his teammates were extremely patient and helpful. This past June, Herceg was about to start his first round at the Northeast Ohio Amateur. His only expectation was to have fun and try his best. He shot a first round 68. And then he won the tournament. A few weeks later, he finished 15th in the Ohio Amateur.By the time for qualifying rounds back at Miami, Herceg was ready and confident. He tied for third on the team and got his spot back.The now-junior earned a 29th place overall finish in early September at Wisconsin’s Badger Invitational, with the team finishing eighth. “You learn a lot of life lessons through golf,” he said. “I need to be more attentive to details now. Be smarter in myprep. When I’m on the range, it's about exaggerating those cuts in the swing. When putting, it's about rhythm and contact. You have to test yourself.”
Herceg’s key to success is using the confidence this journey has instilled in him. “If you work hard,are confident, and carry faith, those results will follow,” he said.His head coach has high praise too.“When Jack made the decision to redshirt last season, there was no doubt in mind at that time that he’d be at least where he is today,” Zedricksaid. “He's coachable, has a strong work ethic, and is incredibly resilient. All 2018 did was motivate him to level up and get better.”
Herceg would like to pursue pro golf after college. He has a lot of former teammates and friends on mini-tours who aretrying to climb their way up to “the show”. If golf doesn’t work out, he’s thinking about financial planning. He likes both money and talking to people. Excited for the season ahead, Herceg claims he wouldn’t trade anything for the ride he’s been on.
“For whatever comes in the future, I’ll be ready,” he echoed. Hopefully, that’s opening the clubface for a fade toward the fairway, rather than opening the door to a financial office. But Jack Herceg wouldn’t mind either way