HIBBING—The high school golf seasons are short, so Andrew Slatten did something about that.
The Hibbing High School senior-to-be travels to Oklahoma for the winter, staying at his aunt and uncle’s house, taking PSEO courses out of Minnesota North-Hibbing, and more importantly, playing golf.
So when Slatten returns to Hibbing in the spring, he’s already steps ahead of his teammates and fellow competitors.
So far, that plan has worked to perfection as Slatten has advanced to the State Class AA Meet the past two seasons.
After placing 66th his first year there, Slatten returned and placed 26 this season.
As the top placer in the area, Slatten has been named the Mesabi Tribune and Herald Review Boys Golfer of the Year for the 2024 season.
Slatten looked over the pros and cons of moving south for the winter, and playing golf outweighed the other decision.
“I started doing that last year,” Slatten said. “I’m away from friends and family, but to be able to improve my golf game, it will help me a lot. I’ve learned to maintain school and play golf at the same time.
“Being online, I get to make my own schedule with classes. To be able to maintain that and golfing, I’ve learned about time management.”
And most importantly, Slatten used the time to hone his skills, both mentally and physically.
What has Slatten learned?
“Definitely staying focused and not letting a bad shot get to me,” Slatten said. “It was knowing that I could get up-and-down from a bad shot. I had to keep calm. That was the main thing, but it was just staying confident with every shot, not trying to play too safe on every swing.
“I had to be aggressive. I was kind of playing it safe last year. This year, I was able to attack more pins, be aggressive and hit my driver on more holes. I didn’t play safe. I stayed aggressive. I was able to shave a few strokes doing that this year.”
This summer, Slatten is working on another part of his game.
Slatten doesn’t hit the ball 300 yards off of the tee, so he wants to upgrade that part of his game.
“Getting my swing speed up, and getting distance,” Slatten said. “That’s what I was lacking this year. It’s getting distance and keeping my game solid. “I can be intimidated (by big hitters), , but the other parts of my game back it up.
“I’ve been able to improve my swing speed and distance quite a bit. At least five to 10 yards this summer.”
Slatten didn’t need to hit the ball long because his short game is second-to-none.
“He’s always had a short game,” Hibbing coach Kayla Beise said. “He knew what clubs to hit. He wasn’t trying to compete with the guys that hit the ball a million miles. He knew his short game was his strength.”
But the biggest impact came from being able to forget a bad shot or a bad hole.
“He wasn’t so hard on himself,” Beise said. “For me as a coach, if he hit a bad shot, he would tell me about it, then he would bounce back and say, ‘This is what I’m going to do on my next shot.’
“Last year, he didn’t make that plan as naturally as he did this year. There wasn’t much talk. It was more of an internal battle. This year, he was able to plan ahead.”
With one more year of maturity, Slatten could improve on that 26th-place finish.
“I’m hoping to go to state again, and place better than I did this year,” Slatten said. “I would like to win a couple of meets next year during the school season, too.”
“My game is definitely improving this year.”
Joining Slatten on the All-Area team is Caiden Carpenter of Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin.
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