NOTL golfer Logan Rossi to compete in National U17 championship

After finishing this season in sixth place in the Ontario Maple Leaf Golf Tour Order of Merit standings, seventeen-year-old Logan Rossi has punched his ticket to the national championship November 7 through 10 in Kissimmee, Florida. 

Unlike most other junior golfers, the AN Myer Secondary School student was relatively late to the game. He first picked up clubs at 11 years old and began working with U.S. Kids Golf coach Travis Glass at Eagle Valley Golf Club two years later. 

“I took a couple of camps when I first started but really didn’t take it seriously,” the 17-year-old tells The Local. “After that I did a few lessons with Travis and fell in love with the game. I started working with him after school once a week, entered some tournaments, and just started getting better and better.”

That led Rossi, whose hockey skills took him a few years ago to the St. Catharines Falcons program where he played at the AA and AAA levels, to make a difficult decision last year. To free up time to focus more on golf, he joined his best friends back in NOTL playing for the U18 Wolves in the Niagara District Hockey League.

“I realized in 2022 that golf was my future,” says Rossi. “That year I started working with Travis all winter on the simulator. I fully locked onto golf. I still love playing hockey, but it’s not my main focus.”

It was a mature decision for a young man to make at just 16 years old, one that Glass didn’t necessarily recommend but that seems to be paying dividends.

“I think he started to realize that he needed more time to put into his golf,” Glass says. “I know he still enjoys playing hockey, but AAA puts demands on him every day. I’m a coach who encourages all my athletes to play other sports. It helps develop athleticism. So I’m happy he’s still playing hockey and enjoying the time in the locker room with his friends.”

Rossi is turning 18 this December, so is in his final year of minor hockey eligibility. His U18 Wolves went to the provincial championships in 2023-2024, and he thinks this year’s team, coached by Adam Whyte, has what it takes to capture the OMHA title.

Back at the range, Glass says Rossi actually plays his best golf when he is competing in tournaments. 

“He thrives under pressure,” Glass claims. “It’s a really good trait to have. He seems more focused during competition. That’s not something I can teach kids, he just has it. He shakes off a bad shot and keeps moving forward. It shocks me every time.”

“Last year I struggled with thinking about the game,” Rossi says. “I kind of just played. This year I’ve been able to take the jump and take my time with each shot. Travis worked with me on my fundamentals and made sure that my warm-up swings and everything I practised helped me lock in during pressure situations.” 

Between playing rounds at the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club, where he’s a member, and his sessions with Glass, Rossi was on the golf course up to six times a week this spring and summer. All of that work led to top rounds of 74, 75, 76, 76 and 78 on the Maple Leaf tour, leading to his qualification for the nationals. 

In August, a score of 74 at Shelburne Golf Club punched his ticket to the U17 Ontario Championship in Timmins. He finished 21st out of the top 17-year-olds in that tournament. Earlier this month he represented Myer at the SOSSA golf tournament. He carded another 74 at Sawmill Golf Club in the open division, finishing with three bogeys and just missing out on qualifying for OFSAA. 

The Grade 12 student has his sights set on playing golf at the post-secondary level, hopefully catching on with an American Division II or NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) school. To that end, he has teamed up with an agent from Next Level U Sports to distribute his recruitment videos. 

“I’ve had a couple of coaches contact me,” says Rossi. “I’d like to study business or architecture, I like the idea of property management. And if I don’t go to the States I’d love to play golf at Guelph or Waterloo. I’m leaving every door open.”

Glass thinks his young charge is doing the right things to walk through those doors.

“There are so many levels of college sports in the U.S.,” adds Glass. “I always tell my athletes that being able to play four years in college is a privilege, a really cool thing. Not every player needs to be on a Division I full-ride scholarship. There’s no perfect pathway to getting there, but he’s getting better every year, there’s no telling how far he can go.”

“I know I have a lot further to go,” Rossi, who also mans the pizza oven at Bricks and Barley part-time, says. “I plan to keep working and working until I achieve the goal I’m after. I know I’m ready for that war and that battle to come.”