Iowa City High’s Jack Rogers has a passion for golf and a skill set to match

IOWA CITY — Jack Rogers has seen the trophies scattered around his grandfather’s house.

He also saw the pictures of his dad at tournaments.

Both were accomplished golfers who played at the NCAA Division I level. His dad, Jonathan, was a member of the Missouri State program, while his grandfather, also named Jack, competed at the University of Kansas.

They passed their love of the game to the Iowa City High junior and it stuck at a young age.

“I’ve played golf since I could walk,” said Rogers, whose dad is a Little Hawks golf assistant coach. “I played other sports, like soccer for a long period of my life, and I still play basketball, but my major focus has always been golf.”

Rogers has applied passion and work ethic into the game and experienced a break-through season a year ago, tying for fourth at the Class 4A state tournament. He will attempt to continue his success when the varsity season begins Thursday with the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet at Gardner Golf Course.

“I’m just really excited for the season to start,” Rogers said. “It’s probably my favorite time of the year. I’m going to keep having fun with it. You only get a couple of these years in your lifetime. I just want to have fun with it and keep plugging away.”

Rogers, 16, said his dad and grandfather took him to the course at a young age. He added that he’s always admired them and has sought their advice when it comes to improving as a player.

“They know what to do,” Rogers said. “They’re making sure I keep pushing down the right path. Just staying consistent and putting the blinders on to keep working. They’re always supportive of what I’m doing.”

The sport came somewhat naturally to Rogers but he has had to dedicate himself to getting better. He was able to close the gap with opponents once he started to grow, get stronger and increase yardage.

“I always had the skills,” Rogers said. “A lot of periods of time in junior golf, I hit the ball so short that it would be hard to compete. These last few years I’ve gained quite a bit of distance, so now I can kick it into gear and score a lot better.”

Golf is more of a lifestyle for Rogers, who works at Finkbine Golf Course. City High Coach Derek Birt said Rogers loves to practice and challenge his teammates to get better at practice. Birt noted Rogers and his friends compete and support each other through occasional Instagram posts that cheer on their successes. They even caddie for each other at times.

“He knows he has work to put in to compete at the highest levels of junior golf,” Birt said, “but (he) enjoys the process.”

Last season was a springboard. He produced a strong finish to the season that included medalist performances at an MVC Valley divisional meet and the district meet. Rogers finished a mere one stroke back of Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s 2022 state champion Reid Hall for divisional player of the year.

A simple adjustment on the practice green propelled his game to a different level.

“I was ball striking really well all season,” Rogers said. “I was hitting the ball the best I ever had all season. I would shoot good scores but I couldn’t get my putts to drop to take it to the next level.

“I made a little tweak in my putting to try to switch it up. Get a little more feel in my stroke. I started making so many more putts. It was a game-changer going into the second half of the season.”

Rogers continued to hit the ball farther, complementing his short game and putting more. Postseason results and his play off the tee have given him a boost.

“I think winning districts gave Jack confidence that he could play with anyone,” Birt said. “He also is getting more comfortable on longer and tougher courses.”

Rogers wants to continue the momentum built last fall and into this summer. He produced one of his best offseasons, winning multiple Junior PGA events, leading Iowa PGA juniors in points and playing in the Junior PGA Championships at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

“I had some really good finishes early in the season,” Rogers said. “I had a couple middle-to-high 60s rounds in tournaments. I hit a little bit of a slow patch in the middle. I started to pick it up toward the end of the summer. I’m feeling really good about where my game is heading into the first couple meets of this season.”

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