Echuca’s D’Arcy Whyte lives to play golf.
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Just about everything else in his life is either a support system for that – or an unnecessary by-product.
After completing Year 12 at Echuca Secondary College in 2024, Whyte was left deciding between a gap year to hit the course hard and improve his +1.2 handicap (it has been +3) and tee off on his dreams, or head off to university and squeeze in a game whenever he could.
A squeeze which did, admittedly, include playing pennants at both Rich River Golf Club – where he is also reigning club champion – and at Commonwealth in Melbourne.
In the end, Whyte decided he could have his cake and eat too – by accepting a scholarship to college in the US.
Now the aspiring professional is part of a 10-man squad at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska (about 180km northwest of Omaha, the state’s capital)
Its NJCAA conference covers Colorado and Wyoming and also takes in occasional tournaments in South Dakota and Iowa.
It is the first step in a journey which Whyte hopes will give him a much clearer understanding of his ambitions, because if he can cut the mustard in the collegiate system, he will be ready to go up against the best.
“I have always loved golf, so I planned to try and do something associated with it,” Whyte said from Nebraska, where he arrived in mid-August.
“I planned to work hard on improving my golf game, lowering my handicap, and obtaining a world amateur golf ranking,” he said.
“I guess my first plan was applying for a golf traineeship back home – and then going out to find a part-time job, to be able to support myself during that time.”
But the reserved 19-year-old said he “had not really considered” going to college in the US – or even university in Australia – until he was contacted by Platform Sports Management through his Instagram account.
Platform Sports Management helps student-athletes secure US college scholarships.
“I saw it as an opportunity to play golf in America, experiencing the American golfing culture and felt being in a college team would challenge me and push me to be a better golfer,” Whyte explained.
“We have already played one tournament since I arrived – the Mount Marty Invitational, a two-day match at Hillcrest Country Club at Yankton in South Dakota. I tied for eighth and the team came second overall.”
And he’s off to Iowa this week for two 18-hole tournaments after shooting a score of -4 after three qualifying rounds.
Whyte admits his head is still spinning a little and his feet have barely touched the ground since he and his family agreed to go ahead with Platform Sports.
From creating a profile used to promote him to US colleges to dealing with all the Zoom interviews with coaches, so he could discuss their programs, coaching styles and expectations of him as an athlete – and the school’s training facilities.
Life in a US college is also a far cry from Echuca Secondary College, so coming to grips with the scholarship programs and what they entail, getting packed and getting out of town – and in a very short timeframe – made life somewhat hectic.
“It is hard to say how I felt at the time; I was so involved with the process of getting a scholarship, I didn’t put too much thought into how I felt,” Whyte said.
“Thinking about it now, I was definitely excited to have been offered a scholarship, and looking forward to the new adventure.”
Whyte describes Norfolk as a country town similar in population to Echuca-Moama, but much more spread out.
He said all the people he has met there “have been really friendly, helpful and super polite, and it didn’t take long to get my bearings and feel comfortable.”
Undertaking an Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration, in this (fall) semester, which started on August 18, Whyte is studying English composition, algebra, psychology, introduction to business and principles of accounting.
He admits he’s finding life very different with several hours of golf training stacked on top of a full day’s classes and study.
Whyte’s journey began with his grandfather, Geoff Spencer, who switched him onto the game as a small child.
He certainly headed to the US of A on a playing high, with wins over Murray Downs pro Matt Docking in the Rich River pennant competition, or being crowned Rich River Golf Club champion and winning the metropolitan division one pennant final with his Melbourne club, Commonwealth.
He was also selected in Team Victoria for the School Sport Australia 18-and-under golf championships in Canberra, bringing home a silver medal and being named the star of the side.
To date, the rise and rise of D’Arcy Whyte has been a family-funded affair, however this switch to the US is a step into the big leagues – albeit a small first step.
The American collegiate system is the cradle of champions, and Whyte is ready to rock.