Don’t sleep on Bryson Nimmer.
Sure, he may not be a big name — or a big guy. At 5 feet, 8 inches and 165 pounds, he’s hardly a physical juggernaut like that other Bryson in golf. You know, the one who is clearing fences and breaking the 400-yard barrier with some regularity. Nimmer understands the appeal, but that’s just not his style.
“I don’t know if my game’s necessarily the most exciting,” he admitted with a laugh. “I don’t hit it super far. I think that’s kind of the big thing nowadays. You know, everybody gets really excited about guys who hit it crazy far, and rightfully so. I mean, it’s a really cool thing to be able to do.”
Nimmer is fairly average in terms of driving distance, but he has accuracy: the 23-year old consistently hits his driver straight down the middle. He has a solid iron game and he says his putting has improved by leaps and bounds over the past four months.
The result so far? Two wins and a second-place finish this year on the brand new LOCALiQ Tour. Nimmer sits atop that tour’s leaderboard, with 1,419 points and a sizable lead on next-best player Carson Young (who has 747.967). He will be among the favorites going into next month’s LOCALiQ Series Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.
So who is this Bryson Nimmer anyway?
From Home Runs to Tee Shots
Golf was not Nimmer’s first passion. The Bluffton, South Carolina, native started out playing baseball as a pitcher and a third baseman. As a young boy, Nimmer learned how to throw a knuckle-curve: a deceptive and unpredictable pitch that rarely sees action in professional baseball. At 13 years old, he was throwing in the low-70 mph range. That was also when he traded his bat and glove for a set of clubs.
As the son of a former Clemson University golfer, Nimmer grew up visiting courses and driving ranges with his dad Tony. Over time, he fell in love with golf because he could practice at his own pace and on his own schedule. It wasn’t easy relinquishing baseball on the cusp of adolescence, but Nimmer does not regret doing so. He also praises his dad for granting him the freedom to choose his sport.
“I really can’t thank him enough,” Nimmer said of his father. “He did such a good job, as I’ve said before, with not forcing me into the sport. That was a really big thing, the fact that he didn’t say ‘you have to play golf’ or ‘you have to do this’. He just kind of let me decide.”
Anyone who has watched both baseball and golf may have thought to themselves that a baseball swing appears reminiscent of a golf shot, and vice versa. Nimmer learned to develop lower-body explosiveness and rotational power during his Little League days and was able to transfer those mechanics smoothly to his golf game.
Teenage Nimmer honed his craft at the local Berkeley Hall Golf Club, where his parents had a membership. He first broke
—————————–
By: David Song
Title: Former Clemson Tiger Bryson Nimmer aims high and shoots straight
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2020/10/20/clemson-bryson-nimmer-localiq-tour-mackenzie-tour/
Published Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2020 15:00:19 +0000