THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Swan song: North Idaho College golfer and NWAC champion keeps it cool on, off the course

During his recruitment to North Idaho College, golfer James Swan didn’t know a ton about the school.

Not that he didn’t do his research, looking at photos and videos of the area around Coeur d’Alene.

No official visits, but that wasn’t his fault either.

“That was the one tough thing for sure,” Swan said. “It’s something we’re more accustomed to now, but at the time, it was a little freaky not being there in person and just seeing pictures and videos and campus tours virtually. You still feel like you’re going in blind.

“I’d seen a lot of videos on the courses and The Coeur d’Alene Resort. I didn’t know about the campus location until I got here. NIC has a great piece of property here to be on the mouth of the Spokane (River) and it’s a pretty beautiful spot to be in.”

Two years later, Swan recently wrapped up his NIC career by capturing the men’s medalist title at the Northwest Athletic Conference championships at Apple Tree Golf Course in Yakima, Wash., on May 23, finishing with 3-over-par 147.

SWAN GREW up in Victoria, British Columbia. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Swan was unable to visit Coeur d’Alene due to the Canadian border being closed.

“Throughout COVID, it was definitely different,” Swan said. “I took a gap year after high school and noticed there weren't many golf coaches coming out to matches due to border restrictions or whatever it might be through COVID. Social media, email and my recruitment profile definitely helped coaches find me during that period.”

One of those coaches was NIC men's and women's golf coach Russell Grove.

“I just came across him and his videos on Instagram,” Grove said. “For a lot of the COVID recruits, it was a lot of Zoom calls and watching videos. There were quite a few that I hadn’t seen play in person. It was one of those things where I looked for certain scores and how they stacked up. I looked through quite a bit of information on all of them.”

“He reached out to me through a couple of different platforms,” Swan said. “He gave me an opportunity to come and see what NIC had to offer, and I fell in love with the city for sure. With Russell’s past history and the golf courses we get to play in the city, it seemed like a great fit. It definitely drew my attention and a few months later, I signed to make my way down to Coeur d’Alene.”

As a youth in British Columbia, Swan tried almost every sport he could find.

“I played golf, hockey, lacrosse, rugby, basketball, volleyball and baseball,” Swan said. “Just about everything that my city offered outside of soccer, I played at some point.”

Hockey was one sport that stuck for a while.

“Growing up, it was hockey six days a week,” the 5-foot-10, 165-pound Swan said. “Golf really picked up for me after my freshman year of high school. That was my first year of really getting into it. After that year, it was my dream to come to the U.S. and play golf for a college team.”

As for how he continued to improve on the golf course ...

“It was just the way he practiced,” Grove said. “He really looked at where his strokes lost were and improved on that and kept working on it.”

That’s when the fun of golf got serious.

“Golf was something I definitely picked up on my own,” Swan said. “It wasn’t forced on me by my parents. It originally started as a fun thing to do on the weekends and escalated from there.”

Swan qualified for the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., missing the cut with a 7-over 78-69—147. The cut line was at 143.

“That event is prestigious and quite the honor to represent the community back home in Victoria, my club and North Idaho College,” Swan said. “Carrying that bag out at Oakmont was something I’ll never forget. And I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

EVEN MORE impressive than just winning his NWAC championship, Swan did it while competing with a torn labrum in his right hip.

“I was born with, and kind of developed, extra bone growth on both of my femurs in my hips,” Swan said. “Between weightlifting and extra wear and tear over the last couple of years, I ended tearing the labrum in my right hip the last week of February.”

But yet, he didn’t miss a match.

“The spring season was a grind,” Swan said. “We didn’t find out it was torn until there were four weeks left in the season. The last four weeks were a grind, but it made me work harder knowing I had four months off to recover and finish on a strong note.”

Swan will continue his playing career at the University of Idaho in the fall.

“Russell helped me with my options after NIC,” Swan said. “We were talking to a few different schools, but ultimately, the coach from Idaho and I had a really good chat at the U.S. Amateur. I think that’s what really solidified it for me and him going out there to watch me showed the kind of commitment he had for me. It meant a lot to me for sure.”

Grove is a 2008 graduate of Idaho and Coeur d’Alene High product.

“I’ve sent players there before,” Grove said. “He had quite a few schools interested and the coach was able to offer him the best scholarship of the bunch. Being local was still appealing to him.”

HIS COACHES at NIC, both head coach Russell Grove and his father, assistant coach Russ Grove, were also big influences.

“They’ve given me some real perspective on what it’s like to be a student-athlete,” Swan said. “Living away from my parents and away from home, it’s taught me a lot of life lessons. Both of them have been super supportive, and I can’t thank them enough for helping me make this transition as easy as possible really.”

Russell Grove also taught him how to remain loose on the golf course.

“Russell and I have a little joke to draw smiley faces on the golf ball to stay happy out there through the ups and downs,” Swan said. “He’s always trying to keep a smile on my face, and that’s something he’s really taught me in my time here. That, and the most important shot is the next one.”

It’s also something that since making golf his primary sport, he hasn’t looked back.

“Once I found golf, it was love at first sight,” Swan said. “Hockey, maybe I would have played a few more years competitively. But I don’t think it would have given me the same opportunity to have part of my school paid for and scholarships to come down to the U.S. My future is going to include golf for sure, whether that’s just the next two years at Idaho and recreationally after that. I think turning pro is something I could see myself doing after finishing school. But it’s also not something I think about each day because I want to take things one step at a time.”

“Social media is huge, and every kid has it,” Grove said. “James isn’t the first and won’t be the last I have to recruit that way. But you could see his ability and potential. Where he’s at this spring, it’s a cool thing.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.