Charlie Kulwin: From Walk-On to Winner

Charlie Kulwin said he never expected to play Division I golf. While at Jones College Prep in The South Loop, Kulwin said his original plan was to go to Division III to continue his golf career, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, he found himself redirected.

As his grades began to slip during the pandemic, Kulwin said many of the Division III schools he wanted to attend fell out of reach academically. 

As a result, Kulwin said he became his own advocate for finding a university where he could play. He reached out to every school in the Big 10 Conference and other schools such as Lehigh University, Lafayette College, Illinois Wesleyan and Loyola. 

Loyola and Illinois Wesleyan were the only schools who responded, according to Kulwin. When the time came for Kulwin to commit, he said he only had one option for where he could continue playing golf — Illinois Wesleyan University. 

Kulwin said he didn’t want to commit and put off picking a school late into April of his senior year, when many universities had already filled their rosters. Just before Kulwin was due to commit, a recruit dropped from Loyola’s 2022 class, opening up an empty spot for Kulwin as a walk-on.

Both of Kulwin’s parents went to Loyola, which he said was one of the reasons why he was excited to become a Rambler.

Despite being a walk-on, his impact on the golf program was instantly felt. In his first year at Loyola, Kulwin compiled the most rounds played of any first-year on the team with 29. He also held a 74.9 stroke average — the second-lowest mark on the team.

Kulwin’s output continued to improve in his second-year, as he matched his average in three more rounds than the previous year. His 32 rounds were the most of any on Loyola’s squad.

Now in his third-year at Loyola, Kulwin’s game has taken a step up. He’s dropped his average round score by over a stroke, now averaging 73.4, and has already played in 14 rounds during Loyola’s fall season. 

His improved play helped bring about Loyola’s first invitational win since the program won the Missouri Valley Conference in 2021. Kulwin led the way for Loyola capturing the first individual tournament win of his collegiate career, finishing six under par at the Throw Down Up Top in Homer, Nebraska Oct. 7-9. 

Despite winning the invitational, Kulwin had to battle in his last round to earn the first place finish. Initially two strokes back of first place heading into the final round, consecutive bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes required Kulwin to pull off a great back nine to secure the victory.

Head coach Erik Hoops, who’s been the head coach for Kulwin’s entire time at Loyola, said he saw a change in Kulwin’s mentality, contributing to his rebound from his triple bogey to win the tournament.

“I think Charlie in years past would let that spill over into more bogeys and letting that anger linger,” Hoops said. “This year he did the exact opposite — he said, ‘Hey look, I know I made a triple, it was a silly mistake.’ The next time I saw him was two holes later and he was right back in attack mode.”

Kulwin was certainly on the  attack, as on the back nine he put up his best-ever run by birdying four of the last nine holes. He landed an eagle on hole 15 and posted six under par on his last nine holes, giving him five under on the round and closing out the win. 

Kulwin said his change in mentality came when he chose to seek out a sports psychologist after a summer tournament when he had a “meltdown” in the final round.

“I knew it was mental and it just came from seeing some of the guys on tour talk about it so, you know, it must be helpful,” Kulwin said. “I kept kind of just brushing it off like, ‘I don’t need it, I don’t need it,’ which probably meant I needed to do it.”

Kulwin said seeing a sports psychologist helped him to implement more routines in his game, such as how his pre-shot routine is exactly 35 seconds, or how he uses his yardage book as a tic-tac-toe board to help stay focused on his game.

For Kulwin, golf is all about fun, and when he sticks to his own game and believes in himself, he said he knows good results will come with it.

Kulwin said he found his competitive spirit comes out in all aspects of his life, including when gaming — his favorite being Mario Kart. 

“Every single person that knows me can back this up — I am the greatest Mario Kart Wii player in Norville,” Kulwin said. “I said we should do a Mario Kart Wii tournament and I would dust everyone.”

The legend of Kulwin’s racing skills came about from hanging out at a friend’s apartment when they started playing Mario Kart, according to Kulwin. He said he amazed his teammates with his strategies and none of the 200+ athletes in Norville can beat him.

With the fall season over and plenty of time for Mario Kart, Kulwin’s challenge may be met. But in the meantime, he’ll remain busy golfing with winter events and prepping for the men’s team spring season return.