As the 2025-2026 Kennedy Girl’s golf season begins, last year’s state qualifier, Ellie Nurre, is looking to punch her ticket for a second season in a row. The junior has been a three year varsity member and has been grinding for this upcoming season.
Last season, Nurre was a very consistent stat leader at Kennedy, holding the best nine hole average and 18 hole average. Nurre also held the nine hole low along with the 18 hole low. With the strong stats, Nurre was the only Kennedy girls golfer that qualified for state.
“My goal last year was to qualify for state, and I ended up accomplishing that. But going into that day for regionals, I was really just going to play my game,” Nurre said. “There was a lot of competition from Wash, Southeast Polk and Iowa City West, but I knew if I took it shot by shot I could qualify. But this season I am going to put much more time into it, focus on my swing, and continue to play the game I know how to play.”
Coming from a golfing family, Nurre started at a young age. She took a family tradition and followed it to a state qualification.
“My family has always been a big golfing family so I just knew it was what I wanted to do. My dad got me into golf and I have been playing since I was little,” Nurre said. “I started with plastic clubs and I’d just run around and swing it.”
Nurre finds her support through her family. She looks up to her older brothers, as well as her dad. Growing up, Nurre watched her brothers succeed throughout their careers and that has helped push her to thrive on the course.
“My inspiration has been my dad and my brothers. Seeing how well my brothers did in high school, from them winning meets and going to state, I knew that I always wanted to do that,” Nurre said. “It looked like a really fun experience to play with other schools and go to state, so I knew that was what I wanted to accomplish.”
Although golf may seem independent, it is important to have a strong relationship with the team. Building bonds and creating memories has been some of Nurre’s favorite times on the team.
“My favorite memory has been the van rides with Paige,” Nurre said. “Having a close friend on the team is really helpful. It helps me want to go to practice because I have someone that I love to be with.”
Along with being an impressive player, Nurre has also been a strong teammate.
“Ellie is a supportive teammate. She knows a lot about the game, so whenever I need help, she helps with a lot of technical stuff,” junior teammate Paige Maas said. “Ellie is the person who inspired me to go out for golf. She asked me to go out with her and we have had a lot of fun together the last couple of years. At meets Ellie supports me and she cheers for me when she is in the cart with Mr. Green.”
As the season continues, Nurre is looking forward to the state qualifying meet. Her hopes for this season are to be first team all conference and try to be first team all state.
“Golf is a sport that you have to have a lot of patience with. It’s a frustrating sport with a lot of ups and downs, but you have to continuously look forward and practice, knowing that you will be better and you can’t bring yourself down,” Nurre said. “Golf is a sport where one day you might not play the way you want, but the next day it could be your best round. You can’t just walk off, keep preserving and get through it, because it is all worth it in the end.”
