Ryan Dulin, of Grant Park, reads the green at Minne Monesse Golf Course in Grant Park during a meet earlier this season. Dulin, a two-time IHSA state qualifier in golf, won't have the chance to make a third trip his senior year, but that hasn't deterred him from continuing to improve his game.
Ryan Dulin, of Grant Park, reads the green at Minne Monesse Golf Course in Grant Park during a meet earlier this season. Dulin, a two-time IHSA state qualifier in golf, won't have the chance to make a third trip his senior year, but that hasn't deterred him from continuing to improve his game.
Grant Park golf coach Andy Dillman has seen handfuls of talented golfers come and go through his program during the past 15 years, but not many of them have done the things senior Ryan Dulin has.
Dulin has been named medalist, the honor for the best individual score at a meet, countless times during the past three seasons and change and has made two IHSA State Finals, finishing 66th as a freshman in 2017 and 26th as a junior last fall, achievements Dillman largely credits to Dulin’s mental attributes on the course.
“Everyone always thinks in terms of driver, irons, short game, but for him, he never thinks he’s out of it,” Dillman said of Dulin. “He always thinks he has the ability to keep himself in a match or tournament, especially head-to-head.
“He just always finds a way to stay competitive in a round.”
Dulin’s knack for competition is evident again this season but won’t result in a third trip to state. Because of COVID-19 and the IHSA’s decision, in conjunction with the office of Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Health, in order to limit travel between COVID-19 zones, there will be no state series this year, as the fall sports seasons will end with regional play.
“I was pretty upset because it’s aggravating with the whole COVID thing,” Dulin said. “There were ways I could have seen the IHSA doing [a state series], but it would have been a lot of work.”
On those journeys to state, Dulin said the best part was driving to central Illinois. This year, there is no drive, both literally and figuratively.
“It was always my goal to push myself and get down there,” Dulin said. “This year, there’s just no drive.”
But that doesn’t mean Dulin still isn’t working just as hard. Just as he’s done the three seasons before, Dillman said his ace is just as invested in the Dragons’ success as a team as he is his own.
“He’s not one to turn in his card and leave — he knows the better we do, the better he does,” Dillman said. “He feeds off of that, and the kids feed off of him, and it’s unique when you have kids who can get those kinds of scores.
“I’ve coached teams where we beat average kids playing bogey golf, but it’s hard to beat those one or two teams with an elite player at the top,” he added. “And you find out that elite player wants everyone to be better.”
That desire for Dulin to be there for his teammates runs in the family. His older siblings, Hollie and Brad, have been instrumental in their little brother’s success as former prep golfers themselves, and Hollie herself has spent time coaching golf at Grant Park.
“My sister is more of a mental coach, along with my mom, and my brother is the one who’s helped me through everything really,” Dulin said. “Brad fixes all my problems for the most part; I can always count on him when I’m struggling.”
With that, Dulin has developed as not only a top-of-the-card golfer but also as a young man.
“Honestly, that’s what I take the most pride in, trying to get these young men and women to develop into mature young adults that go out into the world,” Dillman said. “A lot of coaching is love through sport, teaching respect, manners and carrying yourself, and they get it from their parents, as a lot of my kids come from great families, but sometimes a different voice can reach a kid.
“My desire in coaching is to reach kids and help them achieve their goals, and for Ryan, that’s really no different.”
With state off the table this fall, Dulin’s next goal is to play college golf, which he plans to do at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby. Before moving on, Dulin said he hopes to be able to play his senior season on the basketball court, where he will serve as the team’s starting point guard, and he also will try his hand at soccer in the spring, an opportunity he wouldn’t have in a normal year, as boys soccer traditionally is played along with golf in the fall.
Before he finishes his senior year on the court, pitch and classroom, Dulin said he wants to finish leaving his legacy on the golf course, something that will be seen long after he graduates and something he thinks will be aided by a strong finish to this season.
“I won’t be there next year, but [success] will make [the younger golfers] want to come back and continue to do that ...,” Dulin said. “You just try and perform as well as you can every night.”