Craig Daily Press

She placed 10th in the 2007 girls high school golf state championships as a MCHS Bulldog, earned herself a college scholarship to Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., and was recently named to the Great Lakes Valley Conference all-conference academic team as a freshman.

The view from where Amber Nicholson sits is pretty nice right now.

That is, as long as her swing comes back.

Nicholson — studying pre-med — managed to earn a 3.67 grade point average while juggling her studies and three-hour practice days as a member of the Pumas golf team.

All while being away from home for the first time.

But, don’t feel sorry for Nicholson, being far from the family nest was by design.

“I figured that if I went to Indiana, compared to, like, Wyoming or something, I would be able to grow a lot more from it,” Nicholson said. “New people, new places, and I get to golf on courses that I would never have the opportunity to if I stayed here.”

So when Saint Joseph’s offered a scholarship in her chosen sport, off she went.

To her, the decision was simple.

“It’s the place that offered me the most money,” she said.

Nicholson encountered a change immediately upon entering the college ranks.

As a Puma athlete, Nicholson competes in two golf seasons: fall (August to October) and spring (February to May).

At Moffat County High School, female golfers played a single spring season.

In college, Nicholson competes from the men’s tees (white), instead of the customary red at the high school level.

“I’m learning a lot from playing with the ‘big rollers,’” she said. “It’s more competitive and it’s making me a lot more independent.”

And, unlike high school’s one-day tournaments, college events are two days minimum.

“Every tournament is like golfing in the high school regional or state tournaments,” she said. “There are no one-day events anymore. You have to play well over a couple of days to do well.”

She said she’s adjusted to the change — after all, it’s the same sized ball going into the same-sized hole.

“In the fall, I did OK. I did decent,” she said. “I never broke into the 70s. I only shot low 80s, but this spring was not very good. I don’t really want to talk about the spring. I’m still trying to get my swing back currently.

“I think I finally kind of have it back.”

But, although she admits golf is her love, academics come first.

Nicholson said earning an all-conference team selection academically is more important to her than accomplishing the feat on the links.

“With my academics, they’re really hard,” she said. “They’re all science classes because I’m pre-med, so for me to be able to keep my GPA up and then being gone every weekend, having golf practice five days a week for three hours, I was really surprised when I found out (I was selected).”

She plans on being an optometrist, but her own eyes are fixed firmly on her future.

“I’ve got another seven years total left” of school, she said. “I think about being in the LPGA, but I know I have a longs ways to go before I can try to do that.

“A really, really long ways to go.”

John Vandelinder can be reached at 875-1793, or jvandelinder@craigdailypress.com