Charlie Nikitas belts a tee shot during play in the Deerfield Invite. He has been a top-flight performer for the Titans this fall. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
Charlie Nikitas was a sixth-grader when he notched his first significant victory on a golf course. He needed a couple of playoff holes to clinch it. Valley Lo Club, a par-three course in Glenview, was the venue.
His opponent?
An older one, another Nikitas. Danny Nikitas, aka Charlie’s father, was the combatant, the runner-up in the one-on-one battle.
“We’re both pretty competitive guys,” Charlie, now a Glenbrook South junior golfer, says. “But he was happy for me. We celebrated. Got a good dinner that night. Dinner was part of the celebration.”
Charlie Nikitas is a 5-foot-6 Titan and third-year varsity golfer today. He started to let his hair grow out in the middle of last year’s golf season. His flowing mane would make the lead singer of any rock band envious. Skateboarders everywhere want Charlie Nikitas hair. X Gamers want Charlie Nikitas hair.
Nikitas wears the locks well.
“I’m the little guy with the long hair,” Nikitas says.
He’s also the guy who usually shoots the lowest score at duals, at invitationals. He typically beats golfers by more — way more — than a hair. The lefty left as the medalist at the Woodstock Invite on Aug. 20, as the medalist at the Central Suburban League Showcase on Aug. 22, as the medalist at the Deerfield Invite on Sept. 12. Lake Bluff Golf Club welcomed the CSL Showcase field; Nikitas played like he owned it and practiced on it every other day, carding a four-under 68. Glenbrook South captured the team title at all three of the events.
Nikitas, the reigning CSL Tournament medalist, needed only 32 strokes to complete nine holes at a recent home dual, 33 at another. In the Titans’ lone dual loss this fall, to New Trier on Sept. 16, Nikitas shot a team-best 34.
“Charlie is consistent … that’s what he is,” Titans coach Steve Gale says. “He’s there for us all the time, golfing well, scoring well. His approach shots are deadly shots. He trusts his swing. Charlie had never played Twin Orchard [the course for the Deerfield Invite, where he shot a 69 and won via a one-hole playoff], so every hole, in a way, was a surprise. He had to play smart golf at each hole. To do what he did that day speaks well for his ability.
“Charlie,” the coach adds, “is a threat, always a threat, and he’s our lead horse, but we have a lot of talent behind him.”
Athletic talent teems in the Nikitas household. His two older brothers, Jamie and Danny, play college basketball. Jamie, a 6-2 senior, dribbles and shoots and rebounds for Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and Danny, a 6-0 sophomore, is a Foresters hoopster at Lake Forest College.
Dad Nikitas play professional basketball in Greece and earned a tryout with the Boston Celtics. Charlie’s dad, a 6-1 guard, did not survive the preseason; some fella named Larry Bird did.
“My dad … it’s my dad,” the son says of his perpetual inspiration. “He’s still a decent golfer, and he watches me play in tournaments. We talk about the good shots after tournaments. We talk about the bad shots, too. He gives me a hard time about the bad shots.”
In April Nikitas shot 75-74, good for fourth place, at an American Junior Golf Association tournament at Catigny Golf Club in Wheaton. He took on other golfers, the course and brutal conditions (30 degrees, freezing rain). Months later, at a Mid-American Junior Golf Tour event at Geneva National Golf Course, Nikitas struck balls in warmer temps. Got sunny results, too: 72-79-69, another fourth-place showing.
“Charlie,” Glenbrook South junior teammate Kevin Paek says, “is automatic from 75 yards in, makes good contact. His wedge play … he’s got the feel, the touch, the finesse. On a golf course he’s dialed in, focused. He’s a great golfer, but we don’t treat him like a king. We mess with him; he messes with us.”
Nikitas, 67th (85-81) at his first state meet last fall, and Paek were in the same communications class as freshmen. Neither could give a speech in front of the class without the other making goofy, distracting faces from a seat in the classroom. It was par-for-the-course stuff — minus the clubs.
Nikitas and Paek played on the same baseball team. They were grade-schoolers. Paek pitched. Nikitas caught. Paek never had to shake off his catcher’s signs because Paek threw fastballs, only fastballs. Paek never had to worry about cracking up on a mound; it’s hard to notice goofy, distracting faces from your mask-wearing catcher.
“Charlie has developed a reputation as a good guy, a nice kid,” Paek, also a third-year varsity member, says. “Everybody, not just golf teammates, likes him. He’s really comfortable around people, really personable and approachable. When you meet him you notice, right away, how friendly he is. On the course, though, he’s competitive, gritty, gets the job done. Good traits.”
Notable: Glenbrook South successfully defended its Naperville Central Invitational title at Naperbrook Golf Course (par 72) on Sept. 19. Titans junior Kevin Paek led the way with a medalist round of 72, followed by third-place efforts from Charlie Nikitas (75) and Grant Reece (75). South’s Jack Grier took fifth (76), ahead of teammate Robert Hopkins (80, seventh place). … Glenbrook South won the Deerfield Invite at Twin Orchard Country Club with an impressive aggregate of 294, five shots better than runner-up Loyola Academy’s total on Sept. 12. Nikitas (69), coming off a fourth-place 71 at the Buffalo Grove Invite the previous weekend, downed Deerfield High School’s Jacob Krugman in a one-hole playoff for medalist honors; the Titans received a trio of 75s (10th place) from Paek, Jarrett Prchal and Patrick Garden at the 6,410-yard course in Long Grove. … Glenbrook South (301) topped runner-up New Trier (304) to win the Central Suburban League Tournament last fall. This year’s CSL Tourney is scheduled for Sept. 29 at Sportsman’s Country Club in Northbrook. … Nikitas, on the 2015 Titans: “We knew, coming in, we’d be solid, and we got off to a pretty hot start. Our main goal is to get to state. That would be great for our seniors.”
Charlie Nikitas. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
Charlie Nikitas. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER