JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The day before Billy Ver Straate left Colorado for Jacksonville, he made time for one more round of golf. It was not an ordinary farewell round.

Ver Straate and one of his closest friends played Castle Pines Golf Club, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course located roughly 15 minutes from his Lone Tree, Colorado home. Carved into the hills of Castle Rock, Castle Pines hosted the PGA Tour's BMW Championship in 2024.

The two friends live just a couple of houses apart and had grown close through high school golf. Their round at Castle Pines gave Ver Straate one final memory at home before leaving for the next stage of his golf career.

"It's just a cool little mountain-y course in the hills of Castle Pines," Ver Straate said. "It was a great experience."

A day later, he traded Colorado's elevation and mountain scenery for Jacksonville's heat, unfamiliar grass and the opportunity to play golf throughout the year.

For Ver Straate, the move represents the latest step in a golf journey that took shape during a time when much of the sports world had stopped.

He was introduced to golf around the age of five but spent much of his childhood playing other sports, including football and lacrosse. That changed when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down his team activities in 2020.

"When COVID hit, I lived on a golf course and all my team sports got canceled," Ver Straate said. "That was really all I could do. That whole summer, I fell in love with it, and it took me to where I am today."



By the time he entered Highlands Ranch High School, golf was no longer simply something to occupy his summer. He made the varsity team as a freshman and became one of Colorado's most consistent high school players.

Ver Straate finished among the top-15 at the state championship in all four seasons. He tied for 14th as a freshman, tied for ninth as a sophomore, tied for 10th as a junior and closed his high-school career with an eighth-place finish. Highlands Ranch also finished third as a team during his freshman and senior seasons.

When asked what made him proudest, however, Ver Straate didn't point to any of those individual finishes.

"It was awesome working with the guys around me and seeing them succeed," he said. "We made state as a team my junior and senior year, which we weren't really supposed to do. That was probably what I was most proud of."

One of his best individual performances came at the 2024 regional championship. Ver Straate shot a four-under 68, winning by 10 strokes and helping Highlands Ranch claim the team title.

It was also the first bogey-free tournament round of his career.

"When you're playing good golf like that, you're just kind of in a flow state," Ver Straate said. "There's really nothing that can go super wrong. You've just got to keep a level head."

Maintaining that level head has required work. Ver Straate acknowledged experiencing some of the mental struggles that often accompany competitive golf, but he has learned to keep an individual shot or round in perspective.

"It's just a game," he said. "We're out there to have fun. You've got to realize there are bigger things in life."

That approach helped make Ver Straate an attractive fit for Jacksonville and head coach Mike Blackburn.

Ver Straate visited JU with his mother and quickly connected with Blackburn, the campus and the players already committed to the program. Florida's weather and Jacksonville's golf community added to the appeal, as did the team's on-campus practice facility.

The size of the university surprised him. Ver Straate originally thought he wanted to attend a larger school, but his first days at Jacksonville began changing that view.

"I actually really do like the smaller-school vibe," he said. "I feel like after a while, everybody is going to know everybody, which is good, and everybody can support everyone."

The chance to leave Colorado and experience something new also mattered. Winters at home often restricted Ver Straate to six to eight months of golf each year. At Jacksonville, he can practice, compete and develop alongside his teammates throughout the calendar.

"I feel like it's going to be such a big difference this year, really being able to play full time and being around the team and always competing," he said. "It's just a good way to get better."

Ver Straate received an early look at the standard required in college golf when he competed in July's Southeastern Amateur at the Country Club of Columbus in Georgia. Surrounded by experienced collegiate players, he watched how one of his playing partners put together a top-five performance.

The experience reinforced that success at the next level is often built on execution rather than spectacular shots.

"The biggest thing I took out of it is that you've got to be super consistent, and you've got to wedge it close," Ver Straate said. "A lot of people think really good golf is super flashy. It's just not."

Ver Straate considers iron play and putting the strongest parts of his game. As he adjusts to Florida's different grass and playing conditions, he wants to improve his short game and become more consistent off the tee.

With qualifying right around the corner, Ver Straate is keeping his freshman goals simple: earn his way into the lineup, gain tournament experience and find a way to help the Dolphins.

"I'd love to get some tournaments under my belt with the team this fall," Ver Straate said. "Then continue to make the lineup, play in the spring and make an impact on the team. That would be an ideal freshman year."


Away from the course, Ver Straate enjoys fishing and spending time with friends–although those friends usually find their way back to the golf course too.

"We play a lot of golf, that's for sure," Ver Straate said.

After only a few days, those new teammates had already begun feeling like longtime friends.

"We're already all kind of best buds," Ver Straate said. "It's been awesome."