He Doesn’t Get Sick of Making Aces

On the first swing of the first golf practice last month, J.T. Kohut of Westlake High sent his ball flying “straight as an arrow” toward the pin on the 292-yard par-four first hole at Westlake Golf Course.

“Right as the ball released his club, it was a thing of beauty,” said sophomore Chris Finefrock, one of more than two dozen onlookers.

The ball cleared a tree limb by a foot, bounced over a hill and headed toward the flag.

It wasn’t until Kohut’s playing partner, Ian Medlock, walked down the fairway to the green and discovered the ball resting in the cup that anyone realized Kohut had made a hole in one, the 14th of his career.

Fourteen holes in one by age 19. The second in a row on a par-four hole. Another magical shot from an extraordinary teenage golfer.

“It’s just scary,” Kohut said. “It’s weird.”

Life doesn’t seem fair when a senior in high school already has 14 holes in one while many scratch golfers haven’t experienced a single one.

“It’s incredible,” Coach Dave Costley of Westlake said. “To hit a hole in one you have to be accurate and have a certain amount of luck.”

Kohut is so accurate he makes his own luck.

“Such a small percentage get holes in one on par threes, let alone par-fours,” Finefrock said. “[Kohut] practically had a hole in one every year [of his life], so when he’s 100 he’ll have 100.”

Kohut, 5 feet 11 and 195 pounds, with broad shoulders and wavy black hair, is more than just a young golfer who can make an occasional hole in one.

He ranks among the top high school golfers in the nation. USC and UCLA are recruiting him. He averages 280 yards on drives, possesses the patience and temperament of a teaching pro and understands the challenges of golf.

“You could be No. 1 in the world and two years later be No. 130,” Kohut said. “It’s such a humbling game. You should never get too high, never get too low.”

Kohut has every reason to appreciate life. He nearly died when he was 6 months old--his breathing stopped for more than five minutes after his temperature reached 106 degrees from contracting measles.

He was diagnosed with epilepsy and suffered seizures 10 to 15 times a day before he was 5. At one point, he was taking 25 pills a day.

“There’s nothing worse than holding your kid in your arms and knowing there’s nothing else you can do,” said Kohut’s father, George.

Physical team sports were discouraged because of Kohut’s epilepsy. Golf became his escape. On the course, golf allowed him to forget about seizures and pills. He was just a normal kid.

“He fell in love,” George said. “Golf gave him the confidence in his life and the self-esteem to know he could do something well. He became addicted to it and I couldn’t get him off the course.”

The seizures stopped after Kohut turned 12, and he no longer takes medication. But the threat remains.

“I will always have it and it could come out of control whenever it wants to, but it seems dormant,” he said.

Dyslexia, a learning disability that affects about 10 million Americans, has been another obstacle for Kohut. He has worked diligently to achieve NCAA-qualifying academic standards despite his struggles with the reading disorder.

Each battle Kohut wages off the golf course helps explain his joy on the course. He plays golf every day, unless he’s on an airplane traveling to an event, the weather is bad or he’s ill.

“I never get bored on the golf course,” he said. “Never.”

He was the No. 2 player on Westlake’s state championship team as a freshman and finished second in the Southern Section individual championships as a sophomore. He shot a nine-under par 62 at Sunset Hills and holds the course record of 64 at Camarillo Springs.

“His skills are so good,” Costley said.

He lives with his father in Simi Valley and has a trainer and a private golf coach. He works with a sports psychologist. Kohut said his father, a roofing salesman, has gone beyond the call of duty in providing parental support.

“He took a risk and wanted to support his son as much as possible and let him follow his dream,” Kohut said. “He wanted to give me the best. He backed me and understood how much I loved the game. He tries with all his heart to support me.”

Last week, on the day of the Grammy Awards, Kohut was at North Ranch Country Club to play nine holes. Also teeing off was actor Will Smith. The joke going around was who’s the most famous person, Smith or Kohut?

Smith would probably trade a Grammy Award for a couple of Kohut’s holes in one.

Kohut hopes to make golf his life’s work.

“A lot of guys say they never want to have to work again,” Kohut said. “Work is when you don’t enjoy it. When you enjoy what you do, it’s never work. That’s what I want to do. I never want to work again.”

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.