At the time, the summer before his freshman year at Bedford, Nutter played a round with Manchester Country Club pro Joel St. Laurent, who was preparing to coach the golf team at the new Bedford High School.

“You could just see that he had the creativity and imagination to be a good player. He works hard at it,” said St. Laurent. “It isn’t like it comes easy with him. Here it is the beginning of November, and he’ll probably play until the snow flies.”

One shot in particular from that round stands out to St. Laurent: Nutter found himself with an awkward approach. He paused to consider the in-between distance, then took out a 5-wood, choking all the way down to the club’s steel shaft.

“He hit it past the green, but that wasn’t the point,” said St. Laurent. “He hit a heck of a good shot. Most kids would have taken an iron and swung as hard as they could, but not him.”

This season Nutter, Bedford High’s No. 1 golfer, consistently shot par or below it.

In the final regular season match near September’s end, he broke his own school record when he carded a five-under-par 31 at Amherst Country Club.

When the state tournament began Oct. 1, he was ready. The junior shot a two-day, 36-hole total of 147, just one stroke off the pace of the individual state champ. More importantly, he led the Bulldogs to the school’s firstever boys varsity state championship, an eight-shot team victory, earning him the Indian Head Athletics Athlete of the Month for October.

St. Laurent witnessed another moment that signifies Nutter’s composure on the course. On the second day of the state tourney, his top golfer hit a drive out of bounds. He calmly re-teed following the one-stroke penalty and managed a bogey to keep himself within striking distance of the title.

“You can’t let things like that bother you. Half of the game is skill and half is mental,” said Nutter. “I knew I was still in it. I could have given up and said it wasn’t worth fighting for, but you have to keep playing. That’s what’s been my strength. By letting one bad shot hurt you, you’re hurting yourself and your teammates.”

The junior credits his head coach with much of his success and said St. Laurent has served as a mentor off the links as well.

Nutter said he wants to continue building his college resume, and he has yet another goal in mind.

“I just want to bounce back and win both of those titles,” said Nutter. “I know we have the players to win the team tournament again, so I want to win the individual as well.”

(Editor’s note: The Athlete of the Month receives a $50 gift certificate courtesy of Indian Head Athletics.)