Talking a Good Game

Ryan Cole’s eyes gleam as he strolls through the plush facilities at Coyote Hills Golf Course in Fullerton, soaking in all the people.

They greet him by name everywhere he goes, from people walking off the course after a round to those hitting balls at the driving range. From the marshal driving through the parking lot to the waitress in the clubhouse, they all know Ryan Cole.

It’s hard not to. The 15-year-old Servite sophomore has probably talked all of their ears off at some point.

Cole, the No. 2 golfer for the Friars, is not shy about chatting with people. Complete stranger or best friend, nobody who encounters Cole can escape his inclination for conversation.

“I love to talk to people,” Cole said. “I love to talk about anything--golf, sports business, anything. I’ll talk about anything.”

Lately, Cole has been speaking volumes on the course. He shot par 72 in regional qualifying Monday at Desert Willow in Palm Springs and is one of 21 Orange County players who advanced to the Southern Section Individual championships today at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs.

For those who take the time to listen, Cole has a mature grasp of many subjects. His gift of gab tends to endear him to the majority of golf course patrons, despite the fact that most of them are at least a generation older than Cole.

“He’s 15 going on 30,” said 39-year-old Jamie McCance, a teaching pro at Coyote Hills who has taken Cole under his wing. “You can be exposed to a whole lot at a golf course and he takes it all in. People just seem to love him.”

Cole fits in well with an older crowd because he had to grow up relatively quick.

Only 9 when his parents divorced, Cole struggled with the split. He coped by taking refuge in golf, a sport one of his neighbors introduced to him.

“I was hooked right away,” Cole said. “I just loved it. If I was mad about something, I could just go up there and hit balls, do some putting, hang around the clubhouse and watch TV, play once in a while or whatever. If I had problems with school or whatever, I could just come up here and worry about them tomorrow.”

Cole, who lives with his mother and brother in Fullerton, rarely speaks with his father these days, though his father lives nearby in Anaheim. The relationship strained after the divorce.

“I just kind of strayed away,” Cole said. “I’d just come up to the golf course and be with my friends.”

Golf therapy worked. It gave Cole direction at a time when his life could have gone any number of ways.

“He didn’t have a whole lot,” said McCance, whose parents also divorced when he was 9. “His family was struggling and you see a lot of kids in that situation get sidetracked. Ryan stuck with golf.”

McCance remembers when he was working at Fullerton Golf Course he would have to open the shop at 5 a.m. Many times he would get there to find Cole, in the dark, eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Cole latched on to McCance. He would follow the golf pro around and help out with the daily duties. He also took part in the junior clinics McCance directed and eventually began to develop talent.

Still developing at the beginning of this season, Cole’s spot on the Servite team fluctuated between Nos. 4 and 6. But a consistent season in which he shot over 40 for nine holes only once and did not have an 18-hole round over 80 vaulted him to the No. 2 spot on the only county team to qualify for the CIF-SCGA team finals.

“I’m real surprised at the way he played this year,” said teammate Justin Ragognetti, who began the year as the Friars’ No. 2 player. “He really clutched up. I didn’t have the year I expected to, but he really clutched up and played great throughout the season.”

Of course, Cole’s sophomore class standing, his height (5 feet 4) and his jabber jaw earned him the position as official butt of many team jokes.

“We love to give him a bad time,” Ragognetti said. “He’s easy to pick on because he takes it so well. He’s a real funny guy.”

Teammates have dubbed Cole “Woozie,” a moniker that stems from his resemblance to European PGA Tour professional Ian Woosnam of Wales. Cole is part Welsh. But those close to Cole say the teasing is a sign of respect.

“We wouldn’t make fun of him if we didn’t like him,” Servite Coach Tim Meagher said. “You have a hard time being around him and not laughing. He’s that kind of guy. Servite golf without Ryan Cole would be boring.”

Despite his good season, Cole remains a relative unknown on the junior golf scene. His qualification for the Southern Section finals comes as a surprise to many who have not followed Servite.

“I don’t think I get much respect before I play,” Cole said. “I don’t have the opportunities to play the big tournaments that these guys play in, so nobody knows who I am. You look at the field for this tournament and everybody that’s anybody is going to be there. . . . and then me.”

But if Cole has anything to say about it, and it’s a guarantee he will, at least the three players in his foursome will know a whole lot about who he is come this afternoon.