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The Nicholls men’s golf team is arguably the most diverse club on campus, utilizing players from Spain, Italy, France, Iceland, Canada, Michigan and Texas.
But for all of the international flare that the Colonels have on the course, it’s a veteran player from Larose, Louisiana that’s helping to unify them all – both on and off the golf course.
South Lafourche graduate Josh Fullilove is one of the elder statesmen on a Colonels golf squad that’s young, but up and coming in the Southland Conference.
A redshirt junior at Nicholls, Fullilove said he’s embracing his position with the team, touting that he’s happy and grateful for every day he gets to spend as a collegiate golfer.
“My golfing career at Nicholls has been a good one,” Fullilove said. “I’ve made many lifetime friends from across the world through Nicholls State golf. It’s been a great ride.”
On the course, Fullilove has worked hard to be a contributing member of the team.
And he’s still working hard to try and achieve more.
As a Tarpon, Fullilove was a standout, earning All-Region honors from 2009-12 for a South Lafourche golf team that is a local power. Fullilove was also a First-Team All-State performer in 2012, and the District MVP in both 2011 and 2012.
“He’s a very consistent, steady player,” former Tarpons golf coach Jason LeBoeuf said of Fullilove during his senior season – a year he won the district title with an even-par 72. “He’s a good leader for the younger players and sets a great example by actions.”
Fullilove signed with Nicholls in 2012, but didn’t compete for the team until 2013 after redshirting during his true freshman season.
He played two events in 2013-14, netting four rounds.
In 2014-15, Fullilove’s role grew, and he played 23 total rounds, netting the fourth-best scoring average on the team (78.04). That season included a 15th-place showing at the Atchafalaya Intercollegiate and
also a 28th-place mark at the Southland Conference Championships.
Fullilove said the jump he made from his redshirt freshman season to his sophomore season was big, which allowed him to become a more well-rounded player.
The Colonel said he owes a lot of the credit for that jump to Nicholls golf coach James Schilling, who Fullilove said helped him to become a longer, more efficient player.
“My game has really come a long way since graduating high school,” Fullilove said. “I owe so much credit to Coach Schilling and our strengthening coaches. Out of high school, I hit my driver below average. But since I have been here, it’s steadily progressing, which has allowed me to hit further drives. That’s key at the college level, because we play from 7,000-plus yards every tournament.”
With that heavy-duty new driver in tow, Fullilove is eager to try and put together some low numbers this spring. At the Colin Montgomery Invitational last week, Fullilove fired a 2-over par final-round 74 to help Nicholls finish fifth out of 15 teams.
He said those numbers would be even lower if he’s able to putt more consistently in the coming weeks. That’s the one facet of his game that needs the most work, according to Fullilove.
“I’ve struggled with putting my whole life,” he said. “I’ve been working hard to try and improve that because it’s really the part of your game that improves your scores day-in and day-out.”
But even for all of the strides that Fullilove makes on the course, there’s no way to measure the leadership values that he gives to the team off of it.
As one of just three Louisiana natives on the 10-man Nicholls roster, Fullilove said he works hard to try and unify everyone into one, big family.
He said that during the holidays, he and the other Louisiana natives make every effort to make the international players feel loved and at home.
“We do bring some of those guys in for, like, Thanksgiving or other special occasions,” Fullilove said. “We want to make them feel at home. They all say the food is really different, but that it’s way better than what they’re used to.”
The home cookin’ has helped to make the Colonels a threat.
The youthful Colonels have finished in the Top 5 in each of their past two events – a result that Fullilove said is, in part, because of that enhanced chemistry the Colonels now possess.
Considering that Nicholls doesn’t have a single senior and that Fullilove is the most experienced player on the team, it’s not difficult to envision how it might get better in the future.
Fullilove said he and the Colonels have aspirations to win the Southland.
“Our team is starting to look great overall,” Fullilove said. “We have really started to come together and it really shows in practice. From helpful hints and drills to playing competitions against each other, it’s been a lot of unity.
“We may all come from different walks of life, but it’s become a big family.”
South Lafourche graduate Josh Fullilove studies a drive during a tournament this season. A redshirt junior, Fullilove is one of only a handful of locals on the Colonels golf team.
