Senior golfer Dan Woltman left the University of Wisconsin to attend the University of Kentucky to play golf for their championship-contending team, but his heart didn’t fully oblige. After one season of playing for the Wildcats, he decided to return to the school he had always loved and always looked up to.

After his freshman year at Kentucky, he transferred to UW where he has excelled, qualifying for two NCAA championships, placing first at one NCAA Regional and leading the squad as the captain the last two years. Woltman is looking to take the experience he gained as a student-athlete to finish the year in strong form at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships and hopefully into a professional career down the line.

Originally from Beaver Dam, Wis., Woltman thrived in the Junior PGA, winning the Westfield Junior PGA Championship, one of the major championships in junior golf, among other prestigious tournaments. He chose to play for a premier golf team at Kentucky but wasn’t quite satisfied there, despite his team placing fourth in the NCAA Championship that year. After talking with the UW program and his future teammates, he decided to transfer to Madison.

“I always knew the guys on the team here, and we’ve grown up playing junior golf together, and they wanted me to come back, and for me it was a great transition coming home,” Woltman said. “I grew up a Badger fan, and it was very hard to play against the school that you love.”

Head Coach, Jim Schuman, was happy to see Woltman join the team but wasn’t too surprised by the decision.

“It happens to a lot of players in the north,” Schuman said. “They have an opportunity to go down south and play, and play year-round, and sometimes it doesn’t turn out as you expected. We were more than happy to see him come back, and I’m glad things have worked out for him.

“He loves Wisconsin, there’s no question of that,” Schuman continued. “It was a chance for him to get back closer to his family, and a lot of the guys that we have on the team were friends with Dan… . So I think the environment here he felt very, very comfortable in.”

Woltman has used his new environment to grow as a golfer not only with his technique but also with the mental aspect of the game. Schuman says the best part of Woltman’s game is his management of the course.

“He has obviously great skills, but he’s got a great mind for the way the game should be played from a tactical standpoint,” Schuman said. “He just sees where the golf ball needs to be and how to move it around the golf course based on what he can do. His ability to manage his way around the golf course is probably one of his strongest assets.”

Woltman agreed with his coach’s assessment.

“It’s just picking my spots around the golf course where some holes I really attack and some holes I try to make par and avoid the big numbers,” Woltman said. “I’m a very conservative player, but I’m aggressive at times, but it’s more swinging aggressively at a conservative target.”

Aside from being a physically adept player, Woltman has had to conquer the mental aspects of his game. That, he claims, is what helped him improve from last fall.

“I did not play well this last fall, and I think it was really just the mental approach,” he said. “I’ve been really getting into studying golf psychology and I think that’s really improved my golf game. Golf is a game of mistakes, and if you can manage your mistakes well, you’ll score well.”

Woltman has scored no higher than a bogey this spring season, and he credits his new approach for that. The other side to his game, which might seem more apparent, is his technique he uses to execute the shots. Schuman sees Woltman as an all-around great player who knows his strengths and is working on his weaknesses.

“He’s been one of the better players in the country for the last couple years,” Schuman said. “He plays golf at a very high level. I think he understands very, very well how to score in the game. He already has a wonderful short game. He’s a good iron player; he drives the ball very straight. He has definitely worked very hard on his putting. I think he realized that the putting aspect is going to be important to his success.”

While Woltman is not looking past his last few competitions as a senior at UW, he is definitely looking forward to making his way into the pro circuit.

“I am going to play [amateur] this summer,” he said. “Right now I’m trying to make the Walker Cup Team, which is a very prestigious amateur event. I’m playing a full summer schedule of events to work at that. I plan on turning pro this next fall and starting the grind to make it to the PGA Tour.”

So once again, the favorite son will leave home in search of new pastures, but he will always look back on his time in Madison fondly.

“I’ve had a solid career here,” Woltman said. “We’ve had a blast the last couple of years, and we’re looking to finish strong this spring.”