Clovis' Fontanilla signs with Southwest golf

CLOVIS — Calm and under control, former Clovis standout Christian Fontanilla doesn’t let any miscues get him down on the golf course. The 2018 Wildcat graduate on Friday signed his National Letter of Intent to resume his golf career at The University of the Southwest in Hobbs.

The Fontanilla family is no stranger to golf. Christian’s grandfather, Chris, was a golf pro, while his father, Jeff, played professionally for many years. Christian’s decision to head to Hobbs, instead of playing further away was a no-brainer — much like taking up the sport of golf.

“I wanted to do something that was close to home, and the coach there, Carl Miller, really liked me,” Fontanilla explained. “I really liked him and he has a lot of golf experience, which can really help further my golf career beyond college.”

Before Fontanilla can think about going pro, however, he’ll need to continue to brush up on his game. Luckily for the third-generation golfer, there aren’t too many holes in his game, and nothing that can’t be fixed. Fontanilla spent the last four years at Clovis being coached by a Fullerton, as Cal got him through his freshman and sophomore years, while Dale got him through these past two seasons.

“Christian was a great kid and one of the most skilled kids, even as an eighth-grader,” said Cal Fullerton, who served as golf coach before taking over the Wildcat football program in 2017. “You could tell early on that he had the skill set for it. He really swung the golf club so hard and when he would connect, it was just amazing how far he could hit it. He would swing so fast that it made him great off the tee.”

As a sophomore in 2016, Fontanilla tied for 16th at the 6A state tournament (162) while helping the Wildcats to a fifth-place finish. As a junior under Dale Fullerton, Fontanilla improved that ranking to a tie for 14th in the state (155), with the ‘Cats once again placing in fifth.

This past spring, Fontanilla shot a round of 87 on Day1 of the tourney, while bouncing back for a 76 on Day 2, good enough for a tie for 11th overall, as his Clovis team finished second in the state. According to Dale Fullerton, his state tournament performance was indicative of his senior season.

“His junior year was a lot better; his average was a lot better and he had some really good rounds,” Dale explained. “This year, he struggled getting it up and down, but he got better as the year went on, and he caught some bad breaks this year. He’s a great kid with a great work ethic, and the thing that’s gonna make Christian a good golfer is if he gets good control of his swing.”

One of the other things that plagued Fontanilla last year was a growth spurt. According to Fontanilla, he grew two more inches this past year, as his now-6-foot-3 frame made it a tough adjustment to find the right driver and iron to fit him. But no worries, as both Fullerton’s agree that his green game I.E. putting and chipping, along with his long game are rock solid.

For Christian, his hopes for the next level are to improve his intermediate game and managing the game, in general. Nonetheless, there’s a lot of talent there, and with those bloodlines, it should come as no surprise. The younger Fontanilla, who started swinging at age 2 and playing competitively at age 7, estimates that he’s won at least 50 or 60 tournaments over the years, but at any rate, he tries to approach the game with a level head.

“(When my dad played professionally on the Pepsi Tour) he didn’t care what everyone else was gonna shoot. He’d go up to them and say, ‘I’m gonna beat you today,’” Christian said, laughing. “But my mindset is to keep everything in play and not getting overconfident, even though I still do in my mind at times. Confidence is key, and even when you’re swinging bad, you have to have the mindset that, ‘I didn’t birdie or bogey that last hole (even if I did).’ You just have to reset on every hole.”

Fontanilla is the second Wildcat to sign with Southwest this spring. Sydni Hill signed with the Mustangs.