Nathan Beitler/MDN Minot High senior Kasen Rostad lines up his putt on the green of the second hole at the Souris Valley Golf Course during the 2025 West Region Boys’ Golf Tournament Wednesday, May 28.

Minot North senior Kasen Rostad has been playing golf for almost as long as he could walk, but it wasn’t always a priority for him.

Before Kasen was even in kindergarten, his parents would always go out and play golf. When Kasen was just four or five years old, they started bringing him to the course with them, along with his two sisters.

He would start just 30 yards away from the green and lob a ball onto the fairway so that he could chip it up and putt.

In 2011, the City of Minot experienced historic flooding from the Souris River. The water came over the levees and over 11,000 North Dakotan residents were forced to flee.

The flood also destroyed the old Minot Country Club, which first opened in 1929.

After years of rebuilding, the course reopened as the Vardon Country Club, where Kasen says his love for the sport really blossomed.

“We would get two carts, two of us would ride with my mom and one of us would ride with my dad,” said Kasen. “[We] just kind of messed around and I really grew a love of the game.”

As Kasen grew, so did his competitive spirit. He would play multiple golf tournaments during the summer up until he was about eleven years old.

Though he loved to compete, he was never seriously engaged with the sport. Most of his concentration went to another one of his loves, hockey. Another sport he learned to love from his dad, hockey, took up the entirety of Kasen’s passion, leaving golf as just a fun hobby.

That is, until his sixth grade summer.

Kasen had decided that he didn’t want to play summer hockey that year, and instead spent a little bit more time at the golf course.

It was there he met now Minot North seniors Tyler Bast and Bennett Bartsch. After making new friends, the golf course is the only place he wanted to be.

“I wouldn’t have been out there as much if they weren’t out there with me,” Kasen said. “It was just really fun when you and your best friends go out there, having a good time. All three of us that summer, really grew a love for the game. We got a lot better just playing golf with each other.”

Kasen first joined the high school golf team in sixth grade after some encouragement from his parents, and over the two years going through eighth grade, he greatly improved.

Kasen played through a junior varsity tournament, and did well enough to get bumped up to varsity before the end of his eighth grade year. He hasn’t looked back.

When Kasen first played varsity golf, it was for Minot High. He played for Minot from his eighth grade year to the end of his sophomore year. While at Minot, Kasen and his team took home first place in the 2021 West Region Tournament,

During his junior year,, Kasen transferred to Minot North High School, and he says they have been two of the best years of his life with his team.

“You know, we’ve got a roster full of guys that I consider my best friends,” Kasen said. “On the course we’re always together, but I’m sure 50% of the time, whether its golf related or not, I’ll be hanging out with those same guys. We have a really good team bonding, team chemistry in that way.”

For Kasen, winning is always fun, but he says the hotel rooms and hanging out with the guys he night before a tournament is so much better.

Looking back, he says one of his favorite memories is playing at the state golf tournament during his freshman year.

“I think we got done at about two o’clock and went back to the hotel and got a bite,” Kasen said. “And from about four to seven, you know, we’re just in the pool, [messin’] around like a bunch of clowns. Those are just some of the most fun times.”

Kasen said he performed well during his sophomore year, but felt like he really struggled in his junior year. He said that he often felt like he was getting in his own way and feeling frustrated up until the end, where he was the West Region’s medalist for the 2024 West Region Tournament and took third in the state.

He was happy with where he ended last year, and feels that this year has been his dream season. Placing top five in nine out of the ten tournaments this season, with eight of those being top three finishes, Kasen feels good going into this week’s state tournament.

“It’s been a really consistent year for me, and one that I will always remember,” Kased said.

As much as he loves the game, Kasen makes sure to never let how he performs define himself as a person.

He says how well you swung the club is not near as important as who you are when you swing it, you’re a lot more free that way.

Kasen is set to compete in the 2025 NDHSAA Class A Boys State Golf Tournament starting this Tuesday, June 3. The tournament will take place at Vardon Golf Course, his home course. He will tee off for the first round at 7:40 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Round two of the tournament will be on Wednesday, June 4.