Nick fell in love with golf as a youngster, spending the long summer days of his youth playing and practicing, eventually becoming a scratch player. But despite the accomplishment, being the next Tiger Woods was not in the forefront of his mind.

Rather, he had a superseding drive, and that involved serving his country as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. 

Combat didn’t enter Nick’s picture until he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and again the following year, which coincided with a major escalation of the U.S. mission, the death of Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan, and the approach of the 10th anniversary of the Afghanistan war.

Tensions were high during Nick’s second tour of duty, and casualties and tragedies were common – and he was unfortunately on the receiving end of the escalating violence.

In December 2011, while building a patrol base for the Georgian army, to protect other soldiers Nick jumped on a 40-pound improvised explosive device (IED). The explosion ripped through his body. Miraculously, he survived, but lost both legs above the knee and his left arm above the elbow.