DECORAH - Andrew Peter was introduced to golf on the couch at his grandmother's house in the Twin Cities.

As a kid, Peter and his grandmother would spend weekends watching PGA greats Fred Couples and Davis Love III on television.

"I always had an appreciation for the game," Peter said. "It was fun watching those guys."

Still, it wasn't until five years ago that Peter started swinging a club. After receiving a set of his uncle's old clubs as a Christmas gift, the Decorah senior-to-be "fell in love" with the sport.

Each week that following summer, he saw his game gradually improve.

"I got so much out of trying to get better," Peter said.

Now, in a short span, the 17-year-old has become one of the state's top junior golfers.

Last month, Peter rallied from an eight-stroke deficit at the Class 3A state tournament to clip Independence's Jake Thomas by a shot for medalist honors.

After posting a first-round 81, Peter rebounded with a final-round 71 in blustery conditions at The Harvester.

"I didn't feel like I had any chance of winning," Peter said. "Jake is such a great player, and there were some other great players five or six shots ahead of me. I felt like I was totally out of it."

Instead, Peter fired the best round of the day by five shots to walk away with the title. The long-hitting Peter used his driver only five times in the 36 holes. Instead, he relied on a steady diet of 3-woods to position himself in the fairway.

"My length helped me," said Peter, who blasts his 3-wood anywhere from 250 to 280 yards.

A day after celebrating his birthday, Peter - who was medalist 11 times during the season and had a stroke average of 38 for nine holes - had done something even he didn't anticipate.

"In any sport, it's uncommon for somebody to win a state championship in a sport they've only been playing five years," he said. "Most of your point guards on state championship teams start playing before the sixth or seventh grade.

"I've just put a lot of work into my game, and my confidence has grown. When that happens, you can achieve a lot more things than maybe you think."

Peter carried the momentum into the Iowa Junior Amateur two weeks ago, capturing the 16-18 age division by nine strokes after rounds of 71 and 69 at Waveland Park in Des Moines.

"(The Iowa Amateur) was really huge for me," he said. "It was almost as big as winning the state meet. There may have been some people that questioned my win at state, thinking I shot a career round one day and other guys had a bad day.

"The Junior Amateur helped validate what I did the previous weekend, if anybody had any doubts or thought that was a fluke. It helped convince myself that I was capable of playing that way."

Peter attributed his runaway victory to great driving and putting. He sank three putts each round from 15 feet or more.

"When he plays like that, you just leave him alone," Decorah boys' golf coach Rich Gaard said. "You don't screw him up.

"He's just been a great mentor and leader for the younger guys on our team."

Peter, also involved in football and choir at Decorah, is now gearing up for a stretch of tournament golf. He'll play in the upcoming Fort Dodge Amateur, Iowa Masters (July 10-12 in Ames), Waterloo Open (July 17-19) and Iowa Amateur Championship (July 27-29 at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo).

It'll be his first appearance in the Waterloo Open.

"This will be a new arena for me," Peter said. "These four tournaments are men's amateur events, not competing just against other juniors. All the best amateurs and college players will be there. It will be exciting and a fun opportunity to test my game against the best players in the state.

"I'll definitely see where I stack up."