National tourney was ‘coolest thing I’ve ever done’ for Bailke

If this season was the end of Max Bailke’s collegiate golf career, “I ended on a high note,” he said.

Bailke finished his second year at Bryant and Stratton College by playing in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II golf championship.

“It was once-in-a-lifetime. I’ve never played in anything like it,” the 2023 Grafton High School grad said.

The tournament was at Swan Lake Golf Resort in Plymouth, Ind.

Players stayed at the resort and competed in four rounds of golf on a highly maintained course.

“It was awesome. It was in unreal shape,” Bailke said.

Perfect weather greeted players during practice rounds. Then the tourney started.

“It was pouring on us,” Bailke said.

The first three rounds had downpours. The last day the rain finally lifted and the skies cleared.

Bailke shot 80, 86, 79 and 83 and tallied seven birdies. He was 102nd out of 150 players. He and the rest of the Bobcats finished 21st of 22 teams.

After his bad second round, Bailke said he “I was just kind of soaking it all in.”

That was at least in part literal thanks to Mother Nature.

“It was pretty wild. You do anything you can to keep your grips somewhat dry and your bag somewhat dry. It got to a point all three days - there’s only so much you can do,” he said.

“We played right through it. They did a really good job. They had people squeegeeing the greens as we were about to hit.”

The temperature was at least 60 to 70 degrees.

“You weren’t freezing cold. You were just wet,” Bailke said.

The Bobcats barely qualified for the tournament, taking third at the regional in late April at PrairieView Golf Club in Byron, Ill.

Bailke shot 17-over-par 233, tying for eighth place with teammate Gabe Sendlak. Both would have qualified individually for the national tournament, and the Bobcats did just enough to punch their ticket, shooting 83 over par, beating Carl Sandburg College of Galesburg, Ill., by three strokes. The top three teams qualify.

“It was really tight. We finished before them. We were just sitting in the clubhouse waiting, sweating,” Bailke said.

“We were down 17 shots with nine holes to play. We played really well on the back to make it in.”

Bailke, who earned North Shore Conference first team honors as a senior and third team recognition as a junior, said the biggest transition to college golf was length.

“You’re hitting a lot of long irons into greens. Not just driver, wedge,” he said.

Bailke’s drives usually stop rolling at around 300 yards, sometimes longer or shorter, depending on how hard he swings.

Bailke earned his associate’s degree in business and plans to get his bachelor’s degree, but he’s not sure where his next college home is yet or if he’ll keep playing golf.

He stayed with the Black Hawks’ program, helping as an assistant coach and joining in the gratification of the program’s first conference title in 33 years.

“That was awesome,” he said. “I’m best friends with all those guys.”

Whether Bailke continues playing himself, that national tournament was “the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” he said.