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Logan Keeps Balance, Focus

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By MATTHEW PARKE, Tribune correspondent

Published: September 5, 2007

The third year of high school can demand the most focus and determination of its college bound students. And in the case of two-time all-Sunshine Athletic Conference golfer Bailey Logan, it means keeping up with intensive academics, scouting colleges and serving as captain of Gulf's girls team.

When asked about how she manages to juggle her athletic demands with her academic ones, Logan responded with surprise, 'I sometimes wonder about that myself.'

Logan is at a crucial point in her athletic eligibility: the time where she can grow her game enough that an athletic scholarship could decide where she will go. If not, her stellar work in Gulf's International Baccalaureate program will have to stand out. Maybe a combined success in both will land her in her dream school.

The trick is to keep her plates spinning, athletically and academically, so wherever she will land is representative of the amount of concentration and dedication she has put into both.

'She can focus intensely on something then be able to walk away and concentrate on something else. She has the ability do quite a few things and do them well,' her father Bill Logan said.

According to Bailey, there are a few things that keep her ahead of herself: strict time management, discipline, a dose of sacrifice and the inspiration of her longtime friend and fellow golfer, Ridgewood's Amber Page.

'If you have time you have to take advantage of it. It takes about 45 minutes to get from Fox Hollow Gulf's home course back home after golf. That's 45 minutes that you can use to study for your next chemistry test on Tuesday or history test on Wednesday or both,' Logan said.

This self-discipline has been cultivated in the local dojos, where Bailey has been working 10 years to achieve a second-degree black belt in the Korean martial art of Tae-Kwon-Do. She has advanced far enough to instruct children and adults. The skills she has learned with karate she has applied to her game, specifically the focus necessary on tough recovery shots.

For Bailey, it was inevitable that karate's lessons would lend themselves to golf.

'You can't help it. Even if it's on a subconscious level. One of the things I've been complimented on in my game is that if I make a bad swing or my ball goes into the woods, my game isn't over. I don't give up that easy,' she said.

Bailey's coach, Bret Wiest, said that her mental toughness is the cornerstone of her game.

'Bailey is the kind of girl that every coach would want on her team. She has the perfect mentality to be a great golfer. She doesn't lets a bad shot or bad hole get her off track. She's very even flow,' Wiest said.

Even with the mental benefits and the promise of further advancement, it is karate that is being pushed to the back burner. With so much of her time going to school and golf practice, Bailey decided that she was better served concentrating on them.

'For me it's the scholarship route. Golf is something that I've been doing long enough and have gotten good enough at it, why not? Why not use it? Golf is that extra little bit that can help me get in,' she said.

The University of Miami is an early favorite, along with the University of Georgia. Tuition rates vary between the schools, but getting a scholarship of any type will help defray those costs. Playing golf for their teams, however, will depend on how much her skill improves.

A smaller school or golf program might be more inclined to reach out, but Wiest is intent on getting her play up to draw some notice from the bigger schools.

'This is the year we really need to get her to the next level,' Wiest said.

Getting to the next level involves bettering her fifth place conference finish. This off season, Bailey has worked on her ball striking.

'My big problem was that I was coming over the top of the ball on my forward swing... ...This year I've had a little trouble with my woods, I have a bit of a slice on them. Vie been making up for it. I just aim a little left and I'm fine.' Bailey said.

Ultimately, what Bailey says keeps her in the game most is the inspiration and motivation she draws from her practice partner, Page. The two have known each other since the fifth grade at Deerwood Academy where they bonded over card games. Even though they chose to go to different high schools, golf would keep them together. They have had the same private coach for years.

'Without her I don't think I would have kept my sanity to keep my game going' Bailey said.

Page said that Bailey is the one who always brings her back from the brink of ending her golf career.

'That's kind of a big joke between us. When I'm put down about my game I'll say that I quit and she'll be like, 'How many times have you said that before?' Then the good memories come back,' Page said.

As competitors, they still play cards about once a month and have played each other on the course the past two years. They will meet again on Sept. 11, when Gulf and Ridgewood tee off.

Overall, it's her skill and friends that Bailey must continue to count on to stay above the chaos that can surround this important developmental season.

'This year my goal as a junior is to maintain,' Bailey said. 'That's all I can hope I do.

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