Bailes' postcard from the NCAA National Championships

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May 27, 2008

Bailes' postcard from the NCAA National Championships

Blue Raiders adjusting to difficult course conditions

By Nick Bailes

Senior Nick Bailes tees off No. 15 during Tuesday's practice round. (Tony Stinnett)

Senior Nick Bailes is writing a daily postcard from the NCAA Division I Men's Golf National Championships at Purdue University's Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. Following is his first installment:

First off I'd like to say what a great feeling it is to be playing in the National Championship for my team, as well as myself. The last two days have been great as everyone is trying to learn about the (Kampen) golf course and prepare for the upcoming tournament rounds ... and there's a lot to learn. (Monday) we played our first practice round in the afternoon and luckily the rain missed us to the south so we stayed dry and so did the course.

The golf course is playing long, over 7,400 yards, the fairways aren't extremely wide, the rough is absolutely brutal, and it seems like there's plenty of bunkers and water hazards on every hole. The first cut of rough right off the fairway is a good three-to-four inches tall and makes it very tough to hit the green and in some cases advance it down the fairway. The second cut of rough is about six yards off the fairway and is some of the worst I've ever seen. If you hit into the deep rough from the tee you have to do your best just to get it back to the fairway.

Chipping around the greens is also something that is extremely challenging and will be a key to scoring this week. All things considered, this is probably one of the most difficult setups that any of us have played. Our second practice round (Tuesday) morning went a little more smoothly although it was pretty chilly. The wind has blown hard both days, but today it switched completely and blew the opposite direction. I think that will be very helpful to see a couple of different winds so we will know what to hit on certain holes to avoid the trouble off the tee and set up the shot into the green.

We all got a little more used to the golf course (Tuesday) and to the fact that this week will be a total grind trying to save par. There are a few birdie holes out there and we have to take advantage of them. We all have different game plans for the week and I think that as long as we stick to them then we should be fine. I feel like we are all ready and just excited to get the tournament started (Wednesday) morning.