For freshman Baylee Steele, golf is a lifestyle. “I plan on playing throughout my whole high school career and playing in college. It’s something that I’m very serious about,” said Baylee Steele. She is one of two freshmen on varsity girl’s golf, alongside Maya Lashley. “I think it’s a pretty big accomplishment. I haven’t quite lived up to the expectations that I need to yet, but hopefully in the upcoming tournaments, I can prove myself,” Baylee Steele said. She admitted that she doesn’t handle playing poorly well but thinks “it’s an amazing feeling when you go out there and shoot your [personal record] round.”

It was her older brother, NPHS alumnus Kort Steele (2017), who introduced her to the sport. “No one in my family golfs except my brother and I. He’s the one who taught me how to play,” she said. When the family moved across the street from Lake Maloney Golf Course, Baylee Steele said her brother would just walk over to the golf course and start playing. Eventually, she joined him.

One of the reasons Baylee Steele began to take the sport so seriously is because she loves that her results depend on her own hard work. “It’s not like basketball, where if I put in 10 hours and none of my other teammates do that, we’re not going to be successful. It’s dependent on myself, and that’s why I like it,” Baylee Steele said. At the end of a tournament, Baylee Steele said it’s nice to see the overall team score, but she likes that she’s still able to place on her own.

Although Kort Steele graduated last year, Baylee Steele said that it is frustrating that she is still compared to him. “That’s been one of the things that has really stressed me out,” Baylee Steele said. She appreciates the comparisons, but she is willing and ready to come into her own as a golfer.

Baylee Steele’s goal is to make a name for herself. “I want be able to go out there and show what I can do, not what Kort can do, but what I can do. I’m glad I get compared to him, but I want to be seen as Baylee Steele, not Kort’s little sister.”