The drive to succeed
Basco trades baseballs forgolf clubs
by Jason Stone

NORTH SCOTTSDALE – Mike Basco used to dream of becoming a professional athlete when he was a young kid. The only problem was he was fantasizing about the wrong sport.

“What I always dreamt of was playing in the Major Leagues and playing in the World Series,” the 16‑year‑old junior at Cactus Shadows High School said. “I never even thought about golf.”

That all changed last month when Basco basically came out of nowhere to win the Arizona Junior Golf state championship in Flagstaff. After barely squeaking into the tournament in qualifying, Basco shocked the entire field with a 1‑stroke victory.

Making the feat even more amazing, Basco didn’t even start playing the sport until right before his freshman year of high school. That quick success has made a once‑promising baseball pitching prospect give up that sport to fully concentrate on his game on the golf course.

That career switch seemed a long shot after Basco was on the mound for the final out of Cactus Shadows’ 2006 4A‑Division II state championship team. As Basco was mobbed by happy teammates, it seemed like the beginning of a long, successful baseball career.

But as his golf game improved his sophomore year–he finished third in the state during the 2006 high school season–he began to lose his love of baseball.

“I just got burned out with baseball,” Basco said. “I just lost my passion for the game. And I was pretty upset that I didn’t get as much playing time as I had been after how many years I put into it.”

Basco says his passion for golf now exceeds his previous love of baseball since winning the Arizona junior tournament.

“Playing golf is my favorite thing to do,” said Basco, who won’t be 17 until January. “I’ll play 72 holes in a day. I never get tired of it. I’m a little bit worried I might burn out (like baseball), but I have the drive to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

In golf, a good “drive” is doubly important. Just don’t expect the word “drive” to be associated with cars and Basco for a while.

Basco was in a two‑car crash in Cave Creek last week and suffered minor cuts and bruises. It forced him to miss a day of practice, but he doesn’t think it will affect his golf game. Driving might be another story, however.

“I just really don’t want to be in a car right now,” Basco said.

That’s quite OK. He seems quite comfortable on a golf course these days.