Get to Know Women’s Golf’s Tee-rific Adie Maki

Second-year Adie Maki leads the Loyola women’s golf team with astounding and inspiring maturity on the course and her joyful personality off the course, having the fifth lowest average on the team last season. 

Maki started her golf career in an untraditional way. Competitive swimming took up the majority of her life until she was around 12 years old when two knee injuries permanently took her out of the pool. Wanting to continue playing a sport but not having the ability to move in the way she used to, Maki turned to golf — a sport familiar to her and her family. 

“I ended up picking up golf because you don’t have to run or jump,” Maki said. “My dad is super into golf and so is my brother, and I was always competitive, so I wanted to beat my brother in whatever he was doing.” 

Playing in high school, Maki said she knew she wanted to be the best she could be and continue playing golf at the collegiate level. She said there was no way she wanted to go to college without playing a sport since her competitive nature had already gotten her to where she was. 

Maki graduated from Ann Arbor Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan as a four-year varsity member, earning top-five finishes in both her junior (T-2nd) and senior (T-4th) years for the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s golf championship, according to Loyola Athletics. She also holds Skyline’s record for the lowest round score and average at 68 and 73.3, respectively. 

Ever since she was young, Maki said Loyola has been on the map for her. Her mother’s side of the family is located around the Chicago suburbs, making the Lake Shore Campus a prominent place in her life whenever she would visit from Canton, Michigan. 

When the time came to commit to a college, Maki was still drawn to Loyola because of its academics, campus beauty and the family atmosphere the team provided. 

“I liked the Jesuit environment,” Maki said. “More when it came closer to committing, I really liked the girls on the team. They were all really competitive and really nice, and it seemed like a family environment here, which it is. Just like, being in Chicago is really cool. I don’t think there is a school where you can get a good education in the city and be right on the lake like this.” 

In her first year as a Rambler, Maki immediately made an impression on the team. In her collegiate debut, she tied for 42nd place with a final score of 234 (75-80-79). 

Maki’s push didn’t stop there. She appeared in the Ramblers lineup consistently throughout her first year and continued to consistently work on her game.

Head coach Brandy Johnston said Maki was on the way to a breakout season in 2022-23, but it was ultimately cut short due to an injury. 

“She had an injury that slowed her down and she really was not able to practice as much,” Johnston said. “I think some of these scores we would have been able to see at the end of last season had that not happened.” 

Maki was still recovering over the summer, and she said it was challenging not to be able to get out and play, especially due to her drive to improve. Johnston said this injury didn’t stop her and improved her mental state instead. 

“That is just a testament to her and the kind of person she is being successful right now despite not having as much of an opportunity to prepare prior to this season,” Johnston said.

Maki has scored lower and lower scores at each tournament the Ramblers have played so far, including her most recent low and career-high placement at the Brittney Kelly Classic reaching a score of 219 (76-69-74). 

Back in Michigan, Maki has the support of her father and brother, who made her into the golfer she is today. She also credits her success to her swing coach and other members of her club, whose successes help push her to be a better player. 

With the remainder of the season and two more years left with the Ramblers, Maki said she still has goals she wants to achieve.

“My goal this season is to go into every tournament with the mindset of no fear and just playing to win over every shot,” Maki said. “I am not basing success on numbers anymore. I used to do that, and it makes it a more challenging game than it already is.” 

Featured image credit to Steve Woltmann | Loyola Athletics