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Bronczyk had knack for making aces: Basketball coach was also a legendary golfer

Gazette File Photo Jim Bronczyk is pictured at the Portage Lake Golf Course in 2008. He recorded eight hole-in-ones in his career.

DOLLAR BAY — He made a name for himself coaching basketball, but the late Jim Bronczyk is still known for his ability to register hole-in-ones on the golf course.

Bronczyk recorded no less than eight aces in his golfing career — a fact he played down whenever he was asked about the subject.

“I really can’t explain it,” he said in 2008 interview. “Hitting irons is probably the weakest part of my game. I’m not a great golfer by any means.”

The former Norway native is, or course, noted for his coaching accomplishments in basketball.

During his more than 30 years of coaching — all at Dollar Bay High School — Bronczyk recorded 394 victories.

His teams won 12 Copper Country Conference titles and 10 Class D district crowns. And his squads recorded a 57-game win streak in conference play in between 1979-81.

He was twice named Class D Coach of the Year in Michigan and gained that honor several times in the Upper Peninsula.

Late Dollar Bay coach and administrator Harvey Filppula said that Bronczyk had a knack for knowing how to handle the talent he had.

“Jim was very good with the kids …. he knew when and how …. to push the buttons,” Filppula said. “There’s a lot more to coaching the game than X’s and O’s. And he really learned quickly.”

Bronczyk said he did not even take up golf until receiving a set of clubs from his sister after graduating from Northern Michigan University.

“I didn’t know a great deal about the game, and was not really all that interested in it, up until then,” he said. “But I learned to really appreciate it after I left college.”

Golfing in the Thursday night league at the Portage Lake Golf Course, he picked up the game while golfing with sometime partners Tom Colombe Sr. and Rick Yeo, two very good golfers.

“Those two guys taught me a lot about the game. They’re both very good players,” he said.

Yeo, who played and coached hockey at Michigan Tech, said the hole-in-one heroics by his partner became rather routine.

“We got used to it after awhile,” Yeo said. “He (Bronczy) always seemed to get the ball on the green, but to make that many (aces) is really something.”

It is difficult to gauge who holds the record for aces locally. Colombe is known to have recorded five in his long career.

But the eight by Bronczyk is believed to be the mark for local courses.

While the PLGC was his main course for aces (five in all), the Calumet Golf Course was the site of his first in 1986. He had three there altogether.

Incidentally, Bronczyk also recorded a hole-in-one while golfing alone at the CGC.

Tragically, Jim died after suffering a heart attack a few years ago. He was 68 years old at the time.

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