[PHOTO: Michael Reaves]
Ashleigh Buhai, the 2022 and 2023 Australian Open winner and 2022 AIG Women’s Open champion, was playing golf with a friend during an off-week from the LPGA Tour. They were on a lengthy par 4, one that was too long for Buhai’s friend to reach in two shots. Yet despite the fact that there was no way she was going to hit the green in regulation, the friend was still pulling out a fairway wood, ready to advance the ball as far as she could. Buhai knew that even if her friend hit that club perfectly (a big if), the ball would still come to rest about 20 paces short of the green. She would then be facing a tricky shot that, like many high-handicappers, Buhai’s friend hadn’t mastered.
In that moment, the Australian Open champion saw an opportunity to teach a course-management skill. Buhai asked her friend what distance near the green she was comfortable with. The friend liked 55 metres, a full-swing shot that she could confidently loft onto the green.
Buhai’s message was simple:
“Hit it on, take your bogey and get out of there,” Buhai said. “Otherwise you’re bringing in double or worse.” Plus, if the friend managed to hole the first putt, she would be walking off with an impressive par.
This was just one example, but Buhai said high-handicappers run into situations like this multiple times during the round. In each case, instead of just trying to advance the ball as far as you can every time, it’s smart to consider all your options, Buhai says. Set yourself up for success by leaving yourself a shot that you know how to hit.
Every time you do that, you’re potentially saving one, maybe two shots. And if it’s three or four times a round, you could suddenly see the difference between shooting in the 90s and shooting in the 80s.
