In nearly every aspect of preparation for the Golfweek Red Sky Challenge, Lindsay Kuhle used the same tagline: High and soft.
“They laugh at me when I say, high and soft, high and soft,” Kuhle said of team preparations for Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colorado. “To carry it, know your distance and direction and be on the right side of the hole. That’s all we talked about this week – and we talked about putting, high and soft; wedges, high and soft; approach shots, high and soft. Because it is firm but you do have to carry it on the green.”
Clearly, it resonated, because Kansas left the scenic Tom Fazio layout, nestled into the mountains at more than 8,000 feet, with the team title. The Jayhawks were 15 under for 54 holes, which was seven shots ahead of two-time defending champion Pepperdine and Boise State.
Eastern Michigan’s Savannah De Bock won the individual title at 12 under.
Scores: Golfweek Red Sky Classic
The win is just another chapter in Kuhle’s long history at Red Sky, though she remains unsure whether her Kansas team knows the extent of that story. Kuhle, a Colorado native, spent 15 seasons at Denver University, including nine as the head coach. She has coached a team in this event nearly every year since it debuted at Red Sky, in 2010. In the early years, Denver was the event co-host.
“I think they know I know the course,” Kuhle said, “but I don’t think they know how well and how many times I’ve been here.”
Kuhle hadn’t brought a Kansas team to Red Sky, however, since 2021 – her first year as head coach. The Jayhawks finished 10th of 20 teams that year. This time, she started four seniors and a junior. It’s an old team with experience and for proof, check the individual honors.
Over the summer, her 10-tournament roster collected 13 individual titles – everything from the Austrian Women’s Open to the English Women’s Open to the Florida State Women’s Open to the Kansas Women’s Amateur.
“I do think it says a lot about the growth of our program in three short years if you look at where we were at this tournament three years ago to today, we’ve just got players that want to turn pro and players that love the game of golf and compete hard for KU,” Kuhle said.
Last spring, Kuhle coached Kansas to its first team title at the Westbrook Invitational. The Golfweek Red Sky Invitational is now Kuhle’s second.
“Wins are hard to come by and it’s getting more competitive in women’s college golf and with the .500 rule, it’s hard to win,” Kuhle said. “Just to be under pressure – I will say about my team, we’re an old team. … They’re experienced.”
Kuhle sees the program evolving most notably in the kind of players coming to campus. Her 10-woman roster has ties to six different countries. They’re coming for golf, and to prepare themselves for a professional golf career.
Reaching the national championship figures prominently into the team’s vision boards – no surprise there – and there are many numbers surrounding Kuhle’s impact at KU that show how she’s pulling the program toward that goal, such as year-end national ranking. The highest the program has been ranked in its 50-year history is No. 38.
“Last year we were 48 and the year before we were 51 so we keep getting closer,” Kuhle said. “So those two things are on our mind.”
At Red Sky, Kansas was a favored program in the 16-team field. Kuhle took that position and she created a mantra for her players: CPA.
“I asked the girls, do you know what a CPA is? They said yeah, certified [public] accountant,” Kuhle said. “I said no, it means we’re going to play with courage, be patient and be aggressive. And if we do those three things, we’re going to be in a good position come the final round.”
When Denver won the team title in 2017 (while Kuhle was the head coach but out on maternity leave), it was with a nail-biting comeback in the final round. Needless to say, after Kansas went 11 under in the second round of the event this year and built a five-shot lead, Kuhle was not naïve enough to think it was over. She encouraged her players to keep approaching the course confidently, but in the right way.
“Really tried to say that you have to play aggressive and you’ve got to go for these pins even though they look tucked,” she said, “but if you have, again, high and soft and good distance and direction, you’ll get the ball to stop where you want it to.”
Johanna Ebner felt right at home in Vail Village during the Golfweek Red Sky Classic. (Photo submitted)
One memorable thing about the week at Red Sky – for any team – is the scenery. Kuhle noted that in the five days they were in the mountains, the leaves began to change to a beautiful yellow. Her team’s favorite off-course memory was of nearby Vail Village, where they grabbed dinner and ice cream and took a relaxing stroll. Austrian Johanna Ebner, especially, was struck by the similarity to the Austrian and Bavarian ski towns she grew up around. That familiarity helped Ebner to a top-10 finish individually.
“She kept saying that this reminds me of back home,” Kuhle said.
And that gave her something in common with the coach.