MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP - It’s tough to get a read on Reeths-Puffer senior Paige Anderson, at least when it comes to her competitive nature.
We know she’s a great high school golfer. She’s already won conference, city and regional championships this season, and has a real chance to become a state champion on Saturday.
So she obviously takes the sport, and winning, very seriously.
But then you talk to Anderson, and she seems pretty laid back about it all.
When you ask her about this weekend’s Division 2 state finals, for instance, she’ll say something like, “Whatever happens happens. I will just go out and do my best.”
That’s not what you would expect to hear from an elite athlete who dominates in a difficult sport like golf.
R-P's Paige Anderson
Anderson said she is indeed super competitive, but in a different sort of way. It’s not aimed at any of the golfers she’s competing against, regardless of how good they might be.
It’s Paige vs. Paige, very much an internal thing. Her constant goal is to constantly improve, and she works hard to do that.
When she accomplishes that goal – even though she doesn’t say it - she’s usually a lot better than just about everyone she plays against.
She just doesn’t feel a need to gloat about it.
Anderson has obviously been at her best in recent weeks, and the results have been pretty amazing.
She has won six consecutive tournaments, and several of her victories, in some of the biggest events, have been by wide margins.
Anderson tees off during an event at Lincoln Golf Course.
Anderson said she never expected to win six tournaments in a row, but at the same time she’s not surprised she did.
She said one big key was learning to relax more on the course, which brought great results, which in turn brought a great deal of confidence.
“The way I started the season out, I didn’t think I was very good,” she said. “I was not hitting the ball well and my swing did not feel great. Then it all came together just before the city tournament.
"It was more mental, and I have a different approach to it now. I was kind of down on myself at the beginning, then later on I figured, you know what, I’m just going to go out there to have fun. With less pressure, I did a lot better.”
'My goal is to make the top two’
Anderson started her championship streak at an O-K Green Conference Jamboree on Sept. 20, shooting a nine-hole 36 and tying for first with Zeeland West standout Rylee Smith.
She picked up her game even more at the Reeths-Puffer Invitational on Sept. 23, shooting a one-under par 71 and finishing five shots ahead of the runner-up, Coopersville’s Lauren Davis.
Anderson was alone at the top of the standings at the final conference jamboree of the season on Sept. 26, shooting a nine-hole 42 and finishing one shot ahead of Smith.
Her very best day came at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Golf Tournament at Oak Ridge Golf Course on Sept. 27, when she blew away the competition by shooting a four-under-par 68 and beating the runner-up, Whitehall’s Ava Garcia, by 11 shots.
Even better was the fact that Anderson was a double champion, because Reeths-Puffer also won the team championship.
Anderson takes a shot at the city tournament.
“City was pretty fun,” Anderson said. “I don’t think anything could top that. Just shooting my best round, and also having the team do well, made for a really great day.”
Her streak continued at the Oct. 4 O-K Green Championship Tournament, where Anderson shot an even-par 72 and finished two strokes ahead of Zeeland East's Carly Lukins.
Her latest outing, at the MHSAA Division 2 Regional Tournament at Lincoln Golf Club last week, was also one of her best. Facing a very tough field of competitors and intense pressure to qualify for state, Anderson won the title with a 74 round, four strokes ahead of Coopersville’s Davis.
Reeths-Puffer golf coach Matt Pallett said he has just watched in amazement as his top golfer has torn through the tournaments.
“She’s definitely locked in right now,” Pallett said. “She’s been building for this moment. She does not like to lose. She always wants to battle and she’s kind of a perfectionist. She’s a winner.”
Anderson, center, with the Rockets after their great day at the city tournament.
Pallett was particularly impressed with Anderson’s performance at regionals last week, which occurred in weather not fit for golf.
“For those type of conditions, cold and windy as it was, to shoot a 74 was tremendous,” he said.
Now it’s on to the state finals on Friday and Saturday at Forest Akers East Golf Course at Michigan State University, where Anderson will be among the favorites in the two-day, 36-hole event.
It will be her third straight appearance in the state finals. She finished 21st as a sophomore and 13th as a junior, but this year is different. She had relatively modest goals in the past, and she admits that’s not the case this time around.
“This year my goal is to make the top two,” she said, momentarily dropping her modest demeanor. “I feel like I have a good chance of winning.”
All part of the plan
Anderson’s recent performance is apparently part of a master plan.
Her swing coach is PGA golf professional Ted Tallefson, and he devised a strategy to make sure she peaked toward the end of the season, when all the biggest prizes are at stake.
While she’s not quite certain about all the details, Anderson knows Tallefson gave her tips and advice and adjusted her swing in measured doses, then increased it all as the season progressed.
“He just gave me the tools to spread it out and peak toward the end,” she said. “I’m not really sure how he did that. He just waited to help me on certain things, so I could figure it all out later in the season and get really good then.”
Peaking at the end is essential, Anderson said, because hot streaks only last for so long.
“In the past I’ve only been at the top of my game for a few weeks at a time,” she said.
Anderson with teammates Sophia McCollum, left, and Rowan Bluhm.
The only downer for Anderson heading into the state finals will be the absence of her team. The Rockets, O-K Green conference co-champions, tied for fourth at regionals, and only the three top teams make the finals.
The really disappointing part was that R-P only finished one stroke behind the third-place team.
“We had a real shot to go as a team,” Anderson said. “It kind of sucks that we missed out. But I feel like the team will do really good next year, for sure.”
For now, the R-P golf story is Anderson on her own, playing in her final high school tournament against the best competition in Michigan.
Anderson at the 2022 state golf finals.
She said she’s excited, but not nervous. She plans to go to East Lansing to shoot a practice round on the course on Thursday, then let things play out the way they will over the weekend.
“It’s going to be a fun way to end my high school season and career,” she said, reverting once more to her aww-shucks, easy-going approach.
Coach Pallett, who will be on hand watching from a distance, thinks Anderson is well positioned to make a run at the title.
“She’s right up there with the top few,” he said. “I think she has a great chance to win it. Last year her goal was to make All-State, and she did it. This year I think her goal is to go out and win this thing.
“There are going to be a lot of good golfers there, but Paige has as good a chance as anybody.”
