By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports 

(September 14, 2024 8:00 AM ET) Keep your eye on the ball.

Left arm straight.

Drive through the golf ball.

There may have been so many swing thoughts going through the head of Napoleon golfer Anna McCubbins during a 1.5 second swing last year, it just got tiring.

Armed with swing coach Steve Saari and having her head in a “better spot,” McCubbins is edging ever closer to being a top golfer in Division 4 play.

McCubbins has averaged just over 39 strokes per nine holes this season in Cascades Conference matches. She is within a stroke and a half of Logan Bentley of Columbia Central – a three-time state medalist in Division 4.

“My head is in a better spot this season,” McCubbins said. “My swing coach has given me some simple advice and the big issues are gone.”

McCubbins earned a medal at the Michigan High School Athletic Association D-4 state finals a year ago. She shot rounds of 82 and 77 at Bedford Valley Golf Course near Battle Creek.

McCubbins was named as a first-team all-state golfer by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association.

“I shot a 77 on the final day of the state tournament last year and I am excited about this season,” McCubbins said.

Weight training during the off season served the NHS junior well this summer.

McCubbins drove the first hole in a playoff during the finals match – a 286-yard par 4 – to win the Jackson County Women’s Golf Association Match Play Tournament in July.

It is her first major in Jackson County and her first win in a match-play format. Match play is a format where two golfers go head-to-head earning points for the lowest score on a hole. Once a golfer has earned more points than his/her opponent than the number of holes remaining, he/she is the winner.

“I think match play is better than stroke play,” McCubbins said after the win. “You only have to focus on your opponent.”

During her stroke play tournaments in high school, the emphasis is on playing her own game.

“You can’t worry about your opponents … it is all about what can you shoot,” McCubbins said.

But McCubbins is edging closer to the top in Division 4. At the recently concluded East Jackson Invitational at Calderone Golf Club, McCubbins finished tied for third with a 2-over-par 74. Three-time state champion Mia Melendez finished with a 4-under par 68 on the par 72 course.

“My misses on the day were small at Calderone,” McCubbins said. “I had no worse than bogeys.”

She recorded four birdies on the day including back-to-back birdies on hole Nos. 11 and 12 at Calderone.

“My approach shots were solid,” McCubbins said. “I loved all of the birdies.”