Before return to Augusta National, Rachel Kuehn reflects on growth of women’s golf

Flashback to April 2, 2022.

It’s 8:20 AM in Augusta, Georgia. Rachel Kuehn stands on the first tee of Augusta National Golf Club. Her brown hair is tied back in a ponytail, adorned with a black and white bow, and she’s wearing a pink skirt that matches the azaleas lining the hills of Augusta National. It’s the final day of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and Kuehn is within striking distance of the lead.

A senior on the Wake Forest University women’s golf team, Kuehn has played golf since she was two. In a childhood filled with softball games, tennis matches and gymnastics meets, golf tournaments gradually gained her favor. Her fixation on golf was not unique: her mother, Brenda, had a legendary career at Wake Forest and in the amateur/professional ranks, and both of her brothers play or have played college golf.

Two years before that cool Augusta morning, Kuehn’s freshman debut at Wake Forest was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Tournaments were canceled, students were sent home and the world spun into a frenzy. Many of the ways that people socialized and exercised – bars, movie theaters, concert venues, gyms – were shut down indefinitely. However, many golf courses and driving ranges remained open as golf provided an outdoor, socially-distanced space for people to be active.

By reputation, golf is often considered a leisurely game reserved for retirees and vacation-goers. But for Kuehn and millions of others, golf is medicinal. At a time when the world felt so chaotic, playing a quick nine holes with a loved one went a long way.

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“During COVID, there wasn’t much to do except play golf,” Kuehn said. “I was incredibly