When Aussie cricket superstar Alyssa Healy isn’t winning World Cups off her own bat, she’s beating hubby Mitchell Starc on the fairways.
Brought to you by Callaway Reva
Alyssa Healy plays cricket for a living. So does her husband, Australian left-arm fast bowler, Mitchell Starc. But the power couple says the biggest test they face is deciding where their first golf trip will be once the world returns to normal.
Healy, a wicketkeeper like her legendary uncle Ian Healy, smashed the highest score in a women’s T20 World Cup final last year when she blazed 75 from 39 balls against India to guide Australia to glory. But few things on the cricket pitch have been as challenging as attempting to play the mixed foursomes with hubby Starc at Long Reef Golf Club, on Sydney’s northern beaches.
“We just kept putting each other into the s–t,” laughs Healy, who was gracious with her time while in quarantine on a tour of New Zealand recently. Healy and Starc have a running joke that they play cricket to fund their golf obsession. Her investment is paying off, given Healy won the club championship at Long Reef a couple of years ago. Her handicap is 4 at the moment but watch that drop when she has more time to put into it. Meanwhile, she faces up to our questions.
When did you first fall in love with golf?
My dad was trying to get me into golf when I was a teenager and brought me into the clubs and everything, but I didn’t want a bar of it. I was playing every other sport. But I guess once I started travelling a bit more with cricket and had a bit more downtime, I fell in love with the game.
Why do cricketers seem to love golf?
I’m not sure why… I think for professional cricketers travelling around the world, the circumstances probably help. When we’re touring, it’s a great opportunity for some downtime. I know for me, personally, I’m really competitive and golf scratches that itch to get out there and take on a challenge that’s not cricket.
Is it true that you won the women’s club championship at Long Reef?
Yeah, a couple of years ago!
What is your handicap these days?
My GA is 4.
Once you started getting good at golf, and knowing you have the ability already to be a professional athlete, did you ever think about becoming a pro golfer?
[Laughs] You know, more people say that to me than I think it. I’ve been lucky enough to attend some tournaments and play in pro-ams. I’ve seen how bloody good women golfers are. There is just no way I’m good enough. But it doesn’t stop any of us from loving the game. We don’t have to be pros. The next level is so much better than the average Saturday morning scratch golfer. I’m well aware of my abilities and it’s not enough to be a pro.
You went to a Women’s British Open. How cool was that to see in person?
It was two years ago. I went and watched the women at Woburn Golf Club. I followed Karrie Webb around for the day with a couple of mates and staff members [of the Test side] after we had just finished our series. Following Karrie around was pretty fun; she’s someone that was one of the best female athletes in the country when I was growing up and an inspiration. That tournament fell nicely in between my series and Mitch’s game in Birmingham. That was a really fun experience. I’ve also been to a couple of Australian Opens.
How well have you been able to get to know Karrie?
It’s been awesome to establish a friendship; I had the opportunity to play with her in a pro-am a couple of years ago. We spoke about cricket, probably 95 per cent of the day. I was so nervous the whole time and I don’t think I got the ball off the ground for the first 16 holes.
It has been fun getting to know her over the past few years. She actually came out early to watch us play in Brighton, before she went to play the Women’s British Open and then conversely when she didn’t make the cut, she came back to watch us play at Birmingham and we had a few drinks. We’ve been lucky enough to swap some stories and I got to hear a bit about her career and catch up for an occasional game of golf, which I think is really, really special for me because she’s someone that I looked up to growing up. I’m not sure she rated my golf and didn’t give me any tips, but one day maybe she will [Laughs].”
Do you have any other idols?
Whether it’s men or women, I just enjoy watching golf. I love watching Minjee Lee play. I think she has got a beautiful swing and something that I would love to have. I guess watching Lexi Thompson play as well – just the sheer power she has – she’s a real athlete. It’s really exciting for the amateur golfer to see women out there doing their thing and encouraging more young women to take up the game. Hannah Green is another really exciting one to watch. Hannah kind of burst onto the scene and won the 2019 Women’s PGA and just took it to another level. And then of the young girls coming through, it’s awesome to see Gabi Ruffels become this big star in the US already. She’s the one everyone is keen to watch and see how good she can be, but she also looks like she enjoys herself out there and that’s really inspiring.
There is obviously a really nice story to your personal life in that you are married to Mitchell Starc. You’re only the third married couple to each play Test cricket. Is he as obsessed with golf as you are?
There’s a joke at home that we actually play cricket to fund our golf obsession and our garage full of golf equipment. We both love the game and it’s something that we both really enjoy doing together. We’re really lucky and he’s really lucky in that he’s got a wife who loves golf so he can go and play with his mates or he can play with me. We compete in everything we do and the infamous Healy Cup will be going on for its sixth edition this year, so it’s always competitive. There are points involved and everyone wants to get that trophy at the end of the year. Funnily enough, we debuted in the mixed foursomes last year at Long Reef, and we were absolutely horrendous, so I don’t think we’ll do that again.
Maybe I’ll team him up with one of the others and see how they go. We just kept putting one another in the s–t and couldn’t get out of it so we were not a good team [Laughs]. It was a test.
Have you and Mitch been on some great golf trips?
Oh yeah. Our first thought when we go on holidays is, Can we take our clubs and if so, where are we going? We did the North Island of New Zealand a couple of years ago for our wedding anniversary and we were due to do the South Island last year but COVID hit, so we had to postpone our trip. Tara Iti is one of our favourite courses we have ever been lucky enough to play. We played all the nice ones in the North Island but we really want to do all the great courses down south. We haven’t done Ireland or Scotland or anything like that. Unfortunately, we don’t get to play them much but we have played The Belfry [in England] quite a lot and Celtic Manor [in Wales].
What’s golf TV watching like in the Starc/Healy household? Do you find yourselves watching the European Tour at night when it’s on?
Yes. It’s on the TV quite a lot then the American tours, men and women, are in the mornings before we head off to training so it’s on the TV while we are having a coffee. We love to watch the pros and try to pick up any tips we can.
How hard is it to switch between cricket and golf, technique-wise?
It is very hard to go from a season of cricket to golf. Golf is slightly better for my cricket than the other way around. Definitely after I’ve come off a really condensed period of cricket back into golf, my game suffers for the first couple of weeks until I can get everything back in line. Surprisingly I feel like golf is quite good for my cricket swing. Like you said, the release of the club can be good for cricket and probably a little bit of that body rotation as well.
Have you had some good rounds recently?
Well, we just joined Terrey Hills and on my third game there I had a couple over par. I’m dreaming of shooting under par one day and I think, by some miracle, it could happen not too far into the future. Honestly, for me, I think I let myself down if I don’t take enough snacks on the course because I tend to fade late in the round [Laughs].
What are three courses on your worldwide bucket list?
Oh, that’s a great question. St Andrews, for sure. I think that goes for a lot of golfers. Jack’s Point in New Zealand, because we were meant to play that last year. And then probably Pebble Beach. I know there are some really cool courses in America but something about watching and reading about Pebble Beach has always made me want to go there and play it.
Finally, you mentioned you’re in Auckland right now doing quarantine. You’ve got a T20 match at Napier and one at Mangõnui. Is it torture to be so close to both Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs but not have time to play the courses?
[Laughs] Yes. We will be within 40 minutes of either course when we’re in Napier and Mangōnui. I’m grateful I’ve already been able to play them with Mitch. We’ll get back there and play them again soon. But thankfully, we’ve got a game lined up at Napier Golf Club.
FEATURED IMAGE: Jeremy Piper Photography
