Brainerd Lakes Golf Guide - 2012

Tips From The Pros Area Golf Schedule Lakes Area Golf Course Map A B r a i n e rd D i s p a t c h & Echo Publishing Special Adver tising Section GolfGuide_Glossy_2012.indd 1

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GOLF PRO TIPS

10 Golf Tips Following are 10 tips for better golfing: 1.

2.

3.

4.

What if you’re looking to hit it further? Tip: Turn your left foot out slightly toward your target Hitting too many fat shots? Tip: Keep your right knee flexed/bent.

Hitting too many thin shots? Tip: Practice hitting tees that are flush with the top of the grass blades Want to hit your irons straighter? Tip: think of hitting the ball with the back of your lead hand.

5.

How do you make better contact on greenside chips, and hit it closer? Tip: Don’t use all arms, turn your chest.

6. Want to hit it high from the sand? Tip: Get your hands lower to the sand at address, and stay low through the shot.

7. Tip: Work on better putting form by putting with a club across your chest in your armpits.

8. Tip: Work on your putting tempo by using a 1/3 backswing and 2/3 follow through.

9. Tip: Make sure your aim is correct by looking at your shot from behind, and picking out a mark 1-2 feet in front of your ball.

10. Tip: Get your speed down on the putting green by placing three balls in a row at two, four, and six feet. Make all three, and then move it back to six, nine, and 12 feet.

Nathan Erickson PGA Head Golf Professional The Preserve at Grand View Lodge

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GOLF PRO TIPS

Lag Putting And Practice Methods That Can Help Lag putting is something that has come about due to the technological improvements of maintenance equipment for golf course care. Prior to that, greens were mowed with a hand mower, which dictated the size of a green on many courses.

A typical modern green is approximately 30 paces by 30 paces or approximately 8100 square feet. With greens of this size and larger you can get putts the length of 30 – 70 feet and it becomes necessary to become proďŹ cient at lag putting. Lag putting is not trying necessarily to make a putt, but getting it close enough to make it in two putts. I usually try to putt the ball to a 3 foot circle around the hole.

To be a good lag putter you must pay attention to the contours and speed of the green. Contour is the slope and undulations of the green. I feel it is very important to feel the green with your feet, and suggest that you walk a circle around your ball and the hole.

This will in most cases give you a better sense of what is uphill verses downhill. The speed of the green is dictated by the grasses height of cut, how thick or thin the grass is,

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type of grass and moisture content. These variables will change noticeably during the course of a day. Other important factors for lag putting are proper setup and techniques.

The ball should be played in the middle of your stance with your dominant eye over the ball. Your feet, hips and shoulders should be parallel to the target line. You should use a pendulum stroke with the shoulders, arms, and hands moving together in unison. Try to keep the putter close to the ground, and have the proper tempo matching the length of the swing back and forth. The following are some good practice methods, which will help you become a better lag putter: 1. Throw down several balls at different distances on the putting green and

try to putt the ball stopping it as close as possible to the fringe of the green.

2. Pace off your putts when you practice so you know how long of a stroke to make and what tempo it should be.

3. Place 36 inch pieces of string 36 inches apart on the green and practice stopping the ball in different sectors.

This is a great drill that helps with distance control and your target line.

4. Practice putting with your eyes closed. This will teach you to feel your distances By practicing some these methods and paying attention to the speed and contours of the green you can become a better lag putter, which will result in better scores.

Mark Johnson PGA Golf Professional Breezy Point Resort

AREA GOLF SCHEDULE

2012 Lakes Area Golf Tournament Schedule April April 12: Legacy Birdie Board Event - Cragun’s Legacy Courses April 27: Dutch’s Duffer’s Open - Cragun’s Legacy Courses April 28: Bob Mohr/Commander Scramble - Breezy Point Resort’s Traditional April 28: KFAN Golf Opener - The Pines and The Preserve

May May 1: Legacy Team Match Play - Cragun’s Legacy Courses May 5: The Traditional tournament - Breezy Point Resort’s Traditional May 14: MGA Event - Deacon’s Lodge May 19-20: Golf Fest - Madden’s Resort May 20: Aitkin Sports Boosters - Cuyuna Country Club May 20: Bloody Golf Opener - Whitefish Golf Club May 21: MGA Senior Tour - Eagles Landing May 26: Demo Day - Cragun’s Legacy Courses May 27: 11th Annual Legacy Spring Challenge - Cragun’s Legacy Courses May 27: Memorial Weekend Parent/Child tournament - Madden’s Resort May 28-29: Fred-Mark Charity Invitational - The Pines, Preserve and Deacon’s Lodge May 29-30: MGA Senior Tour - Madden’s Resort

June June 1: Staples Lions Par 3 tournament - The Vintage at Staples June 3: ESPN Challenge - The Lakes Course at Ruttger’s June 5: Charlie’s Scramble - Breezy Point Resort’s Whitebirch June 10: Whitefish Area Lions/Mid-Minnesota Women’s Shelter scramble - Crosswoods Golf Course June 10: Relay for Life - The Lakes Course at Ruttger’s June 11: MGA Senior Tour - Golden Eagle Golf Course June 15: Crosby-Ironton Sports Boosters - Cuyuna Country Club June 15: Camp Confidence Classic - Madden’s Resort June 16: Red Bull Prostate Cancer Tournament - Little Falls Country Club June 17: ESPN Challenge Local Qualifier - The Pines June 17: Father’s Day tournament - The Vintage at Staples June 18: Junior PGA tournament - Crosswoods Golf Course June 19: ACS Pink Ribbon - The Pines and Garden Course June 22: Relay for Life - Eagles Landing June 22: Brainerd Sports Boosters - The Preserve June 23-24: Expect Grand tournament - Cuyuna Country Club June 23: Little Falls Golf Extravaganza - Little Falls Country Club June 24: Junior Optimist Tri-State District Qualifier - Cragun’s Legacy Courses June 24-25: Grand View Challenge Pro-Am - The Pines, Preserve June 24: Patriot Cup - Whitefish Golf Club June 29: U of M Scholarship Golf Tournament - Cragun’s Legacy Courses June 30: Legacy Member-Guest - Cragun’s Legacy Courses June 30: Boys & Girls Club tournament - Little Falls Country Club

July July 1-29: Lipton Tea Cup - Cragun’s Legacy Courses July 2: Celebrate America 9-hole junior golf tournament - Crosswoods Golf Course July 3: Charlie’s Scramble - Breezy Point Resort’s Whitebirch July 7; Izzy Cup - The Vintage at Staples July 8: Hackensack Sweetheart Days tournament - Black Bear Complex July 8: Red Solo Cup (One Person Scramble) - Deacon’s Lodge July 8: Riverwood Healthcare-Hospice Charity Golf - The Lakes Course at Ruttger’s July 9: MGA Senior Tour - Cragun’s Legacy Courses July 9-15: Take Your Kids to the Course Week - Cragun’s Legacy Courses July 9: Cattlemen’s Association tournament - Little Falls Country Club July 11: Cuyuna Lakes Chamber tournament - Cuyuna Country Club July 12: PGA Junior Player’s Tour - The Pines July 13: Morrison County Chaplaincy tournament - Little Falls Country Club July 14: Minnesota State Putting Championship - The Pines July 19: Mielke Oil tournament - Little Falls Country Club

July 22: Pine River-Backus Sports Boosters tournament - Black Bear Complex July 23: Bay Lake Lions tournament - The Lakes Course at Ruttger’s July 24: MMBA Scholarship Fundraiser - Cragun’s Legacy Courses July 29: Best Ball Beach Party (Member/guest) - The Pines July 31: “Go Red” women’s scramble - Madden’s Resort

August Aug. 4: Little Falls Open - Little Falls Country Club Aug. 5: Pillager Sports Booster Golf Tournament - Cragun’s Legacy Courses Aug. 7: Charlie’s Scramble - Breezy Point Resort’s Whitebirch Aug. 9-10: Minnesota PGA Junior Tour of Champions - Cragun’s Legacy Courses Aug. 9: St. Francis of the Lakes Golf Benefit - Cragun’s Legacy Courses Aug. 10: Deerwood Open - Cuyuna Country Club Aug. 11: Swanson’s Melanoma Cancer scramble - Breezy Point Resort’s Traditional Aug. 11: F.A.B. Tournament - Little Falls Country Club Aug. 11: Scandia Valley Lions scramble - The Vintage at Staples Aug. 12: ESPN Challenge Regional Qualifier - The Pines Aug. 12: Tri-Parish - The Lakes Course at Ruttger’s Aug. 12: Dru Sjodin Open - Whitefish Golf Club Aug. 14: Women’s Holder - Cuyuna Country Club Aug. 16: Men’s Holder - Cuyuna Country Club Aug. 17: Tiki Nite Golf - Crosswoods Golf Course Aug. 18-19: Club championship - Little Falls Country Club Aug. 19-20: Minnesota PGA Section-Legacy Pro-Am - Cragun’s Legacy Courses Aug. 19: Club Championship - The Pines Aug. 19: Classic 6-6-6 Shootout - Madden’s Resort Aug. 24-25: Club Championship - Cuyuna Country Club Aug. 24: Laker Lions, Project New Hope scramble - Crosswoods Golf Course Aug. 24: Lakewood Foundation fundraiser - The Vintage at Staples Aug. 25-26: Legacy Club Championship - Cragun’s Legacy Courses Aug. 26: Make-A-Wish Foundation scramble - Crosswoods Golf Course Aug. 26: Lakes Area Par 3 Championship - The Preserve

September Sept. 4: Charlie’s Scramble - Breezy Point Resort’s Whitebirch Sept. 4-5: Minnesota Senior Women’s State Am - Golden Eagle Golf Course Sept. 5: Women’s Invitational - Cuyuna Country Club Sept. 5-6: MGA Net Team Sept. 8: Cheddar Open - Cuyuna Country Club Course Sept. 9: Seniors tournament - Cuyuna Country Club Sept. 13: Club championship - The Vintage at Staples Sept. 14: Ducks Unlimited tournament - Little Falls Country Club Sept. 15: Hackensack Legion tournament - Black Bear Complex Sept. 16: Aitkin Chamber - The Lakes Course at Ruttger’s Sept. 29-30: Fish and Golf tournament - Gull Lake and The Pines Sept. 29-30: Greater Whitefish Scramble - Whitefish Golf Club Sept. 30-Oct. 1: Great Northern Couples Shootout - The Pines and Preserve Sept. 29-Oct. 2: Manitoba/Minnesota PGA Pro-am - Madden’s Resort

October Oct. 6: Chilly Open - Madden’s Resort Oct. 7: Legacy Fall Challenge - Cragun’s Legacy Courses Oct. 7: Minnesota Teen Challenge Oct. 13-14: Ironman - The Pines and Preserve Oct. 14: Chilli Dip Open - Whitefish Golf Club Oct. 20: Legacy One Person Scramble - Cragun’s Legacy Courses

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GOLF PRO TIPS

Double Check Your Golf Equipment It can always feel like a rush to the golf course in the spring, especially when northern Minnesota courses are opening in March. But before you head to the first tee, there are a few pieces of equipment to double check in order to ensure early success on the golf course.

First, let’s start with spikes. More often than not the golf course will be wetter in the spring than it is in the warmer months.

Fresh spikes will give you better balance and stability on the potentially slippery grass. If you play regularly, be sure to change your spikes at least a few times every season.

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As far as grips are concerned, it is a good idea to change them at least once a year, especially if you spend a lot of time on the course or at the range. Worn out grips can make spring golf that much more difficult by adding discomfort to the smaller “golf” muscles in our hands, wrists, and forearms.

If you haven’t ever changed your grips before, you will be surprised at the added control and confidence you achieve by doing so.

Lastly, you will want to check the grooves on your clubs. Most important are the grooves of your wedges and irons. As we all know grooves add spin to our golf ball, and give us the ability to stop the ball on our approach shots. If you are playing with

worn grooves, you are going to lose strokes.

Think about replacing any wedges or irons with worn grooves before the season begins.

Follow these quick and easy checkpoints before you head out to the golf course this year and you are sure to see early results.

Good luck and hope to see you at Madden’s.

Bryan Stovern Golf Professional Madden’s Resort

GOLF PRO TIPS

Chipping Tips Most golfers find themselves in chipping situations several times during a round.

What is a chipping situation? A rule of thumb that I use is to look at the line between the ball and the pin, if you have more green to work with than carry onto the green, you are in a chipping situation.

Follow these chipping tips and start converting missed greens into up and downs!

A major factor in hitting consistent chip shots is for the hands to lead the clubface through impact.

The vast majority of thinned or fluffed chip shots occur when the clubhead overtakes the hands and is, therefore travelling on the upswing, rather that delivering a descending blow at impact.

The first thing to do at set up is to move the majority of your weight onto the left foot. The ball is played towards the back of the stance, and the hands go ahead of the ball.

The chip shot can now be played with the correct downward strike. You should NOT be trying to slide the clubface under the ball, or scoop the ball into the air.

The key now is to make sure that you keep the hands ahead of the ball and not allow your wrists to dominate the shot.

Players who get “wristy” at impact run the risk of thinning it clean through the green or chunking it a few inches.

Don’t be afraid to use a variety of irons in making the chip shots. In general, the closer you are to the green the lower the loft needed to make the shot. Practice to see how the ball reacts from different distances with different irons.

Mike Stone Director of Golf Crosswoods Golf Course, Crosslake

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GOLF PRO TIPS

The Importance Of Wedge Fitting For most players, the driver, putter, and wedges make up the majority of shots in a round of golf. The driver is typically hit 12-14 times, the putter used for 28+ strokes and the wedges (pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge) are used 12+ times.

With the wedges playing such an important role in scoring, it only makes sense that a player should be fit for those clubs.

To optimally fit your wedges, the process includes determining the number of wedges, the loft of those wedges, and the best bounce angles.

The first step is to determine the optimal bounce. The optimal bounce is most important on half and three quarter shots where a player may change the face angle at address to change trajectory. A player with a steeper swing will benefit from a higher bounce wedge while a player with a shallower angel of attach will perform best with less bounce.

The second step is to determine what the highest lofted club that will be the player’s preferred club for recovery shots around the green from both the sand and the turf.

When the wedge performs optimally out of the sand is determined, it should be hit from the fairway and rough to insure that it interacts well in the fairway and ruff.

The next step is to find out how far a full swing will go with the highest lofted club and the maximum distance with the pitching wedge. This will determine how many wedges the player should carry. The gap between clubs should be between 10 and 15 yards. If the player has a gap of 25 yards or less between clubs, the player needs one additional wedge. If there is a gap of 30 yards or more, two additional wedges should be used.

Putting wedges in your bag that will optimize scoring opportunities is one of the easiest ways to lower your scores! Having the right numbers of wedges with correct bounce angles and lofts goes a long way in optimizing your equipment.

Chris Foley

PGA Master Professional of Instruction Chris Foley Golf Schools at Cragun’s Legacy Courses

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GOLF PRO TIPS

Make This The Year You Cure Your Slice To fix this problem, you first need to know and understand the cause.

The main reason we slice the ball is a club face that is open or opening through the impact zone. By eliminating this, we can eliminate the slice. Here are a couple of tips that can help you do just that.

First, get a stronger grip. The club face tends to open as it returns to the ball when the hands are placed in a weak position, or a position that is turned too far to the left. A correct grip has the hands rotated more to the right. To strengthen your grip, start by placing your top hand on the grip so when you look down you see two or three knuckles.

Now place your bottom hand on the grip so it matches the angle of your top hand. If you find that you are hooking the ball too much, you can experiment with the grip until you find the position that works best for you.

Secondly, loosen up. Too much pressure in your grip makes it difficult to release or rotate the club face through the impact zone. On a scale from one to 10, try to maintain a grip pressure that’s around a four.

This will relieve tensions in your hands, forearms and shoulders. By doing this you will achieve a more natural, effortless club face rotation at impact.

By following these tips and a little practice, you will be hitting it longer and straighter in no time.

Tim Trott Golf Professional Golden Eagle Golf Club

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GOLF PRO TIPS

New Technology Helps Golfers New technology has made hitting the golf ball easier yet most golfer’s scores havn’t improved.

Here a 5 shot practice routine to improve your chances at lower scores.

1). Practice 50 three-foot putts and focus on aiming the putter correctly.

2). Move out to 30 feet with three balls and practice up-hill And Downhill putts as well as side hill putts that have some break in them. Concentrate on the speed only and also on reading how the slopes in the greens affects each putt. Poor greening maybe the leading cause of your putting woes. Now take your sand wedge out and work on short chip shots. The most important swing thought here is to put the ball in the back of your stance off your back foot which will lean the shaft forwarded . From this position you only have to control the speed of your arm swing to hit nice crisp chips.

3) Go to the range and take your three short test clubs out. Start with your sand wedge and give the club a gentle toss for a backswing and a gentle arm or body turn on your follow through. Hit five shots this way and then hit another 5 with the same backswing but with slightly more body turn on the follow thru to

increase the speed of the club and make your shots go farther. Hit another 5 and this time use the same light tossing of the club on the backswing and a faster arm swing or body turn on the downswing.

4.) Repeat this five ball drill three speed with your gap wedge and then your pitching wedge using the three different follow thru speeds.

5) Now take your driver out and repeat the wedge drill with the same feeling of tossing the club back on your backswing and lightly swinging your arms and turning on the follow through.

Increase the speed of your arms and turn just like you did with the wedge drill.

Add an additional five swings at max arm speed and turn to make the Big Dog Hunt.

Master these five shots will surely lower yours scores!

Bill Israelson The Vintage Staples

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GOLF PRO TIPS

Learn To Love Golf Imagine yourself approaching the first tee at a beautiful golf course on a beautiful M i n n e s o t a summer morning.

How do you feel?

Excited?

Positive? Calm? or do you feel nervous as you approach the No. 1 tee. Or are you apprehensive or worried?

What if there was a crowd of strangers milling around, watching you as you address the ball?

I have experienced the spectrum of the above emotions in my golfing life. However, I have found that I can determine my golfing attitude, and thus guarantee that golfing is enjoyable every time. How? I have learned to Love Golf.

I intentionally determine not to care about what others think, what others see as I golf, and what my score is. I only care about what I think, what I see, and I often do not keep score. I have developed a

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philosophy of golf that results in maximum enjoyment every round I play.

I have many tips on how I do this on the course, and they help golfers of all skill levels.

I share these at my “Learn to Love Golf” introductory lessons starting this May. Perhaps you have a tip to share with me as well? I would love to hear from you. See you on the golf course. I’ll be loving it.

Kathy Brown Golf Professional Birch Bay Golf Course

GOLF PRO TIPS

Keys To Rhythm Get a pre-round routine, and Stick with it For me, the key to finding my natural rhythm is familiarity. I start with a preround practice routine that I borrowed from Jack Nicklaus. I always use the same six clubs, working my way up from the sand wedge to the driver. The last club I hit is the one I’m planning to use for my tee shot on the first hole of the day. My purpose is not to work on my swing, but to establish my rhythm. I’ve already prepared myself mentally (by making a game plan for the round) and emotionally for the challenges ahead. Most amateurs don’t go out with a plan, and they get to the first tee. The result is a nervous, tentative opening shot that sets the wrong tone. By the time they find that feel-if they find it at all-it’s too late. The round is shot.

Maintain the same pace and tempo Never play a shot before you’re ready.

That’s why a consistent preshot routine is essential to good tempo and rhythm.

The tendency is to speed up mentally and physically under pressure. Your natural

rhythm is broken, and you start making mistakes.

My pre-shot routine has a calming influence on my nerves and helps me stay in rhythm.

I also try to walk to my ball at a steady pace, which, in addition to giving me time to think about my next shot, helps me balance my emotions. Try not to get too pumped after a good shot or too down after a poor one because it can affect the next swing. Golf is more marathon than sprint.

Play within yourself and pace yourself and your natural rhythm will do the rest.

Fairway bunker: Keep the club moving through impact With a fairway bunker shot, you must contact the ball before you contact the sand.

I select slightly more club than normal for the yardage and grip down the exact amount that I dig my shoes into the sand.

That way I can swing easier and maintain my balance. I set up in a slightly open stance and position the ball near the center of my stance. I add a little loft to the club by opening the face a hair, which means I must aim slightly left of the target to allow

for a little cutter. It’s really difficult to draw the ball from a fairway bunker.

The average player either beats down on the ball or scoops it in an attempt to get it up quickly. In both instances you’ve altered your spine angle and either hit the ball fat or skinny, driving it into the lip of the bunker. It’s critical to establish the proper spine angle for the shot and maintain it to the finish. If there is a secret to the fairway bunker swing, it’s this: I speed up my arms on the downswing to get the ball up quicker. The result is a shot that soars high and lands softly.

Dan Loken PGA Professional Emily Greens

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GOLF PRO TIPS

Time: A Disappearing Variable A person has time to golf when they are young and old, but not much in between.

Most notably, in an era where both parents work and share domestic chores. On the other hand, there are more opportunities and knowledge about the game of golf now than ever before.

For young children, do not sweat taking them to the driving range on a weekly basis. If you can, that is wonderful, but if not, buy your child a package of wiffle balls and let them swing around the yard.

You will prevent many broken windows and will help them to build strength and

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coordination. On a more technical side, get your children that have not been exposed to the game, working on a half swing first, because the full swing will come with time. If they are right handed, the left arm should be straight at hip level on the way back and the right arm straight at hip level on the way through the swing.

If you are an adult taking a trip to a warmer climate, or going out to play for the first time, grab a seven iron out of your bag a couple of days before your tee time and swing in the yard. Don’t even hit a ball the first few days you swing. Try to slowly loosen up your body and build your muscle memory from last summer or fall. You may get blisters on your hands the first few times because you are gripping the club to hard. This is totally natural, but if you can firm up the soft tissue in your hands before you play a round, you will be much happier.

Finally, yes your putting is important, but if you don’t get your approach shots close, your score will suffer. Take the pressure off of your putting game and focus on your iron shots coming into the greens.

When you are on the driving range, hit your

targets. Don’t worry about your distances as those will come with time over the summer. Use an extra club or two these first few months until your body gets back its elasticity and strength. Your direction and ball flight are most important during this stage in the game. Happy hitting!

Liz Larson Wildwedge Golf Pro

IT STARTED WITH A STICK

It Started With A Stick A long time ago someone came up with the idea of hitting a small ball with a stick. Ever since man has been fascinated with golf. The specific origins of golf have been lost over the years, but ball-and-stick games of all sorts have been popular since the medieval times.

Forerunners of golf were called “pallemaille” in France and Italy where it was a street game played using a mallet and wooden ball. When the game traveled to Great Britain, it became so popular the Brits designed a court for it. During the 15th century in Belgium, the game was called “chole” and was played using a wooden ball and a spoon-shaped wooden club. In Holland, “colf” was played on ice with wooden balls, and later, leather balls stuffed with cow hair. As it gained in popularity, “colf” was moved indoors and the name was changed to “kolf.”

Even though they all used sticks/clubs and balls of some sort, these early games seldom resembled our modern game of golf. Many countries played the games, but it was Scotland where the modern game originated.

By Doris A. Black

History tells us the earliest balls were made of wood. In Scotland, the townspeople played in the streets or open grassy areas of the village. In the 1600s, when less open space was available, the land along the coastlines became a more convenient place to play. The land was called “links” because it linked the coastline to the more usable farmland inland. At the same time, wooden balls were replaced with leather bags stuffed with boiled feathers. Referred to as “featheries,” they weren’t very durable and were time consuming to produce, with the best craftsman making only four per day, causing them to be expensive.

Players also began tinkering with the design of their sticks or clubs. Thin, longshafted clubs were chosen for distance driving and shorter ones for short hops or to drive the ball downwind.

By the mid-1800s, the feathery was replaced with the gutty. Made from parts of the gutta-percha tree, the gutty was heavier and more durable, but its smooth exterior caused unpredictable directional flight. It turned out that a used gutty,

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IT STARTED WITH A STICK pockmarked by wear, performed better and soon guttys were made with a more irregular surface.

Clubs changed, too, in order to better control the gutty. Heads were made bigger in depth and width and a brass striking plate was added.

In Scotland, inventor Coburn Haskell stumbled upon the rubber ball. He realized that its application to kolf would improve the game, as a rubber ball would fly much farther than the gutty. When combined with a hard, rough exterior, the rubber ball became the basis for today’s modern golf balls.

As the century wore on, clubs continued to change in design. Shafts were made of bamboo or ash and specific clubs, like the mashie, sand iron, driving cleek, niblick and putting cleek, were used by players under different circumstances.

The first golf courses were also a far cry from what we know today. There were no beautifully manicured lawns, golf carts or clubhouses to relax in afterwards. The links were mostly barren and inhabitable pieces of land, often windswept and sandy with no trees and a rugged terrain filled with rocks and crevices.

Using crude clubs and even cruder balls, it’s a wonder the sport survived at all. But it did and it grew in popularity, coming to the United States in the late 1700s where it flourished.

The next time you step up to that tee, remember those who came before you and how hard it was to get a hole-in-one with a feathery.

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LAKES AREA GOLF MAP

2012 Ultimate Golf Guide Golf Course Map

A B C D E F G

Long Bow Golf Club 6516 Long Bow Trail NW Walker, MN 56484 Crosswoods Golf Course 35878 County Road 3 Crosslake, MN 56442 Ridgewood Country Club PO Box 557 Longville, MN 56655 Tianna Country Club 7470 State 34 NW Walker, MN 56484 Cuyuna Country Club 24410 State Highway 210 Deerwood, MN 56444 Cragun’s Golf Courses 11000 Craguns Drive Brainerd, MN 56401 Grand View Lodge Golf 23521 Nokomis Ave Nisswa, MN 56468

H I J K L M N

Whitefish Golf Club 7883 County Rd. 16 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472 Madden’s Golf Courses 11266 Pine Beach Peninsula Rd Brainerd, MN 56401 Emily Greens 39966 Refuge Rd Emily, MN 56447 Wildwedge Golf PO Box 899 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472 Birch Bay Resort and Golf 1646 S. Agate Shore Dr. SW Nisswa, MN 56468

O P Q R S

Golden Eagle Golf Club 16146 W Eagle Lake Rd Fifty Lakes, MN 56448 Eagle’s Landing Golf Club 14825 263 STREET Fort Ripley, MN 56449 The Vintage at Staples 27923 McGivern Drive Staples, MN 56479 Blueberry Pines Golf 39161 US Highway 71 Menahga, MN 56464 Black Bear Golf Complex 2677 16th Street SW Backus, MN 56435

Breezy Point Resort and Golf 9252 Breezy Point Dr Breezy Point, MN 56472 Ruttger’s Bay Lake Resort and Golf 25039 Tame Fish Lake Road Deerwood, MN 56444

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GOLF PRO TIPS

Goldilocks And The Three Bears Average golfers often have trouble judging how big a swing they need for pitch and chip shots around the green. To further complicate matters, no two of these shots ever seem to be the same. I encourage my students to use the “Goldilocks” drill to determine the correct swing length for these shots: 1. Take a practice swing that you know will be “too big” for the shot at hand.

2. Take a practice swing you know will be “too small” for the shot.

3. Take a practice swing that feels “just right”.

4. Immediately address your ball and use your “just right” swing to chip or pitch the ball close to the hole.

Incorporate this routine into your pre-shot routine on the golf course and see if it doesn’t improve your ability to get the ball “up and down” this year!

Rich Aulie Golf Pro Cuyuna Country Club

Factors When Deciding Between A Driver Or Wood Off The Tee In my experience talking with people about the decision of which club to hit off the tee I’ve found that most people don’t seem to be too concerned about it. Even though this decision can be a crucial factor in how you are going to score on a particular hole.

Unless there is obvious trouble most people just seem to pull driver, let it fly, and deal with the consequences later. Now, this isn’t probably a bad play if you hit it straight and solid every time, or if you’re playing on the open plains of Texas. But the reality is that most people don’t hit it straight and they are playing on golf courses where position off the tee is critical in order to score.

So, when deciding which club to hit off the tee I think the mindset, and the first question you must ask yourself, is this: “which club do I have the best chance of hitting the most consistently solid and that with the least curvature to find the fairway.” If you can’t answer driver to this question, then driver is not the club to hit. I know that sounds harsh, but if your objective is to make the best number on each given hole you already know as a golfer how increasingly difficult this is to do from the rough, the trees, or worse yet, the hazards.

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The bottom line is that this decision often comes down to an ego thing for most golfers.

People see their buddies smacking drivers off the tee and they have their own ‘big dog” sitting in their bag beckoning them to give it a go. I have no problem with this if you have a reasonable assurance that you know where the ball is going to go and you are confident in it.

But, if you don’t have any idea, then check your ego at the door and leave the driver in the bag. Let your buddies play from the woods. In fact, ask yourself this right now: “do I hit my driver, or 3-wood, more consistently.” My money is on the latter for just about everyone. And if you keep the ball in play this should help to reduce your score not to mention make your round a little easier.

There are other, more detailed factors to consider like: ability level, confidence level on a particular day, natural ball flight, the shape of the hole, the trouble on the hole and how much room you have to miss, are you downwind, and so on. But, the reality is that you want to play the game from the fairway as much as possible so you need to be realistic about your game and simply choose the club to make this happen.

Food for thought: Tom Watson once said that after playing with countless amateurs in pro-ams over the years it his opinion that if you don’t shoot 85 or less for 18-holes you’re probably better off hitting a 3-wood, or 5-wood off the tee. You might ask yourself, why? Well, the mechanics of it are pretty simple. The shorter the club the easier it is to control. And the more loft to a club the less sidespin you will have on the ball, so your shots will not curve as dramatically. Also, Johnny Miller played with a 2-wood off the tee for TWO YEARS while on tour because he couldn’t find a driver he liked! And Tiger Wood’s famous ‘stinger’ shot with a 2-iron. What’s the purpose? To keep it in play.

Steve Bengtson Golf Pro Whitefish Golf Course

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