PURSUING YOUR
PERSONAL BEST IN 2021
by Sean Botha
TUITION & INSTRUCTION
Strategy to playing Summer Golf: the lie of your ball
S
eeing how beautifully green our golf courses have become is an inspiration, how nature flourishes, with all the rain that has fallen. Receiving this rain with enormous gratitude, it comes with many challenges for golfers, as the growth of the grass on the course is accelerated, creating a completely different challenge to other seasonal conditions, as your shot off the tee would naturally not travel as far as you are accustomed to, in the dryer seasons, due to the moisture filled fairways, thicker first and second cuts, reducing the roll, affecting your total distance, and strategy, to approach the lay-up area or green. There are many variances playing in this seasonal condition that we need to take into consideration when planning on beating your personal best, planning your shots is vital, it starts with playing to your strengths. Playing to your strengths is key, we see students completely lose their rhythm and
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tempo through the round, fearful of striking their ball towards the rough off the tee, dreading a terrible lie, or at worst, a lost ball, costing to many penalty shots on one hole! Play with what you have at that moment. We often see golfers shaping the ball, and unfortunately not using the shape to their advantage, to hit the fairway, but finishing off-line to the right or left, into the first or second cut. This can lead to numerous challenges. A simple solution is to use the shape you mainly play or are most comfortable with. Plan for the shape in your pre-shot routine, according to the layout of the hole, pick your target and strike it at a starting line that you feel comfortable with, from the right or left side of the tee box, towards the right or left side of the fairway, and allow your shape to keep you in the fairway. It is better to shape the ball into the fairway, in this instance, than to try and play a straighter ball flight that looks good, that you may not be experienced or skilled enough with
www.sagolftrader.co.za
January | February 2021
