I NST RUC T ION
Set ego aside to hit more greens W
of greens. Don’t be fooled. If they stuck it other hand, for down wind shot with a 10 close to a pin they slightly drew or pushed mph breeze at your back, subtract 10 yards the golf ball.” Keep this mindset, if the pin from your number. If it’s raining, use more club as wais tucked in the front of the green take the regulation? Think about your proper club to get to the back, aim for the ter and thicker air can reduce distance. most recent round of fattest parts of the green. Pin in front? For- Cold and heat affect the distance a golf ball travels too. Use more golf. How many times get about it and club up, you’ll club in the wintere, the ball did your approach thank yourself later. travels farther in the heat of shot to the green finMaggie Roller summer. ish past the flag? In- 3) Be aware of Your goal in playing golf conditions. cluding shots that missed the green? If is to shoot the lowest score Wind, rain, cold, and heat you’re like most amateurs, the number is possible, right? Whether you close to zero. According to data, amateurs all affect the golf ball difhit a 3w then a 5w into a par come up short of the pin 95 percent of the ferently. Conditions have 4 or your driver and a 6 iron time on long approach shots, yes 95 per- a dramatic effect on where in makes no difference. Last cent! Even with a wedge on shorter shots, your golf ball ends up. If time I checked on a round there is wind, throw grass it's 80 percent! with my daughter we wrote Try these three basic principles and see up to check direction, or you Scott Fawcett down the score not the club if you don’t hit more greens next time could use a compass, wind can change your yardage calculation by of choice. I encourage you to focus on you’re out. as much as 10, 20, 30 yards particularly in these three principles, hit more greens, Oklahoma. Get a new yardage depending and have more fun playing golf! 1) Leave your ego at home. Golfers come up short so often because on the wind, a whole new number. ExamMaggie Roller is the director of instruction at their ego gets the best of them. They’ll ple: If it is blowing into you 20 mph, add hit a shorter club either to impress their 20 more yards onto your number. On the Cedar Ridge Country Club in Broken Arrow. buddies or thinking because they’ve hit a shot that far with that club before it will automatically work for them again. I have observed through the years of teaching that golfers choose the club that will get them to the flag, but not past it, if they strike the ball perfectly- which they rarely do. Heck, most professionals play 18 holes and often only hit 50 percent of their shots pure! A common theme is this, you hit 50 balls with your 9 iron on the range, and one is perfectly flush at 145 but most of the others are around 130-135, with poor centeredness of contact. Yet, on the course you think you’ll hit that perfect 9 iron that you hit ONCE in your practice session- it’s just not reality. So, next time you play a round try hitting one extra club with your approach shots and see what results you get, you might be surprised. ant to hit more greens in
2) Hit to the center of the greens, stop pin seeking! If you’re serious about breaking 80, 90, or 100, you should honestly never aim at a single pin. Go for the middle of every green and you’ll have a lot of 25-30 footers. Decade golf strategist Scott Fawcett teaches this mindset and it works. He’s been quoted “Tiger and Jack at their best, the whole of their careers, rarely went for pins. They consistently aimed to the center W W W.GOLFOKL AHOMA.ORG
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