Golf Tips

Welcome Letter from your Professional, Andrew 

Thank you to the DSGA Board for allowing me to advise and assist the DSGA.  I have been in the golf business since 1997 with much of that time in player development and consulting roles to help grow leagues and participation.

New Tip:

Get nervous on the first tee? Work on developing a consistent pre-shot routine. Needs to be relatively quick, include a few deep breaths, zeroing in on a specific target and a relaxed walk into your shot. Lastly, start preparing for that first tee shot early. End your pre-round range warm up with 5-10 shots, going thru your routine on each one. Having a consistent pre-shot routine, helps your mind stay quiet and calms the nerves. Good luck and let me know if you have any tips on striping that first shot down the center of the fairway.

 

 

Best Practices:

 
More club. Do you know why must bunkers are short of the green? Most architects know that amateurs under-club and try to swing too hard. Commit yourself to taking one extra club than you normally would and swing about 75% of your power. This should lead to more greens in regulations.

-Putt when you can, Chip if you can’t Putt, and Pitch only if you have to.

To avoid confusion between what is a chip and what is a pitch, here is a simple way to remember this:

  • Chipping looks like you are rolling the ball underhanded to the hole: this a “low-toss”.
  • Pitching is when you loft the club in the air to get over an obstacle: this a “high-toss”.

Here are guidelines for when to execute which shot:

  1. Putting is the easiest of the three, with the best chance of success.  When you are on the fringe or the closely mown approach just short of the green, putting is usually your best option.
  2. Chipping is next in line when it comes to ease of execution and low downside.  If you just slightly off the green with some green to work with, you want to chip it.
  3. Pitching is the hardest of the three shots to consistently execute, with the biggest downside for failure.