GOLF NEWS

Michael Goodcase, Director of Golf

The “atmospheric river” continued to bring us good size rain events through the middle to end of March. This caused a number of golf events to be postponed or cancelled and may have an effect on the spring aerification of the golf course.

Just in the month of March, through the 21st, we have had five or six events cancelled/postponed. Both guest days for the men and the women were cancelled. The always popular Top Gun Event was postponed to June 30th. Ladies’ team is also looking for a couple of make-up dates as well.

The practice facility has been closed for much of that time too. I want to remind everyone that the golf professionals are still able to give lessons inside the Learning Academy with our new Trackman IV launch monitor and video analysis. Keep your skills sharp, even if the weather is not perfect, or even just good for that matter!

Our men’s team wrapped up their season. We held home court throughout the year, but that was not quite good enough to win our group. Both La Cumbre and North Ranch had a road win. La Cumbre ultimately won the group by beating North Ranch in their head-to-head matches. Thank you to Bryan de Ponce, team captain, for all of his time creating line-ups and communicating with all the team members.

Men, keep your eyes open for the Robert Trent Jones Classic entry to be coming out towards the end of April or beginning of May! This is an event you do not want to miss. The annual member-guest is a huge showcase event and highlights our Club’s wonderful service, staff, and facilities. Invite that special guest and get signed up early, as I am sure this event will sell out!!

The BWWGA 2023 most improved players:

January - Anne Hall

February - Barbara Kummer

ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO HIT THE BALL STRAIGHT? Scott Maier, PGA Certified Teaching Professional

I have listened and watched players attempt to hit every ball perfectly straight. I have listened and watched players grow increasingly frustrated when they cannot accomplish this feat. When I have conversations with students that want to hit the ball straight, I ask the question, “Why would you do that to yourself?”

Let’s talk about why it is impossible to hit the ball perfectly straight every time and why developing a dependable curve is an easier strategy.

There are three scenarios that will create a straight ball flight. One way is difficult to do and impossible to repeat. The remaining two are not an efficient way of doing it either.

To hit a golf ball straight, the club path would have to be perfectly neutral (0.0 on the launch monitor), neither inside nor outside. The club face would have to be perfectly square (0.0), neither open nor closed. Lastly, the strike would have to be center on the club face (once again 0.0). Just doing this one time is like hitting the lottery, and if you are really trying to do this for each shot, I wish you the best of luck.

In scenario two, the club can travel on an inside path with a closed face and would also require a heel hit using the gear effect to make the ball fly straight. This is inefficient because the off-center contact leads to lower ball speed and loss of distance.

In scenario three, the club can travel on an outside path with an open face and would require a toe hit using the gear effect to make the ball fly straight. This, too, is inefficient because the off-center contact leads to lower ball speed and loss of distance.

Tour professionals do not hit the ball straight every time. Next time you watch golf on TV, pay close attention to the shot tracer and notice that 99% of the shots have some curve. Below are the Tour average distances from the target line. The following stats do not represent the average curve because each player plays the game differently, but I would argue that the side totals you see below are a result of Tour professionals curving the ball to get closer to the hole.

PGA Tour

@ 180 yard target = 6.7 yards

@ 120 yard target = 3.1 yards

@ 60 yard target = 1.5 yards

LPGA Tour

@ 180 yard target = 7.2 yards

@ 120 yard target = 3.6 yards

@ 60 yards target = 1.5 yards

Now, this is not to suggest playing the game hitting huge curve balls all the time either, especially here at Birnam Wood. Depending on the situation, 5-, 10-, even 15-yards of curve will work.

Developing a club path that travels from the inside, combined with a slightly closed face to hit a draw, or a slightly open face to hit a fade, will create a dependable shot pattern. Having a dependable shot pattern will make your practice sessions and playing the game more fun, and help you shoot lower scores.

Schedule a lesson today and we can help you develop a draw or a fade you can rely on.

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