Tips from the Pros

The Secret to More Distance

By Nick Cannon, Head Golf Professional

During this pandemic, we have not only experienced record number of rounds but an increase in demand for instruction. With golf being one of the few limited activities, members are spending plenty of time trying to improve their golf games. One of the most common requests I get during a lesson is to assist a player in hitting the ball further throughout their entire bag.

The following tip will provide you with a simple thought when trying to work on increasing distance in your game:

The downswing is started by the lower body and how we use it will largely determine how far we hit the ball. Many amateur golfers typically leave so much distance on the table by not allowing the pelvis to first slide and then rotate toward the target. The move we want to make is very similar to a powerlifter’s squat.

In the photo above, the inflatable ball stays between the thighs as we swing to the top. We should sense our glute and core muscles working as our lower body stays stable to the ground. As we begin the downswing, we start to feel like we are pushing into the ground causing the inflatable ball to drop. This allows our pelvis to rotate forward and enables us to use the ground to generate more clubhead speed. A high percentage of golfers try to generate more clubhead speed by swaying off the ball which ultimately causes us to be less stable and lose distance. I guarantee if you can incorporate the powerlifter’s squat theory into your swing you will see a dramatic change in added distance in your game. ◆

Navigating the Rough

By Joanna Coe, PGA Assistant Director of Instruction

Sure, we would all love to stripe tee shots right down the center of the fairway on every Par 4 or 5, but even on our best ball striking days, we will most likely face several shots from the rough. We are all aware of how thick and difficult the rough can get at Five Farms! In order to successfully escape those thick lies out of the rough, we must assess the lie, change our setup, and swing with a steep angle of attack. ◆

ASSESS THE LIE

• If the golf ball is sitting in the first cut of rough or more on top of the blades of grass, congratulations! You have a "good" lie. You have the ability to select a variety of clubs depending on the yardage. The ball will come out with less spin so keep that in mind with rollout

• If your golf ball is surrounded by grass, buried, or in fescue, you have a "bad" lie. Your club selection is limited. Grab that high lofted club and plan on conservatively getting your ball back in play. It is hard to predict the outcome out of thick rough, but plan on the ball coming out with less spin and not much speed

SETUP

• Play the ball slightly back in your stance

• Position your body weight a bit more towards your lead foot. Make sure you don’t just slide your hips forward. Make sure the buttons of your shirt are pointing down just in front of the ball.

• Keep a firm grip on the club

SWING

• The goal of the setup and the swing is to steepen your angle of attack. This will limit the amount of interaction your club has with the grass resulting in a stronger shot. A shallow attack angle may result in tops, chunks, or even whiffs

• Keep your weight on your lead foot throughout the swing

• Increase your wrist hinge during the takeaway to get the clubhead up and on a steeper plane

• Abbreviate your follow through. This will help you control the clubface