Hole of the Week - West #1 - 412 yards

At 412 yards and index 2, the first on the West course is a truly difficult starting hole. 

On the tee shot left is the range (out of bounds), the lakes and ditches down the right and a cross ditch at approx 230 yards. Your drive is literally boxed in! The low index means most golfers would receive a shot (or two) from their handicaps so start with a more accurate/reliable club off the tee and maybe play it as a three shot hole.

The other end of the hole is less worrying, however there is a nasty little ridge at the front apron of the green that if you pitch onto, it will kill the ball leaving a pretty long putt when the pin is towards the back. So more club is suggested with your approach.

The green has a deceptive slope running left-to-right (especially back left) so watch your pace when you are left of the hole. Score a solid 5 here and move on to West #2 which is next week.


Chris Shelley, who is our new 2016 Captain, stood on that tee last week with 50 plus members watching behind. He then promptly hit his driver straight down the middle just short of the cross ditch! So that blows that theory out of the water!


 

Swing Tip

Because of the wet and cold conditions we experience at this time of the year, hitting heavy shots (turf before the ball) often happens and more so with green approach swings with the wedge. A couple of things you can try to make this easier are as follows:

• Take an 8/7-iron instead of the wedge and cut out the wrist break
• Then work on the right arm remaining straighter from the elbow, therefore keeping the movement parallel to the ground allowing a much shorter, shallower angle of attack into the ball
• This will give you more control.

Generally speaking, if you flex the wrists and arms on the backswing it becomes steeper and can cause that steeper downswing. That's fine on full shots with faster body rotation, but the smaller shots have less of this and then cause the heavy contact.

Give this and go and see how you get on. If you would like a one-to-one session, get in touch here.

We have our January Sale taking place. Amongst other offers we have:

Buy any Callaway, Nike or Under Armour shirt and get a second half price
Callaway bag clearance with 25% OFF all bags
Buy one get another half price  on Callaway shirts
20% OFF selected Odyssey putters! 

Come down and have a look whilst the stock is still here.