Dry summer weather can add distance on fairways
The summer heat will cause certain conditions on a golf course
that you can take advantage of. Some of the conditions will be more
prevalent on certain courses, but one way or the other, all courses
are affected.
Dry summer weather can add distance on fairways
The summer heat will cause certain conditions on a golf course that you can take advantage of. Some of the conditions will be more prevalent on certain courses, but one way or the other, all courses are affected.
It doesn’t matter if you are playing Pebble Beach or the Gilroy Golf Course, the hot, dry conditions will dry out a fairway. A dry fairway means the ball will run a lot more.
During the summer, no matter how often the fairways and greens are watered, it isn’t enough. They will become harder than normal which means the ball will roll more and that equals more distance. This is good on the fairways but not always on the greens. The course I started at in Nevada had hot, dry and windy summers.
One of the local pros that won most of the tournaments in our area told me that he never played to the middle of the greens in the summer. Eighty percent of his shots he said ran on to the greens. He said all of the golfers from outside of the area who played in the tournaments would end up over most of the greens. They just wouldn’t hold.
That means we are going to have to make some adjustment to our course management. Instead of calculating the distance to the middle of the green and what club will get us there, let’s find out what club will land in front of the green and roll on. If we are going to “run” some shots up onto the green, we need to know the “air distance” our clubs will carry.
Air distance is defined as the maximum distance your shots will carry with each club, not the average. A “run-up” shot is best played from 120 to 180 yards in. Anything closer will come in too steep and won’t hold the green.
To execute this shot, take one or two clubs more than the distance calls for. Practicing this shot will help you on your club selection. Play the ball back in your stance and take the club away with an early wrist break and punch down on the ball. Because the ball is back in your stance, your follow through will be limited. The ball should start out low and hit the ground running. Not every green will call for this shot, but with harder, dry ground this shot can pay off. Play well.
If you have any golf related questions, from rules to club fitting, e-mail me at [email protected], or if you would like to read some of my past tips, you can do so at www.pinnaclenews.com. And don’t forget, if you’re not having fun call your local PGA or LPGA instructor. We will help, that’s what we do.
