Swing by Ridgemark: Lately with all of the rain, followed by the
sunshine, most of the golf courses are trying to catch up on mowing
the roughs. But after voicing their thoughts about the long rough,
golfers have asked me how to hit shots out of the long rough.
Lately with all of the rain, followed by the sunshine, most of the golf courses are trying to catch up on mowing the roughs. But after voicing their thoughts about the long rough, golfers have asked me how to hit shots out of the long rough.
The first priority is getting out of the long grass. You have a better chance of hurting yourself by swinging too hard through the grass than of reaching the green in one shot.
There are three keys to success for getting out of the long rough. First, use a more lofted club, even if you cannot reach the green.
Second, swing down at the back of the ball rather than trying to power through the grass — a sharper angle of attack in golf terms. Finally, there are just times that you need to pull out the sand wedge and swing like you are in a bunker to simply get back onto the fairway.
Remember, the rough can’t hurt you if your drives are on the fairway. Use the club off the tee that you know will keep you on the fairway.
It is better to tee off with a fairway wood or utility wood than to use your driver and end up in the rough.
Hole-in-One for Peter Lomanto
Lomanto aced the 15th hole on the Gabilan Course at Ridgemark on April 8. His 186-yard hole-in-one was witnessed by John Souza, Dave Wilkens and John Ceglia.
If you or any of your local golfing partners score a hole-in-one, please e-mail me the name of the course, the hole and the yardage. Please include the names of your witnesses and your ace will be in my column. My e-mail address is:
br***@ri*******.com
Titleist Golf Ball Fitting Day Postponed
The scheduled Titleist Ball Fitting Day has been postponed to late May as there is a conflict with the van in Monterey this weekend. I will keep you posted.
Hollister Medals in Salinas Valley Junior Event
Ridgemark hosted a Salinas Valley Junior Golf Association event on Sunday, April 10. Hollister golfers Will Cross (76), Travis Winn (78) and Nathan Winn (79) swept the Gold Flight medals. Jade Kimura (82) finished first in the Silver Flight and John German (87) followed in third place.
Quote of the Week
Never be too proud to take a lesson, I’m not.
— Jack Nicklaus
