If you are serious about taking your game to the next level, it should go without saying that you need to know how to report good scores in bad conditions. As the title of today’s post might have indicated, we’re mainly referring to soft courses.
Naturally, the time in which wet weather is going to affect your community golf course is going to vary. For example, in Memphis it might be in August, but in Louisville it might be a completely different time of the year. Regardless of where you are based, learn now so you can arrest the slumps in form that tend to occur when the weather starts to take a turn for the worst.
To help you along your way, we have spoken to Bob Mims Memphis. He has made three suggestions which might help your plight and ultimately mean that you don’t start throwing golf clubs around as soon as the going gets tough.
Beware of the backspin
There tends to be an immense feeling of accomplishment as soon as you learn to put backspin on a golf shot. This is something that the professionals can do at ease, or anyone who might have played at the Foundation University.
However, for most of us, we just learn to play without it. We learn to hit the ball short, and watch it hop onto the green.
When soft conditions come into play, it’s time to abandon such an approach though. This is the time when shots will start to spin back and you really won’t have much control over the situation. It means that you need to dig into your golf clubs and probably take a bigger club than you normally would.
You will be shorter off the tee
By the same token, another issue that is often cited with soft ground is shorter tee shots. Some players rely on topspin which is generated from the club face, but in soft conditions this just doesn’t happen. The ball tends to hit the fairway and not move much further, meaning that the average person’s tee shot is significantly shorter than it usually is.
This means that those players who are able to carry the ball long distances are gifted with a huge advantage.
Bunkers are even worse than usual
Some of the professional players are so convincing from bunkers that they would prefer to land in them rather than play from the rough around the green.
Well, when it comes to soft conditions, this certainly isn’t true. You should be trying to make sure that you avoid the sand at every opportunity. There is an increased chance of your ball being “plugged”, meaning that it is dug into its own hole and the chances of getting it out suddenly become much slimmer.
If you happen to land in water in the puddle you might be entitled to a drop under the hazard guideline, but this is usually no better for you as the drop will result in the same issue as above.
