GOLF NEWBIES

Links Life Vol. 4

By Jeff Louis

So you still want to play golf? Once again, your personal mentor, is here to guide you through.

Today, let’s discuss some of the areas of golf practice.

Driving Range: This is an area designated for practice. The name refers to the art of striking the golf ball with your club. The expression is called “driving it.” There are many potential practice areas in a driving range. Not all driving ranges have everything. Some have hitting bays. These are stations where only one person can hit at a time. Some ranges may have 20 hitting bays, some may have as many as 50. Some also have a short game area. This is where you practice shots are less than 100 yards long...


Practice Putting green: Most courses have a practice putting green near the 1st tee for warming up with your putting stroke. Usually, the type of grass that is on the green and how it is cut will give you an indication as to whether the ball is rolling fast or slow. Several things may affect the speed of a ball on the green. Rain and humidity make it slower, while sun and wind dry out the greens and make it roll faster. So it is best to get a good read on the practice greens before you go out on the course. You should determine “how the greens are rolling.”

Practice Sand Bunker: This is where there is a medium sized green surrounded by sand pits/bunkers. You can go into the sand bunker, drop several balls and practice hitting them from the pit onto the green. Here is an opportunity to test the consistency of the sand and determine what’s going to happen on the course.

Specialty Ranges: Some golf courses have a range specifically designed for you to hit balls into the water. Balls are recovered by the suction system in the water that pulls the balls to the bottom and collects them.

Range Picker: This is the famed rolling chicken coop looking cart that comes around to collect the balls. It has rubber spiral collectors that suck up the balls into attached crates. Although you may see a lot of people try to hit the range picker, this is not an acceptable practice.

Golf Phrases of the Week:

“The Dance Floor” refers to the greens.

“She’s dancing!” This refers to the “action” of a struck ball once it hits the green. If you watch on TV, pros can make the ball die (stop) where it lands, hit the green and roll or release. They can also do what is known as the famous backspin where the ball lands and spins back, this is also referred to as “pulling the string.” As you now know, the green is also referred to as the dance floor. So “she’s dancing” refers to the action of the ball once it hit’s the green.