Image Up Advertising & Design

| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | DECEMBER 2017 | 19 If you have questions about golf in Sun Lakes, please call the Main Pro Shop at 845-2135 or the Executive Pro Shop at 769-8444. SLCC Golf & Pro Shop News By Al Vallecorsa, PGA Director of Golf Here's Today's Tip... Why Do The Pros Use This Putting Drill? If you've ever had an opportunity to watch the game's top players practice you know that they spend a lot of time on the putting green. You also know that sometimes they rely on STRANGE drills to improve their game, and for elite players this means practicing putting with one arm. While it might seem odd, putting with one arm can actually be one of the best ways to improve your stroke. To make the most of the one arm putting drill just follow these simple guidelines: Choose an arm. Some pros will practice one handed putting with their lead arm (left arm for right handed golfers), while some practice one handed putting with their trail arm (right arm for right handed golfers). I suggest working a little on both to find your favorite. Start with short putts. I like to practice my one handed stroke on putts that are 3-4 feet away from the hole. This allows me to keep my stroke under control and also build confidence by making a high percentage of the putts that I hit. Feel the weight of the putter. When you swing your putter with one hand you will be amazed at how much you can feel the weight of the putter head as it swings back and forth. The key is to keep your grip pressure light and let the putter hang down from your arm naturally. This will help you create a natural pendulum motion and a great rhythm to your stroke. Accelerate through the ball. With only one hand on your putter it's going to be a lot harder to control. If you want to put a good roll on the ball you need to let the putter swing naturally and accelerate through the ball. Just imagine your putter head as a giant wrecking ball swinging down from your arm and crashing through the ball at impact. After practicing this drill for 10 or 15 minutes, try putting both hands back on your putter. You'll be amazed at how much smoother your stroke feels, and how much more confident you are on the green! Also: How to putt 30, 40 or 50 feet away. If you're like many of the golfers I know, getting your ball down in two when you're only 15 to 20 feet away from the hole on the putting surface isn't too much of a challenge unless it is Dec-Feb at Sun Lakes… But what about when you find your ball on the green 30, 40, or even 50 feet away from the cup? Long range putts like this can be a challenge, and I've seen many a golfer take 3 or even 4 strokes to get their ball into the hole from these distances. Talk about frustration! Next time you find yourself facing a long range putt you can avoid a disaster by following these simple tips… Make your target bigger. When you're facing a long distance putt the hole can seem like a pretty unrealistic target. Instead of zeroing in on the cup, I like to imagine the cup in the center of a circle with a radius of 3 to 4 feet - giving myself a more realist target that I can feel more confident about hitting. Focus on distance over direction. When you're facing a long putt it's more important to get the distance than it is the line. To get a good feel for the distance of the putt I like to stand half way between my ball and the hole and take a few practice strokes. After getting a feel for how hard I will need to hit my putt to get it half way to the hole, I'll back up to my ball and take a few more practice strokes at 100 percent. Practice lag putts. Next time you're on the practice green drop a few balls and instead of aiming at a hole, just aim for the far end of the putting green. Try to get your ball to die as close to the fringe as possible without actually touching it. This will help you develop better touch on those long lag putts. Keeping these tips in mind will help you two putt from long range more consistently, and avoid frustrating blow up holes caused by three or four putts! WHAT CONSTITUTES CLOSING THE GOLF COURSES? Wind - We would close the golf course if wind speeds dictate that a "severe weather alert" has been posted on the computer. We do this for safety and we have found that some players will not use best judgment and out of respect to all golfers should an alert get posted in the "San Gorgonio Pass Area" for extremely high wind speeds we will close the course. This is for possible tree limbs that could fall on golf carts and/or on players potentially killing or severely injuring them. Rain - We would close the golf course if conditions warrant harming the golf course or we have standing water. Carts are very heavy and cart traffic can do a lot of damage if the ground is soft. What is sometimes forgotten is that play or tournament play can be temporarily suspended (go into the lounge or sandwedge) and should conditions quickly pass/play can be resumed. Lightning - Should lightning be in the area, we close the course immediately for the safety of all play. Frost - Frost delay based on frozen turf or ground. Just because it doesn't look like there is frost this doesn't mean there is none or the ground is not frozen. Also, please keep in mind that once frost or frozen conditions clear, the maintenance team needs time to get out in front of play to mow greens and set up the golf course which is usually plus or minus 45 minutes or so. As an example, if the frost clears at 8:30 the first time would be around 9:15. The first tee time of the day would have precedent at the 9:15 time. GAC News: The golf advisory committee recently changed the fine from $25 to $50 should someone go out onto either golf course without checking into the golf shop. In addition to the $50 fine the appropriate golf rate would also apply of when you played. If you are going out to play when the golf shop is closed please sign the after- hours sheets or leave a voice mail to avoid this penalty. From the Marketing Committee: ATTENTION BRAND NEW SUN LAKES GOLFERS: Sign up today for annual golf membership for 2018 and receive one free month of golf December 2017. Sign up at the pro shops. See you on the courses!

• Cover