Previous
Tips for snowbirds play better golf
WELCOME BAHAMAS - GRAND BAHAMA - 2005
Tips for snowbirds play better golf
Knock the rust off your swing in Grand Bahama
If you're a golfer from the land of ice and snow, newly arrived in sunny Grand Bahama, you probably can't wait to get out on a course and see your ball streaking down the fairway.
With the snow laying deep and crisp and even on the courses back home, you've had time to reflect on the flaws in your grip, posture and stance; all the little faults that prevented you from moving on to the next level last year. In your mind, the swing's already fixed and ready to go.
But if you're a seasoned golfer, you've had these thoughts before and you know that in no other sport do illusions die so quickly as they do in golf.
Thus, one of the first things to do, says Scott Coetzee, golf director at Crowne Plaza's Ruby and Emerald golf courses on the West Sunrise Highway, is to lower your expectations. "If you haven't played for awhile, you'll find that your upper body wants to take over the swing, and that causes all the slices and hooks that you see out there."
Hurricane renovations
Unfortunately, there won't be any slices or hooks at the Ruby and Emerald until fall 2005, both courses having suffered extensive damage in two hurricanes that hit Grand Bahama in 2004. Work is continuing on both, including the reinstallation of irrigation systems, planting trees and refilling sand traps. "We plan to re-open in September 2005 and golfers can be assured of a great golf product after the renovation," says Coetzee.
Golfers who haven't played for awhile can still benefit from the pro's advice, no matter what course they play on.
After a layoff, "you've forgotten all your bad habits and you have an opportunity now to go back to the basics and really improve."
Coetzee offers a simple exercise that should knock some of the rust off your swing. "What I suggest golfers do is put their feet together, the heels together and the toes pointed out, like a frog or like a ballerina, and then just swing the club that way," he advises.
"It teaches you tempo and balance. Make as full a swing as possible without falling over. You want to develop clubhead speed so you can hear that "swish" when you do this exercise with a driver. Keep your arms loose and try to make that "swish" sound as loud as possible."
Beyond that, Coetzee says, golfers should get back to the basics. "Check out your stance; make sure your hips and shoulders are aligned parallel to your target line and especially check your ball position. If the ball position isn't good, no matter how well you swing, you are not going to get good results."
Along with just about every pro in The Bahamas, Micheline Poitier, coordinator of golf at Our Lucaya, advises snowbirds to hit the range before hitting the course.
"We have great practice facilities," Poitier says of the two Our Lucaya courses, the par-72, 6,824-yd Lucayan and the par-72, 6,920-yd Reef. Both of these courses have been put back in top condition after the hurricanes.
She recommends that, while both courses offer unique sets of challenges, The Reef might be more open and forgiving for golfers playing their first game after the winter layoff.
The Lucayan is now home to the Jim McLean School of Golf, replacing the operation formerly run by Butch Harmon, who once tutored Tiger Woods. McLean and his team also operate golf schools at the Doral Country Club in Miami, Weston Hills Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, and other places around the United States.
A nine-hole gem
Walter Kitchen, who owns and operates the Fortune Hills Golf Club on East Sunrise Highway, says players from northern climes should spend some time getting used to the Bermuda turf used on Bahamian and Floridian courses, before playing for real.
"Bermuda's thicker and tougher than the bent varieties that are used on most northern courses." However, the refined Bermuda grasses used on greens are almost as fast as bent grass and "they always break towards the ocean," says Kitchen - useful information when you have a 10-footer for par and all the money.
Fortune Hills is a gem of a nine-hole course, designed by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee and built in 1971. It got heavily hit by the hurricanes too, but after cleaning up a lot of fallen trees, it has been open since October 2004.
To sum up: winter-bound golfers newly arrived in the land of perpetual June should get used to Bermuda turf, remember the greens break towards the ocean, temper your expectations, go back to basics (grip, stance, posture and especially ball position), practice before you play and use Scott Coetzee's exercise to retrieve your balance and tempo.
Do all that and you won?t be yelling "fore" quite so often.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-Mail: Click here
Internet: https://
Disclaimer:
Information in editorial and listings is subject to change at any time.