LETTER FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
SHARPENING UP ON PLAYING IN WET CONDITIONS
Salutations once again Eaglebrooke , I hope you all have had a great month of June on and off the course . As we roll into July we are now well into the rainy season , and this month we are going to look at some ways to play to adapt to playing in saturated or wet conditions on the golf course .
There are some things to take into consideration when planning shots in wet conditions . The most obvious being , that your shots will not have much if any roll out . So essentially , we would be hitting shots and choosing clubs based on the carry distance without roll out .
When it comes to making contact in wet conditions , there are a couple of things to take note of . If both the ball and club are wet , the ball will not travel as far because of the lack of friction when making contact . So , in wet conditions club up and focus on making good contact . When it comes to making good contact , the best plan is to make sure that we hit the ball first . I would suggest to try and make ball first contact , and to do that play the ball just slightly farther back in the stance , to ensure that we hit ball first , but we do not want to hit ball only , and pick the ball clean off the turf .
When the time comes to hit a shot out of wet rough , there are some tricks to getting the ball out of the deep and heavy grass . The first thing to do would be to grip down slightly on the club , when the ground becomes saturated , we “ sink in ” making the usual playing length of the club longer , so if we grip down slightly it will offset . Also , we want the shaft of the club to be more upright , so standing slightly closer to the ball will get the shaft angle more upright , and that will help the club get through the heavier wet grass .
When wet conditions show the most is usually around the greens . When we start trying to hit delicate chips and pitches , wet conditions can make these shots tricky . For chip shots making sure the club is more upright , therefore getting the heel of the club off the ground will help make solid contact and not hitting the ball fat or chunking it .
When it comes to putting on wet softer greens there will be less break and movement on putts . So , when we start hitting putts , we would want to make sure that we are making a firm stroke and playing less brake . So , putting is less about the break , and more about the speed and distance control .
I hope that we don ’ t find ourselves dealing with too much water and saturation , but we as golfers should be prepared for any type of condition and adapt as they change . I hope everyone has a great July , and has a great time enjoying playing this great game !
Ben Johnson
PGA , Teaching Professional
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