Your Game
BUILD A SWING
You Can Feel
Hit solid, repeatable shots by refining your awareness
of the golf club’s location
by PAUL SARGENT, PGA
Director of Golf
The First Tee Chesterfield, Richmond, Va.
with ABBY PORTYRATA
senior at Clover Hill High School,
Midlothian, Va.
Edited by ANDREW BLAIR
Photography by SCOTT K. BROWN
I
I won’t soon forget
the first time I played golf with Abby
Portyrata. The first hole at The First T
ee
Chesterfield is a par 3. Now I’m not a short
hitter, and I struck a solid 8-iron that came
to rest flagstick high. Abby, 15 years old at
the time, played next and her shot flew easily
over the putting surface. The club looked
too short to be a mid-iron, and when she put
her club back in her bag, I looked at the sole
and could hardly believe my eyes. She’d hit
her 9-iron about 15-20 yards past me.
As the round progressed, her natural
talent, instincts and competitive drive were
obvious. So were her flaws. On one par 4,
she snap-hooked her tee shot so badly that
the ball flew dead left into the trees before it
even got to the forward tee. One other thing
I noticed: On most of her iron shots, she
rarely took a divot, a clear indication that she
had to make adjustments through the impact
area to compensate for some inefficiency
earlier in her motion.
Abby was playing with what Ben Hogan
once called “a snake in her pocket;” an
occasional extreme hook that was just
waiting to bite her at any moment.
By gaining a feel for the clubhead, Portyrata has
enhanced her awareness of how to become a
better ball-striker.
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VIRGINIA GOLFER | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013