Intermediate
Two Great Tips to Help You Play Better on Your Next Golf Trip
Bandon Dunes.
Tip No. 1: Do your research!
Tip No. 2: Practice to play the courses
- A large bucket of balls.
- 5 alignment sticks (two pool noodles if you have them).
- An app-based scorecard, with GPS and pull up the course(s) you will be playing.
- A personal launch monitor if you have one or use the Toptracer Range app.
- A short game practice area at your disposal to hit wedge shots and roll putts.
- Your imagination.
- Set an alignment stick for your target line, behind the ball.
- Set an alignment stick for your toe and body line.
- Set the two of the remaining sticks up about 15-20 yards in front of you as seen in the picture below, with one representative of your left target area line and one representative of the right side. Place colorful pool noodles over top of each alignment stick. Put the last alignment stick in between the others to represent a center target.
- I write down the clubs they are using for each shot. If you are hitting a driver off the first tee, mark the driver, and so on.
- Looking at the course map on the GPS, visualize the shot you will need to hit. Use the center alignment stick in front of you as a center-point for your aim line on the shot you are about to hit in your simulated round. Make note in your mind of any obstacles you see on the GPS map and make those part of your visualization process.
- The alignment sticks and pool noodles in front of you represent your fairway, or approach into the green. Keep in mind that those markers will exponentially get wider as those lines project outward, down the hole. You will need to rely on your visualization skills and imagination, along with the GPS map to predict where your shots wind up after hitting each of them.
- The personal launch monitor or Toptracer Range app will help you see your shot distances and how far offline each shot was in relation to your target. Use the combination of the GPS map and launch monitor to hit any of the full swing, or short wedge shots.
- On the notepad, mark each shot, what club you hit, and what yardage you had for each shot.
- When it comes to the around the green shots, and putting, make note on that pad what you have left to finish up on each hole after you finish the full swing and shorter wedge shot distances. For example, if you had 150 yards into a green and according to the launch monitor you hit it 145 yards and 10 yards right, you will guesstimate how far of a putt or chip you will have left. Mark that on the pad. If you feel as though you hit into a greenside bunker, then mark that.
- Play out all your around the green shots and putts at the short game practice area after you finish the range portion of this exercise. You are basically finishing up your round.
Sorrento, FL
Brendon Elliott
Brendon Elliott is considered by his peers in the industry as one of the top youth golf coaches in the world. He is a multiple local, state, regional, national, and world award-winning instructor who focuses on junior golfers ages 3-18. With numerous appearances on Golf Channel's Morning Drive, local TV, nationwide radio, and countless publications, Elliott is one of the foremost experts in the youth golf arena. His Little Linksters organization is recognized as an example for introducing children as young as three to the game as well as how to help introduce youth with disabilities to our golf. Elliott has been recommended by industry titans such as Nicklaus, Player, Floyd, Sorenstam, Speith, and more. Among his numerous accolades, Elliott was named the PGA of America's 2017 PGA National Youth Player Development Award Winner in 2017. Additionally, Elliott is a very busy freelance golf writer who works for various golf media outlets, including PGA.com, Golf.com, and many more. You can catch his three weekly columns on both GolfWRX.com and rg.org/news/golf.
Meet Brendon