Pro Tips

Does your golf game need a little help? Check out the tips below from The Bay Club’s Head Golf Professional, Mike Tritapoe. The Bay Club also offers professional instruction for all skill levels. For more information call 410-641-4081 or click here for our Golf Lesson Fee Schedule.

Tip #1 - Focus on the Short Game The challenge for most golfers is not so much their swing, but their short game. I know that everyone wants to hit the ball 300 yards and hit every green, but it does not matter how far you can hit the ball if you cannot get the ball into the hole.  If you are one of the few people who do practice, 90% of your practice time should be spent on the short game, which is where you score. Take the time to focus on putting, chipping and bunker play to help lower your scores instantly.

Tip #2 - Putting Are you having problems on the greens? If so, follow the steps below for improved putting: Develop a pre-shot routine and stick to it. Forget what the pros do and go with a stroke that feels most natural to you. Grip the putter lightly. Keep the lower body absolutely still throughout the stroke. Accelerate the putter-head through the ball. Buy a putter that is pleasing to the eye, otherwise the club will never promote confidence. Balance your weight evenly on both feet. Maintain the identical tempo for both long and short putts. See a line in your minds eye before even starting the stroke. Always maintain a positive attitude. “Will” the ball into the hole. Keep your head perfectly still during the stroke. Set-up square: feet, knees, hips and shoulders parallel to the target line.

Tip #3 - Chipping If you watch good chippers, you’ll notice immediately how little wasted movement there is in their actions. That’s the best way to be consistent, especially over short distances. The first step toward building that consistency in your chipping is to simulate as much as possible your impact position at address. Set up to the ball with your feet close together and about 70 percent of your weight on your left side. This will automatically place your hands ahead of the ball. And that is the position you want to return to at impact. You want your whole body to feel soft. There should be no stiffness or rigidity. That is the best way to encourage the shoulder-rocking motion to use on chip shots. Do not let the hands get active at all during the shot. That, combined with leaning left at address, will produce the slight downward hit you want through impact. Ball-then-turf is the correct order of things.

Tip #4 - Greenside Bunkers With the ball sitting in the greenside bunker, the first concern is to splash the ball out of the sand. This is accomplished by a combination of setup and design of your sand wedge.  (If you don’t already own one, invest in one.) The wide flange, or sole, of the sand wedge allows the club to slide through the sand and underneath the ball without digging, making the splash shot infinitely easier. Follow these steps to conquer the greenside bunker: Choke up on the grip about halfway. Open your stance and clubface an equal amount. You can vary the distance you hit the shot by opening your stance and clubface more for a shorter shot or less for a longer shot. Practice and experiment. Keep your ball position forward, opposite your left heel. Keep your weight evenly distributed between both feet. Aim about two to four inches behind the ball and take a full swing, but don’t use full power. Accelerate through and think about tempo.