Fall - 2022

A picturesque image of the 5th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links by noted golf photographer Joann Dost. To calm tense nerves, golf experts advise taking a deep breath, staying in the present and picturing the next shot. spot where you still had an opportunity to get up and down, you’d elim- inate the big number and keep your scores low. The biggest key to nailing your approach shots comes from a friend and fellow coach Manuel de laTorre, the longtime head golf professional at Milwaukee Country Club. When h e was being interviewed for the position more than 50 years ago, one of the questions he was asked was how he’d go about improving every member’s handicap. De la Torre, a member of the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame, said he could lower the entire club’s handicap by two strokes instantly. Of course, everybody wanted to know how, so he was called back for a second interview. His answer to the question was to remove the flagstick from each hole. It was as simple as that. His reasoning was that if you pulled the flagstick from all 18 holes, you would stop thinking about hitting the perfect shot into every green—tight to the flagstick—and focus on hitting the ball anywhere on the green. Instead of playing to a small, defined target (the flagstick), you would play to a much larger one (the entire green), which would free you up to make a more confident, easy swing and conse- quently, hit more greens. This is a great way to look at your approach shots.Try it the next time you’re playing: remove the flagstick from your thought process and visu- alize your target as one big green. I know these ideas will help you to shoot lower scores and gain more enjoyment from playing the game. Please come by and visit us at the Pebble Beach Golf Academy and the Hay par 3 course. Give these ideas a try and visit us at the Pebble Beach Golf Academy for more direction on your game improvement. Golf is a game we play for a lifetime and we encourage you to be a lifelong learner. Please contact us at 831/622-8650 to learn more. C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 2 93 Photo: Joann Dost