The ART in FIRE

Summer Golf is Here

Private Lessons

by Darrell Klassen

Well, we knew it had to get hot some time, and summer is definitely here. Many of you will still go to the golf course in this weather and do your best to enjoy a round of golf. There are just a few little tips for the summer heat which will really help you to keep on top of your game.
Summer is actually a great time for playing golf. The golf ball will actually compress just a bit better, and the air is lighter, so the ball will travel a few yards farther in the heat than in the cold. This is the time of the year to hit your longest shots.
The only problem with this time of the year is the heat and how we deal with it. When I was a youngster my brother and I would go to the golf course fairly early in the day, and we would stay and play literally all day long. That was in the days before we had electric carts to ride, so we were walking all the way.
It was nothing for us to play as many as 36 to 45 holes in those days. The courses weren’t as crowded as they are now, and in those days golfers thought it was a crime if anyone took more than three (3) hours to play eighteen holes. Now you are lucky if you can get nine holes played in the same three hours. The game has really changed!! Everyone thinks they need to play like the pros, and it takes forever to play the game.
It has done tremendous damage to the game, in my opinion, and it is one of the main reasons I do not play any longer. I have played nine holes riding a cart in thirty minutes, and still shot scores ranging from 29 to 36 for the nine holes. It just simply should not take five to six hours to play eighteen holes.
In this heat five and six hour rounds are tougher, also. That was where I began this article, in the heat. When we play in the heat we need to spend as much time as possible, while the others in our group are making their shots, in the shade. Walk or ride near the trees, and stay under the shade of the trees as much as possible.
When I play(ed) in the heat I would always take an extra towel with me, and I would keep it soaked in water. I would use this towel for wiping my face and arms throughout the round in order to stay a bit cooler. You would be surprised how much this will help you to stay comfortable during your day.
Of course you should always wear a hat of some sort. It never bothered me to wear a nice wide brim straw hat on the golf course. After all, we are trying to stay cool so we can enjoy ourselves.
Wear light colored clothing, and it is all right to wear shorts (I still do not like them to be too short on the golf course), and I play what little golf I do play now days in tennis shoes. They seem much more comfortable to me than golf shoes. You can also purchase golf sandals now, and they look like they would be marvelous in the hot weather.
If you like to walk all of your golf, then you should lighten your load in the summer. Taking just three or four clubs out of your bag which you do not use very often on your home course will make a tremendous difference in amount of weight you are carrying. Try it, and you will be surprised how much easier it is to walk and carry your clubs.
The most obvious is to be certain to take plenty of water with you. There should always be plenty of water fountains on the golf course for you, but even so you should be certain to take plenty of water with you. You are going to be out in the heat for a long time, so do not take any chances. In nearly twenty-five years of managing golf courses I have seen too many dehydrated golfers, and it is dangerous for you to become that way.
Most golf courses have to mow their greens just a wee bit higher in the summer heat in order to keep them from burning and being destroyed. Give them a break and do not complain about that one. It always amazed me how upset golfers would become when we would raise the greens mowers just a bit in the summer. Take just a moment and reflect, and you will quickly realize how much you do not like playing on greens which have burned spots, or on temporary greens, which replace completely destroyed greens.
It is summer time. Relax and have fun playing. Stay cool and enjoy yourselves. It won’t be that long until the fall is here, and playing conditions will be perfect again.