Dealing with the harder ground

As the weather finally seems to have changed golf courses up and down the country will start to dry out giving us different kinds of problems. Here are a few of the keys ones to look out for and how to manage them.

Ball traveling further off the tee - With the warmer weather the ball travels further anyway but with the dry fairways the ball will bounce and roll further as well. This could make tee shots narrower depending where you hit it so it is worth thinking about what club you tee off with. If you have a favourite yardage to play in from to to play to that so if it means hitting hybrid instead of driver off the tee, do it.

Will the ball hold on the green - This will depend on the club you play at and the time of day you play. As the mornings still have a little dew about the greens at most courses tend to be receptive but as the day goes on and the green dry out the ball doesn't hold anywhere near as well. Better courses with sand based greens will get more control but always aim to play a little shorter to account for the extra roll. If you are not the first one to hit into a green watch what happens to your playing partners ball as it will help you decide what you need to do. Remember that the greens will be different depending on where they are on the course.

Mishits still go 100 yards - Everyone is going to have bad shots, its fact. Watch the pro's play on tour they do it and they are the best golfers on the planet. The thing to remember is that the ball will keep running on the fairways, so if you are avoiding a club because you don't feel comfortable just try it because if you do mishit it the ball will just bounce on down the fairway.