Springtime is finally here and I know that some of you need to get some of the rust off of your games. Before you get out to the range for the first time here are some tips to make your return a little easier. Make sure that you spend some time doing stretches that are golf related so that you avoid injuries. Start your practice on the chipping green as the short game is a mirror of the long game and gets you warmed up before hitting balls. Before you take out the ‘Big Dog”, it is a good idea to go thru all your set up drills to make sure that your grip and especially your alignment is in order. A very high percentage of “bad shots” are due to poor set ups prior to the shot. Finally use some of your favorite hitting drills to get the feel of the swing before flailing away with the driver. One of my favorite drills is hitting full shots with my feet together using a seven iron. It promotes balance and the feel of the club-head, as it is hard to over-swing using this drill. Hope this helps and I will see you out at the course.

Last year I wanted to write about “Rules of the Game” in every article that I wrote. That lasted about one or two articles at the most. Fortunately the USGA is thinking the same way and sent all of you a Rules Book. My advice to all of the golfers in the club is READ IT!!!!! Not only are you responsible to know the rules, but also if you unknowingly break a rule and don’t take the appropriate action it is a two-stroke penalty and can lead to disqualification. Most important of all is there are many rules that are advantageous to you and can save you strokes.

One of the new rule changes this year is a rule in this category. This year golfers are allowed to use range finders and computer programmed yardage books in competitive golf events. In the past it was only legal to use yardage books and caddies to get information in regards to distances. This can be a big advantage to the every day golfer to get yardages with out having to pace off distances from the on course markers. The biggest potential advantage could be speeding up play by eliminating some of the decision making on club selection. Some of the programs even take in account the elevation changes on the hole and give you the yardage based on this information.

Hopefully by the time you read this article everyone will have sent in his or her money for Monterey or it will be too late. We are still working on the trip in July and will inform everyone when we get the details.

AGAIN…. I want every one to remember that all members of the SFFD are welcome to join us playing at Silverado Country Club. Just call the golf line and leave a message as to who is playing in the foursome. Also if there are any of you who want to join the club I can be contacted at Station 17 and I work in tour 25.

The golf line number is 415-822-950.

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