AimPoint instruction at Aspen Lakes can help golfers read the greens better

Aspen Lakes pro the only certified AimPoint instructor in Central Oregon

Putting can be one of golf’s great mysteries. It seems so easy. What’s so hard about slowly rolling a ball toward a hole down a relatively smooth surface, right?

Yet, it is on the greens that so many amateur golfers struggle most. According to research in Golf magazine: “High handicappers require about 30 percent more putts — or roughly 8 strokes — per round than pros do.”

For amateurs, the culprits are many, from poor strategy to less-than-ideal speed to an inability to “read” the greens correctly. Perhaps the key to improving on the greens is to whittle that list of culprits down.

We know instinctively that the more time we devote to the practice green the better our putting stroke will be. But learning how to properly read a green is a skill not many higher handicappers possess. That is why learning how to read greens using the AimPoint Express method can be so valuable.

Pioneered by Mark Sweeney, an amateur golfer who himself struggled with putting, the AimPoint Express method works to simplify reading greens by teaching golfers how to feel the slope of the green with their feet and how to use your arm and fingers to aim. AimPoint Express has quickly gained favor on the professional tours, used by such players as Adam Scott and Christina Kim. (If the name sounds familiar it might be because AimPoint Technologies, which Sweeney founded, produces some of those graphical marks that show viewers the line of a putt during professional golf broadcasts.)

It is a method that Aspen Lakes’ PGA Director of Player Development Howie Pruitt, the only certified AimPoint instructor in Central Oregon, knows well.

“AimPoint is just a simple way to read greens,” said Pruitt, who earned the certification in January 2015. “You will still have hit the putt at the right speed and on the right line to be a successful putter. But by eliminating one of the factors that lead us astray on the greens, most golfers quickly save strokes.”

Trusting that gravity is a constant, AimPoint attempts to define the correct putting line by relying on three basic factors: distance from the hole (calculated by pacing), the amount of slope (which is usually a 1 percent to 4 percent grade, judged by feel and practice), and the angle of the putt across the slope (uphill, downhill, etc.), according to a Bend Bulletin story.

It might sound complicated, but in actuality AimPoint is a relatively simple method to learn, at least with the right instruction. In fact, Pruitt says it only takes about an hour for a golfer to get reasonably proficient.

Once adopted, the benefits become clear. By understanding the basic physics of putting, golfers gain more confidence. In turn, that confidence can lead not only to a better line toward the hole, but more consistent strokes that improve pace and lead to better decision-making around the greens.

In other words, it will save strokes.

“As a player, it definitely improved my confidence,” Pruitt said. “ I knew exactly what the ball was going to do once it started to roll.”

Private, group lessons, classes and clinics with Pruitt are all available through the Aspen Lakes PGA Learning Center. Call the Aspen Lakes pro shop at 541-549-4653 for more information. To book a tee time call the golf shop or book online.

 

Tip: It takes more than just hitting golf balls to make perfect

Aspen Lakes professional says simple drills will help get the most out of a practice session

The scene on the Aspen Lakes Golf Course practice range is a familiar one: Golfers in line sending golf ball after golf ball into the blue Central Oregon sky, then watching as the white spheres come crashing down on their emerald-green resting place.

Golfers working on their games like this can be seen at most any practice facility. But for Howie Pruitt, Aspen Lakes PGA director of player development, he sees a different kind of practice session … something less productive.

“I walk the line and ask what they are working on, and I usually get a blank stare from golfers,” Pruitt said. “But for a practice session to be productive, you can’t just be spraying balls down the range. Every shot has to have a purpose.”

What’s a golfer to do to get more out of a session? Well, Pruitt suggests a few easy drills.

It starts with a simple training aid: driveway markers. With driveway markers, or at least a suitable replacement, golfers can:

• Practice their alignment by setting up a single stick to align the stance.
• Set two markers up, one for your stance and another set up parallel to the first stick, create a target path for each shot.
• Set up two sticks perpendicular to one another to check ball position.

In addition, golfers should set two golf tees along the line of the range and then place a golf ball between the two tees. Then golfers should practice hitting the ball with the goal of not touching either tee. As a golfer improves, the tees should be moved closer to one another until it is at a width just longer than the clubface.

The idea of each drill is to retrain yourself to think differently on the range.

“You want to get away from thinking about the results of the swing, and instead focus on the process of the swing,” Pruitt said. “That is where real improvement can be made.”

Of course, every golfer should devote more time to practice their short games.

“I see so many golfers go to the range, hit balls, and then walk right past the putting green,” Pruitt said. “That is a mistake.”

Remember what Vince Lombardi said: “’Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

Private, group lessons, classes and clinics with Pruitt are all available through the Aspen Lakes PGA Learning Center. Call the Aspen Lakes pro shop at 541-549-4653 for more information. To book a tee time call the golf shop or book online.

 

Aspen Lakes’ Community Fun League only growing

 

Aspen Lakes’ Director of Player Development Howie Pruitt, at right, readies a group of Community Fun League golfers for a marshmallow long-drive contest.

Community Fun League, which throws out the Rules of Golf,
has steadily grown in popularity

The Community Fun League has been a growing curiosity here at Aspen Lakes. More and more questions are being asked around the Pro Shop inquiring about Aspen Lakes’ odd new take on golf, a testament to the word-of-mouth the Fun League has sparked.

There is one truly important question that should always be asked: What makes the Community Fun League, well, so fun?

Perhaps it is the long-drive contest … using a marshmallow. It could be that the league format is so open, that the higher score in a shamble is what ends up being the better score. Or maybe it is the nonchalant and rather loose interpretation of the Rules of Golf.

“Because this is the Fun League, there are no rules,” Howie Pruitt, Aspen Lakes Director of Player Development, said. “It has really been a hoot.”

A golfer addresses the marshmallow.

The Fun League continues to grow: From its infancy last year to at least more than a dozen, and sometimes more, who reliably show up each Wednesday at 5 p.m. for a pressure-free, four-person scramble.

“Howie has being doing a great job with it,” said Rob Malone, Aspen Lakes director of golf. “It’s been growing by an order of magnitude, and it’s been getting more fun.”

The idea was born out of a simple idea: In order for the game to grow, it needs to find more fun ways to introduce the game to new golfers.

That is easier said than done, of course.

But Pruitt created the Community Fun League with the thought if you stripped away many of the formalities of golf and took away the pressure of scorecard, that golfers would respond.

That has proven to be true so far with the Community League. Not only has it attracted relative newcomers, it has also managed to draw more experienced players who would just as soon play for fun, too.

“It is a blast, and it is exactly what the game of golf needs,” Malone said. “I really see a lot of promise with the Fun League, and my hope is that it will continue to grow.”

Community Fun League tournaments are held every Wednesday at 5 p.m., through Aug. 24, which means there is still plenty of time to join and enjoy the rest of the season.

The tournaments are inexpensive, too. The cost is just $20 per player to join a team, and each player pays a reduced green fee of $25 (including cart!). Sign up at Sisters Park and Recreation District.

Call the Aspen Lakes pro shop at 541-549-4653 for more information. To book a tee time call the golf shop or book online.

Aspen Lakes having a summer to remember

Feedback from golfers has been immensely positive so far this year

Rob Malone, the director of golf at Aspen Lakes, fondly recalls a couple from Ann Arbor, Michigan, strolling into the clubhouse. The couple was pleasant, and eager to talk golf.

They were at Aspen Lakes as part of a West Coast golf trip of a lifetime. A requisite trip to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (we love it there, too!) was already cross off their to-play list, as were some of the other big names in Oregon golf.

But the couple had a message for Malone: “He told me, ‘I play a lot of golf, and I had never heard of Aspen Lakes. But the beauty and the design are just fantastic. I put it in my top 5 all-time.’”

Such words are music to our collective ears at Aspen Lakes.

This has been quite a season for Aspen Lakes so far. It had quite a start, with best-in-Oregon recognition from the state’s largest newspaper as well as Golfweek magazine.

Of course, lofty rankings are fun. But rankings would not matter much if golfers themselves disagreed. Well, if growth in play is any indication, it looks like golfers are pretty fond of Aspen Lakes, too.

July was filled with golfers, many traveling to Central Oregon on vacation with family. The Fourth of July weekend was among the busiest anyone can recall at Aspen Lakes, and July golf rounds appear to be headed toward a 10 percent uptick through July.

The verbal feedback from golfers has been stellar, too.

“We always get good feedback, but this year it seems like it has been at another level,” Malone said.

Malone offers two main reasons for the excitement around Aspen Lakes. First, the conditioning at Aspen Lakes has steadily improved over the last two years.

“I think play has definitely grown on the coattails of our conditioning,” Malone said. “Our superintendent, Josh Knapp, and his team have done such a wonderful job. And golfers are noticing.”

Malone added that Aspen Lakes’ customer service could be a factor, too. It’s true, the staff at Aspen Lakes has always made a point of making golfers feel comfortable before and after their rounds.

“The bottom line is that we try to make Aspen Lakes feel like everybody’s home course,” Malone said.

Indeed. Come see why so many golfers are raving about their rounds at Aspen Lakes. Peak-season rates are as low as $43.

To book a tee time, call 541-549-GOLF or book online at www.aspenlakes.com.

Fixing your slice starts with identifying swing flaw

Aspen Lakes teaching pro says fixes are simple once a
golfer understands what the golf ball is telling them

There may be no more common golf malady than the slice. In fact, more than 70 percent of golfers reported to regularly hit a slice, according to a Golf.com survey just a few years ago.

Of course, knowing you regularly hit a slice is a lot easier to identify than it is to truly understand the swing flaw that is causing the ball to careen wildly toward the rough and what is needed to fix that flaw.

Howie Pruitt, Aspen Lakes’ director of player development, has some advice. It begins with first understanding the truth the golf ball is trying to tell you every time it flies right (for right-handers).

“The ball will always tell you what you are doing wrong,” said Pruitt. “The path to the ball is controlled by stance and posture. The face is controlled by your hands.”

The ball should tell a golfer one of three things:

• Push, or “block,” a ball straight right (or left, if you are a lefty) and that suggests a stance and posture problem that is causing the club to move off line at impact
• If the ball begins straight and then curves right, that suggests a problem with your hands that are allowing the clubface to fly open at impact.
• And finally, if you tend to hit those dreaded “banana balls” that start right and then curve, you likely have both issues.

The fixes are different for each issue, of course. But one fix that will likely not work, Pruitt warns, is to change your stance to aim further left.

“That will probably only exasperate the slicing problem,” he said.

The good news is that fixing a slice does not have to be difficult.

Those who struggle releasing the club at impact, causing those blocks, can work on the issue by holding a club in the top hand (the left hand for righties, right hand for lefties), then holding your bicep to your body with your off hand, swinging over and over to work on the release of the club.

Those with more significant slices can use a training device such as an Orange Whip or a weight (such as a donut weight) placed on a conventional club to work on swinging through impact and better transferring your weight to your front foot.

“If you can figure out how to that club that target line with a square clubface, your slice is going to be gone,” Pruitt said.

The best way to fix a swing flaw is with the help of a PGA professional.

Private, group lessons, classes and clinics with Pruitt are all available through the Aspen Lakes PGA Learning Center. Call the Aspen Lakes pro shop at 541-549-4653 for more information. To book a tee time call the golf shop or book online.

 

Short putts make easy path to fewer strokes

Howie Pruitt suggests simple drill to improve your accuracy inside 8 feet

Every golfer, from beginner to grizzled PGA Tour veteran, asks the same question: “How can I save strokes on the golf course?” The question is the very essence of golf.

Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is actually quite simple.

“You gain strokes with your putter,” Howie Pruitt, Aspen Lakes director of player development, says flatly.

The path to better putting is nearly as simple. In fact, success can often be found by improving your performance on the easiest shots in a given round: putts inside 8 feet.

Yet, short putts are a skill few amateur golfers pay much mind to. They should. Working on these putts is not particularly complicated and it can pay huge dividends on the scorecard.

A time-tested drill begins on a flat piece of practice putting green. Set up four balls around a hole, each set about 4 feet away. Then work your way around each ball, trying to make each putt.

If you make all four putts, then set up four more balls, this time 8 feet away from the hole. If at any point you miss, you must start over with four new balls set 4 feet away.

The drill might sound overly simplistic, but it actually helps golfers improve in two ways.

“What it does is build confidence for you,” Pruitt says. “It also helps you deal with some of the stress on the golf course. I assure you that when you get to putt No. 4, and you’ve made three, you won’t want to start over again. So there is a pressure to make that fourth putt.”

The drill is nothing new. In fact, some of the best in the game have made the drill a cornerstone of their work on the greens.

“Phil Mickelson is an example. He will come out here and keep doing it until he makes 100 in a row,” Pruitt says. “I’ve never made more than 15 or 20 in a row, so I can only imagine what it’s like to come out here and make 100 4-footers.”

Give it a try and see how many you can make.

Private, group lessons, classes and clinics with Pruitt are all available through the Aspen Lakes PGA Learning Center. Call the Aspen Lakes pro shop at 541-549-4653 for more information. To book a tee time call the golf shop or book online.

Spring clinics at Aspen Lakes will get your golf game tuned up

Three clinics in May taught by Howie Pruitt, Aspen Lakes’ director of player development, will lead to better golf

Golf is a challenging game. It is the primary reason so many of us rush to the emerald-green turf each golf season, hellbent on conquering a game that is truly unconquerable.

For some reason, though, amateur golfers are reluctant to seek help from a PGA golf professional. Howie Pruitt, Aspen Lakes’ director of player development, can help golfers of all skill levels with a series of spring clinics.

“The spring is an ideal time to get help with your golf game,” Pruitt said. “It helps an amateur golfer nip any bad habits in the bud before they ever develop. And early help will propel a player into better golf through the length of the season.”

FOR BEGINNERS

Getting started in golf can be intimidating, which is exactly why there has been a movement for beginners to Get Golf Ready.

Beginning on Tuesday, May 17, and running on each subsequent Tuesday until June 21, Aspen Lakes and its staff of PGA professionals will teach would-be golfers the fundamentals of the game needed to enjoy golf in six small group sessions. Open to both men and women, the program is designed to get novices confidence and a sense of belonging on the course.

“We’re trying to take the stuffiness and some of the intensity out of golf, and make it more fun,” Pruitt says. “We’re making it easier for people to come out and have some fun.”

Each session runs from 5-6:30 p.m. The cost is just $49 for the entire six-week session.

FOR THOSE WITH SOME EXPERIENCE

One of the most significant, albeit most exhilarating, challenges in golf is to take the next step in your game. The Gateway to Golf program was designed to help a golfer make this jump.

Beginning on Thursday, May 19, and running on each subsequent Thursday through June 23, Aspen Lakes and its staff of PGA professionals will help more-experienced golfers get the season off on the right foot. From driving, approach shots, short game, putting, course management, and the most common rules, Aspen Lakes will cover just about everything.

“Whether you want a refresher, if you have recently taken lessons, or simply want to tune-up, your game for the peak of the season, this clinic will lead to better golf,” Pruitt said.

Each session runs from 5-6:30 p.m. The cost is $59 for the entire six-week session.

FOCUS ON THE SHORT GAME

The difference between a great round and something far worse often comes down to the shots from 100 yards and in. Yet, so many of us spend most of our practice time whacking a driver. Aspen Lakes staff of PGA professionals designed its Short Game School with AimPoint with this in mind.

Held on Friday, May 20, and Friday, June 3, we will spend two 1½-hour sessions working on all aspects of the short game: short approach shots, chipping, pitching, and bunker play. In addition, we will focus on improving your putting using AimPoint, the method that has helped top professionals such as Adam Scott on the greens.

Pruitt is the only AimPoint-certified instructor east of the Cascade Range.

“Working on your short game tends to pay the greatest dividends on the scorecard,” Pruitt says. “The winner of the weekend bet is most often the person with the best short game.”

Each session begins at 4:30 p.m. The cost for two sessions is $150.

For more information on these three clinics, visit Sisters Park & Recreation District. To reserve your spot in one of Pruitt’s May clinics, visit SPRD’s registration page.

To book a tee time call the golf shop 541-549-GOLF, or book a tee time online at www.aspenlakes.com. Private, group lessons, classes and clinics with Pruitt are all available through the Aspen Lakes PGA Learning Center.

Golfers can use the offseason to get better

Aspen Lakes director of player development, Howie Pruitt, explains ways that golfers can work on their game away from the course

Golf’s offseason can be a frustrating time for those who are devoted to the game.

In Central Oregon, we can spend weeks and sometimes months away from golf. Our clubs rest untouched in the garage as our golf swings turn rustier than 100-year-old nail.

Thankfully, those chilly days have mostly stayed away this fall. In fact, with discounted rates and exceptionally mild weather that has Aspen Lakes in unusually good shape for so late in October, this is a wonderful time to play a round of golf.

But the cold, snowy days are about as inevitable as the sun rising in the east. The layoff will come. But a well thought out offseason can pay off come next golf season.

Howie Pruitt, Aspen Lakes’ director of player development, has some thoughts on ways to have us all ready to tee off next spring.

Tune up the equipment

Quick question: How long has it actually been since you last regripped your clubs? If it has been awhile, you might want to bring them in to Aspen Lakes’ pro shop for a tune-up.

Pruitt says that any golfer who plays at least 20 times in a season should probably have their clubs regripped annually. Yet, so many golfers neglect this simple, and relatively affordable, equipment fix.

“I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen people with clubs that have grips that are hard and slippery,” Pruitt says. “That creates more tension in their arms and hands because they are trying to hold on to the club so tightly.”

In addition, the offseason can be used to clean your golf shoes, including clearing out each socket of debris, and replace the soft spikes with new ones (which can also be found in the Aspen Lakes golf shop).

In addition, every golfer should take a moment to audit what is in their golf bags. Old, unusable golf balls should be donated or otherwise discarded to lighten the load for next season. More importantly you want to ensure there are no unwanted remnants of the golf season left in the bag.

“Find those old sandwiches, candy bars and nuts that you left in the bag, so you don’t have a surprise waiting for you next spring,” Pruitt jokes.

Improve fitness

Use the winter to get in better golf shape. For golf, that means focusing on improving endurance, flexibility, and most of all core strength, Pruitt says. (One should seek the advice of a professional such as a doctor, physical therapist or athletic trainer before embarking on a new exercise regimen.)

Cardio exercises that utilize the lower body, such as running or walking, can help a golfer better last through a round. A proper stretching regimen will help keep a golf swing limber without touching a golf club.

But Pruitt says that core exercises are the most essential for golfers.

“I think what becomes more important is core strength, because the core is going to hold your posture,” Pruitt says. “Your posture is going to control the path and plane of the club. I think core strength becomes more important than flexibility, particularly as we get older. Posture starts to become a bigger problem.

“If your posture is bad, you are not going to make a proper turn.”

Work on the mind

No, golfers do not have to get into some Zen-like state to succeed on a golf course. But training yourself to think positively can affect your golf game.

Pruitt is a big proponent of the power of positive thinking. He often sees golfers chastise themselves after a bad shot and hedge when they are complimented after a good shot.

“If you were to keep track of how many times you say something negative to yourself about yourself during the day you would be amazed,” Pruitt says.

This is often self-defeating.

Instead of browbeating yourself, Pruitt advises anyone to positively reinforce what they are doing, even after a mistake. For a golfer, that could mean simply changing your outlook after a bad shot.

Instead of sulking, Pruitt says, “Simply say to yourself, ‘That is so unlike me.'”

“Learn to say positive things to yourself as opposed to beating yourself up,” Pruitt adds. “It is so critical, and the winter time is a great time to practice it.”

Of course, this could be put into practice right now as the golf season still has some life yet.

Take advantage of the conditions before winter comes with the best rates of the year. Golfers who donate three canned items can play 18 holes at Aspen Lakes for just $30 and nine holes for just $20 (additional fees apply for a cart rental or the use of GolfBoard). Aspen Lakes will then donate the food it collects to a Central Oregon charity.

To book a tee time or to inquire about club tune-ups, including regripping, call the golf shop 541-549-GOLF, or book a tee time online at www.aspenlakes.com. Private, group lessons, classes and clinics with Pruitt are all available through the Aspen Lakes PGA Learning Center.

Chipping with a hybrid can save strokes

A simple putting stroke with a hybrid club in hand is often easier to execute than more traditional means

There are so many ways to waste a stroke in golf. Slices, hooks, shanks, mishits, bad bounces or poor reads can all conspire to ruin an otherwise decent hole.

Among the most frustrating ways to cough up that extra stroke is with those seemingly simple chip shots from just off the green. Every golfer has been there. A decent, but slightly off-the-mark, approach leaves the ball in a place just off the putting surface that requires a chip.

You grab an 8-iron with thoughts of a par save dancing in your head. You then take a couple of practice strokes, set up to the ball, make your move, and alarmingly mishit the chip, dribbling the ball short of the green or watching helplessly as the ball rolls perilously past the flagstick.

“To me a traditional chip shot with a 7- or 8-iron creates too many opportunities for screw-ups by blading it, chunking it or anything else,” says Howie Pruitt, Aspen Lakes’s director of player development.

For such a short shot a whole lot can go wrong with a conventional chip shot. Part of the problem with such a chip is the complexity of it.

Golfers must put their weight on the their front foot, point the shaft of the club toward the front hip, and make an abbreviated putting stroke. That is hardly a natural swing for many amateur golfers.

Pruitt’s solution is actually quite simple, starting with the most important question a golfer must ask themselves when just off the green.

“The first question I ask is, ‘Can I putt it?'” Pruitt says.

If not, Pruitt recommends using a hybrid club instead of the more conventional chip with a short iron.

“So you can take a hybrid, like a 24-degree hybrid, and set up just like you were going to putt the ball,” Pruitt says. “The hybrid is going to give you just enough loft to get it up onto the green and rolling.”

A hybrid allows golfers to mimic their putting strokes, which is usually the most reliable swing in a recreational golfer’s repertoire. And hybrids can be particularly valuable when chipping from longer rough just off the fringe of the putting surface, Pruitt says.

The best news is that learning to chip with a hybrid is a breeze, Pruitt adds.

“These are just simple little shots,” Pruitt says. “If you can teach somebody how to putt, you can teach somebody how to hit this shot.”

Private, group lessons, classes and clinics with Pruitt are all available through the Aspen Lakes PGA Learning Center. Call the Aspen Lakes pro shop at 541-549-4653 for more information. To book a tee time call the golf shop or book online.

With some strategy you can get the most out of your round at Aspen Lakes

The shot from the upper fairway of Aspen Lakes’ par-4 14th hole, seen here, is among the most challenging approaches in Central Oregon.

Managing the golf course’s two toughest holes
can go a long way to a good score

Aspen Lakes is both beautiful and enjoyable. But it is not the easiest of layouts, featuring some of the most challenging holes in Central Oregon.

Such holes help give Aspen Lakes its reputation as one of the country’s hidden gems.

Of course, choosing the correct tee for a golfer’s skill level is critical to enjoying Aspen Lakes. But more than that, approaching the golf course’s toughest holes with the correct strategy can can go a long way toward actually lowering your score.

“You have to remember that there are holes you can challenge and holes that you really shouldn’t,” says Rob Malone, Aspen Lakes’ director of golf. “If you challenge a hole that you shouldn’t, that’s where you will get your big numbers.”

From PGA Tour players to everyday recreational golfers, sometimes the goal should be to avoid a disaster rather than to make a par.

Knowing just what holes to play conservatively at Aspen Lakes takes some experience. But we can help. Here is a breakdown of the two toughest holes by handicap at Aspen Lakes.

No. 5, 469 yards, par 4 (No. 1 handicap)

The long par-4 fifth hole can confound golfers, needing two near-perfect shots to have any chance of reaching the two-tiered green in regulation. Making matters even more challenging, the fifth is canted from right to left from fairway through the green, often sending decently placed shots toward the left rough.

A perfect tee shot up the fairway’s right side puts the approach some 150 yards from the green. But with a bunker right and a slanted fairway, such a shot is easier said than done.

“It’s difficult to get it there, because as it hits most of the time it is going to bounce and kick to the left-hand side,” Malone says. “You could actually land the ball on the right-hand side of the fairway and still end up in the rough on the left-hand side.”

And that can leave a long approach from a thick rough made more difficult by trees down the left side. And the green is not particularly easy to navigate either, as it is somewhat shallow and fronted by swells that can stop an approach short or kick a ball forward through the green.

The key is to not overdo the second shot, compounding any problem created by the tee shot. If you can find the A-position than a more aggressive approach may be warranted. But many players may find safety in a generous bail out area short and right of the green. From there the green opens up and gives golfers their best chance to save par.

If not, well, sometimes a bogey is just fine.

No. 14, 479 yards, par 4 (No. 2 handicap)

The par-4 14th hole truly presents golfers a lesson in accepting the challenge the golf course presents. The fairway is bisected by a scraggly native area filled with wildflowers some 260 yards from the white tees and nearly 290 yards from the back.

High-level players will struggle to make the 290-yard carry needed to reach the second section of fairway. And with a lay up, a long iron or more will be needed to reach the relatively shallow green. Shorter hitters, all of whom will be forced to lay up, will struggle to reach the green at all from the upper fairway.

“Fourteen is just difficult,” Malone says.

Before you ask, no, the native area is not going away. It sits on bedrock that makes it nearly impossible to remove. Instead, accept your fate on the 14th.

A decent layup will leave more than 200 yards to the green. Instead of firing for the pin, players would be wise to hit short of the green.

Yes, sometimes hitting the green in regulation is not the best play.

“You can hit a great drive, and you can hit a good second shot and still not be on the green,” Malone says. “Then it’s managing where you end up with your pitch and chip, so hopefully you have a short uphill putt because you stayed below the hill.”

The key is to stay below the hole.

For most, the easiest path to par is actually with a pitch shot that leaves a short, uphill putt for par. That is far easier to execute than a long fairway shot into a green that is not particularly receptive. And a lay up takes away much of the risk of a giant number.

The right mindset heading into the 14th is to be OK with making a bogey. It certainly beats a double bogey or worse.

Click here or call 541-549-4653 to book a tee time.