gmhTODAY 13 gmhToday March April 2017 | Page 99

Don DeLorenzo has been the PGA General Manager of Gilroy Golf Course since 1985. He is a former winner of the Bill Stausbaugh award given by the PGA of America for excellence in education. He was named the 2014 Gilroy Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year, was born and raised in Gilroy and still lives here with Mia, his wife of 33 years. Nothing good can come from you hitting a 7 wood into the wind. The wind also exaggerates any crooked shots. If you get a slice going right, it’s really going right into the wind. Remember to subtract yardage when you are going into the wind. A good rule of thumb is if you are hitting against a 10 mph wind your ball will probably travel 10 yards less. When hitting downwind the opposite is true. Get it up in the air and take advantage of the extra yardage. Tee it higher with your driver and let the wind help you out. With the wind behind you it actually helps straighten out crooked shots and of course they will go further. So, if the urge strikes you to play golf when the weather is less than ideal, by all means do it! Just remember to be prepared and play smart. Or even smarter…….go to Hawaii, Phoenix or Palm Springs and wait for our great weather to return. that carry farther in the air. Different golf balls have different properties. Some fly farther…some roll farther. If your game relies on you bouncing a ball up onto the green, you have to rethink your club selection entirely. Landing five yards short and bouncing it onto the putting surface isn’t going to happen so plan accordingly. Hit the club that will fly onto the green. When chipping, soft greens will not let the ball “release” like usual, so plan on flying the ball a bit farther. So what if it isn’t raining but it is very windy? I feel that this is as much, if not more, of a challenge than rain. A golf ball that only weighs a couple of ounces is no match for 30-40 mph winds. The safest way to play in the wind is to stay “under” it when it’s against you and “ride” it when it’s behind you. What that means is when you are hitting into the wind don’t take out high lofted clubs. Use lower trajectory shots and play your ball back in your stance to hit lower shots. Low Compression Golf Balls Rain Hat GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN MARCH/APRIL 2017 Umbrella gmhtoday.com 99