Number of golfers grew during pandemic

Golf Growth in 2020

The number of people playing golf grew during the pandemic with a 6.2% increase on a national basis. Players discovered golf as a game you can play safely by social distancing and most courses removed items that were common touch points early on during the past golf season. While the overall number of rounds played at Whitefish Lake Golf Club was only up slightly last year the number of members did increase. The only year that showed a bigger increase in participation nationally for golf was the first year that Tiger Woods broke onto the golf scene in 1997.

Phil Mickelson Wins PGA

What an amazing feat for Phil “TheThrill” Mickelson to win the PGA Championship at age 50 to become the oldest player ever to win a major. The crowds were very much in support of Phil as he thoughtfully guided his way around the exceptional course on Kiawah Island, known as one of the most challenging tracts to be found. With tournament green speeds of 11 plus on the stimpmeter and winds gusting about 30 miles per hour any score below par was remarkable. While Tigers first win was called a “win for the ages”, this might be called a “win for the aged”. Thanks for giving the old guys hope and helping to grow the game.

Set your sand shot distance by the amount of sand you take.

In a practice bunker, try hitting sand shots by hitting well behind the ball, and gradually move up to where you are hitting just behind the ball. You will notice the ball will travel different distances. The less sand you take, the longer the shot. Practice hitting your shots so you can determine the distance based on how far behind the ball you hit. Shot shots take more sand, longer shots less. This practice over time will take the guesswork out of controlling your distance from the bunker. Another important tip is to make sure you have most of your weight on the forward foot when making a green side sand shot.