5 things you must know before teeing it up in a pro-am
GOLF Top 100 Teacher Kellie Stenzel at the recent Timber Tech ladies pro-am.
What a great day and experience I had this past week to play in the TimberTech ladies pro-am with longtime PGA pro Brett Quigley and three other ladies of varying abilities, all to benefit Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness institute in Boca Raton, Fla.
It can be daunting to be invited to play alongside a professional, but if you follow these few simple guidelines, you can have an enjoyable day, no matter your ability.
1. Keep moving and don’t delay
Keep yourself moving and try to be the first person to the golf ball to hit. As long as you keep moving and the pace isn’t slow, your professional and playing partners will be glad to play with you. The playing pace of these events should try to be a bit faster than you might normally play, as the professional is donating their time. It really doesn’t matter how good your game may be as long as you keep moving.
2. Friendly formats
Most pro-ams have friendly formats that will also minimize pressure that you may feel. We played a scramble, which means that at each location we were always playing the best shot of our group, including our PGA Tour Champions member, so this certainly kept us moving.
One thing to keep in mind is that your professional doesn’t really expect you to be able to improve upon what they can do, so it truly is a no-pressure situation with only upside. If you do hit a better shot than they do, then this should celebrated!
This is also a format where a golfer with less experience could help with short-game shots like putting and still feel a like apart of the team’s success.
3. Just do your best
What it’s like to play the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am alongside Bill Murray
4. Know your distances
It is really helpful to vaguely understand how far your clubs go, even if just a few so you can know within reason what club to use and when. If you don’t know this, ask your golf professional to write them down and keep that list with you. Do not assume that you will hit the golf ball the same distance as the others in your group.
5. Be a supportive team player
One of the best parts of these tournaments is that when one does well, all do well, thanks to these friendly formats. Celebrating good shots and scores together is really what is is all about, so enjoy each good shot as though it’s your own. Hopefully, it will be at some point!
In the case of this event, the tournament was a great fundraiser for a great cause: celebrating women. Simply participating in something like this to work for the greater good is very rewarding.
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