David Normand Jr.
is general manager of Indian Hills Golf Club in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Has specialty certification in instruction, golf car fleet management and general management. He will obtain PGA Certified Master Professional status in October. He is also president of the Tennessee PGA and section member of the PGA Board of Directors. Normand was also named the 2000 PGA Horton Smith Award winner.

Three Ps — Putting, Playing, Practice

Putting

The average distance most golfers find themselves from the hole is 21 feet (7 paces). So practice from this distance before beginning play by hitting putts from all four sides of the cup.

Playing the game

Use the tee box to help create the best angle for your tee shot. In other words, for a right-handed golfer, I encourage you to use the left side of the tee box when hitting a draw and the right side when hitting a fade. This allows for the best possible angle and the highest possibility of hitting the fairway. I would much rather hit a 5-iron from the middle of the fairway than an 8-iron from the rough.

Practice

According to USGA research, handicaps have remained relatively stable over the last 10 years. Yet with the advent of new equipment, we know that the ball is traveling farther and straighter. Scores, however, are not going down in comparison. What is happening is that golfers are continuing to work on their full swing and are neglecting their short games. While driving ranges produce significant revenues to facilities and putting greens do not, I would still rather see golfers working on their short games which would allow them to reduce their scores than continuing to search for a few more yards.

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