Leaky El Nino rain clouds notwithstanding the third regular event of the El Cajon LUGGers went on mostly as planned on Monday April 12th. We had a few new faces along with returning 'veterans' showing up to put Cottonwood GC's west practice putting green to good use.
The afternoon actually started in the carpeted pavilion tent between the clubhouse and the putting green with Coach Mary leading the group in a routine of warm up and stretching exercises (essential things to do before playing any sport!). After everybody was loose and properly armed with a putter the EC LUGGers were introduced to the concept of lag putting.
This, of course, is a very useful golf practice that benefits beginners and old timers (hackers included) alike. Why three-putt when you can get the ball in the cup in two? Instead of trying to ram the ball into the hole and risk having a long second putt, a good lag putter aims instead to have the ball come to rest within two feet of the cup. Chances are good that many of the putts would go in, and chances are great that when they don't, you won't miss the short tap in for the second putt!
Naturally, Coach Mary didn't let the LUGGers learn just one skill when she could have them learn two or three at the same time and loving all of it. The ensuing obstacle course with balancing and ball tossing stations kept everyone busy as the moody gray clouds gave up their attempt to, in more ways than one, rain on the parade.
After a brief break punctuated by steaming cups of hot cocoa the EC LUGGers moved outdoor to the practice putting green to have a go at the 'bump and run' (see previous post for Coach Mary's demo video). The little technical section was followed by the main event, Blind Holes, where the LUGGers paired up and attempted to hole their shots blindfolded (guided only by their partner's instruction). Coaches Mary and Pat along with Grandpa Doug kept a close eye on our visually-deprived budding golfers, of course, and made sure that only golf balls (and not people) were hit.
The day ended on a colorful note when Coach Mary dumped buckets of brightly colored golf balls: yellow, orange, pink, and even some purple, on the putting green and announced that they are free for the taking providing that they are retrieved safely to their new owners' bucket via putting and/or chipping.
A golf ball derby was on and much innovative use of the putter and the pitching wedge was thought up by the LUGGers who had as much fun trading for specific color balls as they did in retrieving them.
The Girls Golf of EL Cajon 'Golf Egg Hunt' event was unfortunately pseudo-rained out yesterday and will be combined with the next event, 'Blind Holes', next Monday (April 12th).
The coaches regret that the rain storm presented an unfavorable travel condition for our LUGGers to get to Cottonwood GC (where all our regular events are held). It was indeed raining when we arrived to set up the practice area, but then the wind blew through and took the leaky cumulonimbus clouds away. It actually turned out to be a pretty beautiful and dry (if a bit chilly) afternoon on the golf course!
Since no one was around to keep us coaches in line, we had a bit of fun ourselves practicing some bump and run chip shots around the green. To sort of make up for our escapades, Coach Mary gamely consented to be filmed demonstrating the shot our girls will be learning to play on April 12th instead...
Pretty handy around the green, isn't she? It is a really simple shot that is quite fun to play once you've got the hang of it. We marked the green with three markers: one where to hit the ball from, an elevated string to hop the ball over, and a flat blue marker (a bit hard to see here, so I x-marked where it was in the photos) about 1/3 way between the ball and the cup - the ideal landing zone.
With a narrow open stance (your toes will line up left of the target), grip down on the handle and let your arms hang comfortably over the ball. Lean forward with the hands to keep them ahead of the club-face, then make a small putting stroke through the ball - keeping your hands ahead of the club head until a bit after impacting the ball... then watch the eager little white ball hop 1/3 of the way to the cup and rolls the rest of the way in!
The EC LUGGers had our first official session Monday afternoon at Cottonwood GC.It was 'Bring A Friend Day', and the group was big enough to liven up the scene even though it was the first workday of the week. Coach Mary gathered the LUGGers over at the practice green soon after 4PM to start working on basic putting mechanics and distance judging before sorting the group into teams of two to practice holing out short putts and a playing with few other fun drills.
Assisting Coach Mary was Coach Pat Beilke, who drove all the way down from Carlsbad to be with us. After a brief water break everybody moved over to the west putting green for a testily fun duel with the obstacle course the mad golf coaches had thought up: 9 improvised putting holes (actually 6 putting holes and 3 balance and ball tossing stations) set to par 27.There is no telling how many of the EC LUGGers will one day walk on the inside of the roped out country club playing for millions on the LPGA Tour, but one thing for sure is many LUGGers sure can toss their dimply little white ball in a way that would make a softball coach salivate. By the end of the day the group had learned a few things (aside from the fact that chocolate brownie bar and tangerines make for really great snacks in warm weather) like how to judge their putt and make good contact with the ball (and, hopefully, that the sound of the ball bouncing merrily against the inside of the cup after a well executed putting stroke is a really wickedly satisfying thing!).
And since we were all keen on joining the rank of the respectable seasoned golfers, a few basic course etiquette were also mentioned, of course, like: 1. Where to stand when another golfer is prepared to make her stroke (either opposite her front or away to her back.... and taking care that one's shadow is not visible to the person or on her presumed ball path) 2. The order of play (the person who shot the lowest score on the last hole gets to start first, and then the one whose ball is further from the hole gets to play the next shot first)
The good places to stand are were the orange circles are in the photo, taking care, of course, that your shadow doesn't fall across the player's line of putt (the imaginary blue line)
Everybody also got a little LPGA-USGA rules booklet as souvenir at the end of the obstacle course challenge. It might not be as good a read as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows or The Spyglass Cup are, but it has Snoopy on the cover and the rules it prescribes are quite a bit easier for us muggles to practice than Hogwarts homework magic is, so hopefully our EC LUGGers will know a few more golf rules from it when they show up for the next event, 'Golf Ball Egg Hunt', on April 5th from 4-6PM... I'm betting a chocolaty rabbit's ear that that will come in handy for scoring well next week!
(Aside from here, El Cajon LUGG also keeps an updated bulletin board at Cottonwood GC) SUMMER CAMP July 12-23 : Camp will be held on Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 3 to 5 PM.
SUMMER CLINIC (Events are held on Monday from 3:30-5PM) July 26 : Eagle & Future Stars Clinic August 23 : Eagle & Future Stars Clinic September 20 : Eagle & Future Stars Clinic October 18 : Eagle & Future Stars Clinic November 21 : Mother Goose Parade!
The afternoon actually started in the carpeted pavilion tent between the clubhouse and the putting green with Coach Mary leading the group in a routine of warm up and stretching exercises (essential things to do before playing any sport!). After everybody was loose and properly armed with a putter the EC LUGGers were introduced to the concept of lag putting.
This, of course, is a very useful golf practice that benefits beginners and old timers (hackers included) alike. Why three-putt when you can get the ball in the cup in two? Instead of trying to ram the ball into the hole and risk having a long second putt, a good lag putter aims instead to have the ball come to rest within two feet of the cup. Chances are good that many of the putts would go in, and chances are great that when they don't, you won't miss the short tap in for the second putt!
After a brief break punctuated by steaming cups of hot cocoa the EC LUGGers moved outdoor to the practice putting green to have a go at the 'bump and run' (see previous post for Coach Mary's demo video). The little technical section was followed by the main event, Blind Holes, where the LUGGers paired up and attempted to hole their shots blindfolded (guided only by their partner's instruction). Coaches Mary and Pat along with Grandpa Doug kept a close eye on our visually-deprived budding golfers, of course, and made sure that only golf balls (and not people) were hit.
The day ended on a colorful note when Coach Mary dumped buckets of brightly colored golf balls: yellow, orange, pink, and even some purple, on the putting green and announced that they are free for the taking providing that they are retrieved safely to their new owners' bucket via putting and/or chipping. 
A golf ball derby was on and much innovative use of the putter and the pitching wedge was thought up by the LUGGers who had as much fun trading for specific color balls as they did in retrieving them.
