Pro-Ams

Something that every amateur golfer should consider doing at least once is play a pro-am with their club or local professional. I know that pro-ams are often deemed to be an expensive way to play golf, but the benefit of playing in one far outweighs the slightly inflated price to play the local course. ´

Why would playing a pro-am be beneficial? Well, unless you are friendly with the local professional, the chance to see a professional playing the game up close and personal is unlikely, even if you are a regular visitor to top professional tournaments, although the experience is great it is not as real, as you probably don´t know the course as well as you would a course you play regularly.

You can learn a lot from playing with a professional but the most common and perhaps most useful are:

-Shot planning – a professional will assess all their options before committing to playing a shot, especially when they are in trouble. Unlike an amateur the professional will make a rational decision based on the possible outcomes and risks involved. This is called course management and damage limitation.

– Execution of shots – you will rarely see a professional stray from their pre-shot routine, they need the routine to be able to play to the best of their ability. It is something that you should adopt and put into your game.

– Attitude or temperament – although you may see a professional get angry with a shot that they have just played; it is quickly replaced with thoughts of the next shot. They remove the image from their minds and continue as if each shot was the first shot of the round.

– Their skill around the green – when you watch professionals around the green it quickly becomes apparent that they are very proficient in this area. They will, again choose the best shot for the situation and more than likely show you new ways of playing a shot that you had never previously imagined.

– Most professionals before or after the round will be happy to offer a few technical tips about your game, this may not happen unless you ask, but just as you have seen their game up close, they will have seen your approach as well, something they normally wouldn´t see.

Aside from the benefits that you will get from a course management and playing perspective, pro-ams usually award superb prizes for the winning amateurs, a great incentive to give one a go. You won´t regret it.