Golf Tips Archives - Black Butte Ranch

30 10, 2018

A look back at the 2018 golf season at Black Butte Ranch
A look back at the 2018 golf season at Black Butte Ranch

A look back at the 2018 golf season at Black Butte Ranch

A look back at the 2018 golf season at Black Butte Ranch This year was an eventful one with course improvements, tournaments, and more Big Meadow will remain open until at least Nov. 4, and may stay open longer as long as weather permits. Regardless, there is no denying that the golf season season is winding down to its final days. Those warm, sunny days of 2018 are behind us here in Central Oregon, leaving us time to reflect on another golf season at Black Butte Ranch. The 2018 golf season at Black Butte Ranch might be remembered most [...]

8 09, 2018

Pro tip: Lag putting on downhill putts comes down to adjusting your target

Pro tip: Lag putting on downhill putts comes down to adjusting your target https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHWa7ZW1PSM Black Butte Ranch pro Dan McCleery says by envisioning a hole closer than in reality, you set yourself up for a 2-putt Few frustrations in golf linger longer than failing to convert par after hitting a green in regulation with a quality shot. Yet, when an amateur golfer is faced with quick greens or a downhill putt — or even more dreaded, a downhill putt on fast greens — so often they make a mistake by being far too aggressive on their first putt. [...]

11 06, 2018

Pro tip: A balanced finish to your golf swing will foster consistent contact
Pro tip: A balanced finish to your golf swing will foster consistent contact

Pro tip: A balanced finish to your golf swing will foster consistent contact

Golfers need to think about where their swing finishes Amateur golfers — especially mid- and high-handicappers — often spend much of their focus worrying about where the ball goes. But the results of a given swing can be misleading, and worrying too much about it can often be counterproductive. Every golfer longs for a consistent, repeatable swing that will provide good results time and time again. One thing that amateur golfers should think about with every swing is exactly where the golf swing finishes. Do you finish with your club over your shoulder and the majority of your weight [...]

27 04, 2017

Spring tune-ups at Black Butte Ranch will help get the golf season off on right foot

Getting the golf season off on the right foot can be a tricky proposition. After a long winter, we are all itching to get out and play, but no golfer wants to start the year off by entrenching a new bad habit. The three-day spring tune-up clinics at Black Butte Ranch will help golfers on both fronts. The team of PGA professionals at Black Butte Ranch will be holding three separate clinics in May, scheduled for May 8-10, 15-17, and 22-24. Each session is comprised of three, 1.5-hour lessons and are held in a small group setting. Black Butte [...]

21 08, 2016

Early-season clinics get the season started right
Early-season clinics get the season started right

Early-season clinics get the season started right

The road to better golf is so often uncertain for amateur golfers. We read and watch an endless array of golf tips, we tinker with our swing, and all of us are in a constant search to find the perfect equipment that will launch our games forward. All those have a place in game improvement, no doubt. But perhaps a more trustworthy path to better golf is to seek early season help from a PGA professional. Sure, we have all heard that before. But it’s true, PGA professionals can really make a difference, particularly in the early season. And [...]

22 07, 2015

Learn to “putt” from the fringe

Few decisions in golf test the mind of a golfer more than a ball just off the green. Stuck in the long grass just off the collar of the green, many players are tempted to hit a putter despite the grassy lie. Others reach for a wedge and hit a shot with too much loft to be accurate at such a short distance. In many of these circumstances the best option is to actually putt with a sand wedge, pitching wedge or 9-iron, says Emily Stewart, an assistant golf pro at Black Butte Ranch. “This is a great shot [...]

14 07, 2015

Does elevation really make much of a difference to your golf game?
Does elevation really make much of a difference to your golf game?

Does elevation really make much of a difference to your golf game?

Golfers who travel to elevation from at or near sea level to have heard it forever: adjust your yardage for the altitude. No problem, right? Well, adjusting for altitude sounds easier than it actually is, of course. In fact, higher elevations can perplex even the very best players in the world, as shown in the four years that a Champions Tour major championship was played in Central Oregon. “Coming to Central Oregon you have to really watch the altitude,” says Jeff Fought, the director of golf at Black Butte Ranch who is among the top senior club professionals in [...]

12 07, 2015

Tip: Fixing your slice can be easy

Typically, not much in golf can be accomplished in two minutes. Sure, a golfer can take a couple practice putts before teeing off. Two minutes is probably enough to order a hot dog at the turn. Or perhaps two minutes is all a golfer needs to make a bad decision that will lead to the first snowman of a given round. Certainly two minutes is not enough time to actually diagnose and fix a swing flaw, right? George Mack Jr., Black Butte Ranch’s director of instruction, disagrees. In fact, he thinks attentive golfers might actually be able to fix [...]