A few tips from BDN tourney pros

You’re getting ready to play in this weekend’s Bangor Daily News Amateur Golf Tournament.

You’ve spent countless hours on the driving range and practice green honing the skills you’re confident will put you in contention for your flight’s prizes…. OK, you’ve spent a couple of minutes on the range in the hope it will prevent you from putting some poor slob in the group ahead of you in the hospital. Whichever.

If you’re really serious, you’ve probably played the three fine golf courses recently on which you’ll be competing starting Friday. Be prepared, that’s your motto. Know the opposition, which as the Scottish say, is n’ae but the heather ‘twixt your ears, laddie.

It is in the spirit of helping you have the best three rounds possible, we here at NEWS Tourney Central offer you a last-minute scouting report that could prove the difference between winning and merely finishing…. Or between merely finishing and throwing your clubs in one of the many fine water hazards adorning our event.

We talked this week to four golf professionals or administrators who work at the tournament courses. We asked each of them to share one tip for players on how to succeed on their links. Here’s what they said:

Austin Kelly, head pro, Bangor Municipal, 6,500 yards, par 71:

“Because of the big greens, Muni tends to put people to sleep. They should concentrate on where the hole is cut. On some courses where you have small greens you know where the hole is. All you’ve got to do is hit the green and you won’t be in bad shape. Depth perception at Bangor is hard. So make sure you know where the pin is cut.”

Kelly also said Muni’s fairways are narrower and mowed lower this year than in years past, while the rough is “about the same.”

Peter Hodgkins, head pro, Rockland Golf Club, 6,010 yards, par 70:

“Don’t hit it over the greens here. You can get it up and down if you’re short. You can’t if you’re over. It’s a much more difficult shot. There’s a lot of steep bankings. Most courses you try to hit by the hole. Here, you want to make sure when the ball stops you’re below the hole. So be more cautious on your approaches. Maybe go down a club. That advice will help someone 5-6 shots a round.”

Hodgkins reports the course is “in excellent shape.”

Greg Baker, head pro, Kebo Valley Golf Club, 6,100 yards, par 70:

“With this golf course it’s definitely the position you leave yourself in with your approach to the green. A lot of these greens – 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 17, and 18 – if you leave yourself above the hole in a bad position, depending on where the pins are set, you’re looking at an automatic three-putt. If there’s one thing you can say about this golf course you need to leave yourself in the right place.”

Baker adds a couple of footnotes to his tip. One, the greens at Kebo are a little bumpier than they’ve been in years past thanks to a cool spring that slowed the growth cycle. Also, if you haven’t played Kebo in recent years, the fairway sprinkling system has eliminated a lot of the friendly brown patches that used to produce prodigious roll on the drive.

“This isn’t a long course in the first place,” Baker said of the sprinklers’ effect. “It’s kept the fairways a lot greener than they used to be so you don’t get as much roll as you used to. For lower flights, the course plays longer than the 6,100 yards.”

Charlie Crowley, general manager, Bar Harbor Golf Club (Trenton), 6,437 yards, par 71:

“This is slicers’ hell down here. There’s trouble on the right on the first three holes. So keep it left. The greens are holding well. The winds are usually strong. On the front nine, the wind will be in your face on every other hole. On the back nine, it will be more of a cross wind. You’ll get roll off the tee here. Our fairways are drier than Kebo or Rockland. Actually, our course is pretty wide open. You can swing away and not be in too much trouble on most of the holes, again, except for the first three.”

There you go, ladies and gentlemen. Ignore this sound advice from those in the know at your own peril.