WENTE FAMILY ESTATES GRAPEVINE

l THE COURSE t he wait is nearly over for golfers to get their practice range back at the Course at Wente Vineyards. rather than forcing the project through an accelerated timeline and risk having to re-do some of the work, however, manage- ment plans to give the turf on the range a little more time to mature before re-opening. "We had hoped we could get it open the second week of october, but we decided not to rush things," said Cabe Jones, the Pga Di- rector of golf at the Course. "We wanted to make sure it grows in right and it's really solid before we let people start pounding balls on it. It was quite an investment, and we want to make sure it opens properly." the approximately six-week project (not including grow-in time) was undertaken to re-grade the range while also improving drainage and the irrigation system as well as to repair an area af- fected by a small landslide due to heavy el Nino rains last winter. the range was hydroseeded in late september, and the grass is growing in day by day. It will open as soon as superintendent Chris eckstrom determines that the young grass can handle the pound- ing of thousands of golf balls daily – likely in the coming weeks. "We would love to have the driving range open all the time, but this was a fix that we had to do," Jones said. "It took some time, but we knew we needed to do it before the winter months." ....................................................................................................... > CLICK HERE to visit The Course at Wente Vineyards. SWING AWAY! n Range work is nearly complete at The Course WENTE FAMILY ESTATES GRAPEVINE x FALL/WINTER 2017 YOUR GAME HOW TO PRACTICE RIGHT W hen you're heading out to the driving range to work on your game or warm up for a round, having a plan of attack is paramount. Cabe Jones, the PGA Director of Golf at The Course at Wente Vineyards, offers some tips on how to get the most out of your time at the range. >> FOR LONGER PRACTICE SESSIONS "Take the first 10 minutes and focus on a specific move or something that you're looking to work on in your swing. After that, I'd suggest breaking down your session into little games, so you're using differ- ent clubs and different swings. You could hit to the 100-yard flag, then the 150, then the 75. That will help you when you head out to the golf course, be- cause you've tested yourself with different shots that you really had to execute." >> BEFORE YOUR ROUND "Start swinging the club, hitting toward a target. After you've hit a number of balls you'll find out what type of ball path you have for the day. If your ball is fading a little, don't try to force draws – play the fade for that round. That's what the guys out on Tour do when they warm up. They're not going to hit the ball the same way every day, but they learn to adjust to how they're hitting it that day and work with what they have. I think loosening up is good, too. Do a lit- tle stretching and hit some short chip shots to start so you get your body moving correctly. You don't want to just grab the driver and swing away. Slowly work up the scale, then try to end with whatever club you think you're going to use on the first tee." Three stages of the range project.

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