Rain, rain and more rain.
Here in the United Kingdom it seems to have been raining for a long time. Many courses have been closed for days or even weeks. When the courses are actually open the wet conditions mean the ball has to be struck before the ground or the strike will be poor.
One of my pupils, Gary Wolstenholme, played in the 1995 Walker Cup at Royal Porthcawl, a wondferful golf course in South Wales. His opponent in the singles was Tiger Woods – still an amatuer.
I followed the match very carefully and on one hole I stood directly behind Tiger with a four iron in his hands. Tiger hit a beautiful shot and his club head did not touch one blade of grass ( no divot. ) Even hitting the ground just a fraction before the ball would have been disastrius on the very wet ground.
Gary went on to beat Tiger by one hole and Great Britain & Ireland won the Walker Cup.
Striking the ball before the ground is essential for all fairway shots and I would recommend you to have another look at Teaching Video 35, Top Tip 8 and Myths of Golf 6.They should all help you hit the ball before the ground. It it is not necessary to take a divot by the way even though most golfers do.
I hope your course starts to dry out very soon.
