Kevin Maffioli CLGC Club Pro

Ken Maffioli passes on some tips

Maffioli strongly encourages golfers to “spend 25 minutes warming up with your golf swing, chipping and putting, before you go play. You'll enjoy it a lot more.” Don't rush onto the first tee and swing away. Take the time to hit a bucket of balls. Warm up so you get into “rhythm, timing and hitting the ball well, and that just comes from actually hitting balls on the range in succession, getting the club face on the ball," said Maffioli.

When you play the Christina Lake links, Maffioli offers this tip on how to approach Hole 9. It's the course's signature hole, a tough par 3 stretching back 215 yards. Adding to the difficulty is a large water hazard on the left and two black sand traps to the right of the green. Standing on an elevated tee, golfers see a lot of water lying to the left. They usually play the hole short.

Maffioli suggests the opposite tactic. “I take an extra club because the green doubles in size in the back end of the green—it gets a lot wider.”

In fact, 70 per cent of the green lies at the back. For Maffioli, “I would hit the ball one club farther. That takes the water out of play, the bunkers out of play and makes it a lot easier hole.”