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Improving Your Game and Scoring Better at Quivira Golf Club
Improving Your Game and Scoring Better at Quivira Golf Club

Improving Your Game and Scoring Better at Quivira Golf Club

Quivira Golf Club is not only home to an epic Jack Nicklaus Signature course that has garnered every conceivable award the golf media has to offer, it has a director of golf who’s a perfect complement to the world-class facility.

A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Antonio Reynante is an accomplished player who still competes at select mini-tour events in the southern tier of the U.S. He’s also a superb instructor.

“I am very happy to serve as director of golf at Quivira, the most spectacular golf course I have ever seen, and give lessons on request to both residents and resort guests,” he said. “The satisfaction comes in helping someone improve and observing the joy they get when they hit solid shots and score better”.

“My staff and I stress the fundamentals,” Reynante explained. “Grip, stance, alignment and posture. We try to work with a student’s physical assets and gauge their commitment to improvement while taking into account any limitations they may have. It certainly helps that we have a spacious oceanfront practice facility where players can get a feel for the wind they’ll experience on the course. It’s an inspiring place to groove a swing!”

Reynante said he and his staff focus on breaking down the swing, including pitching, chipping, putting, and sand play, into simple, easily understood concepts. He added that a golfer has to ‘feel’ the difference between an on-plane swing and one that is slightly off. A good teacher can help a player experience that feeling, which is vital for solid, consistent contact.

Reynante is a believer in steady routine. “Whether in written form or a video review, a diligent instructor should always have a ‘takeaway’ for each pupil following a lesson,” he said. “For example, if drills are recommended, players know when they leave the range that there’s homework to do. Repetition of proper movement in current sequence is very important.”

There’s more. “Golfer self-reliance is the goal of every responsible, conscientious teacher,” Reynante stated. “The idea is to get a player to the point where they review a short mental checklist before the round to ensure they’re executing correctly. On the golf course, I want them to play instinctively, with their heart, and not think about the mechanics of the swing. The idea is to play golf, not golf swing. Focus on the target and hit it.”

Reynante also has some specific tips on how to succeed at Quivira, a breathtaking test that ranks among the most challenging courses in Los Cabos.

· Move up a set of tees from your normal preferred yardage. You’ll have more fun and reach more greens in regulation.

· Weigh each risk-reward scenario very carefully. When in doubt, take the conservative route.

· Factor in the wind on every shot. The prevailing breeze is from the southwest, but it can shift during the round. Focus on solid contact. The idea is to impart as little sidespin as possible on full shots.

· Play the desert rule. If your ball departs the fairway, take a drop two club lengths from where the ball entered the desert, penalty of one stroke.

· The layout’s rolling fairways present uphill, downhill and sidehill lies. Players need to adjust their stances to ensure they hit the ball squarely.

· Use the kicker slopes and containment mounds that Jack Nicklaus built into the course to gather the ball to safety and feed the ball to the hole.

· The greens are firm, fast and true. Spend some time on the practice putting green to get a feel for how firmly the ball needs to be stroked in order to reach the hole from a variety of distances.

· Savor the incredible beauty of the course. Pause a little at a few strategic spots to take it all in. Breathe, hear, smell and taste (at the comfort stations) the exceptional experience that Quivira delivers.