Chipping
If Ganne is at a disadvantage practicing in the Northeast, it may be in working on her short game. Rudolph conceived a series of creative games to make up for not being able to practice on real greens.
“It’s more about trust than technique,” Rudolph said. “How do you learn to trust yourself when you haven’t seen a ball land on a putting green in 6 months? It’s more about learning to make solid contact and believing that it will work the same way outside as it does inside.”
One go-to winter game is chipping across their indoor facility into garbage cans. The walls are dotted with dimple marks from shots gone astray and reminders of her vast improvement. When Ganne started out, she used to get five balls to aim at the target to Rudolph’s one. But slowly that ratio flipped and now Ganne only gets one ball when they compete.
“When you make it, it’s the best because everyone can hear it,” Ganne said.
The game also has made her a steely competitor. To prep for the chipping portion of DCP, Rudolph used to stand behind the garbage can with her back facing Ganne to simulate the pressure of competing at Augusta National.
“It helped,” Ganne said. “When I was in the competition, I thought, ‘Well, at least nobody’s life is at stake here.’ ”