Friday 10 April 2009

Getting the Most from Golf Lessons

It’s never easy asking for help, but in golf, it is
almost a necessity. Unfortunately, we often ask our
buddies and partners, when in reality we should take a
lesson or two.

We think that a Pro would critique harshly, but they
are honest, positive and very helpful.

Lessons at the local course aren’t as expensive as you
might think and they are worth it because your game
will improve rapidly and cause you less frustration,
making the game much more enjoyable for you.

Of utmost importance, is being honest about your game.
The Pro will ask you what you want to start with;
driving, chipping, putting or whatever you feel you
need help with.

Listen carefully and follow the instructions. You may
have doubts if the Pro changes your stance, your grip
or your swing; the Pro knows best.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions. Don’t worry about if
the question or concern in stupid-they’ve heard it all
before and will not make you feel like an idiot for
asking. If you don’t "get it", tell him/her that
you’re not getting it. You should never walk away from
a lesson with unanswered questions.

You can concentrate on one thing during a lesson, or
several. You might start with a lesson in driving; get
the right grip, the right stance, the right swing, the
right follow-through in one lesson, and then practice
it. Next time, you might work on your short game, or
putting.

You’ve invested in the equipment, doesn’t it make
sense to learn how to use them to their advantage and
improve your abilities?

Saturday 28 March 2009

Golf Tips Involving Golf Equipment

Blaming your moves, shots and swings for your golf mishits and mishaps? Well, no matter how much time and effort you have been spending over practicing your moves to perfect your game, you still won't achieve your goal if you use unsuitable or defective types of golf equipment, will you?

Now is high time for you to consider the following golf tips that involve checking on your equipment's quality.

If you plan to choose used golfclubs as beginner's tools, scrutinizing before purchasing is a must. The clubheads, the shafts, and the grips are golfclub parts that should pass inspection first before landing a decent spot in your golf equipment cabinet. Another excellent golf tip that will get you through the game is making sure that the set of used golfclubs you're eyeing have set consistency. It will also help a lot if you check first the price of new clubs vs. used.

A golf tip for a golfer that plans to regrip his clubs: Be cautious. This is because the grips are the only contact points one can access to affect the shot. Before carrying out the regripping, know the core grip of the club and your hands grip size. To determine your core size grip, measure the diameter of the butt of the shaft you're going to re-grip. The shaft's diameter should match the grip's core diameter. In determining your hands grip, the available size grips are regular, mid-size, oversize and jumbo. Use only the best re-gripping materials that will provide optimum performance for your golf clubs.

Another golf tip or advice is that using ill-fitted clubs will be an obstacle to your golf playing success. A golfer must consider his or her body type in choosing the best-fitting equipment to support and deliver his backswings efficiently. Too steep angles in carrying out backswings may be avoided if one selects the perfect fitting equipment available.

Custom golfclub fitting makes a better option than just buying new golf clubs. Getting custom fitting golfclubs is a golf tip that translates to a very worthy investment. The uniqueness of each person is attributed to the need of this way of buying new golf clubs. A custom fitting produces golfclubs that specifically suit the height, strength, swing characteristics and clubhead speed of the golfer.

The type of club shaft also helps in predicting whether you'll do good in a game or you won't. There's a choice between a steel club shaft and a graphite-made club shaft. This golf tip aims to make you realize which type of golfclub shaft will benefit your game. Observations tell that the steel club shafts are more preferred by professional golfers while graphite shafts become more popular with women, senior players and beginners. Steel shafts are less expensive than graphite shafts though.

One more golf tip that could help you is that the golf clubs that must be the main content of your bag must suit your skill level. Since various skill levels need various golf clubs, it won't be wise to just use or bring a golf club that is just lying around. And, don't ever forget about the maximum golfclub load your bag is allowed to hold. You can only bring 14 golf clubs in your bag. No more. No less. Aside from your skill level contemplation, your mastery of a certain golfclub and your being comfortable with using it must also be put into consideration in deciding which golfclub to hit.

A good combination of the right moves and good choice of equipment will better arm you to become the best golfer you could ever be. Also How to DVD's Tutorials can help improve your game.

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Wednesday 25 March 2009

It is Definitely Worth Getting Fitted

Every golfer's physical capability and swing is distinctive. Many of today's best golf clubs can be custom fit for lie angle, shaft type and length, grip type and size. Custom fitting golf clubs involves several easy measurements and a quick self-assessment of your game. This custom golf club has become more than a fad that even not so professional golfers test its waters.

Custom fitting is the process for tailoring a golf club to suit your personal swing.

Whatever your level, with a custom golf club the aim is to ensure that if you do make a good swing, the club will be square at impact and should produce a straight shot.

Custom Golf Club How To's:

To custom fit your golf clubs, you need to know: your gender (male or female); your height in your stockings or socks; the distance from your wrist (where it bends) to the floor with your shoes off; your age; your handicap or skill level; how fast you swing a golf club; what club you use at the 150 yard marker.

Gender is used to put you into the correct fitting scale for custom golf clubs. The golf industry uses different definitions of "standard length" for men and women.

Your height and the distance in inches from your wrist to the floor are used together to determine the length of a custom golf club that is appropriate for you. The starting point for club length can vary up to 3 ½-inch ranging from ladies to men plus 1 ½-inch. A tall person with long arms can very easily require shorter clubs than an average height person with short arms. About 80 percent of golfers are standard length.

Your age, handicap (if you happen to have one), self-assessed skill level, estimated golf swing speed and club you use at the 150 yard marker are all combined to determined the custom golf club's shaft flex that is appropriate for you.

Custom fitting can fix your slice. If you slice the ball it means that the toe of the club is leading into the ball which opens the face of the club. That may be down to a swing fault, but it could be because the club is too flat. So as part of the custom fitting process you can make the custom golf club more upright to help with this. This will mean that the toe of the club will be slightly off the ground at address to compensate.

There are different methods of fitting according to custom golf club manufacturers but ultimately they are all trying to improve your game. To begin with simple measurements such as wrist-to-floor, height and hand size are taken and will point you to the right size club and at what angle it should be to the ground. Then you will take a club and hit some balls. One method is to place impact tape on the bottom of the custom golf club and an impact board on the floor.

As you hit the ball the board will leave a mark on the tape showing whether the heel or the toe of the custom golf club is striking the floor first. The resulting mark will show whether the club face needs to be flatter or more upright. Then things get a bit more advanced. Analysis equipment can measure everything from your club speed to the side spin of the ball so that you can get maximum distance from your shot. You can also measure the launch angle of the ball, how much backspin you generate and impact efficiency - all which affect distance. The angle in which the custom golf club approaches the ball and the sidespin of it can help fix your game too.

Rather than bringing down your old clubs, it might be better to start from scratch. It's a big misconception that custom fitting is only for good golfers. Anyone can benefit. That said, if you plan to upgrade a new set of clubs with the same manufacturer they may be able to adjust your old set to become custom golf clubs.

Custom fitting won't cure all your bad shots. Coaching will sort that out. But if you do make a good swing, then the custom golf club will arrive correctly at impact and should produce a straight shot at your target. That alone will save shots during a round.

Lastly, custom fitting is often free of charge. But it is usually on the condition that you buy some clubs once you've been fitted. So it really depends on what your budget is. If you're prepared to buy a new set of clubs it's definitely worth getting fitted.

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Swing Easy

The second I get a golf club in my hand I want to knock the fire right out of the ball. It just plain feels good to send that sucker as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, being able to hit the ball hard doesn’t equal good golf.

If you’re just needing a little stress relief, go for it! If you want to play a good game of golf, however, you’re going to have to erase the “homerun” mentality.

See, one of the roots of golfing mistakes is that tendency to swing hard. A violent swing shows power, but power isn’t what wins the game. It’s accuracy and control.

You want to swing easily and freely at the ball. If you bring your feet together you will reduce your ability to swing hard. If you brace yourself, you’re probably going to use too much effort. Just relax and swing easily.

You also want to keep your center of gravity the same. Do this by keeping both of your feet on the ground in approximately the same position as when you start. Keep your head still and your center of gravity won’t change.

A sudden effort made with one of your legs or both will cause your head to move. Then you can’t see the ball clearly and you change the position of the pivotal center with relation to the ball. Keep both feet planted on the ground so your weight is supported on the flat of your feet when you connect with ball.

When you hit the ball properly everything is so smooth. You’re conscious of very little effort.

Now, don’t brace yourself for the effort of hitting the ball. Don’t be stiff. The slightest tendency to stiffen your muscles will destroy your balance. You want to make your club head go along a straight line while in contact with the ball.

Try to see how low you can send the ball and how clear on the center of the club you can connect with it. This will help to correct slicing. A ball that goes too high is at the mercy of the wind and can kick off to the right or left on rough ground.

When you hit the ball, remember - you only want to use the power you’re able to control. You’re not going to be bothered by a lack of power but by a lack of accuracy. You want perfect control at every instant during your swing. So there shouldn’t be a violent effort keep your head still and make sure your club head is going straight when you meet the ball.

Your longest drives aren’t usually going to come when you’re trying for distance but if you’re just trying to put the ball down the line you’re aiming at, the distance will come naturally.

What you want to try to do is get a gradually increasing speed until you connect with the ball and then press steadily. If you’re jerky anywhere in the swing it’s because you’re pulling in your hands somewhere. In regard to keeping your head still, imagine that you have a glass of water balanced on your head and when you swing you don’t want to spill one drop of water out of the glass.

You want to swing at a fairly decent speed throughout so you don’t stiffen up. Don’t swing back too slowly then. Basically don’t swing so hard that you’re conscious of the effort.

How much energy can you apply to a ball? It doesn’t matter. It’s the power you can control that counts.