Archive for December, 2006

The Magic Key to Golf Putting

Thursday, December 14th, 2006

Brought to you by GolfClubsHome.com Putters

When you have it, you have it. The world is yours. When you don’t have it…then you think that you would be better off placing the ball in the hole with your hand rather than using your putter.

Just the last time you played you had the same stance, putter, and “feel” as you had today, but last time you made the shot easily. What happened?

Do you just have bad luck this time?

Putting is not a game of chance. Although sometimes it may seem that there is no rhyme or reason to it, there are some tips to help your putting.

If you are having putting problems, your solution can be boiled down to one little word.

Tension.

Concentrate on keeping your muscles relaxed while you are putting and your shots will become more and more accurate.

Stiff muscles only make it harder to putt. Good putting takes complete muscle relaxation so that your movements are fluid. Fluid movement gives you the freedom to make a good putt. If you are trying to tense your body up to keep your balance, then you are guaranteed to have problems.

When you are not having problems putting, your confidence is increased and you are having free movement. When you miss an easy putt, then you become tense and you try more carefully. The more tense you become, the more freedom you lose and your putting goes down the drain.

You can change everything about your putting and try to copy every professional player imaginable, but it all hinges on you being relaxed. Relax your muscles. Be loose and free. Pretend your muscles are like jelly.

Making a good shot is impossible if you are tense. When you stiffen up from your face to your feet, you lose the freedom that you need to make a good shot. You may make several shots this way, but there will come a time when all you will hit are bad shots. You need to stay relaxed enough to fall down (but stay up).

If you will stay relaxed then your putt will improve, your confidence will rise, and you will be more relaxed for the entire golf game!

Are you looking for the magic key to putting? RELAX! Good putting hinges on this one key!

3X9 Putting Mat
3X9 Putting Mat

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Swing That Golf Club Smoothly

Monday, December 11th, 2006

Brought to you by GolfClubsHome.com

When I get a golf club in my hand, I get that feeling of wanting to knock the cover off the ball. It feels good to put all of my strength into hitting the ball. Just hitting the ball as hard as I can does not mean that I play good golf though.

If you just need to relieve a little stress, then swinging with all your strength may accomplish your goals. However, if you want to play golf well, then you are going to have to hold back on the power a little.

One of the most frequent mistakes is to swing the golf club too hard. A hard swing shows that you have power, but accuracy is the name of the game in golf.

You need to relax when you are swinging. This will help you swing easily and will help to reduce your power. If you put your feet closer together, then you can further reduce the strength of your swing. Tensing up will also cause you to use too much effort.

Your center of gravity is also very important. Keep your center of gravity the same and your head will stay still. If you keep both of your feet in the same position throughout your swing, then your center of gravity will be stable.

If you jerk your body then your head will move and you will not be able to focus on the ball. This can also change your center of gravity. It is imperative that you keep your feet planted so that all your weight will be concentrated in your feet when you make contact with the ball.

Expending very little effort should be your goal. If you hit the ball correctly, then it will feel smooth and easy.

Don’t tense up when you are about to make contact with the ball. If you tense up, your balance will be thrown off. You want the club head to travel in a straight line to make contact with the ball.

To help correct slicing, see how centered you can hit the ball with your club and how low you can send the ball. If you send the ball too high, it gets into the wind and can go left or right on rough ground.

You want to only use the amount of power that you are able to control. The goal of the game is not power, but accuracy. You want to be able to control every facet of your swing so that you hit the ball cleanly and it goes where you want it to go.

The distance will come from your clean and correct swing, not how much power that you put into it.

You want to try to gradually increase your speed during your swing until you connect with the ball solidly. If you do not have a smooth swing, then you are pulling your hands somewhere during the swing. Keep your head as still as you would if you had a glass of water balanced on top of it. This will help to improve your swing and help you to swing more smoothly and fluidly.

Swing at a decent enough speed to keep yourself from becoming tense and stiff. Don’t swing too slowly or so hard that you feel the effort of the swing. Stay relaxed.

Try to keep the idea of power out of your head. Keeping your power under control so that you can be more accurate is what counts!

Golf Coach - Swing Groover II - (Black)
Golf Coach – Swing Groover II

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Watch The Golf Ball!

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

Brought to you by GolfClubsHome.com

This phrase is often repeated in nearly every sport – keep your eye on the ball. It applies to golf too! If you do not watch the ball, then the chance that you will hit it is very slim!

Keep your eyes focused on one part of the ball. Don’t watch your club as you swing.

Keep your focus on the ball and let everything else fade into the background.

Try to look down on the ball, rather than watching it at the end of the golf club. Raising your shoulders is not going to help you see the ball more clearly. If you will look down on the ball, you will get results that are more successful and you will not have a tendency to look up before the end of your swing.

Unfortunately, it is completely natural to look away when you begin to pull the club back. Ignore the natural feeling and keep your eyes on the ball.

When you are looking down at the ball, you should notice that the only way you can keep the club head in the correct line of flight is to keep your hands moving parallel to the flight line. Keep your hands in line with the club head when making contact with the ball.

It is very important to learn to watch the ball no matter what kind of shot you need to make. It does not matter if the ball is in the long grass, the sand trap, on a slope, or anywhere else, the main thing is to see the ball completely so that you can hit it solidly and successfully.

There are not many golfers who stand still and keep their attention on the ball. Many times, people will look at where they want the ball to go and then look at the ball. Most golfers would be surprised to learn that they do not stand still and watch the ball. The instant that you take your eye off the ball, you begin having problems.

Most golf mistakes are a result of a loss of concentration. It you keep your focus on the ball, you will be able to hit the ball well.

To help your golf game, remind yourself to keep your eye on the ball for the entire swing. You will find your golf game improving so much that your friends may be asking you for advice!

Pilot CR403 Hitch Cover Golf Club
Pilot CR403 Hitch Cover Golf Club

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Tips to Speed Up Your Golfing Round

Friday, December 8th, 2006

Brought to you by GolfClubsHome.com

How serious of a golfer are you? With the rush of today’s world, do you have time to spend on the golf course? What if you could spend less time on the course and still enjoy the game while saving some of that precious time? As the saying goes, “Time is Money!”

So, if you are more concerned about playing a round of golf quickly rather than shooting a perfect round with a good score, you should determine when to take a short cut and cut your losses. This will mean your score is not the most important thing when on your round of golf. Here are some tips to help you speed around the golf course in record time:

Make sure you use a golf cart. If you have a buddy riding along and your shots are fairly close together, park the cart about midway between where your golf balls lie. Take the appropriate clubs plus any additional ones you might need. Designate which of you will go back to the cart and drive while the other can be walking to the next shot.

Play ready golf. When you are ready to shoot, take the shot. With that being said, make sure you see where your shot lands. Pick out a landmark to help you remember and gauge where your ball should be. This will make it easier to find your ball and not spend as much time looking for it. If your partner has already shot, ask them to keep an eye on your ball and do the same for them. Two sets of eyes are better for tracking the ball so that it can be found more quickly.

Don’t write your score down until you are at the next tee box. Better yet, don’t keep score. Just enjoy playing golf and let the shots fall where they may. The less time you spend trying to figure out your score, the less time you will spend on the course.

Figure out where you have the hardest time with your golf shots. Is it in the sand, over water, out of tall rough, etc? When you get into those situations, take relief. It is within your right to declare the ball unplayable, take a one-stroke penalty, and drop the ball as close as possible to the spot from which you last played. This is Rule 28. So, instead of hitting out of the sand, back into the sand, and on and on, take relief as explained above and your one stroke penalty. You will be ahead on your score and speed your play.

If you hit into the water, don’t just drop where you last hit. According to Rule 26, you can take a one-stroke penalty after hitting into the water and take a drop right where your ball crossed the water. This will get you closer to the hole and make it easier to get over the water.

When hitting from the tee box, you may hit out of bounds, or at least think that you could have driven out of bounds. If you think you are out of bounds, announce that you are hitting a provisional. Hit your provisional. You can then choose the one that is in bounds. If the first drive was not out of bounds, you take it. Otherwise, you have your provisional and a one-stroke penalty.

So, you see, there are ways within the rules to speed up your round of golf. If you are not keeping score, just use a handy foot wedge or strategically placed drop. FORE!

Keep your swing in groove during the off-season by swinging a weighted club. If you don’t have a weighted club, take a few wedges out of your golf bag and swing them together. Swinging easy and often will keep your golf swing loose until the 2007 season arrives.

Sports Golf Organizer Metal
Sports Golf Organizer Metal

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Being the Best Golf Player You Can Be

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

Brought to you by GolfClubsHome.com
Just like any other game, to be considered a good golf player goes beyond having an average score of below 80. While skill at playing the actual game is commendable, a holistic view is needed to achieve a well-rounded game.

To play good golf, you have to get down past the three areas of:

- fitness,
- practice,
- and etiquette.

Fitness
- Keeping one’s body and mind in shape is a key element to becoming a good, if not great, golfer. Looking after your body and making sure it’s in shape not only gets you to perform better on the course, it also ensures you that you can enjoy golf even well into your years.

- Achieve bodily fitness by eating right and exercising regularly. Maintain cardiovascular fitness and muscle tone that suits the game of golf. Some indicators of physical fitness are your blood pressure and your BMI (body mass index). Consult with your doctor on what levels are right for your age and body type.

- Mental fitness is also just as important. Find ways to relieve yourself of stress. Develop a regular meditation time alone or with family/friends. Keep your mind sharp by exercising it with reading or with puzzles like crosswords.

Practice
- Develop a regular and consistent practice routine. Many find themselves wanting to play more and practice less when it is the opposite that gets better results as far as scores go. By practicing more, you develop techniques and muscle memory that will carry well into your game.

- A good play to practice ratio is 1:2, that is, for every hour of golf you play, you will do 2 hours of practice. This may not be done all in the same day. It is advised to alternate practice and play days so as not to work out too much.

- Continue your education on the game. Not just because you know how to play means you already know everything there is. Remember that there is always something new you can learn so either enroll in a class or take up a lesson or two with a more advanced player. Do this at least on an annual basis. Constantly wanting to level up your golf skills shows your dedication to become a better player than your were the year before.

Etiquette
- Being a great player on the course and on the practice field is nothing if you are not a good person to play with. While golf may be a solitary sport, it does not mean that rudeness is condoned. As a gentleman’s game, rules pertaining to respecting others are of utmost importance.
Cougar Ti-Cat Complete Golf Set
Cougar Ti-Cat Complete Golf Set

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