Golf Clubs Information

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When you start a round of golf its worth being aware that you are only allowed to carry a maximum number of 14 clubs. The range of clubs will depend upon your game and the course that you play.

When you have used a club in practice, you will be aware of the distance you can hit the ball with that club. Also you will be aware of the hight of the ball, this is controlled by the angle of the club or the loft.

Most clubs are identified for ease by a number and the higher the number the shorter the distance they can hit. The clubs are made of different materials designed to get the best performance for the player. They mainly consist of a rubber grip, a shaft which usually is graphite or steel and a club head made from either steel, alloys, tungsten or sometimes a mixture of all three.

There are 3 types of clubs:-

* Woods

* Irons

* Putters

THE WOOD

Woods originally got their name because the club head was made from wood. Today with new technology, club heads are made of many different types of alloys, steel or sometimes tungsten.

* Ladies woods range from numbers 1 to 15.

* Ladies use a No.1 club or driver from the tee.

* Fairway woods are usually 3,4,5,7 and 9.

* Numbers 11,13 and 15 are usually of a much higher loft and are used to make specific shots (more of this in another article).

IRONS

Sets of Irons are numbered from 1 to 9 and are usually have club heads made from metal or alloys. The higher the number on the club the less distance the ball will travel. For example a 4 iron will hit the ball further than a 7 iron.

There are also various wedges which come into this catagory, such as a pitching wedge and a sand wedge. Wedges are used to get a high degree of loft, and a sand wedge is used to escape from bunkers.

PUTTERS

A putter has almost no loft and is used on or just off the green when the ground is firm and smooth. There is an enormous variety of putters on the market. Which ever type feels right and produces the best results is the one for you.

HYBRID OR RESCUE CLUBS

The hybrid or rescue club as it has become known is a combination of the wood and iron, and is a big hit with lady golfers. Mostly it is used as a distance club, being more forgiving than a wood off the fairway. It has quickly become a standard part of the range of ladies clubs.

TAKING CARE OF CLUBS

Head covers are available to protect woods from banging against other clubs in the bag and prevents damage. Make sure that your woods are dried off carefully and any grass, mud or sand is wiped off the head.

When rubber grips become dirty they can be washed with soap and water. When they become shinny they are ready for a change and this can be done by your local professional.

CHOOSING CLUBS

There are many factors which can be taken into account when choosing clubs, but the most important is that you are comfortable with them. There are many brands to choose from, but some practice shots with demonstration clubs will help you decide.

When you decide the time is right to buy some clubs, go to a place where they allow you to try out 4 or 5 different types of clubs.

You do not need to buy irons and woods of the same type or from the same manufacturer. Nor do you need to buy them all at the same time. Many players add different clubs at a later date, and buying a complete set is not always the best solution.

If you are just taking up the game, consider leaving the purchase of a driver until you have a little more experience. Initially just purchase a 3 or 5 wood. You may want to consider a half set of irons – 5,7,9,PW and SW – just to get the game going. You can always add more at a later date.

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Presented by GolfClubsHome.com

Learning the mental game of golf well is one of the key elements that can help you to become a better player. This aspect of golf is particularly important for those golfers that wish to pursue golf as a profession. At the highest levels of golf it is the mental game that separates the best from the rest. However mastering the mental game of golf can also be very beneficial even for the high handicap weekend golfer looking to shave a few strokes of their score. Here are some golf mental tips to help you improve at this great game.

Build and maintain confidence:

Confidence is one of the key elements to building a solid golf game. You must do whatever you can to build and maintain confidence. Never hit a golf shot if you doubt your abilities in executing the shot. If you find yourself doubting your ability to hit a particular shot you need to step back and rebuild complete confidence that you will be able to hit the shot exactly as you want.

Only remember the great shots:

You must learn to develop a selective memory if you want to become the best player you can be. A selective memory is one that remembers certain events and forgets others. You must choose to remember the best shots you have ever made and forget the misses and poor shots. This is not easy to do at the start especially if you have a habit of dwelling on your misses.

Each day remind yourself of the top five golf shots you have ever hit in your life. Make sure that one of those is at least a putt as high confidence is critical in consistently good putting. Every time you hit a poor shot learn whatever you can from it and then simply remind yourself that the next shot you hit will go exactly as planned.

Create a powerful mental routine:

You have probably been told that you need to build a routine of some sort if you want to play better or more consistently. If you watch the professionals you will notice that many of them go through certain physical motions on every shot. There are two aspects to every good golf routine and that is the mental routine and physical routine.

The mental routine is far more important than the physical routine so do not get obsessed with trying to do things perfectly physically on every shot. In fact it is best to have some element of flexibility in your physical routine to adjust to varying conditions that you will undoubtedly face on the golf course. However the mental routine cannot vary and there is an ideal mindset that will allow you to execute each shot with your full potential.

So what is the ideal way to think before you hit a shot? Well, many people like to visualize the shot and see it landing on the green or they see the putt dropping in the hole. The bottom line is that you must believe in your ability to execute the shot before you hit the shot or the putt. Perhaps the biggest key to the mental routine is how you think just before you make contact with the ball.

Your mind must be sharply focused on the target and you must block out all other thoughts. You must learn to develop a quiet mind before every shot and trust that your brain and body can execute the shot automatically without any swing thoughts or other mechanical thoughts. This is perhaps how the best players in the world think before most shots and it is the mentality that also may work best under intense pressure. Use some of these simple tips to help you lower your golf handicap.

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From the Golf Channel Instruction

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The Towel Drill is the third lesson in the G.I.T series aimed at keeping your short game sharp during the off-season!

This drill is designed to improve distance control with your chip shots. We will be going over the proper set-up for this shot, as this is very important to be a consistent chipper. When we see golfers who have trouble with chipping, it almost always starts with an improper set-up to the ball. First you want the ball position to be slightly back from center and your feet a little closer together than your full swing. You will want to have your weight slightly more on your left side for a righty and your right side for a lefty. The reason for this is so you will make a descending blow on the golf ball pinching it to the ground. The last thing to think of is to have your hands in front of the ball. You don’t want to exaggerate this. Do it just enough so that the shaft of the club is slightly leaning towards the target. The whole goal of a chip shot is to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. You want to pick a spot to land the ball and then have it roll out to the hole. If you have a lot of green to work with you may choose to use a 7 or 8 iron. With less green between you and the hole, you will want to use a more lofted club like a PW or SW. This drill will help you gain more control over how far your ball carries in the air making it easier for you to make more up and downs from just off the green.

On 10 feet or so of open floor space, put a towel down and stand about 10 feet away from it. Try chipping balls that land on the towel. Not to come to rest on the towel but to first bounce on the towel. This can be done from different distances and with different clubs teaching you how far each club will carry and helping you to hit your spots more consistently. Try the same club from 5 or 8 feet then switch to a different club. As you move the towel to different distances you will be able to change clubs but make the same easy stroke at the ball. The shorter you are trying to carry the ball (closer to the towel), the less lofted club you will want to use. When you get back on the course you can do this drill by placing the towel a few paces onto the green. Now watch how each club reacts after it lands and starts rolling. When you gain a feel for how far your clubs roll out you will be able to chip it close from anywhere.

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Presented by GolfClubsHome.com

Learning how to lower your golf scores can be quite a challenging task. For most high handicap players the short game presents the best opportunity to shoot lower scores. Mastering the wedge game and putting may be the fastest way to play better golf.

However there is no magic solution to playing better golf since it will still require consistent practice. You do not need to spend hours and hours practicing each day. One hour of practice done four to five times a week can often be enough to see good improvements. Be sure to spend a lot of time on short shots inside of 120 yards.

These shots can make a huge difference in reducing your scores. Also remember that the longer shots are simply an extension of the shorter shots so if you are struggling with your wedge then you will almost certainly also struggle with the longer clubs. This is another big reason you need to hit more short game shots as this will also make you a better ball striker with the longer clubs.

Many of the top players in the world first learned how to putt, chip and hit wedge shots before they learned the driver and long irons. Also being confident in the short game also will take pressure off your long game since you will not be too concerned even if you miss occasionally since you have a great short game that can help you to get up and down most of the time.

Putting is a very important aspect of the game of golf. Hit a lot of short putts as they are very important in reducing your scores. Also when you do hit many short putts you will inevitably make a lot of them and this will help to build confidence. Never lose your confidence when you are on the green or anywhere else on the golf course otherwise this will adversely affect every area of your golf game.

You must learn to focus on all the great shots and putts you have ever hit instead of all the misses. Thinking of yourself as a great golfer is critical especially if you are looking to become a tournament professional because success at that level is all about how you think and your ability to build and maintain confidence.

It is important to learn how to think when you are about to strike the golf ball. Just before hitting a golf shot your mind must be focused on a target. You need to block out all other external thoughts and stay sharply concentrated on the target. Before you hit any shot pick a small target and then hit your shots with the target in mind.

You must trust your swing and putting stroke when you are on the course. Train your swing and putting stroke off the course but then you need to believe in your game on the course. Also when you are on the golf course, always play within yourself and hit the shot you know you can pull off easily. Do not try shots you have never been able to hit consistently during practice sessions.

Sometimes backing off on a hole and laying up can be the best thing to do in order to shoot lower scores so do not get caught up in trying to hit heroic shots. The professionals on television can hit those flashy shots because they have practiced them and they know they can pull them off but the same does not apply to most amateurs. Keep practicing and learning from your experience and in time you will lower your golf handicap.

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From the Golf Channel Instruction

Presented by GolfClubsHome.com

The Ladder Drill is a great drill to improve your distance control on long putts. It builds feel with the putter and teaches you to control your distance. This makes it easier for you to lag it close to the hole and make more two putts. Distance control is the main reason for three putting and being able to cut the three putts out of your round will dramatically lower your scores. This drill can be done anywhere and will keep your touch sharp year round.

This drill can be done indoors or outside on a putting green. It is a great drill to practice in a hallway or anywhere you have the space to putt from 20 feet. This can be done from any length that you choose shorter or longer than 20 feet. You will start by putting to a door or object trying to get the first ball to stop just before your target. Now for the next ball, you want to try and lag it just short of the previous putt. The goal is to see how many balls you can putt in a row, with each one stopping just shorter than the last. The balls will end up in a row and will get closer and closer to you, forcing you to adjust your distance on each stroke. If you hit one past the previous putt, you start the drill over again. You should get to where you can get the balls very close to each other all in a row till the “ladder” reaches you.

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