An animation of a full golf swing displaying the appropriate and professional technique. Each of the 9 frames in the animation are based on this image. The animation was made in both Adobe Photoshop CS and Adobe ImageReady. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many golf beginners drop their hut and surrender because they experience frustrations in the execution of their swing. This should not happen because swing is doable for every one even for kids and seniors. The most common mistake of beginning golfers is that they try to give as much strength they can muster in the execution of their swing. This is not necessary because fluidity in motion and direction driven swing is what is necessary.

Of course, as anything physics, understanding the concept is easy but execution is always the issues. If you have noticed, I said physics. This is because golf swing is all physics. You will need to follow certain angles and mind your movement to create fluidity of motion and giving direction to your ball.

I hope I can help you improve your golf swing by giving you some of the useful tips on how to execute the proper golf swing.

Parts of a golf swing

Backswing
Downswing
Follow-through

What is the backswing?

The backswing is the where you begin your effort to give direction and control to the golf club. A good backswing sets the stage for that perfect swing, if you do not feel your body coil as you give power to your club, it may not be a perfect way to move forward into the downswing.

It is imperative that your execution of the full swing starting from your backswing will give the fluidity and strength to the club and ultimately the ball.

What is the downswing?

In here is where you will transfer all the power you mustered into the ball and send it off rolling. The alignment, stance and grip will define this moment and thus, the result of the swing.

There are three phases of downswing, which happens in less than a second. The phases are shifting from the backswing, rotating and finally hitting the ball.

Upon impact will you only know if you did the swing right or failed in your attempt. If you slice, hook or shank the ball, do not worry. Even professional commit this mistake many times.

To execute your swing well you may need a mentor to guide you, choose a mentor and surely, in time, you will be able to execute you swing well.

However, this is not the end. There is but one more part of the actual golf swing, the follow-through.

What is the follow-through?

It is in the follow-through where you release all the force and finishes the swing. Your position in the follow-through will tell if you did the full swing perfectly and thus sending your ball to the hole.

You will surely be able to say that you did the full swing well if your follow-through gives you the position where you chest faces your target. The follow-through will also send your club face accelerating upon impact. The perfect swing does not stop upon hitting the ball; the follow-through finishes your swing and defines the delivery of the ball to the target.

Like in any game, there is no overnight success in playing golf. Even, golf professional you see on television started long before to master that perfect golf swing. It is for you to practice and ensure that every mistake is noted and every game is improved.

Do not be afraid of poor stroke, but try to improve every time and practice. This is the only way to hit the ball to the hole.

Related articles

• Guide to golfing for seniors (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Golf Swing Fundamentals (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Making the Perfect Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• The Anatomy of a Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Golf- Learning And Perfecting The Basics (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Improving Your Golf Swing to Amp Up Your Game (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• How to Improve Your Rusty Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Take the Slice Away from Your Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Important Things You Need To Know In Golf (dominicspoweryoga.com)

English: Fairway wood positioned near golf ball (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every sport has its important stuff that must be understood to be able to perform well in it. Golf is no exception. There are certain important things in golf that you need to familiarize yourself well with and understand to be able to understand the game and be a great player.

Fitness
It is wrongly perceived that because golf is not really a very physical sport or a contact sport like basketball, football etc that good fitness is not required. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Fitness is very important in golf. You need to be mentally and physically fit to be at your best. Fitness is not really about strength it’s about preparing your body and mind to be able to handle things. Good fitness will mean you are well exercised and that your muscles, joints, hands and your whole body and mind are prepared for the challenge ahead.

Good Etiquette
If there ever is a gentleman’s game, it’s golf. Because of this, there are certain things that should be observed in the course of the game. Good golf etiquette means you don’t hold other players up, you are conscious of other players, you don’t make too much noise in the cause of the game distracting others, you make sure when you are swinging that nobody is in harm’s way, you play with the spirit of good sportsmanship etc.

Golf Clubs
Generally there are 3 types of gold. These are woods, irons and putters. Long distances require woods as they are very good for such distances. Intermediate distances are well covered with irons. Putters are good for short distances.

In using golf clubs you need to understand what the numbers and what the clubs are best used for.
1 wood is good for making the ball go like a distance of 170 yards or more.
5 iron is useful in projecting the ball to a distance of about 100 yards
9 iron is good for getting the ball to a distance of about 60 yards

The thing about golf club is that even apart from their general uses you need to make the decision of which pone works best for you. So you need to know the golf club that is right for you.

The Right Swing
The game of golf really hinges on how good your swing is. Since the purpose of the game is to get the ball in the hole, getting your swing right is what determines how well the ball is controlled. The correct posture must be assumed to get your swing right.. You are expected to stand at address, and the term address is really used to imply standing near and ready to hit. Assuming the correct posture, your heels are supposed to be about shoulder width apart. It is also important that you hit the ball in the right place to get it really moving. So the ball should be hit in the middle of the face of the club just above bottom part of the ball.

The Rules
Familiarize yourself with rules. The rules determine who wins. For you to win you must follow the rules, it’s not just about getting the ball into the hole. How many time is the ball supposed to be hit per par? 5 over par?

These are only few of the things you need to familiarize yourself with to get to enjoy the game and be a better player but it’s a good start..

SUMMARY
There are some important things you need to know to be able to understand and play golf well. These include, fitness, etiquette, the rules, the golf clubs, the swing and so on.

Related articles

• Getting The Right Golf Clubs For You (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Golf- Learning And Perfecting The Basics (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Guide to golfing for seniors (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• The Anatomy of a Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Making the Perfect Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Golf Swing Fundamentals (dominicspoweryoga.com)

Golf Lesson:

The golf stance has always been the cornerstone of the golf swing. A proper setup to make a good golf swing is just as important as pouring the foundation of your home. Screw this part up and everything else you do won’t matter much.

Spring has arrived so here is a gentle reminder of what to work on first in the early part of your golf season. Let’s reinforce your foundation as we shake off the winter rust.

Golf Quick Fix: Golf Setup

How do we setup? First off, the golf grip is pivotal. Any and all control you exercise over the golf club and your swing begins with how you hold the club. However, the purpose of this post, is more about posture and stance. The golf grip is probably the most personal part of the golf swing so we’ll just gloss over grip. For the time being, let’s proceed under the assumption you have a solid and trusted grip on the golf club

With both your hands on the club, lead arm sitting slightly on top of lead side of your chest, lead shoulder is elevated as opposed to your trail shoulder. (spine angle tipped slightly away from the target area). Your trail arm is relaxed and soft at the elbow, the trail shoulder is back and down. Be careful you aren’t turning that trail shoulder towards the target in your setup (open stance). The golf shaft should be straight out with the butt pointed  just a few inches above your mid section.

Golf Stance

Position the feet a little bit wider than your hips but not quite shoulder width, toes slightly turned out just a few degrees, and while keeping your back straight, bow from the hips.
Allow your wrists to drop. The golf-club head now lowers to the ground in the midpoint of your stance, the butt of shaft still pointed just above your mid section.

Golf Posture

The back remains straight. Buttocks slightly out (don’t exaggerate this part). Chin up, this helps you avoid hunching over. Bend your knees slightly. You need to feel as though you are in an athletic stance. A child should not be able to knock you off balance in any direction with a slight shove. Feel as though your center of gravity is strong but not tense.

Finally, step up to the golf ball. From this positioning with the golf-club head on the ground, center stance, give a little waggle over to the golf ball while keeping your “set-up posture.”

In simple terms, golfers set-up standing a couple of inches away from the golf ball, then slip the golf-club head in to the rear of the golf ball as your feet step forward to reset the posture and stance you just rehearsed.

If you have access to a full length mirror at home or the golf range, see if you look like what you “think” you look like. If not use your smart phone and make a quick video of yourself setting up. How we feel and how we look can quite often be two different things. I can tell you your stance is open or you are slouching, and you may very well make a temporary adjustment. But seeing for yourself what you are doing wrong will help you make a more permanent correction. Seeing is believing and believing is seeing.

From Golf Quick Fix, Good luck and hit’em straight.

Recognized as the Best Golf Program in the Pacific, the professionals at Tama Hills Golf Course and Yokota Par 3 are available on the weekends to help shave strokes off your game. Whether you have a killer hook, wicked slice, or no short game, attending a clinic is sure to be beneficial. Plus, if you’re a beginner, the proshop lends clubs to participants at no charge! Space is limited for the free clinic, so sign up early. Private lessons can also be scheduled for $25 for 30 minutes.

Yokota Par 3 • 225-8815
Saturdays • 10-11am

Tama Hills Golf Course • 224-3426
Sundays • 9-10am

A golf ball directly before the hole (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Golf is the one game that bridges perfectly the gap between the corporate world and the sports world. Loved by both the business and sports community alike, this great game has really become quite popular. If you desire for whatever reason , business or sports, to learn how to play golf , you must first learn the basics and perfect them.

Learning the basics is very important in golf. it’s like building, if you don’t get the foundation right, it doesn’t matter how beautiful or high the building is, it will eventually come down. Getting the basics right and perfecting it, in my opinion is what makes great golfers like Tiger Woods who they are. Tiger started playing golf at a very young age, he learnt and perfected the basics and today he is reaping the benefits.

Learning and perfecting the basics helps you to really know the game and be a great player. The secret of success in life in any endeavor lies in the simple and basic things. Success in Business, for example, is all about providing what people need when they need it. It’s that simple, yet not many people get that simple principle right but those who get it right are the most successful. that’s why the world’s richest main are not those with complicated degrees but those with simple business plans. In Golf also, success is in the basics. Basic things like, the swing, the clubs and the course.

The Swing
There is nothing so basic and yet so important in golf as the swing. The swing is what differentiates great players from ordinary players. Every players most important thing in golf is learning his swing. Golf is simply about swinging a club, hitting a ball towards and eventually into a hole. The swing is what makes the winner. Everybody has access to the same kind of clubs, they are sold everywhere, the same kind of course but not the same swing. You must learn how perfectly to control the ball with your swing. Swings are perfected with practice. The control of the ball is in the swing. So there is a need for you to really work on your swing and perfect it. Of course the basics of how to hold the club , how to stand and how to drive the ball can be generally taught but the perfect swing that yields the perfect drive you will have to cultivate yourself.

The Clubs
One of the very important golf basics is the golf clubs. You must know your clubs well. Know which to use at what distance in which condition and for what purpose. This knowledge separates the top players from the usual players.

The Course
Though there are special regulations guiding the construction of a course, professional golf players will tell you that courses differ one from another. Knowing and mastering the course is important. It’s what lets you know how to hit your ball, where to hit it and where to avoid. Great players take time to examine each course before playing in any tournament. Knowing the course well may be what differentiates the winner from the others eventually.

Success is in the basics, learn and perfect the basics and your success in golf is guaranteed.

SUMMARY
Being in a great golfer is in the basics. Learning and perfecting the basics helps you become a successful golfer. Such basics include mastering your swing, knowing your clubs and the golf course.

Related articles

• Guide to golfing for seniors (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• The Anatomy of a Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Making the Perfect Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Getting The Right Golf Clubs For You (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Playing Golf With The Right Mentality (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Golf Swing Fundamentals (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Improving Your Golf Swing to Amp Up Your Game (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• How To Be A Master Golfer (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Golfing Tips That Anyone Can Experiment With (yaomvk820.wordpress.com)
• Lessen Your Score And Play Such As The Pros (wersalqu.wordpress.com)

When dissecting a commercial that really stuck with me would undoubtedly be the Nike commercial featuring Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy: No Cup is Safe. Looking at the brand Nike it is truly a steadfast brand that can hold its own. With the recent cloud above Tiger Woods head Nike advertisers needed a way to help win their key spokes person back in both relevance as well as character.

The Target audience is any male between the ages of 16-60. This has such a large audience because of the sport and how Rory captures the younger market and Tiger can cover an older demographic. With this effective ad I feel that they can truly capture this huge age gape and maybe more considering how well these players are known in the golfing world.

The intended out come of this ad is to help create sales but the underlying meaning is to help makes Nike’s golf image back to pristine. The ad is very well structured because it shows a clean purpose that imprints its self on the viewers. It does this by showing the top two golfers of all time battling it out in a fun unique way. At the ending of the commercial it adds the humor with Tiger sinking a ball into Rory’s drink cup. This can be well related to the audience because Rory a much younger player asked, Tiger a much seasoned veteran how he did it. This adds huge appeal to the older demographic, but yet does not hinder the younger generation’s perception of the commercial. However this ad goes far beyond a normal ad because I feel it helps shape the character of Nike and Tiger back to a more favorable stand point as well as promotes their great product line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VdeD6SrQuL0

Note: This Blog was designed to give a description into the behind the scenes working of Nike’s golfing advertisement strategies.

Ice encrusted golf balls at the driving range (Photo credit: whertha)

If You Are In A Hole Stop Digging! -Larry Winget

I had a rough work day today. If I could burn myself, cut myself or run into it that was what I did. I am glad my day wasn’t any longer. I might have killed myself. Other than that it has been a good day. Matthew got his homework done early and got invited to a sleepover on Saturday. I am excited for him. He has had a lot of difficulties with social situations in the past, but he is doing so much better this year that I think it could be a good thing. Not to mention having the house to ourselves for a change. I made dinner at home tonight and managed to avoid using my debit card today and I cleared off the desk in the living room like I planned. I would show you photos, but I am still having some difficulties with my phone and computer downloading photos I have taken.

I had a golf lesson today over at Golf Zone with Jeff Helstrom. I saw some real improvement right away. We mainly worked on my driving. Focusing on my take away and learning to swing hard thru the ball. Jeff asked me what my preferred shot path was? Whether I liked a draw or a fade. I had to answer honestly in the past I had to go with whatever my quirky swing gave me. It has only been in the last couple of years that my ball flight came even close to a draw. So it is cool to be finally at a place where I could have some say in the matter. Unfortunately it is still colder than heck here. Spring seems to have forgotten Minnesota this year. Last year at this time we had temps in the 80′s. This year we are in the 20′s this week. Hopefully the weather will turn to the better soon and the snow will melt away.

I have still got to do a little self-study with my New Directions work, but again I will do that after I am done here.

That is it for today. I hope you all are having a great week and your plans are working out for 2013. See you tomorrow.

Ogie G.

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Golf Green Island (Photo credit: jurvetson)

In most endeavors in life, success or failure starts in the mind. If you believe you can’t do something, it will be difficult for you to be to do it at all or do it well. The same applies to golf. The masters at golf are those who play with right mentality, those who refuse to be intimidated, who believe they can win and go ahead do all they can to win. The right mentality can be cultivated, and here are some tips on how to go about doing that.

Believe In Yourself
If you are going to be the best in anything in life there is a need for you to first believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself you won’t be able to overcome the challenges that come your way easily and you will be intimidated by other people’s success. In golf, the same applies, you need to believe in yourself, believe you can master the game and compete with the best of the best. If you believe it you can achieve it.

Visualize Playing Perfect Games In Your Mind
As good as it is to believe in yourself, it’s not enough you must learn to practice playing golf on and off the course. Since success starts in your mind, you should learn to visualize playing golf in your mind. Visualize playing golf in your mind and getting it right. If you get it right in your mind you’ll be surprised how easy it will be when it’s time to actually play it on the course.

Refuse To Be Intimidated By Others
The reason why some people find it difficult to improve their game is because they feel intimidated by the people they play with. They see themselves as not good enough to compete with such people. This sets up a mental barrier that actually reflects in their game. You must be confident in your game, believe in yourself and refuse to be intimidated by others. You are all playing on the same course with the same kind of clubs, it’s just in getting the ball into the hole as quick as you can with less attempts. Refuse to see the others, see yourself as having a good time and you will be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to beat those you think are too good for you to play against.

Having said all these, it is worthy of note that no game is completely won in the mind. Victory starts in the mind but it doesn’t end there. You must make an effort to translate what you have in your mind into real life games. Practice and training is what bridges the gap between winning in the mind and winning in real life, so practice is very important in improving your game in golf.

Make sure you cultivate the right mentality and develop a good training and practice schedule, then you will able to improve your game as you won’t be easily discouraged even when you don’t get it right in your first attempts. When you have the right mentality, your initial failures and setbacks are perceived as part of the process of getting better and becoming a master golfer.

SUMMARY

Being a great golfer starts with having the right mentality. This can be cultivated by believing in yourself, visualizing playing perfect games in your mind and refusing to be intimidated by others. But it should not end there as practice and training is what brings victory in the mind to real life games.

Related articles

• How To Be A Master Golfer (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Golf Swing Fundamentals (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Making the Perfect Golf Swing (dominicspoweryoga.com)
• Require Help Playing Golf? Try These Tips (ruiflc211.wordpress.com)
• College Bound Tip #1 for Parents of Junior Golfers (parentingjuniorgolfers.wordpress.com)

I need to clean this post up; the work is unorganized. Please excuse the chicken scratch!

Chloe and I spent the period solving Fermi problems! Which are:

“… the estimation of rough but quantitative answers to unexpected questions about many aspects of the natural world. The method was the common and frequently amusing practice of Enrico Fermi, perhaps the most widely creative physicist of our times. Fermi delighted to think up and at once to discuss and to answer questions which drew upon deep understanding of the world, upon everyday experience, and upon the ability to make rough approximations, inspired guesses, and statistical estimates from very little data.”-Phillip Morrison

Unless otherwise stated, our results were within 1 order of magnitude (a power of 10), which is considered accurate.

Estimate the number of piano tuners in NYC:

-There are approximately 10 million people in NYC

-1 in 20 families own a piano (ballpark guess; Chloe wanted lower, I wanted higher)

-Average family size of 4

-2.5 million families

-100,000 pianos

-A piano tuner tunes 10 pianos/month

-Pianos are tuned roughly twice a year (we were split between 1 year for easier calculations, but normal people don’t get pianos tuned every year)

-100,000 pianos/2 years= 50,000 pianos/year

-50,000/12= 4,000 pianos tuned

-4,000/10= 400 piano tuners

How many jellybeans fill a one liter jar?

-1mL=1 cubic centimeter

-1 jellybean is approximately 1 cm long. However, it is between 0.5-1 cm thick. Thus, approximately 1.5 jellybeans/cubic cm. (Chloe thought they were larger, I thought they were smaller; we compromised)

-1L=1000mL=1000*1.5 jellybeans=1500 jellybeans

Actual answer: Approx 250

What went wrong: estimating the size of a jelly bean. They are actually 2 cm long and over 1 cm thick

Estimate the total number of hairs on your head

-150 hairs per square centimeter=1500 hairs/square inch (generous estimate based on a quick glance at Chloe’s scalp- includes facial hair)

-Hair takes up half of lateral surface of head- assume is in the shape of cube

-12 inch x 8 inch x 8 inch head- 10 x 10 x 10=600 square inches

-lateral surface: 400 square inches

-400*1500=600,000

What is the mass in kilograms of the student body in your school?

-3000 students attend our school

-Average weight: 140 lbs (we thought 135, but that’s a difficult number to work with)

-1.5 lbs:kg ratio

-140*1.5*3000=210*3000=630,000 kg

For future reference: 1 kg=2.2 lbs

How many golf balls will fill in a suitcase?

-golf balls are 2 inches in diameter

-suitcase is 3 feet x 2 feet x 1 foot

-18 x 12 x 6– approximate as 20 x 70=1400 golf balls

How many golf balls will fit in a school bus?

-golf balls are 2 inches in diameter

-6x6x6 approximately 200 golf balls in a square foot,

-School buses are 6 ft tall.

-They can hold 70 kids, with 4 kids/ row- approx 20 rows

-Each row is 2 feet wide. One seat holds 2 students and is 4 feet long. Each row consists of 2 seats and 1 aisle- approx 10 feet across

-20 rows x 2 feet/row =40 feet long

-6 x 40 x 10 x 200= 480,000 golf balls

All photos taken at a mere 85 miles per hour, on the way to San Antonio!  (Imperial measurements given for the USA, Liberia and Myanmar.)

That’s about 137 kilometers per hour. (For the rest of the metrically enhanced world!)

An animation of a full golf swing displaying the appropriate and professional technique. Each of the 9 frames in the animation are based on this image. The animation was made in both Adobe Photoshop CS and Adobe ImageReady. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Golf is definitely a game where an individual’s discipline, determination, and heart can be measured. While others tend to see the game, when watching golf being played, as completely boring, this sport can truly reel you in. You just need to get ahead with your golf swing.

While the basics are the same for everyone, the differences in body types and mentalities bring forth a multitude of differences in the game that can cause confusion for most beginners. As such, one must adapt to his/her body in learning how to perform the perfect golf swing. While the perfect golf swing is there, it is elusive as it is different for every individual. Practice and knowledge are the keys to success in golf, and muscle memory is what you are trying to ingrain into yourself. Once you have the proper golf swing in your system, confidence in your game and calmness of mind shall follow.

Basic Principles

One of the most fundamental principles that can be applied for immediate improvement in the golf swing is to keep your head still and eyes on the ball. This is to straighten your spine’s alignment and to aim at the ball properly. The spine is the axis that you are to swing with, so you have to keep yourself straight in order to achieve any positive result. Keep your head straight by raising your nose up. Your left shoulder should be under your chin by the time you are to swing. Tucking your head into your chest is not the way to go. The best way is to keep everything straight so that you can hit the ball dead center.

Keeping your head straight and with eyes on the ball will definitely help those who have constant problems with their golf swings. The next step required is to assume the correct position of knees and feet. The feet have to be planted onto the ground and the knees are to be straight while allowing pivoting to occur. Bend a little bit forward at the waist and look right at the ball. Minimize hip rotation to prevent swaying and do not overdo your backswing. This way, your left shoulder should hit your chin upon swinging.

Prevent this by lifting your head a bit until your shoulder doesn’t hit your chin anymore. In this position, slowly do your backswing and down swing while staying focused on the ball. A practice swing is best done first before actually hitting the ball. Practice your golf swing by focusing on straightening your head and keeping your eyes on the ball.

Position and balance are the most crucial points of a golf swing, leading to consistency and good power. Another thing that needs to be focused on is relaxation. Being tense can only make one’s golf swing worse. By relaxing your muscles, you can maintain your balance and flow with the swing as smoothly as possible. Practice this while maintaining your position. While this can be daunting at first, you can make things easier for yourself by breathing at a relaxed pace while maintaining the position without tensing your muscles.

Hold this position for around 15 seconds before doing your swing during practice. Keep your weight even on both feet and try to not tense yourself. This is a good way to improve your golf swing.

Related articles

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• Improving Your Golf Swing to Amp Up Your Game (dominicspoweryoga.com)
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Sink More Putts

Golf Lesson

There are a number of components in your golf game that you can cultivate in an effort to lower your scores. There is one part that can be one of the biggest if not the biggest handicap dropper of all; if you are willing do the work. The 100 yard shot.

Sounds simple enough. You are probably thinking, no big deal, I can hit the green from 100 yards. So can everyone else. However, that is not nearly good enough. You need to OWN the 100 yard shot. You need to wear out the grooves on your pitching wedge practicing that shot.

A golfer should get an incredible sense of relief when they stroll up to that golf ball laying in the fairway and find the middle of the green is an even 100 yards away. This is your shot…you’ve hit it a few thousand times this year alone at the range. You’ve been waiting all day to play this yardage. That’s how it needs to feel.

The confidence of owning the 100 yard shot can and will spill over into the rest of your game. This confidence will allow you to really develop your course management. Most golfers, when they are 250 yards or more out, dig in and try to get all the yardage they can out of their next shot. Now the hazards the golf course architects designed for this very thought process are all in play for you.

Most likely the vast majority of the holes at your local golf course have no hazards at the 100 yard marker. Some par three’s being the possible exception. You’ll even find a 100 yard marker on all the the par 4′s and 5′s. Take the hint.      

Golf Quick Fix: Take that same 250 yard shot. The sense of relief and the self-confidence you can take into this shot magnifies 10 fold when you know advancing the golf ball a mere 150 yards will bring you to your “go to” shot. The shot you practice more than any other. The shot you hit hundreds of times each month.

Play better golf:   I can not say it enough, you need to own this shot. Make the 100 yard shot your happy place on the golf course. You will be amazed how the rest of your game elevates and how much your self imposed stress levels plummet.

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Golf Lesson: You will save the most strokes possible in the early part of the season by working on your chipping and putting. You can practice chipping on any patch of grass you can find which is another way to say that you can practice chipping for free.

Golf Quick Fix: This is a real good video…it doesn’t cover everything but it really drives home the idea of compressing the golf ball and why that is important. If nothing else, hopefully this minute and a half video motivates you to break out your wedge this weekend and chip some  golf balls.

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Golf Quick Fix: Purchase 3 Dozen or More Personalized Pro V1 or Pro V1x and Receive 1 Dozen FREE!

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Most if not all players will use the putter when they get to the green but many if not most can not bring themselves to use it under various other conditions. An imaginative player can find a number of other uses for the putter when they are off the green.

Golf Quick Fix: Fringe Putting

Players can utilize the putter when their golf ball is parked on the fringe. This is perhaps the most frequently used location for a large number of golfers to utilize their putter when they are not on the green. The fringe turf is just a tad bit taller than the tightly trimmed putting green and it should require a more solid putting stroke, however the fringe is not very likely to alter the track of the golf ball when it is putted smoothly and with conviction.

Golf Quick Fix: Fairway Putting

My favorite!!  People can and very often should utilize their putter when they are a little shy of the putting green and resting on a neatly trimmed fairway. The majority of golfers will, by default, take out their lob or pitching wedge when they are parked on the fairway. However, if their are no hazards like water, a bunker or even a tree in your way you can, and very often should use your putter. A well hit putt can very often, get the ball to within 2 to 4 feet of the hole while good wedge shot is anything inside 10 feet.

Golf Quick Fix: Do You Putt From The Rough?

Sink More Putts

Using your putter when in the rough and just looking to put the golf ball back in play is very often your safest option. If a player is not looking to hit the golf ball for any great distance, because the ball is in the high grass or weeds and the fairway is just a few yards away…instead of attempting to throw away your stroke by executing a big swing with a longer iron or fairway wood, you can very often carefully put your golf ball in the fairway. You can accomplish this by hitting the ball with a good crisp stroke with the golf putter.

Golf Quick Fix: Putting Out From The Sand Bunker

Look over the bunker prior to taking out your sand wedge to get that ball out of that hazard. The vast majority of greenside bunkers are deep and that demands you to just take the sand wedge and blast it out of the bunker.  Nevertheless, there are a few greenside bunkers that have little or no lip, making them somewhat flat. In these uncommon situations, you can go with the putter and hit the ball straight at the hole. This works well when your golf ball is at the same height as the hole.

Golf Quick Fix: Putting From Behind A Tree

Utilize your putter when your golf ball is parked immediately behind a tree and you have no other options to forward the ball downfield. Taking your putter and hitting the golf ball back into the fairway, you could very well place yourself in a place to hit your preceding shot precisely where you hope for it to go. Whenever some players are caught in back of a shrub or tree, they  will very often try to execute “the miracle shot” by trying to go around it, just to have the golf ball bounce backwards or even right back at them. Punching it out sideways or maybe even backwards with the putter in order to position a decent follow-up shot is a wise strategy.

Golf Lesson: Jack Nicklaus often says use your putter whenever your worst putt will be better than your best chip. That’s good enough for me.

With spring approaching is easy to think about golf and how this year is the year you put it all together and take your game to the next level. The driving range is the place to start but if you are just hacking away at a hundred balls in thirty to forty minutes…save the effort and go practice your putting.

But if you want to get the most out of that bucket of balls, give yourself a free lesson. First stretch and warm up with some easy swings and increase your speed a little at a time.

Golf Lesson: Now take your smart phone out and set it up behind you so you can record yourself hitting some balls. After each shot look back at the camera and yell out if you hit it on target, hit a hook or hit a slice. Five to ten shots should be fine. Now go watch yourself on the video you just created. It’s amazing to see how we think we look as opposed to how we really look hitting a golf ball. In my case it helped correct my habit of coming over the top and just about eliminated my slice. The feedback is instantaneous and this will cost you nothing. More importantly you turned your leisurely trip to the driving range into a golf lesson.

Professional instructors are incorporating video more and more into their lesson plans. It’s easy for one of your instructors or one of your playing partners to tell you that you are casting the club or coming over the top but it’s not something we embrace because that’s not how it feels to us. But seeing is believing.

You have nothing to lose except strokes. Take this Golf Quick Fix seriously and start hitting some fairways and greens in regulation. Good luck.

The Aim

Getting the white dimpled ball into a hole signalled by a flag in a field isn’t everyone’s idea of an enjoyable time, however, millions of people around the world like doing nothing better on a Sunday morning.

The aim is simple; take the fewest hits of the ball to sink it into the hole. In practise it isn’t as straight forward, believe me.

The Warm-up Routine

The Warm-up technique of any Sunday morning golfer is simple. Turn up 10 minutes before you are due out and head straight to the first tee, there take out the driver and swing the club back and forth. Repeat several times. Now you are ready for that drive.

The kit

Shoes
If you are new to golf then you maybe unaware of the specific footwear that all golfers must adhere to while on the course. Most golf clubs state that proper golf shoes must be worn. Proper golf shoes are spiked shoes (not football boots, I have seem a pair of Puma King’s worn of the course before) or the increasingly popular rubber-dimpled shoes, these are shoes that can be worn on the course and the street.

Clothes
Most clubs have a strict dress code and they encourage their members to police this code (I myself have felt the blunt force of a dressing down by an old, stubborn, bitter, sullen pompous member for having an untucked shirt). This side of golf displeases me, but even I must draw the line at ‘shirts v skins’ fourballs. At the posh private golf courses, a top with a collar is the norm along with a pair of trousers, no jeans. At your local municipal, anything goes.

The Glove
Most golfers opt to wear a glove as this gives them more grip of the club in wet conditions (or if your in Manchester, whenever your golfing). The glove is usually worn on the dominate hand, i.e. right hand for right-handed golfers and the left for cack-handed golfers.

The glove is not mandatory, well known pro golfer’s that don’t wear a glove are Fred Couples and Lucas Glover (honestly, I didn’t make that up). Also, I though I’d mention my dad prefers to spit on his hands than wear a glove. We don’t shake his hand after the game.

The Clubs
It is compulsory at every course I have played that all golfers must have their own bag with bats in, sharing is prohibited. This is so the club can charge exorbitant fees to rent the shitest clubs you will ever see, honestly, these are worse than the Dunlop starter set.

The number of clubs allowed in the bag must not exceed 14. Why? The ban originates from the hipsters in the 30′s that would carry varying lofted clubs for the perfect approach shot. Maybe it took to long to select the right club. It is left to the golfers to police this rule among themselves and usually comes into play on the 18th hole by the losing party who declares the two point penalty on the leading score or a void game (a tactic I have implemented a few times).

Balls
There are many types of golf balls on the market. There are balls for spin, balls for length and balls that wobble and steer away from the hole. The ball cannot be changed during the course of a hole, only when it is deemed lost or damaged. It is advised to mark your ball so that it not confused with anyone’s else’s.

Etiquette

The rules of etiquette in golf could fill an entire library. There are many rules that must be adhered to at private courses and there are members who would love to pull a rule-breaker up. But for the average golfer the simplest rule to remember is to avoid slow play.

Slow golfers are the most hated and loathed on the course. I understand that newbies need time to bed in, but if you are hacking your way towards the hole and holding up a group of golfers, wave them through. You’ll be thanked by the party behind and revered as a good saint.

Enjoy

Follow me on @Golf_Burn

On this inaugural episode of WRESTLEFOLKS: THE PODCAST, Tom is joined by Rob Fee, a contributor for Mandatory.com and writer from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, to talk about their love of professional wrestling!

I was sitting at my desk at work when it all started. The sky was dark and it began to rain when slowly the rain turned to hail, little ones at first but then turning into the largest hail I’d ever seen! The only reason I knew it had started to hail was that there was this thundering sound coming from above me. When I found my way to the office window it was coming down hard and fast. My first thoughts were of my car. “Oh please, oh please don’t let my car be in pieces when I get to it after work!” An unreasonable wish according to Mother Nature.

Deep down I knew my car would be pelted like so many others on campus but I didn’t want it to be true, I was in denial. I wanted special treatment. As it came near the end of the work day I had dwindled my wish down to a simple “Please don’t let my wind shield shatter!” That wish was granted I’m glad to say, however, hail comes with its damages. No my wind shield wasn’t completely shattered but it looked (and still looks) like someone had taken a baseball bat to it. So many cracks! Not to mention that my car, come the end of the hail storm, now resembled (still does) a golf ball on wheels. Over time I’ve come to accept that I had no control over these weather conditions but that’s not to say that Mother Nature hasn’t landed herself on my “Hit List”. This girl isn’t fond of driving around in her golf ball car, it screams to other drivers “Look at me! I’m the coolest car on the street!” No. No my trusty car, you are so NOT cool!

Just as I’m accepting that all this happened, the Weather Network has brought to my attention that there’s a severe thunderstorm warning in effect for the City of Calgary. Oh great *dripping with sarcasm* just what I’ve always wanted. The worst part is that they are predicting hail and damaging winds. While my car might not be entirely opposed to this, I sure am!

Mother Nature, if you can hear me, I’ll cut you a deal. I’ll remove you from my “Hit List’ in exchange for your cooperation. No hail, no list. Sound good to you? My car seriously can’t take any more hail so please, I beg of you, don’t let it hail!

GOLF LESSON

Ball position is often times overlooked by the amateur golfer. Bad golf ball placement can trigger a variety of other things that can go wrong.

If you have two and a half minutes to spare this a fantastic Golf Quick Fix to cure that slice!

Good luck and hit’em straight!

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Before I hit my driver, I make sure to stand behind my ball and pick out my “intermediate target”.  An “intermediate target” is an exact spot you pick 2 feet in front of your ball that lines you up to the where you see your ball landing in the fairway.  It can be a blade of grass, a divot or a bug!

Your intermediate target will help you align your feet, shoulders and clubface to your spot in the fairway.  This part of hitting your driver is just as important as your swing.

Before you hit your Driver, come behind the ball and pick your intermediate target.  Visualize your ball traveling in the air to your spot in the fairway.  You will become more consistant and hit more fairways in regulation.

Drive like a Star!  Swing away:)  Xo, Seema