Golf Tips

Golf is good for you!


There’s no doubt about it that the game of golf is one that is massively popular all over the world. Golf is a low-impact sport that can provide participants of all ages not only a fun recreational activity but also some type of exercise. Golf is good for the body, it’s good for the mind, it’s good for social activities, and it’s good for business.

There has been a renewed interest in golf lately among the younger generations with the rise in popularity of golf phenomenon Tiger Woods. These days, golf is enjoyed by young and old alike. It gives fathers time to spend with sons and daughters, brothers with sisters, and friends with other friends.

The game of golf is played on both the amateur and professional levels with notoriety coming to good players locally and nationally. The professional golfers who are most famous are well-known world-wide, and often people strive to emulate them and their amazing play styles.

Of course, golf isn’t without its stressors. It’s nice to be out on the course when it’s a sunny spring day with a mild breeze, but it can be spoiled by bad shots, horrible lies, water hazards, and missed putts. You see, golf isn’t an exact science. There are many variables that go into a good golf swing, and it’s nearly impossible to perfect them all – all at the same time.

Even so, golf can become an obsession with some people as they strive to lower their scores and beat their friends. Millions of dollars is spent every year on golf lessons, magazines, how-to videos, and programs that purport to improve your golf swing and lower your score.

Golf equipment is also big business as clubs are always evolving with new technologies and equipment to build them. Big head drivers, graphite shafts, and other equipment advancements are touted as being the new best things in golf. They are advertised heavily and make claims that you just have to have these products if you want to play good golf.

If you’re not a golfer, you might wonder what’s so wonderful about this game. After all, taking a stick and hitting a little ball into a hole doesn’t sound like very much fun. But golf is challenging and involves much more than just physical ability. It requires thinking skills, deduction skills, and mental clarity. Because it’s nearly impossible to perfect a golf game, it’s a great way to challenge yourself as well as others.

We highly suggest you take up golf if you want a ways to meet new people, connect with old friends, and enjoy a fun, challenging activity. The golf course is also a great place to conduct business. There’s so much we can say about golf, but nothing extols the virtues of this sport like getting out on the links and just doing it!   Happy golfing   Fran

Getting The Most From Golf Lessons

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?   Happy Golfing
Fran

New Golf Products

Golfer's Elbow

source Reader's Digest

The elbow can be a funny tendon. It's designed to have maximum flexbility but this also means it's prone to injuries. Here are some suggestions for dealing with the problem so you can get back to your game.

Elbowing you out
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) affects the tendon on the outer side of the elbow. Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) is an inflammation of the tendon on the inner side of the elbow. Both tendons are involved in wrist movements – bending the wrist back in the case of the lateral tendon and down in the case of the medial tendon.

Tennis elbow: This condition can occur when playing tennis, perhaps as a result of overuse or hitting a ball awkwardly, but it is more common during other activities that require repeated gripping and twisting movements such as plastering and painting, or as a result of a sudden strain caused by lifting. Tennis elbow tends to develop between the ages of 40 and 60 as tendons grow less flexible.

Golfer’s elbow: This condition may be caused by an acute injury or by repeated strains sustained when playing golf, but it is more commonly associated with other activities such as racquet sports. Like tennis elbow it can develop for no obvious reason.

Symptoms to Watch
The affected area will be tender and there may be some mild swelling. Wrist and elbow movements can cause the pain to worsen. In tennis elbow the pain is felt on the bony bump on the outer side of the elbow. The pain of golfer’s elbow is felt on the inside of the elbow. In both conditions pain may persist when at rest and, if severe, can cause problems sleeping.

Treatment Options
To prevent the inflammation from getting any worse it is important to avoid repetitive movements of the wrist and elbow as well as any other movements that seem to increase the pain.

•It may help to wrap it in an elastic bandage.
•If the condition is brought on by a particular sporting activity it is important to check your technique.
•A heat pack or wrapped hot-water bottle held against the elbow can provide relief; alternatively a wrapped ice pack can be applied twice a day for 5–10 minutes.
•Other options for relieving pain and inflammation include oral or gel-based non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, physiotherapy, ultrasound and TENS (transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation.

If the pain is not relieved by any of these measures, a corticosteroid injection may be given directly into
inflammatories, heat and cold treatment or steroid injections will also reduce inflammation.

Once the swelling has gone down, exercises to strengthen the muscles around the affected area will help to prevent recurrence. Repetitive movement or overuse of the tendon should be avoided.

Stay healthy

Fran

Where do you play your best game?

Are You Better on the Front or Back Nine?

Looking at the way you perform through the course of a game can give you a lot of powerful information that can be transferred into results the next time you play.

I have talked to many golfers and there seems to be a consistency with a lot of them relating to their performance on the front nine compared to the way they play on the back nine in most tournaments.

Not that there is a consistency in their game, but a consistency in the part of the game where they consistently fare the worst.

Some people struggle to get their game right for the first nine holes and then improve on the back nine, while others start off fine and then fade on the last nine holes. It is like there is a switch that gets flicked half way through the game and their performance changes in one direction or another.

There is always a reason why this is happening and targeting that reason can result in some excellent improvements to your score. More often than not the second nine holes result in a poorer performance and this can be due to a number of factors.

Those factors can be fatigue or a lack of hydration. Hydration in itself will result in fatigue. These are simple factors that can be easily addressed with regular intake of water and foods containing some carbohydrate content to keep the energy levels up.

Other people find they perform worse on the first nine holes and that can often be from tension whereas they tend to relax later in the game and start playing better.
Once again, if you are aware that this is happening you can address the problem by making an effort to relax.

Learning relaxation techniques can do more for many people's game than all the advice in the world and it might be just what you need to take your game to the next level.

To a better golf game!

Fran
**************************

Golf Fitness Guide

Are You A Leftie?

We can't blame the golf club manufacturers for targeting their most profitable market of right-handed golfers, but it is quite difficult for those golfers who play left handed to find the selection offered to the mainstream players.

A few golfers made the change early on by training to play right handed but this is unrealistic for most people.

You should be playing in the most natural manner possible and if that means left handed then so be it.

Unfortunately with everything these days it all comes down to economics and profitability and there just isn't enough money to be made for many manufacturers in the left-handed market.

The percentage of left handed players to right handed players is somewhere in the region of 8 percent so the market is quite small, although it is a niche market that some manufacturers are targeting albeit at more expense in most instances.

But there is always a silver lining to the problems that we might encounter.

At a recent after tournament function I was introduced to an elderly gentleman who was playing on a low handicap and had done so for many years. During the discussion he mentioned left-handed clubs and the fact that he had started playing left handed initially. He hadn't learned how to play from a professional and had developed some bad techniques.

Eventually, due to frustration with his game and the inability to source the clubs he wanted to, he enlisted some professional help. After much discussion it was decided that he should try playing right handed and the golf pro would give him the necessary tuition.

It was a godsend as he was effectively starting from scratch and he learned how to play golf without any of the bad techniques that he had developed on his own.

The change from left to right, along with the professional training had held him in good stead for the rest of his golf playing life.

Sure, it was a major decision that most golfers wouldn't make, but you can never beat a golfer at trying to improve his game no matter what steps they might take.

To a better golf game!

Fran

Garage Sale Online

Got some used equipment to sell??





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Golf quotes

Free Report Click Here!
***************************************

Nothing goes down slower than a golf handicap.

- Bobby Nicholas

Golf is a young man's vice and an old man's penance.

- Irving Cobb

Golf is a total obsession: the chess of sports, the only sport that requires total intelligence.

- James Woods, actor

The cause of stress during a golf match, or anywhere else for that matter, is largely within yourself.

- Thomas N. Dorsel

******************

Trivia:

Who was the first golfer to break 70 in all 4 rounds of a golf championship?

******************

Serenity is knowing that your worst shot is still going to be pretty good.

- Johnny Miller

The sport isn't like any other where a player can take out all that is eating him on an opponent. In golf it's strictly you against your clubs.

- Bob Rosburg

Golf is not, on the whole, a game for realists. By its exactitudes of measurement it invites the attention of perfectionists.

- Heywood Hale Brown, writer


***************
Trivia:

Who was the first golfer from Great Britain to win the Masters?

***************
Scroll down for Trivia answers



Check out my new webpage: www.tips-on-golfing.com






Trivia Answers
1. Arnold Palmer
2. Sandy Lyle, a Scot, won it in 1988


For more trivia and fun,
check out Amazon here

Your Personal Golf Pro

Your Own Personal Golf Pro at Every Game

Have you ever considered what the source of your problems might have been when you just finished a poor round of golf?

Many people will be surprised to know that most of their problems stemmed from the way they were holding their clubs.

You probably already know the situation I am about to describe. You hit a bad shot and then you tell yourself that the next shot has to be better to compensate and the pressure begins to grow.

Along with the increasing pressure is a tendency to grip the clubs too hard.
Tension has a tendency to make us do that. And then along with this tight grip we have on the club goes a corresponding loss of control.

The ball starts flying in all directions, and the tension builds ever more, until you look at your knuckles and they are white from the pressure. If your clubs had to breathe you would have choked them by now.

I had a playing partner who had a simple list of instructions that he would read when his game started to fall apart and at the top of that list was 'don't strangle the clubs'

It's simple and we all know about it, but this visual reminder was all that it would take to get his game back on course and ensure that the tension wasn't there in the rest of his game.

This technique of having written guidelines was so powerful that several other people started using it. It was like having your own personal golf pro walking with you and giving you the necessary instructions when things started to go wrong.

Those words would allow him to focus on the next shot and release all the tension that would have otherwise crept into his game.

Try carrying your own list of 'game savers' around with you next time and don't hesitate to read them at the first sign your game might be falling apart.

It is an incredibly powerful technique.

Here's to keeping things under control!

Fran

Rest and Recovery

If it really made sense to "let the club do the work," you'd just say, "Driver, wedge to the green, one-putt," and walk to the next tee. Thomas Mulligan

*******************************************************
Rest and Recovery

Many golfers do not allow sufficient time to rest during practice. Going to the range and hitting 100 balls straight through is tiring both on the body and the mind. Fatigue diminishes our ability to learn so a lot of your practice time could just be wasted time.

Incorporating rest intervals into your practice session can give you the most out of your training time.

Before heading to the range, find a field or a large grassy area and hit 20 to 30 balls. Once you've done this, take the time to go and pick them up. This will give you a break from swinging and a period of time to recouperate mentally and physically.

If you can't leave the practice range or can't find a private grassy area, hit 20 balls at the range and rest for ten minutes.

Keeping your range balls a few steps away will give you time to process each shot in the time it takes to retrieve each ball.

Here's to resting and recovering your game!

A Balancing Act

A Balanced Approach

Golf is all about balance. You need to get the right balance on your feet, in the movement of your body, in the swing of the clubs and so on.

Balance goes further than just the body however. You need a balanced approach to the game with your mind in sync with your body. You need to only consider the one stroke that you are playing and not let other holes impact on your balance.

When we get golf lessons we're taught about the distribution of weight on our feet and the weight distribution when we swing to strike the ball.

Many of the techniques seem foreign to the beginner but it is all about training the player to find balance in their game so the actions are effortless and natural.

Our balance should flow through with the movement of the swing in one fluid action to the striking of the ball and even after the ball has been hit with a balanced follow through. It is a natural feeling that will become second nature with practice.

It is through finding balance in your mind and body that you will start hitting consistently good shots. Without this it will be very difficult to find any consistency in your game.

Once you get your upper body correctly positioned behind the ball, you will find that you are naturally placing more weight on the back foot.

Try it next time you have a practice swing. Stand balanced on your feet with no more pressure on the front of the foot than the back. Position yourself behind the ball and gently swing through without making any effort to concentrate on the distribution of the weight on you feet.

You will find that this will come naturally with no effort at all and that is precisely how you should feel when you are striking the ball.

To a more balanced life

Fran Watson
P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

Hole In One

How to Get a Hole in One

I've played some excellent golfers in my time but none impressed me quite like the old guy I played with on a weekend tournament.

Soon after we started he hit a hole in one and while everyone else was impressed he didn't seem overly excited.

Assuming it was his first hole in one, we all congratulated him only to find out that he had hit many holes in one in his playing career.

"How did he do it so often" was the question everyone asked. Simple - everyone else was trying to hit his or her golf ball into a small hole and he was shooting for a bucket.

Let me explain. He always visualized the hole as the size of the bucket and having that mindset made it possible for him to get so many holes in one.

After hearing that way of thinking I immediately used the same visualization for myself that day. I didn't get any holes in one but my putting was out of this world.

Every time I got on the green I knew the ball was going to land inside that huge hole, the size of a bucket, I could see in front of me.

It's a fact that good golf is more about your mind than any other factor. Sure you have to know how to hit a golf ball correctly. You need to have a good stance and swing, but those things can be taught to anyone. If you can master your mind you will master the game of golf and that's why so many people go back to the golf course week after week. They never seem to quite master it completely and there is a challenge with every stroke.

I am still shooting for my first hole in one, but in the meantime my handicap has come down.

To a Hole In One in your future!!

Fran Watson
P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

A Balanced Approach

Golf is all about balance.You need to get the right balance on your feet, in the movement of your body, in the swing of the clubs and so on.

Balance goes further than just the body however.You need a balanced approach to the game with your mind in sync with your body.

You need to only consider the one stroke that you are playing and not let other holes impact on your balance.

When we get golf lessons we're taught about the distribution of weight on our feet and the weight distribution when we swing to strike the ball.

Many of the techniques seem foreign to the beginner but it is all about training the player to find balance in their game so the actions are effortless and natural.Our balance should flow through with the movement of the swing in one fluid action to the striking of the ball and even after the ball has been hit with a balanced follow through.

It is a natural feeling that will become second nature with practice.

It is through finding balance in your mind and body that you will start hitting consistently good shots.Without this it will be very difficult to find any consistency in your game.

Once you get your upper body correctly positioned behind the ball, you will find that you are naturally placing more weight on the back foot.

Try it next time you have a practice swing. Stand balanced on your feet with no more pressure on the front of the foot than the back.Position yourself behind the ball and gently swing through without making any effort to concentrate on the distribution of the weight on you feet.

You will find that this will come naturally with no effort at all and that is precisely how you should feel when you are striking the ball.

Yours for a better golf game

Fran Watson

Amazing Golf Mind Mental Audios

P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com