Year on year a lot more people decide to get into the game of golf, simply because it is not a strenuous sport but it does give you the exercise that is needed. When wintertime comes though a lot of people commence to worry that they will not be able to play any golf. I mean most golf courses tend to shut and the ones that do not, make it impossible to play a game of golf, simply because the ground is so moist and muddy. So what are some ways which you can still play golf throughout the winter? Lets take a look.
Indoor Golf
Although it may not be as fun, you will get a vast quantity of exercise and be able to practice your game in time for the summertime months again. The only really negative aspect about indoor golf is the fact that it can become a lot more expensive then playing on a green would.
Wii
So you may well be wondering why there is a games console in the list. But the Wii is not just a games console, it allows you to play things such as golf from the solace of your own house and it does not actually cost anything besides your electrical energy bill.
Overseas
This may sound slightly peculia, but its really targetted more at the rich. Why not fly out to a different country that has higher temperatures throughout the UK winter period. This will allow you to get the much needed practice every weekend or whenever you can find free time to fly out.
Summing up there are lots of different techniques and approaches that you can take to keep your game up in the winter period.
The most important equipment to your golf game are your golf clubs and the type of ball that you choose to use. But that is not all there is to the game of golf, as there are plenty of other accessories available to help make each golf round more enjoyable and comfortable. To help you make wise choices when you buy, here are some tips on golf apparel and accessories.
The main thing to consider other than style when you buy golf apparel is its comfort. Your clothing should also remain comfortable for the entire round of golf. Having a good set of golf shoes will make a significant impact on your game as golf shoes help maintain a good foundation for your swing.
As it helps you maintain a good grip and contact with the club all the way through your swing, a good golf glove can also make a positive contribution toward your swing. A golf pull cart can be a wonderful labor saving device as you navigate the golf course, unless you usually ride in a motorized golf cart. If you have ever tried to carry an average size golf bag for an entire 18 holes of golf, you know how wearing and tiring that can eventually be.
Instead relieves most of the heavy burden as you travel, but placing your golf bag on a pull cart and rolling along. After the rain subsides, you will really appreciate having a good set of golf towels available to wipe off your club faces and to keep your golf balls clean. And a good golf towel can also come in for good use during the summertime to help wipe away perspiration.
Most golf accessories are not absolutely essential to the game of golf itself, but they can go a long way in contributing toward making each round of golf more pleasurable and enjoyable, & is not that the main reason we play golf?
Before considering what the contents of our golf bag should include, it is actually worth noting that there is a wide choice of golf bags themselves available. To a large degree your golf bag preference is dependent on your budget as well as what you want from your golf bag. There are some golf bags that are designed for fashion, some for their usefulness and practicality and some that combine both of those features.
To ask the age old question - does size matter? Many golfers consider this to be an important factor. So, fortunately there are large bags, larger bags and bags so big that they’d keep everything I would need for a long weekend holiday in one of the side pockets! What do people often say - everything but the kitchen sink, I think it is. Quite possibly you are a golf beginner. If that is the case, choosing a suitable golf bag is one of the numerous aspects of the game you will need to add to your list of “to do’s”. This task along with many other golfing matters can seem quite daunting for the golf “newbie”. Don’t worry though, you can find many great tips and information at Golf Beginners Guide.
Anyway, back to your golf bag. Regardless of any fashion considerations for the time being, generally speaking you will need a bag that will be sufficiently large enough to hold your clubs, extra balls, your glove, tees, car keys, extra pencils, ball markers, a ball retriever, sun tan lotion, a windbreaker and an umbrella.
It is also worth bearing in mind that it would be a good idea to have a packet of tissues, a sticky plaster or two, and if you play courses wherever insects are a problem, a can of bug repellent spray will also be most welcome. Warm climate or not I would most definitely include a bottle of water (or another preferred drink - no, not alcohol!!)
A small packet of baby wipes will come in very handy as well. When they are in your bag they will be warmed by the heat, therefore if you were to sweat or if you were to be covered in sand after a visit to a bunker for instance, then a nice warm wipe can be extremely satisfying. To cool from the heat, a golfing buddy I know carried a small, battery operated fan with him. Quite a good idea as it happens but remember, they can be fairly noisy and distracting so do not use it when your partner is about to take a shot. The fan is not a bad idea but not an essential for the golfing beginner.
A golfing friend of mine also happens to be allergic to bees, hornets and wasps, so Epipen is a vital addition to his bag. He is also hypoglycemic so he carries Lifesavers, which have to be replaced several times throughout the year because they tend to melt.
One item that does not necessarily need to be in your golf bag is your mobile phone. Nevertheless, if you believe that it is necessary for you to have it while playing, then at least show some consideration for your golfing colleagues and have the ringer on silent. If it so happens that you have to use it, then consider your fellow golfers who may be preparing to take a swing or an important put. Be courteous and show respect for your golf playing partners!!
If you were to include these items in your golf bag then you should be covered for most eventualities, like a minor crisis (such as a blister or small cut), or even a relatively major nuisance like a downpour of rain. Being organised and prepared makes the game a great deal more fun.
You may think of other things that are essential to you (for example you may suffer from hay fever and as a result your medication is vital) so take note of the above items as a guideline. You shouldn’t go over the top as, after all, you will still have to carry the bag so you do not want it to be too heavy. You do not want to expend all you energy on lugging your heavy bag round. Whatever you choose to keep in your bag always look after the items as well as you would look after your other golf equipment.
Good clubs will help to improve your game. New advancements in golf club technologies make lighter, bigger, and better golf clubs available to the experienced as well as inexperienced golfer.
How do you know what to look for in golf clubs? For the novice golfer, the basic set of golf clubs consists of drivers, wedges, putters and irons. Beginners will need to use the proper type of club to speed up the learning process. Different clubs are designed for different purposes, such as improving swing speed, and correcting faults to improve your score. You must take into consideration the style, size, and type of material used to make the golf club shaft. Steel is always a cheaper material. Golf clubs with a steel shaft weigh more but can be longer-lasting than other types. More control is achieved with a steel shaft due to less flex. Graphite shafts are lighter than steel, but also more expensive. This type of club is used for long distance shots or for slower swingers. Most golf clubs are available with both steel and graphite shafts. Keep in mind that graphite shafts will not only be lighter and easier to handle, they will also be more forgiving if you have a bad shot.Vibration is absorbed to give you a better feel.Plus, the lighter materials allows for greater swing speeds.
The flexibility of a shaft is referred to as flex, or bend. The less the bend in a shaft, the more control the powerful swinger will have. On the other hand, beginners and those with less powerful swings generally use a shaft with greater flexibility. 65 mph is an average swing speed for beginners. Advanced swings can top 100 mph. When it comes to selecting a golf club driver, especially as a beginner, you will probably want one with a head made out of titanium.Titanium has many advantages over steel allowing for a larger head with the same amount of material.A larger head on your driver gives you a bigger sweet spot, or area to hit the ball with.This type of club head allows for more forgiving shots.
The goal when buying golf clubs should be to own the best golf clubs you can afford, whether they are name brands, used, or a reproduction of one of the name brands.
Selecting left handed golf clubs is not all that different from choosing right handed clubs. The biggest distinction is that there’s a much more limited choice when it comes to left handed golf clubs. This means that it will likely take additional time to find the perfect set. There are lots of more right handed folk than left handed people ; so there are numerous more right handed golfing club sets. There are several players who want left handed clubs because they’re really left handed while others are right handed for everything but sports.
There are 3 main parts to any golf club. These include the head, the shaft, and the grip. The head is the section of the club that’s placed on the grass. This part comes in a extensive array of styles and sizes which have more to do with personal preference than the rest. The shaft is the angle of the club’s head. This part is created from either graphite or steel and directly impacts the distance the ball will travel. Graphite shafts are lighter and are a good selection for ladies, seniors, or people who have joint discomfort. The grip is the material that covers the stick. The grip of the club determines how comfy it will be to hold. The grips have a tendency to get greasy and hard over time and will need to be replaced often .
When purchasing a set of left handed golf clubs it is important to keep in mind that cash will not purchase talent. It is practice and time which will have the largest impact on how you play the game. When searching for a left handed golf club sets you don’t have to go with the big name brands, particularly if you are a beginner. You’ll find a broad selection of costs out there but intend on spending no less than $250 for a basic set.
“Driving the Golf Ball with Confidence, Accuracy, and Consistency”
The three most important elements to the game of golf is:
Driving the golf ball in play.
Putting the golf ball with consistent speed control (distance).
Pitching the golf ball with loft.
Let’s concentrate on what I consider the MOST important aspect to the game of golf, DRIVING THE GOLF BALL IN PLAY. This area of the game is the number one confidence builder in our sport. As you probably know and have experienced, your score adds up quickly if you hit your tee shots out of play.
Here is a bold proclomation for you -if you read this article/special report every time, just before you play a round, your friends will think they are playing with Joe Durant. Joe has led the PGA Tour in driving accuracies for the past two years. So far this year, he is averaging 79% of the fairways every time he plays 18 holes of golf.
If you are going to change the way you drive the golf ball you will need to implement the following four fundamentals:
THE PICTURE
PROPER DRIVER
CORRECT TEE HEIGHT
CORRECT SWING PLANE
1. THE PICTURE
If you can see it, you can have it. Before you take your driver, or any club for that matter, out of your golf bag, you better start seeing what you want the golf ball to look like during its trip down the fairway. Of the millions of words my mother (the first woman to teach at a golf school in the United States) passed on to me, the one phrase that has stayed with me all of my years is THE PICTURE. You should have a mental picture of how you want the ball to fly through the air and where you want it to wind up. When you have a driver in your hands, you have to pick out an exact area you want the ball to land on. IF YOU DON’T SEE THE PICTURE, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE.
Important Tip: During the course of a round of golf, you can find yourself driving the ball well, but all of the sudden you are faced with a difficult driving hole. Shortly after I turned professional, I played a practice round with Tommy Bolt the 1958 U.S. Open Champion. We came to great par four, 435 yards long, water down the right side of the fairway from the tee to the green, out of bounds markers down the entire left side of the fairway from the tee to the green. After I teed my golf ball up I said to Tommy , “What do you do here with O.B. left and water right?” Tommy looked me straight in the eye and said “Son, if you see the water and the O.B. markers, you better go find another line of work.”
That stuck with me to this day, and I wanted to pass it on to you. Don’t worry about the challenges, just think about what you want the ball to do. I have benefited immensely during my golf career, and I want you to gain the same benefit from this as well.
2. PROPER DRIVER
Now that you can see the picture, let’s see if you brought the correct brush to paint with. If you are still trying to buy 30 more yards every time you walk into a golf shop. It is time to stop-NOW! If you own a driver that has a graphite shaft, is metal, and the grip is new then you own what it takes to send the golf ball straight down the fairway.
Let’s back up a foot or two. The loft on the golf club will play a major role in how accurate you are. If you are struggling with your driver you might consider buying a driver with at least 10-12 degrees of loft. The less loft a driver has the more you are apt to slice and hook the ball. If you are driving the ball well you can buy a driver with less loft.
An important side note: If you are driving the golf ball short, low and to the right the shaft might be too stiff. If you are driving the golf ball too high and to the left the shaft might be too weak.
Another item to consider if you have small hands, have the club repair shop regrip all of your grips with either a junior grip or a small grip. If your hands are large, have the shop regrip you clubs with oversize grips.
Bottom Line – think about getting the ball in the fairway first, and then focus on distance generation. Chances are, you own the equipment right now, that will give you the fairway shots you’re striving for. Remember – It’s the swing, not the equipment. The equipment can help once you have a good swing, but you’ll never FIX your swing with an equipment upgrade.
3.CORRECT TEE HEIGHT
The tee height does not seem like such a big deal, but it plays a huge roll in whether or not you drive the golf ball consistently down the fairway. Something so simple can often be the biggest challenge.
The two major mistakes are teeing the golf ball too low or teeing the golf ball too high. You may have heard that golf is a game of opposites. This is a fantastic example. Let me explain why. If you are constantly swinging your driver too vertical into the ground in the downswing, you probably tee the golf ball to low. Most golfers with a vertical driver swing fear swinging underneath the golf ball so they tee the ball low in hopes of catching it square. For those of you with this challenge, the next time you are on the golf course, tee the golf ball up a little higher and sit back a little bit more on your heels and keep your weight there in the downswing. After your shot has landed, look down to see if your tee is still in the ground. If you are always conscience of leaving the tee in the ground, you will not pop your tee shots up anymore.
If you are topping your tee shots to the right you might have the ball teed too high because you are trying to hit the ball on the upswing. The next time you go out to play, tee the ball down a little. After the golf ball has landed, make sure your weight is on your left foot and meaning you have transferred your weight correctly.
4. CORRECT SWING PLANE
With this final tip I feel confident you will be on your way to driving the golf ball straighter and with more consistency. The golf club in your bag that swings the most vertical, (up and down) is your sand wedge. The golf club that swings the most horizontal (around you-baseball swing) is your driver. The mistake I have seen most amateur golfers make is that they swing their driver like their sand wedge and they swing their sand wedge like their driver.
A couple of things to remember when you are addressing the driver:
Chin up
Turn your right shoulder in the back swing level
Swing the golf club around you/not up and down
Leave the tee in the ground after you hit the ball
When you are ready to begin your backswing, keep your swing thoughts to a minimum. Just focus on swinging more horizontal.
At the beginning of this article I promised you would drive the ball more with more consistenency, accuracy, and more confidence if you read this article every time before you tee it up this summer. This stuff seems simple, but give it a whirl and let us knwo your results. You’ll get some really excellent results.
If you would like to get more indepth golf instruction via golf videos then be sure to follow one of our links in this article.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could play golf half as well as Tiger Woods or not be the high scorer in your weekend foursome? I’m sure you’ve heard it before, if you want to get good at something you have to practice, practice, and practice. Practice does help, but employing reliable teaching methods will improve your golf game much sooner and make playing golf more enjoyable.
As great as Tiger Woods is at playing golf, he knows having coaches will make him a better player. All top players in all sports know that using coaches is the best method to find their weaknesses and to improve on them. If you’re a weekend golfer, maybe your coach could be someone you know who’s a better player. You could employ any of your community golf professionals to take your game to the next level.
Another fine teaching method for improving your golf game is golf school or camp. Aside from personal coaching, going to school is the next best method. Your learning can be on location at a golfing resort or done through the Internet with homework assignments at your local golf course. Obviously going to a nice resort with fine accommodations and instruction from the teaching pro is like being on vacation.
One of the least expensive ways to improve your golf game is with books, videos, and teaching aids. Want to improve your golf swing? There are hundreds of books and videos demonstrating the proper technique. Or you can buy equipment like swing trainers, swing jackets, or collapsible clubs. Whatever you need help with, there’s something available to teach you.
The most important thing in golf is to have FUN! Being a better player wouldn’t hurt either. Coaching, schools, and personal study are reliable methods to perfect your golf game.
David Johnson is getting to know the joys of golfing and learning how to improve his golf handicap.
