Archive for November, 2007
Nov
27
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How to hit a golf ball with a Driver
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All those who are not here because they are golfers are now saying “You put it in the car and take it where it wants to go!” However those wanting a more serious answer might appreciate a few helpful tips on How to Drive a Golf Ball.
Firstly make sure you know where you want the ball to go picking out the area of the fairway you want your ball to land is an important factor but a very obvious one if you play the game in any way at all.
Now once you have picked out your spot put your tee into the ground, now if you have a 460cc driver you might want to leave the tee a little higher than if you have the 400cc. The reason for this is that you have a larger more forgiving area of the club to strike the ball with. Now once you have your tee in the ground place your ball on the tee with the writing on the ball pointing to the area of the fairway you picked out in the first step.
Now take any practice swings that will make you feel comfortable of that are part of your routine. Once you are comfortable you can get your body in position over the ball. Making sure your hands are in the perfect V that points to your addressing shoulder from both hands in your grip.
If you are not sure about direction hold the shaft of the club in both hands and ensure that it is pointing at that spot and parallel with the writing on the ball. Now keeping your chin up and your eye on the ball, address the back of the ball with the club and take the club backwards keeping your front arm as straight as you can and then bring the club face through the ball and follow all the way through.
The club should finish pointing towards the spot where you lined up the ball. Keep practicing and in no time at all you will be slapping the ball down the center of the fairways.
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Nov
21
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Putting Tips
I have just been for an hour on the putting green to brush up on my routine ready for a competition next weekend and I thought that it would be a good time to put a few simple putting tips onto the site.
Once I know the ball is on the putting surface and my faithful blade is going to be the next club I am going to use, I start with my well practiced routine. Now before I tell you what my routine is if you follow any tour golfer through a whole round of golf you will notice that their routine is the same no matter how easy the shot is. OK they might have a slightly different routine for a short little tap in but any other is the same.
So my putting tips start with the most important thing which is the putting routine. My routine starts with the removal of my club from the bag which is placed under my left arm while I remove my glove and place the glove in my back right pocket (fairly well practiced). I then check for a pitch mark and repair where required. All of this is before I have even reached the ball to size up the putt.
On approaching the ball I will take a close look at the green that is between the ball and the cup. I mark my ball with the marker I have attached to my cap and clean the ball of any scuffed dirt. While I do this I walk to the opposite side of the hole avoiding any other putting lines that my playing partners might be lining up. Crouching down I hold the club up so it hangs between the index finger and thumb on my right hand. This shows any gradient in the green to give me an idea of the route the ball will need to take to hit the cup.
I return to my mark and place my ball down (important putting tips). Now I used to have an issue with the direction of the ball coming off the club face but as with the driving tips if you place the ball down with the writing facing towards the direction you want to hit the ball then there is a line or a mark on the top of the putter that will allow you to line up the putter to the back of the ball perfectly.
Once the ball is placed and the writing is pointing to the direction that I want the ball to go, I address the ball to take two practice swings, I then address the ball aligning the back of the ball to the putter keeping my chin over the top of the ball.
Control your swing and make sure that you play the stroke as you did your practice swings (thats why we do practice swings), chances are you will come up close if you practice your routine, but be sure that you know your routine and stick to it.
Your putting can reduce your score down a massive amount if you put your mind to it, concentrate on getting in to the cup in no more than 2 strokes you will become more determined the more you push yourself, but make sure you stick to your routine. There will be more putting tips in the next few weeks.
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Nov
20
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Golf Balls
I have had a few emails from people who want to know where I get my cheap golf balls from well I order from Callaway Preowned and the balls come with a logo as they are logo overrun balls (makes no difference what so ever to the ball or the performance of the ball). You should see below the prices I get and the balls I order when I need them.
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Nov
18
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Golf Balls
No I’m not suggesting that you become Austin Powers and walk the course in a purple velvet suit shouting “Yeah Baby!” when you hit the ball. No its a new golf ball from those guys over at Nike.
The ball is designed for people who have a club speed of around 95mph and those that are newer to the game. The ball offers packaging that would make the aforementioned Austin Powers proud with a psychedelic packaging and a slogan of “Get Long. Get Feel. Get Real.” (personally I think Austin would be proud of that as well but thats a different website.)
So is this ball any good for the average golfer? Well I had a round using them yesterday and a very windy day unfortunately saw me put 2 balls int he water, now I normally grab my golf balls for about $15 for 12 as I get a good deal from Callaway and Top Flight XL balls. The New Nike Mojo balls are $28 for a dozen which if you are anything like I was when I started out is a little expensive at over $2.30 a ball.
The ball itself has a nice feel to it and I got good control from it but all in all I feel that with a 9% share of the golf ball market Nike would be able to swoosh (get it) a larger market share if they dropped their prices.
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Nov
17
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Golf Fitness
A few years back I had a car accident where I injured my neck quite badly and had to spend a lot of time laying on my back. Before the accident I was a good golfer, down to an 11 handicap which was not bad for someone who only played twice a month. However my accident set me back massively and I had to go back to basics and start from scratch.
The reason for this was that the muscles in my back had adjusted to ensure that I could stand up straight and my stomach muscles had also deteriarated from lack of exercise. So I couldn’t work out anywhere near what I used to and my first visit to the golf course was a real shock to the system. I couldn’t hit a ball straight even if it was attached to string! I had to learn the game of golf all over again meaning that I was back up to a 28 handicap.
Fortunately getting my swing back was fairly easy I could adapt to how my body wanted me to move and how I needed to get the ball in my stance for the shots but my fitness was changing constantly and with each change in my fitness I had to adapt my swing all over again. I made the decision to take a one month break from golf to ensure that my body was in a condition where as I wouldn’t have to make as many adjustments.
When I came back to the golf course after visiting the gym 4 times a week my game was worse than ever. However I could not hit the ball much harder and my swing was more fluid than it was a month before. It took 2 visits to the driving range and I was back to hitting the ball straight. two months later I was not only hitting straight but much further and this in turn helped my over all game improve.
So how does it all work, well baiscally if you have a central fitness from the core area (lower back and tummy) you have much more control over your swing which in all allows you to make better contact with the ball and have much more speed in the club head meaning you hit further and straighter.
I am now hitting the ball better than I was before my accident even though I still have problems with my back I no longer struggle out on the course. I got a lot of tips from this book it explains not only how to get fit for golf but great ways to adapt as you go.
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