Posts tagged "Great Golf"

Top 10 Life Lessons That Golf Can Tell Us

Golf is an amazing mirror of life. Yes, other sports provide life lessons as well, but golf happens to be my favorite sport and the one I understand the best. It is an addiction, a mystical experience, a test of character, an escape, a source of rare joy and excruciating pain. No psychological test will tell you as much about a person’s character as a round of golf. With the arrival of spring, here are some of my observations about golf and the game of life:

1. Expectations & Flexibility. Golf, like life, is not mastered in a season, and it is particularly frustrating if we approach it with stiff and inflexible expectations. Great golf begins with stretching, bending, loosening up, and matching my desired outcomes with the realities of a body grown lazy over the winter. A sense of humor, and a sprinkling of humility go a long way!

2. Clarity of Purpose. Many golfers never stop to think about why they play the game. To win? To have fun? For social reasons, or for the challenge? For the exercise? Just as striving to become rich and famous often creates frustration and disappointment, few will ever play professionally, and striving for perfection is a setup for “failure”. Know why you play the game and where you find your satisfaction and joy in it.

3. Equipment. Most golfers play with clubs that don’t fit them, or that no longer suit their games. Graphite shafts and new club designs have revolutionized golf. Active golfers should have their clubs checked for loft, lie, and length, and have them re-gripped every season. Almost any job is easier with the right tools.

4. Solid Foundations. Golfers go to extremes. Some take lesson after lesson, trying to fix the tiniest flaw in their quest for the perfect swing. Others, ignore the classic foundations of grip, stance and swing in their eagerness to “do it my way.” Success is usually found in a healthy balance of learning from the wisdom and experience of others, while celebrating your unique style and approach to the game.

5. Profitable Practice. On the day of a big tournament, I often go to the practice green and watch skilled, dedicated golfers practice missing putts. With a small crowd milling about, they quickly hit putt after putt, destroying their rhythm, timing and confidence. Then, in frustration, they wonder what ever happened to their carefully honed putting stroke! In golf, and in life, practice smart. Practice for success!

6. Smart Preparation. Tour players always play practice rounds. Ben Hogan used to walk the course at twilight before a tournament to learn all it’s hidden tricks and traps. Top players rehearse every shot in their imagination before going to the golf course. They prepare in advance so they are ready when the moment of truth arrives. It pays off.

7. Show up. The biggest challenge for many Nike Tour and other young players is to play their best golf without a nickel in their pocket, often lonely and far from home. They have reasons to be distracted. What are your excuses? Ram Das said, “Be here now.” In golf, and in life, it’s hard to win if you don’t show up, or only show up for every-other swing!

8. Warm up. Every great athlete, the ones in the best physical and mental shape, respect their bodies enough to loosen up, stretch and rehearse before competition. Unfortunately, most amateurs don’t go to all that trouble. We jump out of the car, grab the clubs, and head for the first tee. Before any important event, arrive early, walk around, relax, and warm up to the task at hand.

9. Focus on Results. Every golf stroke creates a result. Sometimes the ball goes in the hole; sometimes it goes out of bounds. Golfers tend to focus (1) on the result they would have preferred, which is merely wishful thinking, or (2) on beating themselves up for being so “stupid”, which is painful. Learn from every swing. Observe the results you actually get. Life never lies!

10. Review and Adjust. If you aren’t getting the results you want, find the reason. You can trust the ball; it goes where you hit it. If you want a different outcome, change your setup, routine, or other actions until you get the result you prefer. Someone said, “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is a mark of insanity.” Successful people learn quickly; others learn eventually.

© Copyright 2003 by Philip E. Humbert. All Rights Reserved. This article may be copied and used in your own newsletter or on your website as long as you include the following information: “Written by Dr. Philip E. Humbert, writer, speaker and success coach.

Top 10 Searched Golf Courses

sylvia
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/top-10-life-lessons-that-golf-can-tell-us-1281001.html

Take Your Golf Swing To Another Level Now

If you’re like most golfers, you want to improve, not just hack around the golf course. The biggest concerns of golfers today are inconsistency first of all, followed by slicing and distance. You need great hand-eye coordination, balance, athletic ability and creativity to play golf.

Approach the game with a positive attitude and repeat affirmations if you can, such as “I play great golf all the time.” Don’t worry about what others think or may say about your swing; work to improve it at your own speed. Overall, you generally want to play golf with confidence.

After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left. Swing slowly and steadily using a nice rhythm. The backswing is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player’s body weight to the right side, a turning of the pelvis and shoulders, lifting of the arms and flexing of the elbows and wrists.

When you swing if you have problems with your left knee buckling, imagine you’re holding a soccer ball between your knees. Ask your golf pro to evaluate your posture while swinging. Trust your golf club to do the job it was intended to do.

The most important thing about the golf swing is the angle and not the strength that’s applied to it. One of the problems that most inexperienced golfers share is they think too much about their swing. Many golfers who are strongly left-handed in their daily life prefer the right-handed golf swing.

It’s difficult for a golfer to practice hitting shots longer than short pitch shots unless one pays to play golf or pays to practice at a driving range or indoor golf training facility. Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing.

Turn to golf exercise and techniques if you want strength and power. Using a weighted club, make rotational golf swings to improve your power. Using some simple tips, techniques and stretches, you can increase your drives by up to 20 yards– practically overnight.

Sporting goods stores have golf aids to improve your game. Look for golf swing aids at your local golf course. Most of all don’t waste your money on an aid you don’t need or will never use.

You can find aids that will help you with your wrist and arm position. Be careful about the claims on TV commercials and magazine ads; seek expert advice before you buy because they may not live up to their claims. Golf swing aids come in all shapes and sizes including apparel type accessories to correct alignment or a golf club add-on accessory to monitor your swing.

Overall, investing in golf swing aids will greatly improve your golf swing and your golf game. There are a wide range of aids on the market today to help the beginning and advanced golfer. There are aids that will help you with swing alignment. Aids are often for sale at your pro shop or local golf shop. Aids can be found online and are often cheaper.

Take as many private lessons as you can afford with a good golf pro. Find and use golf aids and golf swing aids that help improve your game. Get some golf DVDs and commit yourself to a time to practice what you learn.

Helen Hecker
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/take-your-golf-swing-to-another-level-now-119402.html

What is a Simple Golf Swing?

By John Lynch

This may be the most startling news you ever heard – “A simple golf swing is the secret to a great golf game!”

Eighty percent of the 27 million golfers in this world do NOT achieve a handicap of less than 18. The vast majority of these golfers credit inconsistency as the culprit – inconsistency in their swing.

How many shots per round could you shave if you hit the ball solid, straight, and longer each time?…

7 strokes?…

10 strokes?…

Even more?

If you’re too busy with life to even think about your defective golf swing – what are you to do?

Read on…

The secret: A simple golf swing starts with using your stable spine as an axis to keep your swing on plane – you must swing around a stable spine!

Most high handicap golfers do not swing around a stable spine – they have more sway and unnecessary movements than you could shake a stick at.

Your swing will be most effective if you coil around your stable spine with limited hip rotation – the secret to tremendous power!

Since you are limiting your hip rotation you don’t have to swing the club back too far, your backswing will be shortened yet you will still be storing plenty of power in your backswing coil.

So what have we learnt so far in creating a simple golf swing?

- Swing around a stable spine.

- Your hip rotation is limited.

- Your backswing is shortened – you don’t have to swing back to parallel.

The truth is the most effective swing does not have a lot of moving parts to it. The best golfers on the planet have built themselves a simple golf swing utilizing only the movements that promote solid contact and consistency.

You want a simple golf swing you can perform correctly over and over again – even under the pressures of tournament play.

In fact, once you have programmed your subconscious with a simple golf swing that is fundamentally sound, you know longer have to think about it – your simple golf swing will become automatic! You program your subconscious by practicing the fundamental components of a sound golf swing until they are engrained.

Conventional swing thinking says a fundamentally sound golf swing should have a lot of sway in it and the golf club should go back to parallel at the top…

This is hogwash!

The more moving parts to your swing – the more room for error.

By simplifying your swing with less moving parts you minimize the chance of errors in your swing!

Once you have programmed your simple golf swing into your psyche, you now only have to think about hitting your target.

What a beautiful feeling it will be when you are not thinking about your golf swing out on the golf course – you are only thinking about what matters – things such as your target, your lie, the wind, the slope, or any other factor that affects getting your golf ball to your target….

Isn’t the object of golf to get the ball into the cup in the least amount of strokes?

So go build yourself a simple golf swing and start scoring on the golf course like you’re capable of!

Hit ‘em Long and Straight!

John Lynch

John Lynch
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/what-is-a-simple-golf-swing-614945.html

Sweet And Easy Golf Swing Tips

Most golfers don’t know that eighty percent of the world’s golfers have a handicap of 18 or more. The biggest concerns of golfers today are inconsistency first of all, followed by slicing and distance. Golf is a difficult game to master and most golfers don’t have the time it takes to practice, practice, and practice to significantly improve.

Keep the good energy flowing and don’t give in to any negative thoughts. Approach the game with a positive attitude and repeat affirmations if you can, such as “I play great golf all the time.” Visualize where you would like the ball to land, as you swing.

Use the muscles in your legs and trunk when you swing. Make sure to use the proper technique. Accomplished golfers purposely use sidespin to steer their ball around obstacles or towards the safe side of fairways and greens.

Use the basic ‘hitchhiker’ position when you’re working on your backswing. As the body matures, the ability to rotate the upper torso is affected by age, and the hand action can also slow down requiring a slightly stronger grip. The most important thing about the golf swing is the angle and not the strength that’s applied to it.

Trust your golf club to do the job it was intended to do. It’s difficult for a golfer to practice hitting shots longer than short pitch shots unless one pays to play golf or pays to practice at a driving range or indoor golf training facility. Try not to grip the club too tightly.

Putting can become a nightmare and a condition called the ‘yips’ has affected not only amateurs but professionals as well; get expert advice and consider a golf swing aid. Many golfers who are strongly left-handed in their daily life prefer the right-handed swing.

To prevent injury and improve swing speed and distance requires your body to be both strong and flexible. It’s no secret; most of the professional players actively participate in workouts. The state of the physical condition is very often overlooked as a possible cause of golf swing problems.

Golf swing aids come in all shapes and sizes including apparel type accessories to correct alignment or a club add-on accessory to monitor your swing. Aids can be found online and are often cheaper. There are aids that will help you with swing alignment.

Be careful about the claims on TV commercials and magazine ads; seek expert advice before you buy because they may not live up to their claims. Golf swing aids will improve your game. Golf magazines often review the newest golf swing aids and are reviewed by golfers, making it easy to choose the right one for you.

If you’re looking for an aid to improve your stance they’re not hard to find. Keep in mind that with some golf swing aids, you may still need advice or help from an expert. If you’re a golfing novice just starting out, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.

Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or just starting out, pick just one aid and go to work on your swing. You can find golf swing aids that will help you with your wrist and arm position.

With plenty of practice, a better golf swing will be the end result. Practice, practice, practice! When you play a round of golf, concentrate on improving your golf swing, putting or something specific that day; have a plan in mind.

Helen Hecker
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/sweet-and-easy-golf-swing-tips-115229.html

Super Golf Swing Secrets

To play golf you need good hand-eye coordination, balance, and knowledge of golf swing biomechanics, athletic ability and a good amount of creativity. The average golfer’s gross score is about 107 shots. And no matter what area of your game needs improving, whether it’s balance and alignment or power and speed, there’s a simple solution.

You want to play your game of golf with confidence. Know that you’re improving your swing each time that you play. It’s good to approach the game with a positive attitude and repeat predetermined affirmations like, ‘I play great golf all the time.’ Now if you’ve hit with your golf driver perfectly just one time, then you can do it every time you play. The subconscious mind knows the correct number and sequence of muscle contractions and nerve impulses that are needed, which is called muscle memory and is used in all sports. Be aware that the mental aspect of the game contributes to the difficulty of your golf swing.

When you swing your club, you should use the muscles in your legs and trunk. And sidespin will occur when the clubface is not properly aligned perpendicularly to the plane of the swing. If you have problems with your left knee buckling when you swing, try imagining holding a soccer ball between your knees.

Make sure to try to use the proper golf swing technique, never a shortcut. Ask your golf pro to take a minute to evaluate your posture and biomechanics while you’re swinging. And use the basic ‘hitchhiker’ position when you’re working on your backswing.

As the body matures, the ability to rotate the upper torso can be affected and the hand action can also slow down thus requiring a slightly stronger grip than one would use if they were younger. After you’ve hit the ball, you should follow through with a continued rotation to the left. And make sure to swing slowly and steadily using good rhythm and good biomechanics.

At the end of your swing, the weight should be shifted almost entirely to the left foot, the body fully turned to the left and the hands above the left shoulder with the club hanging down over the back. Putting can become a recurring nightmare and a condition called the ‘yips’ has affected not only amateurs but many golf professionals so you should get expert advice and consider a golf swing trainer if this happens to you.

By using just a few simple tips, techniques and stretches, you can increase the distance of your drives by up to 20 yards – almost overnight. One good exercise is to hold a medicine ball in front of you and turn back and forth, left and right as far as you can go. It must be rotational if you want to improve on your driving distance. And because the proper golf swing is mostly rotational it really makes sense to concentrate on your turning ability as it relates to both range of motion and speed. You never want to underestimate the sheer value of fitness when it comes to your golf swing and your overall golf game.

Regarding golf swing aids and golf swing trainers – golf magazines often cover reviews by golfers, making it much easier to choose the right one for you. Before buying any aid or trainer for your swing however, check with an expert to get an idea of what problem you need to work on first, for example, the backlift of your golf swing or the momentum of the downward thrust or stance. Keep in mind that with some of the golf swing trainers, you may still need help from a pro.

And if you’re looking for an aid to improve your stance they’re fairly easy to find. If you’re a golfing novice just starting out, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with all there is to learn.

There are a wide range of golf swing aids and analyzers on the market today to help the both the beginner and advanced golfer improve swing techniques. Most of all you don’t want to waste your money on an aid or trainer you don’t need or will never use so make sure to look for reviews and ratings online or offline for any golf swing trainer that you’re considering.

It’s most important to try to relax and try to really enjoy your game. Consider a golf vacation package as a good way to get in more practice. And if you can’t take your golf clubs and golf accessories with you when you go, you should be able to easily rent golf clubs, golf accessories, golf bags, golf carts or golf cart covers at any golf resort.

So when you play a round of golf, concentrate on your putting, improving your golf swing or something specific for that day; have a firm plan in mind. It makes sense to invest in a few of the newest golf videos or DVDs, golf books, golf software and golf ebooks; older golf books may be outdated – there are hundreds of free and simple golf tips to seek out in consumer and sports magazines also, in books, ebooks, software and DVDs both, online and offline.

Helen Hecker
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/super-golf-swing-secrets-209409.html

Ladies’ Green Golf Theme Pillow Women’s Golf Motif Pillow Woman Golfer Decor Pillow

Ladies’ Green Golf Theme Pillow Women’s Golf Motif Pillow Woman Golfer Decor Pillow Women’s golf has a long and illustrious history , as depicted in this handsome lap pillow ! The Lady Golfer Pillow offers an excellent golf accent to any golf decor room! This 12″ pillow will tie in any couch, easy chair or bed to an overall golf themed room . The 12″ Ladies Golf Pillow provides a great golf tie in to any room!

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A Lesson With Leadbetter – 2 Golf Videos – VHS

LI FONT face=’Comic Sans MS’ The Short Game – Golf VHS. Improve your game around the greens. Sink more putts. Lower your score. /FONT /LI LI FONT face=’Comic Sans MS’ Simple Secrets For Great Golf /FONT /LI /UL P FONT face=’Comic Sans MS’ Excellent condition. Minor cover wear. Fast shipping. See my store for other great items..

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Tee your Way to Great Golf Resort

Great things come in great packages, so to speak.

In particular, golf resorts provide more than a golf player would ask. Generally, it caters to different kinds of people and not just golf enthusiasts. Golf resorts can really stand out in the vacation business.

Due to its nature, golf resorts literally have rooms and villas situated in a secured place. The rooms and villas are full of necessary services usually seen in a typical resort: large air-conditioned rooms, luxurious bathrooms, cable televisions, and internet connections.

Most of these golf resorts have magnificent views coupled with mild and healing climate. Landscapes and ornamentations are carefully drawn in the most luxurious way. There are beautiful pools and ponds that captivate visitors.

However, unlike other types of resorts, a golf resort caters to the specific needs of a golf player or a golf aficionado. These golf resorts are specially made for people who want to relax, have fun, and at the same time enjoy playing golf.

There are golf resorts that offer a variety of golf packages. They have several golf championship courses. Generally, most golf resorts have 18-hole course, par 63 Challenge course, and an 18 hole live turf Putting course.

Because of its specialized nature of market, golf resorts are dedicated to make every golf player a better player by trying out their different golf courses in a more comforting manner. Nearly every golf resorts offer golf lessons that will help every golfer improve their playing skills such as swing and putting.

Other golf resorts offer a variety of golf instruction programs for golfers of all skill levels. Golf resorts may offer individual instruction, group clinics, corporate clinics, junior clinic or multi day golf instruction packages.

On the other hand, there are golf resorts that can give practice facilities to beginners or to those that just want to try playing golf for the first time. In this type of golf resort, their practice facilities can give you the chance to work on all aspects of your game from wedge to driver. These golf resorts could offer you a place where you can practice your putting, chipping or pitching on a large two tier putting green.

In the United States, the most well known golf resorts are situated in Central Florida and Southern California where the climate and views are a perfect concoction so as to make golf resorts very entertaining.

Other golf resorts are Avila Beach Golf Resort in California, Eagle Crest Resort in Central Oregon and Championship Golf Resort in Central Florida.

The Eagle Crest Resort boasts of its golf courses carved out of an ancient juniper forest huddled at the foot of the majestic Cascades. Eagles Crest Golf Resort is also known for its meticulous grounds keeping, fast true greens, and beautiful summer wildflower displays. And because of their lower elevation, Eagle Crest Golf Resort have the longest quality golf season in Central Oregon making them adept in keeping one of their championship courses open all year round.

The Avila Beach Golf Resort, on the other hand, has lavishly landscaped greens. The Avila Beach Golf Resort driving range has great teeing areas and is open from dusk till dawn. They also offer various golf instruction programs.

The Championship Golf Resort likewise caters to most golf fanatics and players. This golf resort is easily within 20 minutes of all the top attractions such as Disney and Universal Studios. And because it is situated at the west of the attractions, Championship Golf Resort could be easily reached using Florida Turnpike and Osceola Parkway toll roads, with which vacationers could avoid the heavy congestion often experienced when approaching from the east.

Aside from these three marvelous golf resorts, there are still many other golf resorts waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. You could try looking for them at the Web because most of them have Web sites already; or you could ask for brochures and pamphlets of different golf resorts.

With the wonderful things mentioned, you can be assured that golf resorts are great alternative ways of making your vacation or golf activities truly an invigorating one.

Happy teeing!

Nicholas Tan
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/tee-your-way-to-great-golf-resort-139457.html

The Art Of Chipping With A Golf Club

Chipping has three main ingredients for a great golf shot. It requires finesse, imagination and memory. Take the example of a great artist with a paintbrush. Have you ever noticed the finesse with the stroke of his or her brush? An artist does not complete a great drawing, without remembering prior dos and don’ts. Notice how their imagination creates a great drawing in the end. What has this got to do with golf?

These are the necessary ingredients required to make a great golf shot happen. The only difference in comparing the two artists is the type of tool they are using to perform the task. If you have finesse with the golf club, along with imagination, the results will be a great golf shot, just like an artist using the finesse and imagination in a great drawing.

Learning to finesse a golf club is a very delicate task. Next time you’re watching a golf tournament on TV, watch the pros chip around a green. It looks like their golf swing is in slow motion. The professional golfer guides the head of the club on the takeaway, creating the precise amount of weight necessary to make the ball bounce off of the face of the club for the intended landing area.

To help accomplish this delicate shot, ingredient number two has to be in place. The imagination is the preparation prior to this finessed shot. It helps complete the physical motion and timing necessary for proper weight distribution for the club head speed. When you actually visualize the golf chip before everything is in motion, it triggers the memory in guiding the muscles and timing to create the perfect shot.

So how do we create finesse and imagination with chipping? Practicing over and over again, until chipping becomes a sixth sense. It may seem disappointing at first, but try and pick up a paintbrush and create great artwork with the first couple attempts. Make this following practice drill your favorite pastime if you want to zone in on the golf hole out on the golf course.

Take your golf bag and pull out your favorite lofted golf clubs and rest the bag lying flat on the ground. Take out as many golf balls as possible, if you’re not in the middle of a round of golf. The more golf balls you use, the more enjoyment you will receive out of this drill and less time walking back and forth. You will lose interest if you have to constantly gather a small amount of balls all the time.

Try practice chipping the ball just over your golf bag or hitting it. Move the bag away from the golf balls about 5,10 and 15 yards to start. This will be your intended landing area when you are out on the course. The golf bag will be your target to hit, or go over for distance memory. The key goal here is to train your memory for the distance of a chip shot with certain clubs.

If you want to learn to pick up the golf ball fast, move the bag closer to you standing it upright, or distance the bag away from you for those longer lofted shots. Do not change clubs until you have accomplished a certain goal in mind, like the number of times you hit the bag, or by dropping the golf ball slightly over it. If you want to learn the distance on running an accurate 7 or a 6 iron, move the bag a least twenty to twenty-five yards from your hitting area.

As you progress in your chipping skill, try different techniques on bouncing the golf ball off the face of a golf club to see how the ball reacts with a variety of short irons, and see how high and far the ball travels with an intended target and a goal in mind.

This practice drill will help build your confidence out on the fairway when you have to chip over hazards. When you are unable to hit greens in regulation, regulate the amount of times you use your putter by practicing this drill often. Instead of getting frustrated waiting for the group ahead of you on a slow day, try practicing with one or two golf balls alongside a tee box, if you are not playing a match or in a tournament.

You will eventually notice a lower scorecard, even on a bad day when your longer golf clubs and putter let you down. It is a good feeling when obstacles like sand traps and water hazards, become part of the scenario on the golf course, and not an obstacle to potentially ruin your great round.

George Gabriel
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/the-art-of-chipping-with-a-golf-club-127917.html