Become A Better Golfer By Ignoring The Professionals!

One of the biggest mistakes that golf players make when

wanting to improve their game is by trying to imitate the

styles and techniques of professional golfers that are seen

on TV and in magazines.

Every day there are hours and hours of tips that you can get

from the golf station, the latest magazines, and even videos

of the pros.

Sure it would be great to become a better golf player by

copying Annika Sorenstam or Tiger Woods, but it is

counterproductive to play your game like the pros do.

You have to understand that the men and women who live from

playing competitive golf is a very tiny percentage.

Professional golfers do not play golf after they got off of work,

the golf course is their job. They work at it, full time, as

you do at your career. Eight to ten hours of their day is spent

on the practice range, golf course, the practice green, anywhere

they can swing and practice!

You and I do not have the same luxury of being able to practice

our golf game for a living. How great that would be, but lets be practical.

Professional golfers can work hard and learn to make shots that

literally loft the ball into the air and have it stop short just

2 feet away from the hole, without even an inch of roll.

Us regular players should not spend six months trying to repeat

the same maneuver. We must practice the basics and take our time

with learning our individual style and technique.

Understanding How Important Practice Is

What type of practice is best for the average golfer?

This question is usually answered by looking at the amount of

people you will find at the driving range, hitting long distance balls,

over and over again. Most golfers spend over 95% of their time hitting

these long distance shots, but never taking the time for practicing

the shots that count: their short game.

Most people do not enjoy practicing their short game, but the value

received from investing in the effort is the same benefit professional

golfers reap as a reward for their game. These men and women spend 80%

or more of their time by practicing short game shots from all angles

and variables. While you should not imitate the way professional golfers

plays their game, you can certainly learn how to dedicate practice

to the right areas as they do.

Focus On Your Short Game

Most people get a huge thrill out of banging their driver for hours

on end, hitting the ball at great distances, making long drives all

day long. However, during a real game when they look down and see

their scorecard reaching 100 once each round is finished, their excitement

dwindles to a standstill.

Improving your score means you have to spend less time using your driver,

and more time learning how to effectively shoot your short game shots.

You must make the best use of your practice time while you have it.

After work, instead of spending an hour at the driving range hitting

long-distance balls, devote specific time to putting shots, chipping,

pitching, bunker shots, and shots made from 45 - 75 yards.

50% of your score will come from the strokes that are taken at 75 yards

from the ball or less. So does it make sense to spend at least 50% of

your practice time on those exact same shots?

Of course it does!

It may take some discipline to not spend all day knocking balls out

of the driving range, but I guarantee you that your golf game will

improve ten-fold by upping your short game shots and decreasing your

distance practice shots.

Hit 'em straight
Jay

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David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of "The Simple Golf Swing" which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today.

Equipment Care - Dirty Golfers Are Not Welcomed!

One of the basic tenets of golf is to take care of your equipment.

The appearance of a player and his golf accessories can tell a

lot about that person. By taking pride in your golf apparel,

especially your clubs and golf bag, and keeping everything in

shape, you will look better and most importantly, your expensive

golf equipment will last a lot longer.

Keeping Your Club Faces Free From Dirt

Whenever you hit a shot, you will see that the grooves of the

face on your iron will be cluttered with dirt. To keep this

area clean and free of grime, simply wipe off the clubhead with

a rag or small towel and then use the sharp end of a tee to

scrape each groove.

Cleaning your club face like this is not just for appearances

either. By removing encrusted dirt and mud, your shots will

maintain distance. With a dirty club, you can lose control

and your ball will not reach the distances desired.

Cleaning Your Golf Balls

When you arrive at each tee box, you will see a small structure

on a pole designed to help keep your golf balls clean. Some of

these contraptions have a round handle on top, and some have a

crank-type handle on the side.

These are called ball washers and the purpose is to enable you

to clean your golf balls. You simply place the ball in the

designated area and once finished, the ball will come out

erfectly clean.

When cleaning your golf balls, keep it courteous. These ball

washers can be extremely noisy so be sure not to use the machine

when one of your playing partners is about to make a shot. It's

best to wait until the swing is over before you operate the ball cleaner.

Keeping Your Shoes Clean

If you wear spiked shoes during your golf games, as everybody

should, keeping them clean is also standard procedure for the

player who takes care of his or her equipment. At the end of

the day, be sure to scrape off any of the excess dirt and grass

from the spikes before taking off your shoes.

In addition to preventing the trunk of your car from getting

dirty from your shoes, you'll also be able to keep an eye on the

spikes and know when it's time to get new ones installed in your shoes.

Note: You can purchase a package of spikes to keep your footing

fresh at all times. Each package should come with a small wrench

that has two claws. You will insert these claws into the holes at

the base of your cleats in order to remove the spikes.

Replace them with the new spikes but be sure not to tighten them

up too hard because it may be extremely difficult to remove the

spikes for future replacements.

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Hit 'em straight!
Jay
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David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of "The Simple Golf Swing" which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today.

How To Learn While Enjoying Golf

In Scotland-15th Century, the game of "gowf" was born. In 1744, the first rules of play were codified by the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, who were established in Edinburgh. And since then, the world has never been the same. Played in Mexico, Ireland, South Africa, South America, China, and, of course, Scotland; golf is one of the most popular sports in the world. Strangely enough, some universities even offer a golf major.

For the newbie just starting out, the game encompasses a world with a rich and diverse history, requires a potentially major investment of time and money, and a great amount physical and mental anguish. But hey, it's still fun!

A beginner begins by learning what NOT to do.

Initially, you'll want to rush out and spend all your money on greens fees, equipment, clothing, and lessons. Don't rush into that, you don't know the where, what, and how yet!

Understandably, you'll be excited about the game. It's something you can play all by yourself, with your family, and even with your boss. But playing golf well is difficult if you don't find out what you really need to know.

Start out taking baby steps; otherwise you get too serious too soon. Don't spend every waking hour on the range when you first start out. According to many pros, this is a recipe for disaster. Trying too hard in the beginning can cause you to develop bad habits that are hard to break. Although you don't want to be out there from dawn till dusk, spending time at the range can help you get your muscles go.

Hit them straight!

Jay