Golf Tips

Trevor Mulholland asked:


If you have decided to take up golf, you are probably in search of free golf tips. Good news! You’ve found them! These free golf tips are designed with every golfer in mind, and they are beneficial to anyone who reads them.
The first tip is to beware of tips! That’s right. Many well meaning golfers will offer you a great deal of advice. What many people fail to realize is that what works for one golfer probably won’t work for others. These tips, however, are for all golfers.
Enjoy the game. Getting mad isn’t much fun. If you aren’t enjoying the game, you need to find out why, and fix the problem. Getting upset over bad swings or problem areas won’t fix anything, and it will only serve to take all of the fun out of the game. This is a game that tests your skill and technique - but it is still a game, and games are meant to be enjoyed!
Be a great sport - even if you aren’t great at golf. Be respectful to the other players. Be still and quiet when they are taking their shots. Don’t criticize or make fun of the way they stand, shoot, or grip the club….no matter how good you think your own game is. Good sportsmanship is everything, and without it, you won’t have any golfing companions in a very short period of time.
Golf responsibly. Do not litter the course. If the grass is loosened and turned when you shoot, use your foot to replace it. Wait your turn if you come upon a group at the next tee - don’t rush them. Use caution when driving golf carts, and use caution again when you take your shots to avoid hitting houses, buildings, animals, or other golfers. Leave the course better than you found it.
When you practice, practice at the hardest holes on the course…don’t take the easy way out, practicing only on the easy holes, thinking you are making headway - you aren’t. Practice on the hardest tees, and the hardest putts. Put yourself in the traps, and practice getting out of them. Imagine worst case scenarios and set them up. This is what will make you a better golfer.
Play miniature golf, and take it more seriously - but still have fun. Playing miniature golf is a great way to improve your putting skills. Many seasoned golfers laugh at this suggestion - but its true! Good miniature golf courses provide really challenging obstacles that you must put through, under, around and over….some even offer more challenges than you will ever find on your local golf course greens!
Keep your eyes open for used training aids. If they are reasonably priced - buy them! Not all training aids will help you, but unfortunately, you won’t know which ones will unless you try them out first. Get together with golfing friends and go in together to buy golfing aids that you can share. The aids that are available on the market today will help you improve your game a great deal, in a short amount of time.
Read a lot - and play even more. There are lots of techniques that you can learn from golfing websites, golf books, and golf magazines - but you will learn them faster out on the course! Read it once, and then go try it. If you need to, print it out and carry it with you - but go put the theory into practice - and practice, practice, practice! You can learn the concept sitting in your living room, but you will never make that concept work for you if you don’t take it out onto the course with you!
If you can’t get on the course, and you have some spare time and enough room, practice your swing. You don’t need a ball for this. Consider using a training club during these times to help build strength as well. If you take the time to practice your swing several times a day, you will find that you have a perfect swing for you in short order! If your golf game gets rained out - use the time to practice your swing, or practice your putting indoors…but don’t let that time go to waste! The best free golf tips you will ever receive will all include the word ‘practice!’

Steven

George Gabriel asked:


Playing a golf shot from behind a tree or a hazard leaves several choices for the golfer. Having several choices surely can create a big problem. Most salesmen will tell you, leaving too many choices on the table can confuse the sale. I know that I am way off topic here, but having more than a couple of choices can really slow down the decision making process, and trying to sell yourself can be quite the task at times. Especially when there is a golf stroke involved. That is were a question and answer period has to take place, and if you’re trying to sell yourself the thought of making it around, through or over the tree in front of you, good luck!

Do you attempt to go over the hazard? Do you attempt to go around the tree from either side? The other alternative would be to go under the hazard. The safe golf shot would probably be to chip out of trouble, but a lot of us have like to go for the gold. Lets chip away at our options by asking a few simple questions and try coming up with a simple solution.

I’m sure this situation is a common problem for a lot of golfers, unless you hit the perfect golf shot all the time, and even a perfect golf shot down the middle of the fairway may land you behind trees that grow in the middle of fairways on some golf courses. To make a smart decision, you have to look at all your options and come to a reasonable decision on any attempt on trying to reach the green from behind trees. Taking your time on the decision making process is of great importance. Let us put a few options out in the open and see if we can make a wise decision.

First and foremost importance is choosing the right golf club. Ball placement distance to green has to be determined if you plan on going for the green. Let us assume that you’re 169 yards away from the middle of the green and it’s the perfect distance for your 6 iron. We also came to the conclusion that in order to climb the tree in front of you, the 6 iron will not be enough club because of the height to get over the tree, therefore you may have to take a golf club with more loft and less distance and lean into the shot to make up for the distance.

One way of determining if you have enough loft is to stand behind the tree with the golf club in hand and place the golf club head on the ground with the face of the club towards you, and put the bottom of your foot on it and let the grip go. If the tip of the golf club shaft points up and over the tree, chances are the loft of the golf club is enough to go over the tree. If the tip if the golf club points at any part of the tree, chances are you need a loftier club. You may want to practice picking up the golf club head right away on the take-away to get more height from your golf clubs.

If you decide to do the opposite, and attempt to go under the tree, you have to do the extreme opposite with a more closed faced golf club, like a 3 iron, 4iron, 5 iron and maybe a low driver off of the grass depending on your lie. You may want to choke down on the golf club to take a little distance off the ball flight. Again more decisions have to be thought out, depending on how low the branches hang from the ground.

Another alternative would be to try and go around the obstacle. Going up and over or around the hazard will always make the golfer reach for a longer club because of the added distance. If you decide to go around the hazard, you have to make sure the golf ball does not go straight and you’re not going to end up in more trouble, unless you know how to maneuver the golf ball at will. Typically depending on side of the obstacle you decide to go, you may have to open or close the clubface to manipulate the direction of ball flight. If you must attempt to go around, assure yourself that you can spare the couple extra strokes it may cost you to end up right back where you started if you hit it straight out of bounds.

I know being positive is the way to think, but it’s okay to face the possibility of human error to keep us within our capabilities. Staring the situation down with the least amount of fear is the positive mindset that we all like to play. Question you have to ask yourself in that moment of greatness; what is my handicap? Once you’re comfortable and honest with your answer, think no more! Take the shot!

Taking your time and going through a couple simple questions could help you save strokes. Try to avoid making quick decisions on the golf course. Try not to forget that you are paying and playing for the enjoyment of being out on the course. You have every right to take the time on the golf shot within reason. Other golfers do not like to play behind slow golfers either. If you think you have to rush the golf shot, it does not become enjoyment any longer. Talk to your group of golfers and possibly let the group behind you play through if you feel rushed.

Carla