Golf Tips

Jeffrey Veal asked:


The sport of golf has been with us for thousands of years. People from every corner of the world have enjoyed the tranquility of a few hours spent out on the golf course. The apparent simplicity of playing the game has fooled many people. It is easy to forget the sportsmanship that is involved in the game as you watch someone who plays the game well. Hitting the ball is not as easy as it seems, as so many people who don’t play seem to think. To become good at golf, you will have to put in a lot of hours practicing. There are no two ways about it. A good understanding of how the whole body is involved in a golf swing is important, also. If you are brand new to the game, the following tips can help your game get off to the right start.

Taking golf lessons is probably the best thing a beginning golfer can do to make sure they get started in the right direction. A lot of people overlook this not realizing just how much golf lessons will mold the way you play the game. Believe it or not, golf is considered a sport. Just as with any sport, there is a great deal of learning, practicing, and time spent playing the game. So many people forego the actual practice, instead opting to go out on the course and start trying to play. They don’t realize they are short changing themselves by missing out on tips that can help their game. The game of golf can be complex, but at the same time it can be very fulfilling with the aide of some good golf lessons.

The next best advice to beginning golf is to practice, practice, practice. A good rule of thumb is to double the amount of time practicing compared to a golf lesson. For instance, if you had a golf lesson that lasted for an hour, practice at least two hours. Practice like this every time for a least three times a week. You’ll be introduced to a new technique during your golf lesson. To really grasp and utilize this technique, spending double the time practicing compared to the lesson will help enforce the technique. You’ll be able to break down the technique and eventually work it into your game. The only way to really get something out of these lessons and other golf tips is to practice them. Otherwise, they won’t do you any good.

Another tip, one that is commonly overlooked because it is so simple, is to watch someone who really can play the sport well in action. Take the time to check out the professionals on TV. Go to a professional tournament if you ever get the chance. If one of your local courses has an amateur tournament, check it out because you will see some good talent there, also. The good thing about watching the professionals on TV is the super slow motion replays that they now have. You can really study the swing from start to finish with these replays.

Just remember, the game of golf is one of the most challenging, while at the same time it is one of the most rewarding activities you’ll ever attempt. It has even stumped some of the most gifted professional athletes who excelled at other sports. But, with a true passion for the game along with some good lessons and plenty of practice, you could be the next Tiger Woods.

Kathleen

Joel L Nelson asked:


Practice is important in any sport and golf is no exception. To really improve your game you must spend time fine tuning your swing. But many golfers simply “hit balls” on the practice range without checking to see if they are improving. Here are some tips to help measure the effectiveness of your practice sessions on the driving range.

First, you must identify your objective on the range. Some people are trying to fix a slice or a hook while others are trying to add distance to their shots. If you do not know what your objective is you will not know if you have achieved it. You may not have a noticeable flaw to correct but you need to train your muscles so you can make good shots consistently. So hitting consistently is your objective in that case. Just make sure you have a clear idea of your purpose.

Second, it does not matter too much if you quit slicing or hooking the ball, or if you add 30 yards to your drive if your shots are spraying to the left or right. You may have eliminated the slice in your ball flight, but did the ball actually go towards your target? I have heard people “oooh” and “ahhh” over their practice shots even though one went well to the left of what appeared to be their target line and the next went just as far to the right. Make sure you identify a target and gauge if you are hitting the ball within a few yards on either side of that target until the balls rolls to a stop.

Third, always hit a variety of clubs in a random order on the range. This will better reflect how a real round of golf is played. You never hit your seven iron fifteen times in a row on a normal round of golf so do not get locked into hitting only your seven iron on the practice range even if it is your seven iron that needs the work. For example, to work on your seven iron try hitting your seven a few times, then hit a 3-wood a couple of times, then hit a four-iron, then a wedge, then back to the seven for a few shots. This will help you practice your set-up routine for various shots since usually you address the ball and take your stance slightly differently for woods, low irons and high irons respectively.

Fourth, do not be in a hurry. Take a break for a minute or two after hitting a dozen balls or so. If you exhaust yourself you may begin making poor swings due to your tiring out that would almost never happen in a round of golf because on the course there is almost always a few minutes between shots that require a full swing.

Finally, take time at home some evening to write down on an index card the swing keys that help you prepare for taking a golf shot. Most people will have a list of five to eight things. Go through your set-up routine in your mind and jot down, in order, what you do to check your alignment, grip, stance, weight distribution, etc… and take that card with you to the practice range. Then read it over before EVERY practice shot for the first ten or fifteen shots. Train your mind to go through that list so it becomes a habit when you are playing a round of golf.

Hopefully you will develop your own list of golf tips from your time spent on the practice range and you will graduate from just “hitting balls” to actually tuning your swing by having a yard stick by which to measure your results on the practice range.

Kathleen