Golfers’ Bunker

If you want to know how to carry out a golf swing or are looking for ways to improve your golfing performance – this is for you. This video will prevent that ‘hook’ or ’slice’ off the tee!

You can find this green side bunker golf instruction video along with many other golf swing drills and tips located at my website.

Colne Valley Golf Club

The golf handicap is the tool by which golfers everywhere use to instantly compare and judge each other on their skill level of the sport. The question of who is the better golfer can be answered simply by comparing this magical number no matter what your background or where you come from. The golf handicap is also the only fair system to allow golfers of different abilities to compete against each other in competition and maintain, hopefully, a close and exciting game.

The challenge, however, always remains the same. That is to lower your golf handicap and if possible to get that figure into single digits. This seems to be the ultimate goal for many amateur golfers and if you don’t believe me try asking any golfer with a handicap of 10 or above!

So how do we go about lowering it? How do we topple an extra couple of shots off of our golf handicap? The answers to those questions aren’t always popular as everyone is looking for a short cut, but rest assured that by applying these methods then you can notice a difference in your performance very quickly indeed!

Improve your fitness levels
This has got to be my first tip for any golfer looking to reduce their golf handicap. Have you ever noticed in your round of golf, especially in the hot summer months, that by the time you are playing the 14th and 15th holes it takes a lot more effort to maintain concentration and focus on your shots? This is the part of the round that could make or break that decent score you have been putting together. A game of golf played over 18 holes can have you walking approximately 4 miles. Add to that the fact that you are carrying a bag full of irons, woods, balls, snacks, drinks, waterproofs etc. then you are certainly carrying a few extra pounds on that walk.

The more tired you get the harder it is to hit your drives straight and long. Your approach shots go a bit wayward of the green and you 3 putt instead of 2 putting. All these shots add up. By simply improving your fitness levels you may last those extra couple of holes without feeling the effects of fatigue setting in.

So if you don’t already, then why not go for a few walks during the week. If you already do this, then why not do a little more and have a jog round the park. Basically, whatever you are doing now, just do that little extra and feel the difference on those last few holes on the course.

Practise Practise Practise
I have spoken to many golfers who are desperate to lower their golf handicap. They will buy the latest golf clubs and golf equipment and will even play in each weekly competition at their golf club but are annoyed that they don’t improve their scores!

When I ask them how long they have spent on the practise ground, or how many balls they have hit at the driving range the answer is usually either not long or not very many.

I have spoken to the professionals of a few golf clubs recently and even asked the best players at my golf club how they managed to get their golf handicaps down to at least single figures and every time the answer is the same. Practise!

To make my point ask yourself these questions. Do you think your game would improve if you hit 50 practise balls a week? Probably not too much. What about 250 balls? What about if you hit 500 practise shots a week, and you did this for a month solid!

In short, you would learn so much about your golf game that you couldn’t not improve your scores. You don’t necessarily have to hit 500 balls a week, but hopefully this focuses your mind that you shouldn’t just rely on the newest golf club or new golf ball and that, yes, some work will have to be done to improve your scores, but it sure will be worth it.

Golf Instruction – Golf Lessons
I think the two tips above are great ways to lower your golf handicap by a few shots in a very quick fashion. I also think, however, that sometimes you will need a bit of a steer in the right direction to get even more out of your game.

Just like when you were at school you would go to your teacher for some help when you got stuck, in golf there will come a time when you need a few pointers. My tip here is to go and ask for help from someone who knows what they are doing. In the golfer’s case, have a chat with your club professional. Why go on for weeks battling with a problem you have that no mater how much you practise you just can’t seem to overcome.

Don’t be stubborn and don’t drive yourself crazy. The club professional will happily and quickly analyse your problem and set you on the right path. So if you’re struggling, don’t be shy about asking for lessons. Rest assured that all the great players have lessons. Even Mr Tiger Woods has someone helping him with his game today. He is not stubborn or too proud to ask for help and he is the best player in the world. So go ahead and get some guidance from someone in the know to help you out!

So there we have an outline for three crucial ways to lower your golf handicap. Combining these three basic yet often neglected pieces of advice I strongly believe that any golfer can improve their game and at the same time enjoy the sport that little bit more!

Give them a go and let me know how you get on!

The author of this article provides more golfing tips at www.golfinstructiontoday.blogspot.com

A golf club has three parts – the head, the shaft and the grip. A standard set of golf clubs consists of three woods (the Driver, #3, and #5 fairway woods), eight irons (#3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, and PW), and a putter – that’s twelve clubs in all. According to the rules of golf, and we should all play by the rules, you can carry fourteen clubs in your bag, so many golfers add a speciality wood or another iron. Now, let’s have a look at the different types of clubs.

Drivers & Fairway woods
These clubs are used to hit longer shots. That’s a basic yet apt way to look at it. If a golf hole is a par four or five from tee to green, most golfers would choose to use a wood.
The driver, or the 1 Wood, has the lowest loft of any golf club. Loft is the angle of the club face that controls trajectory and affects distance. A driver has a loft between 7 and 12 degrees. Better golfers have traditionally favoured drivers with less than 10 degrees of loft, which require a lot more skill to hit.

Most golfers also carry a #3 and #5 fairway wood as part of their arsenal. A #3 wood has a loft of 15 degrees, and a #5 wood has a loft of 18 degrees. The higher the golf club number, the higher the loft. The #3 and #5 wood are commonly referred to as fairway woods, because they are most often used during the second shot of play, when you are supposed to be on the fairway.

Hybrids
Hybrids are a recent innovation to golf. A hybrid is a combination of an iron and a wood and is an easier to hit alternative to a long iron. Hybrids are versatile enough to be used in any situation. Hybrids come in a range of four lofts – 16 (#2), 19 (#3), 22 (#4) and 25 (#5) Degrees. Hybrids replace their equivalent number long iron, e.g. a #3 hybrid will replace a #3 iron and a #2 hybrid can be used to replace a #5 fairway wood.

Irons
Irons are generally used for shorter distances and more control than drivers and fairway woods. The closer you are to the green, the higher the iron you will use. A standard set of irons consists of #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8 and #9 and the PITCHING WEDGE (PW). A sandwedge is generally a good option to purchase for shots out of sand traps. The #3 and #4 irons are harder to hit than the higher numbered irons. Many golfers choose to replace the #3 and #4 iron with higher lofted woods or hybrids which are easier to hit than traditional long irons, resulting in comparable distances.

Wedges
Wedges are really just speciality irons. The first wedge is the Pitching Wedge (PW), which is usually between 52 and 56 degrees in loft. The PW is the highest lofted iron in a standard set and lowest loft of the wedges. Lob wedges range from 58 to 64 degrees and are used for close range short and high shots to overcome obstacles close to the green. Wedges are extremely useful for your short game and it is beneficial to keep a selection of them in your bag.
Sand Wedges are another type of wedge and are designed to get you out of the dreaded sand traps. They have a shorter shaft and a more angled face to get under the ball in order to exit a bunker.

Putters
As the adage goes “Drive for show, Putt for dough”. The putter usually gets you in the hole, so it can be assumed, that choosing the right putter is critical to your game. Putters come in various styles and types.: short, belly, long, bent, centre-hosel, heel-toe, mallet, and so on. When choosing a putter the main things to consider are the: weighting, balance and feel. Better putters provide alignment aids to help you visualize the line from your ball to the target.

It is most important to select the correct golf equipment. Golf is a hard enough endeavour without making it a more difficult sport and challenge with poorly chosen and inappropriate equipment. Ladies golf clubs are different than the golf clubs used and chosen by male golfers.

Often just to start out and “try” the game of golf and golfing a prospective women golfer will start out with her husband’s or boyfriend’s old or “favourite” “clubs”.

While it may be advisable to find out if you like the game before spending a veritable fortune on equipment, in almost all cases men’s golf clubs and golf equipment will prove to be unsuitable , and indeed a most trying event, for the vast majority of women to start out their golf careers with .

What advice can be given – start slow and small to begin with, go out and purchase or perhaps if possible borrow a ladies 6 or 7 iron or irons. These can be new, used or as said – perhaps even borrowed for the moment. Once you have conducted your test case and evaluations and know better if you are going to take the game seriously, if at all, then you can make the choice of whether to add to the single club, if you purchased it, look for a decent set or half set or perhaps even have figured out that this whole golf thing is not for you – well at least for the moment.

There are three main reasons why it is a much better idea to have specific ladies clubs rather than run of the mill standard golf sets. The reasons have to do with swing weight, shaft flex and grip sizes.

Firstly swing weight is the method of referring to how heavy the golf club feels when it is swung. In terms of club weights tables’ ladies golf club weights range from about C0-C8. If you try out men’s golf clubs for fun, you will more than likely find them too heavy to control, it can be said that the essence of the golf swing is to control the clubhead. If you swing too heavy a golf club it will control you rather than the other way around. If on the other hand if you are stronger than the average women due to your size of have played such sports as squash or tennis men’s clubs may be just fine for you. But even if you fall in this category of strength and physique you may well be better to start off with a women’s set of golf clubs and then perhaps progress to a regular man’s set of golf clubs.

Next to consider is the actual shaft on lady’s golf clubs. These shafts on the whole are made and chosen to be more flexible which helps to promote clubhead speed and thus ultimately to improve the actual distance that the golf ball will travel and cover. Until you can generate so much power that the slightly longer and firmer shaft of a man’s golf club will give you additional control without sacrificing distance, then it is always advisable to use ladies “L” shafts. Remarkably some older and less athletic men actually derive greater benefit on the golf courses by using ladies golf clubs with the more flexible shafts , as a means of increasing their golf game and decreasing their golf scores. This is a result of the whippy shaft and lighter weight that enables them to control their golf clubs and thus gain extra distance on the links without much additional effort or expertise whatsoever.

As a last point regarding the distinction between the two sets of clubs is the grips on the clubs. The grips on ladies golf clubs are much smaller than those on men’s clubs. This makes lady’s clubs much easier to hold. In the case of women who find that they either have fairly large hands and/or long fingers larger grips may be more advantageous.
In these cases fingers may find that large grips help them to grip the club correctly.

Golf and the sport of golfing are hard enough sports without handicapping yourself with what may be considering not the most optimal and tailored golf hardware for yourself and your golfing preferences. Why make life and your golf game burdensome and not the easiest and best for an enjoyable game, pastime and lowest possible scores for that round or rounds of golf at your favorite golf courses?

The Author of this article, Syd E. Nohcud,  also writes for Extended Stay Golf Sports Winnipeg  Hotel Theme Rooms

If you are looking for means to lower your golf scores, then here are some valuable tips that are sure to help golfers of all ages and abilities to lower their golf handicaps.

Golf Lesson 1: Practice…Slowly
Good form during a swing is very important in improving one’s performance. However, too many people make the mistake of simply going for many repetitions instead of honing their form per swing. If you do not force every practice swing to form perfection, simply doing repetitive exercise can actually be detrimental since you could be repeating a wrong form over and over again. This could burn the wrong form into your muscle memory and could seriously hinder your bid for better performance – and a lower handicap.

Practising a golf swing in slow motion can be a great way to fine tune your swing and get the right form while you are at it. Your mind will connect better to the proper muscle movement and form. You can start speeding up a little a time while you do this. Eventually, you can get yourself doing the right form over and over again. This is when repetitive exercise can help.

Golf Lesson 2: Get a Grip
Good golf grip is important for any serious golfer. And the best way to develop your grip is by practising it every time you can. Most golfers have golf clubs by their sofa – for easy access whenever they lounge by the television – so that they can practice their grip as often as possible. With enough practice, holding a club properly will become second nature to you. So keep those clubs within constant range for a better golf grip.

Golf Lesson 3: Get a Mirror
A mirror is a great way to monitor and evaluate how your swing is going. You could use a video recorder as well to get better angles of your swing – and they are great for keeping you focused on swinging instead of looking at the mirror. Choose whatever option is convenient for you. Mirrors and videos can help you get immediate feedback on whether what you are doing is correct. You may also want to send this video to instructors who can then tell you what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong.

Conclusion
As with most things, only practice makes perfect. However, you can avoid wasting your time during practice by learning to practice smarter instead of just more. The tips mentioned above will help you get started on this road.

To learn more tips on lowering your golf handicap, please visit http://www.supergolf.info/

Golfer’s Bunker is back online. More soon!