QUOTE: Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps.

- Tiger Woods

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Here’s a simple technique to improve your putting.

Before you can expect to putt well on greens with a slope, you need to learn to putt well on the flat.

This will train you to swing your putter through a straight line and hit the ball squarely on the face of the putter.

Now you need to get a putter that has a line on it that you can see clearly, as this will be the line that you will follow through to the center of the ball.

On the practice green (preferably one that you have at home, as this technique might not be appreciated) you will mark straight lines with a builders chalk line in several directions from the center of the hole spanning out around the green.

Getting someone to hold the chalk line at the center of the cup will make the process easier.

Now move around the green flicking the line to leave chalk marks along the ground.

Next – place your golf ball on the line leaving some of the line on the ground visible behind the ball.

This will help you to guide your swing.

You will then be able to swing your putter using the line on the ground as a guide and the line on the putter itself to connect with the center of the ball.

In a very short time you should find that you are managing to putt from a relatively good distance and get the ball in the hole most of the time.

More Information: make the putt

This will help you to develop the correct posture and consistency to putt well.

After doing this for a while from different positions on the green, move the ball off the line and visualize that there is still a line on the ground by creating it in your mind, looking from the ball to the cup and back again several times.

Line up your putter as before and look at the line on your putter to hit the center of the ball with this spot on your club.

You are now retraining yourself to see an invisible line from the ball to the cup that you can use on any green you play on.

More Information: better putting

QUOTE: Give me the fresh air, a beautiful partner, and a nice round of golf, and you can keep the fresh air and the round of golf.

- Jack Benny

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Most beginners have one thing in mind, and that is to hit the ball as far as possible.

Many golfers never quite get out of this mindset and this is one of the reasons why they will never get the distance that they are capable of hitting the ball.

The wise golfer will practice for accuracy first and concentrate on the distance once they have mastered the art of control.

It’s not much point hitting the big yards off the tee if the ball is going to end up on another fairway or in the rough.

All you will succeed in doing is make the following shots all the more difficult.

A drive down the center of the fairway, albeit a few meters shorter, will set you up for a better approach shot and a lower round score.

More Information:Straight down the middle

By playing with smaller, more controlled swings, you will gain control of your shots sooner and you will progress to the longer distances faster.

You will be learning correct techniques that will hold you in good steed for the rest of your playing career.

By developing accuracy first, you will also be lengthening the distance of your drives and will in fact hit the ball further.

By starting with smaller swings it will be easier to train your body to develop the correct actions, and these actions will always be needed when you progress to the longer drives.

As you master your swing, you can progress to a full swing knowing that you will have the control to hit the ball in the right direction.

This combination of correct action and a full swing will ensure you will hit the ball further than would be possible if you had only aimed for the big shots from the outset.

If you find that your drives are going wayward, then it would be wise to focus on control, even if that means limiting your swing until you are hitting the ball straight.

More Information:For a great drive

QUOTE: Golf is like a love affair. If you don’t take it seriously, it’s no fun; if you do take it seriously, it breaks your heart.

- Arthur Daley

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How often have you been frustratingly close to sinking a putt only to come up short?

Or maybe you have only just missed the hole to see your ball go sailing past adding too much distance for the return putt.

A lot of games have been lost on the putting green and in most instances it has been due to the wrong distance, rather than the direction of the ball.

Most beginners quickly get a feel for the direction the ball will travel, even on sloping greens.

You’ve probably seen it yourself when a newcomer to the game places the ball within inches of the hole on a sloping green time and time again.

What you won’t see quite so often is the ball stopping a few inches past the hole when they miss.

More Information:

putting tips

There are many factors that come into account when determining the distance a ball will travel on the green, from the slope, to the preparation of the green and whether it is wet and slow or dry and fast.

It can make a huge difference depending on the time of the day with greens getting faster as they dry off in the afternoon sun.

So reading the distance of a putt is what you really need to concentrate on to get your ball to drop in that hole.

Once again it all comes back to practice and there is no better practice than on the day of the tournament in the conditions that you will be playing in.

Always take some time to have a few practice putts before you start play to ‘dial in’ your distance.

One thing you must always remember; the golf ball will never drop if it doesn’t reach the hole.

Sounds too obvious to even need mentioning doesn’t it, but more often that not putts will come up short.

Always aim for the back of the cup so that, provided you have your direction right, you are going to have a chance of making the putt.

More Information:

putting tips

Golf is all about balance.

You need to get the right balance on your feet, in the movement of your body, in the swing of the clubs and so on.

Balance goes further than just the body however. You need a balanced approach to the game with your mind in sync with your body.

You need to only consider the one stroke that you are playing and not let other holes impact on your balance.

When we get golf lessons we’re taught about the distribution of weight on our feet and the weight distribution when we swing to strike the ball.

More Information:
a balanced approach

Many of the techniques seem foreign to the beginner but it is all about training the player to find balance in their game so the actions are effortless and natural.

Our balance should flow through with the movement of the swing in one fluid action to the striking of the ball and even after the ball has been hit with a balanced follow through.

It is a natural feeling that will become second nature with practice.

It is through finding balance in your mind and body that you will start hitting consistently good shots.
Without this it will be very difficult to find any consistency in your game.

Once you get your upper body correctly positioned behind the ball, you will find that you are naturally placing more weight on the back foot.

Try it next time you have a practice swing. Stand balanced on your feet with no more pressure on the front of the foot than the back. Position yourself behind the ball and gently swing through without making any effort to concentrate on the distribution of the weight on you feet.

You will find that this will come naturally with no effort at all and that is precisely how you should feel when you are striking the ball.

More Information:
a balanced approach

I had a playing partner who had a simple list of instructions that he would read when his game started to fall apart and at the top of that list was ‘don’t strangle the clubs’

It’s simple and we all know about it, but this visual reminder was all that it would take to get his game back on course and ensure that the tension wasn’t there in the rest of his game.

This technique of having written guidelines was so powerful that several other people started using it.
It was like having your own personal golf pro walking with you and giving you the necessary instructions when things started to go wrong.

Those words would allow him to focus on the next shot and release all the tension that would have otherwise crept into his game.

Try carrying your own list of ‘game savers’ around with you next time and don’t hesitate to read them at the first sign your game might be falling apart.

It is an incredibly powerful technique.

More Information:
free instructions

Have you ever considered what the source of your problems might have been when you just finished a poor round of golf?

Many people will be surprised to know that most of their problems stemmed from the way they were holding their clubs.

You probably already know the situation I am about to describe.
You hit a bad shot and then you tell yourself that the next shot has to be better to compensate and the pressure begins to grow.

Along with the increasing pressure is a tendency to grip the clubs too hard.
Tension has a tendency to make us do that.
Along with this tight grip we have on the club goes a corresponding loss of control.

The ball starts flying in all directions, and the tension builds ever more, until you look at your knuckles and they are white from the pressure.
If your clubs had to breath you would have choked them by now.

More Information:
correct golf club grip

Many golfers can go the first nine holes of a round shooting like a pro, but on the back nine they fizzle. Its as if they passed the baton to a different golfer. Where the drives were going straight down the fairway, now they are slicing and hooking all over the place. They can’t hit an iron or make a putt. What happens to causes this change?

Really its not a deep dark mystery. Yet most golfers go along thinking that they just can’t play well on the back nine. There is always an explanation for why we do the things that we do on a golf course. There is a reason why we slice and a reason why we can’t make a putt. Targeting the reason for the fizzle on the back nine can seriously result in your ability to improve golf score and lowering your handicap.

Almost always the reason for poor play on the back nine is due to two factors: lack of hydration and being out of shape. The reason for the lack of hydration is naturally the intake of not enough water. This can be for a couple of reasons. Not wanting to go to the bathroom because of the inconvenience or just getting so wrapped up in the game that they forget to drink enough water and by the time the back nine is reached, they are feeling fatigue caused by the lack of hydration.

You don’t need to drink water by the gallon, but you should carry a bottle of water along and take a small sip before and after you play a shot. This will keep the body supplied with the fluids it needs to function properly.

One of the first signs of dehydration is the loss of concentration. This in turn causes you to miss putts, mis-hit irons, slice and lose driving distance. Much of this can be avoided by just taking a sip of water here and there.

The other reason for feeling fatigue and playing poorly on the back nine is physical condition. To play 18 holes of golf takes a lot out of the average person physically. It even effects the professional golfers. Look at Tiger Woods, he constantly trains to stay in shape and this results to a large extent to his performance on the golf course.

I’m not saying that you need to be a fitness freak in order to play golf, but a little attention to our physical condition can go a long way to maintaining our strength from the start of the golf round to the finish.

You can get a lot of help in the area of golf fitness training from the many videos and books that are available on the market.

If you want to stop the letdown on the final 9 holes of a round, you should learn as much as you can about golf fitness so that you will be able to maintain your stamina from the first hole through the eighteenth. You can learn the most up to date information to make you the best golfer that you can be at http://www.golfshotswiz.com

Has this ever happened to you? You enter a tournament…show up… play your rounds… and place in the middle or even bottom of the pack.
Or you’re playing in your regular Saturday game… and you just stink! Maybe even lost a Nassau bet or two.
You know you could’ve done much better. But you definitely didn’t have your A-game.
And here’s the sad part…
You know you can play better! You just don’t know what the heck to do about it.
You probably don’t even know that there are simple steps and techniques that’ll help you play your best golf in nearly every round.
Do you think Tiger just shows up for an event? Not hardly! His preparation is becoming legendary.
So you need to learn how to do some things to help you play better in competition

Recently a long-lost manuscript by a highly acclaimed professional golfer was re-discovered. His work is the top secret resource that many golfers used to perfect their iron play and up until now, it has never been exposed before.

Aside from that, you’ll be glad to know that the sheer power, simplicity, and effectiveness of this fantastic manuscript will launch you into a whole new category of golfing expertise. It’s what you should have been taught all your life! My strong hunch is, it’s going to take the golf world by storm.

Here’s what it’s all about: For starters, you’ll eliminate all inconsistencies in your Long game and instantly correct all errors in your iron play… In addition to that, you’ll add 40 yards-plus to every iron club in your bag… And automatically force your iron shots to be more accurate and precise like a laser guided missile! Best of all, it’s so Simple…. Easy and Fast!

Moreover, it only takes a few minutes to understand how to master the irons and hit the ball like a true professional (seriously!). And after hitting just ONE bucket of balls at the practice range, you’ll never go back to your old style of playing again!

Here’s a special wayl to get you hitting irons like a pro

His driving is unbelievable. I don’t go that far on my holidays.
- Ian Baker-Finch, on John Daly

Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.
- Ben Hogan

The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.
- Will Rogers

It’s good sportsmanship not to pick up lost balls while they are still rolling.
- Mark Twain

Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.
- Jimmy DeMaret

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing.
- Phyllis Diller