July 2007
You are currently browsing the articles from Golfswing Analyze written in the month of July 2007.
If you are planning to travel, taking your golf clubs with you, it may be wise to buy one of the many styles of golf travel bags to carry them in. Neither you nor the travel companies want to see your clubs go flying all over the place by you attempting to carry them loose.
For the short trips to the golf course it is no problem setting them in the back of your vehicle, but for longer trips, especially if they may be out of your responsibility for any period of time, you will want them in golf travel bags. To protect them from damage as well as protecting others from potential injury, golf travel bags can keep them safe.
Soft-sided golf travel bags can wrap around your entire golf club bag, completely encasing the bag, clubs and everything it holds. For a trip by car, bus or train this may provide sufficient protection for your prize possessions. However, if you are planning to travel by airplane, hard shell golf travel bags can provide the extra protection often needed for the rough handling they will be sure to receive.
Bag Should Reflect Quality Of Clubs
Just like your golf club bag, any golf travel bags should be representative of the quality of your set of golf clubs. The more you paid for your clubs, the more protection they deserve. Many of the hard case golf travel bags also have a folding handle and wheels, similar to rolling suitcases, so they can be transported more easily. They will also have space available in which to insert identification, although many prefer using luggage tags.
Many of the golf travel bags are not only designed for travel and transporting your clubs. They can also be used for storage during the long winter months when you will not be able to use them. Leaving them sit unprotected in your garage or your basement is inviting potential moisture problems, which can wreak havoc on the condition of the grips. While stainless steel or graphite shafts will not suffer from rust, keeping your clubs free of dirt and other elements will help them last longer.
Even when traveling to the course, some prefer to keep their clubs in golf travel bags to protect their clubs and bag from damage during transport, especially if they will be in the same space as other sets of clubs. Preventing them from banging around with other clubs can protect them from scratches and other possible damage.
Written by GolfSwing on July 30th, 2007 with no comments.
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Many people do not believe that a golf weight training program is or will ever be required for a professional golfer. However, in the recent past, some of the best golfers in world have endorsed this truth. Nonetheless, it is still unachievable when the regular golfer will look forward to his/her golf weight training program.
How Far It Is True That Golf Weight Training Program Improves The Game
The pros and champions of golf are all heavy into golf weight training programs and they swear that it does improve the game. However, as a rule, you should never take anybody at the value of their word unless you have some proof. Hence, there are two other ways to find out the truth about it, (i) take up a regular golf weight training program and check out whether your game really improves, (ii) get in touch with golf experts/pros and ask their opinion and advice.
In fact, many of the pros today are undergoing this type of training and they are happy to see that their games have indeed improved by leap and bounds. Most of the golfers train only with golf specific exercises that focus on the ‘golf muscles’ which have their own merits. Hence, when the body is worked out overall, you will definitely have better results.
Those who regularly work out with golf weight training programs will find that there are much less aches, injuries and ‘bad stretching’ episodes. Since the body becomes rough and tough overall, your stamina improves, your posture improves, your strength improves and the best of all your flexibility improves. All these together contribute vastly to the improvement of the game in general and stamina, posture and swing speed in particular.
Golfers mostly complain of pain and ache in the lower back and mid shoulder regions which are stretched beyond endurance during the golf games. They also have major problems with the hamstrings for the same reason. The swinging of the club requires extreme coordination of body and mind and most of the times, for the person who has not exercised well, the mind tends to leave the body far behind.
Hence, though these types of exercise are not directly prescribed as golf exercises, they can do wonders to the quality of your game, your posture, your endurance and overall body response to your mind’s command.
Written by GolfSwing on July 28th, 2007 with no comments.
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Not everyone who goes golfing wears golf shoes, but more golfers rely on them to keep their feet from slipping than trust their footing to sneakers. Since restrictions on steel spikes a few years ago required the change to soft spikes, some have decided they get as much traction with their tennis shoes and do not bother with the expense of golf shoes.
Complaints from golf courses on how steel spikes inserted into golf shoes were ripping the grass on golf courses, specifically expensive putting greens, prompted many courses to ban their use. When a person walked across the green wearing steel spikes, dragging their feet as they walked, it would destroy the putting surface. Repairing this damage took time and was expensive.
Today, most golf courses ban steel spike golf shoes and the industry has responded with various shapes and sizes of soft spikes for the shoes. Depending on the condition of the course, soft spikes may be nothing more than thin circles of vinyl. When the weather is wetter or the grass is longer, players may choose a longer soft spike for their golf shoes. They can be changed easily and quickly to make the shoes ready for use as conditions change.
Keep Spikes Clean To Prevent Falls
During the course of walking on a golf course, the spikes on your golf shoes can become filled with grass, especially if the course was recently mowed. When the spikes are filled with grass clippings it is like walking on ice and when a person swings the club, their feet can slip out from under them, prompting a fall. It never hurts to occasionally check the spikes on your golf shoes to insure they are clear of grass.
Another purpose of golf shoes is to help keep your feet dry, as many of them are waterproof. Most are water resistant and with some special sealers can be made to keep the water out, keeping your feet dry while playing. They should also be comfortable and fit properly as you will be wearing them every time you venture out onto the golf course.
Recently, the design of golf shoes has begun to show some semblance of fashion and not simply functionality. Depending on your budget, there are styles of golf shoes that resemble regular shoes, athletic shoes and even tennis shoes. Most have pre-set holes in which to screw spikes while others have soft grips molded into the sole of the shoes.
Written by GolfSwing on July 24th, 2007 with no comments.
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You can always tell someone who knows golf from someone who doesn’t know golf. The person who doesn’t know golf will assume that you can wear any type of clothing while you golf and that having certain golf shirts isn’t important. Most people will think that golf shirts are only fashion shirts, and that they serve no purpose. However, true golfers know that there are different types of golf shirts and that they do serve several purposes.
Looking Like a Golfer
First firs purpose to a good golf shirts is to make you look like a golfer. Most of the time, different courses are going to have different regulations, but most courses require you to wear a shirt with a collar on it when you are golfing. This means that you have to look a certain way to be on the course, which is meant to uphold different traditions and values when it comes to golfing. Therefore, when you are looking at different golf shirts, you need to make sure that the ones you are buying contain the right kind of collars for the courses on which you golf. You don’t want to buy golf shirts if you can’t use them!
Weather Protection
Even though golf is a game that is mostly played in warm weather, a lot of people play it year round, or as much of the year as they can. This means that the golf shirts have to be able to protect you from all kinds of weather. There are several types of golf shirts that you can wear that will be able to stand up in various types of weather. The first kind is the lighter shirts that stand up in the hot weather. They let the wind get through you and they reflect the sun so that you don’t get as hot while you are golfing. There are also golf shirts that help you by keeping you warm. These are for colder temperatures, and for golfing in places where you might get cold easier. The materials that make these up are much different, and they are used to keep your body heat in instead of keeping it out.
One of the most important things to keep in mind when you are buying golf shirts is that you want to buy shirts that are durable. These should be shirts that are made to wear for sports, and that are made to wear outdoors. You want to look your best and you want to be sure that you have the best kinds of golf shirts that you possibly for this.
Written by GolfSwing on July 22nd, 2007 with no comments.
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I never thought I’d be proposing the use of a golf training journal, but here I am doing just that. Golf is supposed to be a fun sport – it’s only a game for goodness sake – so why would anyone want to take to writing a golf training journal? I’ll tell you why, but first you have to promise to read on another paragraph or two.
Golf As A Philosophical Expression Of Life
Ok, I’ve said it. If we think of golf as an expression of life – energy, focus, attention, fun, blah, blah, blah – then we can consider that everything we do is just like golf. That might be a lot of fun if you really stop to think about it! We would have to start considering the impact of all of life’s events, like whether the choices of a mid-morning road rage or the sleepy, unconscious drive to work are helping the golf game.
I’m not proposing a serious golf training journal, but a few notes scribbled down after each stressful event in the course of a day. Giving the exercise a golf focus should bring out some interesting thoughts. Now, don’t you think a thought provoking golf training journal might be of significant use? Why do we go out to the golf course anyway? Like most people out there, I like to relax!
Paper Is Cheap
If we were to consider that changing one habit might improve our golf game by ten strokes, I bet we’d at least do that much considering and maybe even give an improvement program a try.
Caution: If a brainstorm comes while driving, please pull over. It would be a shame to splatter that brilliant flash of consciousness all over the highway.
Once you’ve scribbled your first note to yourself, you might as well get a notepad. A golf training journal of only a week might reveal clues to personal struggles that are going on externally. A golf training journal kept over months will reveal those struggles that are recurrent and happening internally. It’s not always a pretty sight but one worth seeing … something about truth and freedom.
My dream golf training journal would have pictures of my favorite course, my devil hole, great scores, a full length story about when I tripped over my shoelaces in front of a hundred onlookers. Get the picture? Go ahead now – it’s your turn and your golf training journal!
Written by GolfSwing on July 20th, 2007 with no comments.
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Did anyone ever say to you “Get a grip on your self?” And then there’s “He’s got a good grip on reality.” Welcome to the wonderful world of the golf training grip. It’s a quiet world, but its import to golfers screams “Pay attention to me!”
I never thought of the golf training grip as such an important element of golf until I hurt my wrist doing some construction work a few years ago. In fact, I now believe that these painful experiences are often useful – not fun, but useful – useful in getting our attention. I’m talking about the conscious attention. It’s not just a good golf training grip that we’re discussing here; it’s the application of consciousness to a very fond endeavour – playing golf!
Just look at Tiger Woods. He brings focus and one pointed focus to his game of golf, and this includes his golf training grip.
Concentration
Concentration, according to Webster is the “direction of attention on a single object”. Of course, implied here is that you have the ability to concentrate and that you have done the prescribed work to accomplish concentration. Focus is the result of concentration. By the way, happiness is also one of the measured results of concentration. So, go ahead and concentrate on your golf training grip and just see what happens.
Application
Once the attention is gathered up from all the distractions of life and focus is gained, that’s when the application phase comes into play. This might explain all those so-so rounds of golf over the past twenty years – whoops! Concentrate, focus and then apply the energy.
Deciding what is worth applying that energy to is also a useful exercise. Why? Because we live in a stress filled world that pulls and tugs on us – that’s why. It’s not just your golf training grip that wants and needs attention. It is though, the point at which we’d like to put some attention when we are approaching the first tee next Saturday morning. Give it a try.
Results
If we are successful in our golf training grip experiment, the signs will show and our game will improve. Once perfected, the attention can be directed as required to almost any activity. It’s not about multi-tasking though as everybody thinks; it’s about gaining mastery over the self and that’s a good thing, that’s a very good thing indeed.
Written by GolfSwing on July 18th, 2007 with no comments.
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Why use golf training gloves? That’s a good question and I suppose it depends on a couple of factors. An old friend of mine is a golf pro in Hawaii and he has been touting golf training gloves since before they existed it seems.
Golf Objectives
If your main concern is to go out and get a little exercise on the golf course on a beautiful day, then golf training gloves may not be necessary. However, if you are like the millions of golfers who would like to improve their game, the twenty to fifty dollars spent on golf training gloves is well spent.
Training
Golf is like other sports in that there is a social function and a sporting function both operating at the same time. People’s focus shifts from one to the other, rarely keeping a balance that produces a quality sporting performance. And it hardly matters if the social aspects produce the desired effect of fun, relaxation and a chance to get in the game.
Fitness and training are promoted over and over again. To be fit is to be strong enough to play the game, with breath sufficient to walk the distance and enough conscious will to make it through when the going gets a little rough. There‘s also a role that luck plays in the process. But even with luck it’s been said that it is 80% receptivity and fitness. I think the idea is that when you are fit, you can be ready to capitalize on good opportunities as they arise.
If performance training is in your frame of reference, then golf training gloves should be considered along with all the other training aids on the market. Some have to do with a particular training philosophy while some others deal with specific swing or stance elements; others are just a marketing ploy.
It’s In The Hands
If you look at golf from with a wide view, it is easily discerned that the hands, arms and shoulders play a big role. Golf training gloves deal with connective relationship between the hands and the wrists with the arms and shoulders. With most golf training gloves, you actually wear only one glove on the opposite hand (if you’re right handed, you use a left hand glove). Through varied design means, the glove directs the wrist action, helping it to conform properly. Golf training gloves promote an overall better swing, more direction control and improved game.
The price for golf training gloves is initially steep, but when compared to shoes or clubs – the cost in minimal. Give it a try and swing away!
Written by GolfSwing on July 16th, 2007 with no comments.
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When hitting a golf ball the first few times off the tee, the tendency is to try to emulate the golf professionals and crack off 300-yard drives, but the end result is usually kicking through the woods long for your ball. While the pros make it look easy, many beginners eventually realize that a simple golf swing can keep the ball in the fairway.
For anyone who has played the game more than a few times, keeping the ball in the fairway is the best way to score low. A simple golf swing can help with that as not trying to kill the ball allows you to maintain your balance during the swing off the tee, as well as during subsequent shots leading to the green. A basic rule of thumb may be to keep it simple, keep it straight and unless you are trying to hit ball around a corner, hitting it straight with a simple golf swing can do wonders to lower your score.
Many different people take an individual approach to swinging a golf club, all with the same end result in mind, to hit the ball as far as you can and still keep it in play. Even most professionals use a simple golf swing during tournament play, however it looks like they swing easy and hit hard.
Stick to the Basics for a Simple Golf Swing
Once you have addressed the ball and have your grip, the beginning of the backswing may dictate the success of striking the ball properly. A few people have the club head resting on the ground behind the ball and at take away, will lift the club slightly before beginning their backswing.
This slight movement has just ruined any chance you have of having a simple golf swing and allowing the club to follow the same path down as it took to get to the top of your backswing because you are not going to drop the club head that distance just before you make contact.
In a simple golf swing, the take away should be the slow backward movement of the club away from the ball moving into the backswing to set the path on which the club will trace during the downswing. This gives you a better opportunity to make contact at the point at which the club is lined up to begin the backswing. Maintaining the same plan down as you established when going up.
Written by GolfSwing on July 15th, 2007 with no comments.
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If you want learn how you can make your swing a pro golf swing, than you are going to have to learn about a coupe of different concepts. Firstly, you need to know that you cannot go from being a novice to being as good as Tiger Woods overnight. In order to get really good, it will take time, and lots and lots of practice. However, if it is really worth it to you then you should not mind investing your time in the love of the game.
Getting a pro golf swing really does take time, and it is important for anyone who is interested in this matter to realize this. There are many tips however that you can use which will help you to gain a pro golf swing, or at least something close to it.
Hitch Hiker
For instance, you should remember to ‘be a hitch hiker’ and what this means is that during your backswing, you should think of placing your right hand in a ‘hitch hiker’ position. This means that when the club is set at waist height, you should be able to look back and see your thumb pointing to the sky. Another trick in this same regards is to imagine that your hand is in a sort of handshake position, and this means that your palm is facing neither up nor down.
You also want to remember that if you want to gain a pro golf swing you need to remember to pause at the top, and this means that you should maintain a rhythm and that the best way to accomplish this is to imagine a slight pause at the top of your backswing before changing direction and also at the beginning of the downswing. If you do this, then you will result in having your ball in the middle of the fairway much more often.
Another tip to get a pro golf swing is with regards to your backswing. It is important to remember that it is incredibly crucial to keep the weight on the inside of the right foot. You also need to maintain a slight bend in the knee, as failure to do this will typically result in that of poor contact and a loss of power as well. Remember that as you take the club back you need to imagine that the right knee is braced and solid like a wall, as this helps your upper body coil behind the ball so that you will be able to make an aggressive move and send the ball flying.
Written by GolfSwing on July 14th, 2007 with no comments.
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Understanding the actual physics of the golf swing is truly one of the most beneficial and advantageous things that you can do in order to improve your golf game. So if you are looking to become a better golfer, then you will surely and absolutely want to learn more about the physics of golf swing and how learning about the physics of golf swing can help your game overall.
The Physics of Golf Swing
In regards to the actual physics of the golf swing and other golfing matters, there are several matters in particular that you need to take into consideration. For instance, a proper golf swing obviously has an enormous impact on your game, and this is in many different regards. The golf swing has physics written all over it and is a great example of angular motion; the twisting swing produces torque on the club; this torque force changes the angular velocity of the club, causing rotation.
Basically it is important to realize that the faster your club head is going at the bottom of your swing, the greater the amount of kinetic energy that will be transferred from club head to the ball because the kinetic energy is known to be proportional to that of the mass of the club head and the square of its velocity.
If you really want to understand the physics that are involved in the game of golf, then you will be able to understand the game of golf itself, and you can really only make improvements to something if you are understand it. For instance, a typical way that people try to hit the ball harder is to snap their wrists at the bottom of the swing. Although this may feel like they are getting more power out of the swing, this is actually not so. Rather, this action will actually slow the club head down, and so this is an incredibly important matter to take into consideration.
As long as you remember what you have learned and keep it in your mind for the next time you play, then you should notice a dramatic difference almost instantly. This will make you feel great because you will see how much your game is improving and it will only make you want to try that much harder and practice that much more.
Written by GolfSwing on July 13th, 2007 with no comments.
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