Monthly Archives: May 2009

Senior Golf Mini Tours

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Did you know that many senior golf pros started their careers with senior golf mini tours? These tours are for the amateurs and the professionals alike. Both men and women stat their careers with mini tours, which in some cases have payouts up to twenty-five thousand dollars. This is not a bad purse for a mini tour. If you are considering joining the ranks of the PGA or the LPGA, you might consider gaining some experience with a few mini tours to see how you stand up the rest. This is a fascinating way to life the life of a pro without all the hype right away.

You might sign up for the Cadillac Classic Series or the Sunbelt Senior Golf Tour. You can participate just as the pros do, but with less stress in winning. You can gain pointers on how to make the grade as you travel on your way to the PGA or LPGA. This is great experience for senior golf amateurs trying their hand at joining the ranks of Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. You compete for a title, but without the pressure of the PGA. You can use the min tours as a way to brush up on your swing, chipping, long drives and short games as well as your putt.

Once have tried your hand at the senior golf mini tours, have succeeded in obtaining a good score, and are confident about your overall golf ranking, you might think about moving onto the PGA or LPGA. You must of course, qualify to join the PGA, but there are people to help you with every step needed to be taken to join the circuit. The min tours are just a step in the right direction. Your winning games could even add up to pocket change if you play the game well.

Many senior golf mini tour players stay with the mini tours for their entire golfing career. They like the mini tours because they are affordable and they can travel less then what you do with the PGA. When you join the PGA, you travel away from home for long periods of time where as a mini tour is scheduled a few times a year and you do not have to participate in everyone if you do not wish. You gain experience, but at your own speed. You have no commitment to any other tours if you do not feel it is the time.

A senior golf mini tour can benefit anyone who is an amateur golfer trying to gain recognition into the golfing circuit. Although you are playing for a purse, you so not have all the expenses that come with being in the PGA or LPGA. Men and women both participate in mini tours as a way of enhancing their experience and never move up into the rankings of the PGA. There many organizations that can help you register for the min tours and will give you all the information you need to get started.

Driving And Putting

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DRIVING
One of the biggest challenges of a golf game is getting the driving spot on. The driver is considered to be the hardest club to hit and requires a great degree of skill and lots of practice to master it completely. To drive the ball well, you have to learn to swing the club well within yourself. This essentially means you do not use mere brute force to hit hard at the golf club and then try to make it go a long distance. Many players, especially beginners often make this mistake, thinking that more muscle in turn means more distance covered.

This is a common misunderstanding and it is difficult to see why when you often see may people with small builds power the ball through long distances. How is that possible? Well, the simple reason is this – the distance the ball travels does not have much to do with just the sheer power behind your stroke, it has do more with the accuracy of the golf swing combined with the speed of the club head. And the best way to maximize this combination is to swing well within yourself so that you can control both better.

To generate more club head speed, you may need to create more leverage or as it is called, lag. Lag is essentially the angle between your left hand and the club. It is recommended that this angle be as small as possible and that it is held in that position for as long as possible before the club can hit the ball. This permits a lot of energy to be released to the ball through the hitting area and in turn frees the ball to travel through a long distance. You could think of the club as a whip and hold the club as a whip. When you need to hit the ball, bring down the club in one smooth shipping motion through the hitting area and release the energy to the ball. One more tip you could try attempting – when you start your downswing, your left shoulder should be driving heavenwards. This will help you keep your club in the hitting place and give full power to the ball.

It is very important that you stay focused and fully under control when you are executing your swing. The best way to determine whether or not you are under control is to see what your balance is like at the end of the swing. If you stay well balanced even at the end of the swing, then you are well under control. However, if you are losing balance, then you may need to make a few adjustments, either to your posture or your speed so that you stay in balance. Do not try very hard – it is important that you stay relaxed and that your club moves freely.

Before you start working on your driving, you may want to make sure that you are using your wedges and short irons effectively. The driver swing is just an extension of the swings that you get from the wedges or short irons. If you are having problems with the wedges or irons, you will also face difficulty in the driving. Therefore, it’s best to start with the shorter clubs first and the move on the driver.

It goes without saying, that to achieve consistency and efficiency in part of your game, you need to practice and practice constantly. You could of course, go to the range and practice on the course as many times as you can. However, you could also spend some time in your backyard when time permits to improve some of your stroke making. There are many home golf simulators that are now available at reasonable prices that will allow you to practice at home at your convenience.

PUTTING

It is not surprising that the putter is the most used club in the game and that most people seeking golf advice ask about improving their putting. It takes a long time to reach the green but that is where you have to make your most important move.

One of the major questions asked is about the distance for the putt back swing. Most professionals and coaches would advise you to hold the right toe as the standard point. From then on, speed up the club-head to hit the ball.

You can order many artificial mats and cups, which you could place in your backyard or any open space in your house to practice your putting. You have to focus as if you were actually in the middle of a round to be able to practice under pressure. Probably, playing with a friend in a competitive spirit may help.

People spend a lot of time improving their long distance shots as in a game it takes a long distance to reach the greens. However, practicing your putting also is equally important. Not just by gathering tips but also by actually trying your hand at putting from various angles and positions. It does take a long time to improve ones swing and you may forgiven for thinking that putting is far simpler or may take less time to master. However, you never know what kind of problems you may have to face during your game and so it is best to be prepared in all aspects.

Starting with the Golf Swing

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Starting with the Swing

1. THE GRIP

The two most important techniques of golf are the grip and the swing. The quicker you get these two right, the faster you will move forward in your game.

Here are some very basic tips for getting your golf grip right:
• Stand very firm and let your arms just hang freely and naturally by your sides. Relax and let there be no tensions in any muscles. Let your hands and palms be turned slightly inwards, facing your thighs.
• Next you have to learn to form your golf grip. Open your left hand and place the grip of the golf club at the base of the fingers. Close your left hand round the golf club firmly, with the left thumb naturally pointing downwards to the ground.
• With the left hand firmly in position, bring the right hand over the golf club and similar to the left hand, place the golf club such that the grip is at the base of the right fingers. Again, close your right hand firmly around the golf club. If you can see just two knuckles on the right hand, then you can be certain that you have the right grip position.
• You have to keep checking your grip as well as your positions regularly.
• You should also be careful about the grip pressure. If there is too much pressure on the grip (that is you are squeezing the club too much) then chances are there will not be much freedom in your stroke and your wrist-play will restricted. On the other hand, if there is very little pressure, you may not be able to control your shots to your liking. The grip pressure should be equal from both hands and should be just enough to control the club while not putting any restrictions either on the natural movement of the club or its tempo.

2. THE POSTURE

Once you have your grip in place, the next thing you should work on is your posture as you prepare for the first stroke.
• Always aim the clubface toward the distant target as accurately as possible. Then align your body to square to the target so that you can consistently come up with straight shots.
• To achieve this, start by laying your club on the ground as parallel as possible to the intended target. Now, aim the clubface toward the target and stand with your shoulders in line with the target. This will help you direct your swing path better.
• Keep your feet spread comfortably and place them facing the target squarely.
• Now, in your mind, visualize where you intend your shot to go. Form a mental picture of the exact graph you would like your ball to follow. Keep working on your instincts and build up your confidence in them and their ability to understand exactly what angle, speed and power will take the ball how far.
• Keep working on your posture, first to get it right and then to keep improving on the accuracy of your shots. Having a good posture and right target alignment are very important to your success as a good golf player.

3. THE GOLF SWING

It is absolutely essential that you maintain a square clubface in order to get the most out of your swing. When you hit the ball with a square clubface, you ensure that the ball goes straight and for a fairly long distance. To maintain a square clubface, you need to have a steady swing plane. Keep practicing on what is the most effective swing plane for you so that you get the club-face square against the ball every time.

The other aspect to remember while you work on your swing is the timing. It is best to maintain a steady speed throughout your whole swing. Your ball may not move smoothly if you bring in the club in slowly first and then speed it up as it approaches the ball.

Keep practicing to get these three essentials right – correct grip, right posture and good golf swing.