Beginner’s Guide to Playing Golf
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Choosing the Proper Golf Club There are many different types of clubs, so how does the beginner know which club to choose? Here are some basic hints that should set you right. Golf clubs have different uses throughout your golfing game. One of the most popular golf clubs that is rather new on the horizon is called the hybrid or sometimes the utility hybrid. It has several different uses including shooting from the fairway. So if you have difficulty in getting the distance, try the hybrid. It may help you to avoid bunkers and water traps. The hybrid is also good for teeing off and getting out of the rough, out of sand and is great for accuracy when putting on the green. This is mainly because it was designed with a bigger head than the others. So, you are wondering why you would need any other clubs if this one is so great? There are many other kinds of golf clubs that players feel comfortable with and have given good usage over the years. There are drivers, irons, putters and woods – which aren’t usually made of wood these days, though they used to be. Persimmon wood was considered to be the best because it is such a hard wood, but these days metal is standard. A tee shot is the first stroke used in your golf game. It’s mostly done with a driver (or 1-wood) on long holes, or an iron if it’s a short hole. Irons are mostly used on the fairway when precision is important, though they can also be used when playing from the rough – along with wedges. The sand wedge will get you out of a bunker due to its design, being made to kind of skid across the sand. Once on the green, you’ll need a putter to roll the ball towards that elusive hole. Putters are good for shorter strokes that need a great deal of precision. A pitch or a flop is a high shot that requires the ball to roll only a very short distance once it lands. This type of stroke is best done with a wedge – either a sand wedge or a lob wedge, depending on which one you want to perform. The flop is even higher than the pitch with less roll on landing. No matter which golf clubs you choose, you are limited by law to carrying just fourteen around the course. Now we know why professional golfers like to use caddies!
Correcting Common Swing Mistakes One of the most common swing mistakes for the amateur golfer is the slice, an unwelcome shot that creates much side-spin on the ball causing it to cut hard to the side. It is a frustrated golfer who plays a slice and he will find it very hard to correct. Many golfers have bought tools of the trade guaranteed to fix the problem of the slice, but their frustration and disappointment deepen when they find that in most cases nothing is improved. The fundamental process of fixing a slice lies in both the swing and the body. Research from the University of Southern Carolina has found that there were some specific swing drills that could cure that most horrible of golfing flaws. These broke the swing down into several manageable parts, all to be practiced alone at first to train the body into the right action. This prevents confusion, since it is very difficult for brain and body to process all the information required all at once. Once the swing is broken into parts, the process is simplified, allowing the golfer to work on the part that needs fixing before implementing that action into his full swing. One of these two drills that were found to work so well is called the ‘toe-in drill’. As may be imagined, this drill helps the positioning of the golfer at all times through the swing. The second drill is called the ‘split hand’. This assisted the golfer to feel not only the correct release of the club, but also its swing path. There is a good drill to do in front of the mirror that will help you ascertain your swing path and correct it, especially if you swing from outside-in. Setup as if you were going to hit a ball through the mirror, and take a very slow swing, stopping halfway through the follow through. Can you see your nose? Hopefully not: the club head should have it covered (in the mirror, of course). You’ll have to keep your head up to see this next drill. Take swings while you watch the blur of the club go through your mirrored eyes. This should happen on the follow through too. If it doesn’t, adjust your swing until it does. It is safe to say that if a golfer were to get the correct tuition for his posture and stance in the first place, from professional coaches who know what they are doing, the problem of the slice would be almost eliminated. Many amateurs take their first lessons from their friends who may or may not know the correct procedures. It is also a good idea to ask a coach whether that book or video you were going to purchase is indeed written or developed by someone who is experienced enough to give advice. It is also important to work on developing core flexibility as well as flexibility in shoulders and limbs. How your swing develops will be to a great extent determined by your posture, which will in turn be determined by your flexibility. When you have developed in this area, you’ll see a great improvement in your golf game generally, not just your swing, so it’s worth the effort.
Don’t Let Frustration Ruin Your Golf Game. When you go for a game of golf you are expecting to enjoy yourself, right? But you know that since you are in reality ‘playing the course’ and hitting a still object (okay, trying to!) rather than one lobbed at you by an opponent, the blame for any mistakes you make sit squarely on your own shoulders. But don’t attach blame - to yourself or anyone else. Blaming is a pointless pursuit, and not only in golf. It simply happened, so deal with it and get on with the game. So what happens when you end up in the rough or that water hazard? Sure it’s frustrating when every ball you hit goes bad, but don’t spit the dummy and pump up your blood pressure! For a start, if you become tense and angry you are more likely to suffer some kind of injury like a muscle strain or tear. Hey, you use up lots less energy when you remain calm. This means you’ll have more energy to use on improving your golf. Everyone suffers from frustration during a bad golf day, but it’s how you control it that is the key to winning out in the end. Practice acceptance – you’ll probably have lots of chances to practice. One good way to remain positive when you hit a shot into that bunker is to immediately think of something great about the last shot you played. You have to speak this positive comment out loud. Listening to positive self–talk will cheer you up more than you thought possible. If your ball is in an unfavourable lie, accept it as a challenge, not a threat. Don’t worry about past mistakes or future problems. The game you are playing is in the immediate present. That is all that matters. Only count up the number of strokes for each hole. Leave the total calculation until you’ve finished the course. This saves a lot of stress. Remember that life wasn’t meant to be easy and the game of golf has no perfect players. Breathe deep and slowly. Be kind to yourself. If you truly and totally suck at the game, go take professional lessons for a while. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes. It will be worth every dime. So you’ve thrown all your balls into the water and jumped on your golf clubs until they are bent. What should you do? Either give up golf or go take an anger management course. You choose.
Handling the Rough Let’s face it, the rough will never disappear, so you may as well get used to handling it. In fact, with the right attitude playing in the rough can be quite an adventure, for unexpected things sometimes happen whilst there. Greg Norman claims that he can hit the ball longer and straighter from the rough than from anywhere. Whether you want to emulate him or not, you’ll get plenty of practice to do so as you continue your golf. Most lies in the rough are known as fliers, due to their tendency to go a lot further than you planned for. This is because the long blades of grass get between your club and the ball preventing the usual friction and backspin. Without backspin your ball flies on forever and when it does roll, it just keeps on keeping on. The thing to do is use less club than you would for a fairway shot of the same length. It is not recommended to use any of your long-shafted steep-faced clubs for hitting a flier as they don’t’ handle the long grass as well as the shorter clubs. The middle to short clubs are the ones to use from the rough - they’ll give you all you need to get out of it. 1, 2 and 3-irons or woods are too long for the rough. To hit a flier, you need to use a technique that will minimize the impact of the long grass. Move the ball a bit further back in your stance than normal and your back swing should be more vertical to give you a steeper return. This will make the clubface to come down cleanly on the ball rather than swinging through the grass. There is no need to hit the ball any harder than you normally would. This small change is all you need to fly out of that long grass. If your ball is almost hidden in thick grass, it will not be a flyer. With the correct technique your ball will float out of there rather like a helium balloon – only not as high. The pitching wedge is usually the best choice for this shot and you’ll need to grasp it firmly, open your stance and align your club head square to the target line. The grass will usually grab the club and close the face. Sometimes you could try aiming the clubface slightly right of the target at address and this will allow for the grass to turn the face into square on impact. One other lie is worth mentioning though it’s rather less common than the others. It’s called a perch lie where the ball is perched on top on a tussock of grass. When you examine the lie, be careful not to dislodge the ball or it will cost you a penalty shot. Use a low wide sweep, pretending that the ball is on the tee. Just make sure you don’t touch the club to the ground behind the ball as this action might also dislodge the ball.
How and When to Use a Wood A wood is used primarily for the long shot of teeing off. This is important for a beginner since it is the first shot of a game and so usually the first shot he will practice. In years gone by, woods were actually made of wood – most often persimmon wood, which is very hard. These days ‘woods’ are not often made of wood because it has been found that steel or metal is superior, both the game and lasting power of the club. Your number one wood is called a driver and is used for teeing off as it gives the maximum distance. It has a large head and a deep face. Number two is a brassie, because the sole of the club was once covered with brass plate. It has a smaller and shallower face then the driver and is used for good fairway shots. The spoon is smaller still and used for those shots that are too poor for a brassie. Buffy has more loft than the spoon and will hit about as far as a 1-iron. Number five has an extremely small head and can replace a 3 or 4-iron. The clubface is what controls the direction of the ball; the head controls the downward dimension of a golf stroke, while the shaft controls the plane of the stroke. To play a wood shot you must stand square on to the line of intended ball flight. The head of the club or wood must be placed on the turf at the back of the ball with the face of it at right angles to the flight line. The stroke used with a wood is more of a sweeping swing than the hit that is characteristic of an iron. Three essentials to remember when playing a stroke are: • • •
Keep your head steady – no sideways or up/down movement. Keep your balance Keep rhythm – the club shaft and left arm must move at the same rpm.
Woods are a longer club than the iron and they are for making long shots. It’s important to keep your head still when making a long shot. The less movement in your body, the more solid your shot will be. The driver should be just inside your big toe, left foot with weight taken evenly on both feet. Shoulders hips and feet should be aimed slightly left of your target parallel. Make an easy swing, letting the flex in the shaft and the length of the club do all the hard work. Don’t allow over swing to compromise good contact as this is where your distance comes from. Three absolute must of a good shot are: – • • •
At impact your left wrist should be flat, not bent. Your club shaft should be on plane. Club head lag – not throwaway.
The target side shoulder socket is the low point, so for a straight shot, the driver must be played at this location. Too far back will produce a fade, while too far forward will give you a draw, with no manipulation at either point. Once the art of using the wood is mastered the amateur can expect to have great fun with his game of golf.
How To Achieve the Perfect Grip Having the correct grip in golf is of prime importance if you want your game to improve. In fact it would be true to say that you will never become an expert golfer unless you have achieved this most basic of skills. A good grip will give you a good swing; a bad grip will give you a bad swing. It’s as simple as that. The type of grip you use is not as important as the consistency with which you use it. If you change your grip at every hole, you will be unable to play your best, no doubt about it. Grip types can be classed as roughly three main types: interlocking, overlapping and baseball. For a good grip, your hands should be close together and work as one. There’s no need to hold your club in a death-grip, but make sure it’s not too loose either, and the left thumb should be in position under the shaft to support the club at the end of your swing. It’s also important to ascertain that the grip on your clubs is not too large. Many beginners make this mistake because they think it feels more comfortable and they can grasp the club more firmly with a larger grip. If you find that your ball flight is more left to right all the time, it could be due to a large grip on your club, which will take some of the natural rotation from your wrists and hands. Straighter, longer hits will be the result if you have your clubs re-gripped with a smaller grip. Try it with just one and see how it works, but remember to work on lessening the tension in your hands. This should give you a more free and easy swing. Golf should not be hard work. The most critical part of the grip is not the type of grip your use, but the angle at which the club lays in your hand. Address the ball, but without a club in your hands. Let your arms hang down in the correct position and look to see how many knuckles are visible. Notice the angle of your hand. This is the angle at which you should place your target side hand on the club. For the best support, the target side thumb and forefinger should be on the same side and angle of the shaft while your trailing thumb should be on the target side. But don’t exert any pressure with your thumbs. Keep your hands parallel to each other for best performance.
How to Get Out of the Bunker Correct posture in the bunker is important because it will help you to make a good shot and recover some lost ground. The first thing to do is twist your feet into the sand until you feel hardness underneath. A fat shot will be the result if you sink as you make your shot. Take an open stance with the ball set up off of your left heel. This will help promote the steeper swing path that you need to get out of the bunker. For the bounce (bottom of the sand wedge) to work correctly, your clubface should be square to the flag. Keep your weight on your left side throughout the shot. Develop a smooth back swing and follow through of equal lengths. Your sand entry and exit points should be about two inches behind and in front of the ball respectively. If you simply slam your club into the sand and leave it there, your ball will stay there with it. Practice this without closing the face of your club until after ball contact – or at all. If it is a buried lie, then close the face of the club in to help in entering the sand. You could also try a nine iron or a pitching wedge. As with the basic bunker shot, enter the sand 2 inches behind the ball. The ball will roll much further due to there being no backspin on it. If the ball is buried in the face of the bunker, don’t despair. With a little practice you will almost certainly impress your friends in solving this problem. Don’t try and scoop the ball out or swing up at it. The trick is to drive your sand wedge hard into the bunker bank just below it. It will jump straight out of the sand and trickle onto the green. A good drill for getting a ball out of sand is this. Draw two parallel lines in the sand and practice making your sand wedge enter the sand about a half inch deep and exit about 4 to 6 inches further on. Don’t use a ball for this, just practice shifting sand out. That’s what should happen when you hit the real shot in a bunker. The club should take the sand out and the ball will go with it. After you smooth the sand, draw the lines again, then try it with a ball.
How to Improve Your Contact Contact is one of the most important parts of your golfing action. Without contact, you miss the ball and there is no golf played. Or worse, your stroke score rises steeply. You must also get good contact to achieve driving distance in your long shots. Problems in contact often originate in incorrect posture and stance. Posture is one of the most neglected parts of golf – neglected by both golfers and coaches. It can be defined as the position of your body when addressing the ball, but before you have made a move to play. Naturally, if you start in the wrong position, you will end up hitting the ball off-target. Good golfing posture will most certainly improve your ability to make contact with the ball. It will also enhance your stamina and endurance and prevent many chronic injuries. Since posture affects swing, once you have changed your posture you will almost certainly need to learn how to change your swing, too. It would be advisable to consult a professional to see where you need to make these changes. Once you know, be sure to practice in front of a mirror so that when you get to the green you’ll be ready to go. To improve your contact for a hook shot, which curves from right to left, start with a normal stance and grip, but pull the right foot back a few inches. The line of your feet should aim right of the target about 10/15 yards. This will put a counter-clockwise swing on the ball to produce the hook. To hit a slice you reverse this procedure and you can also weaken your grip by rotating your hands to the left. If your high shot needs to improve, you have to start with the ball more forward than usual. At the point of impact, your spine angle should be slightly upward. If you keep your head back it will help you perfect this action. An upright swing plane will promote a higher ball flight. The reverse position achieves a low shot under trees or into the wind. That is, put the ball further back than usual, keep your spine vertical and use a shorter back swing. Another reason for contact trouble could be that the size and length of the club is wrong for you. Try and have your clubs custom fitted. If that is too expensive, and you choose to buy your clubs off the rack, ask the assistant to show you how to test the fit in the shop.
How To Keep Score In a Golf Game Talk about eagles, birdies pars may make beginners scratch their heads, but keeping score in golf is really quite simple. It’s a matter of counting your whacks – whether they actually connect with the ball or not. Every time you strike at the ball it’s called a stroke, so you have to count the number of strokes it takes you to sink that little ball into the hole. You do this for each section (hole) and at the end you add up the number of strokes. Unlike many other games, you are aiming to get around the course with the fewest strokes possible. Each hole is given a number called ‘par’ that represents the number of strokes you should need to get the ball into it. If the par is 4 and you have to hit the ball 5 times to get it in, then your score is one-over par. If by some miracle you only took 3 strokes to get it there your score is called 1-under. Just to make things interesting, there are differing circumstances where things called penalty strokes apply. For instance, if you hit a ball out of the grounds or into an area like a water hazard where you cannot get at it, then that is considered a penalty shot and you must play a new ball from a specified location - with the first stroke for it being classed as your 2nd stroke for the hole. If you actually sink your ball with just one stroke, it’s called an ace, while a birdie is when you score one stroke under par for a hole. That illusive eagle is two strokes under par and a bogey is the score a fairly good golfer would be expected to make on a hole, allowing two putts. Another complication is the handicap. But this is not really hard to figure out. It is simply a number of strokes a player receives to adjust his score to a common level. The better the player, the smaller his handicap, while the best players have a handicap of zero. They are called ‘scratch’ players. A handicap allows a fair game of golf to be enjoyed by players of varying skill levels. Of course if you break the rules of play, you are likely to be hit with a penalty of two strokes. It’s important to know the difference between ‘stroke play’ and match play, because different penalties apply, depending on which you are playing. Stroke play is when you are competing against the course; match play is when you compete against one or more people. For instance, in stroke play, if you tee off from outside the teeing ground you’ll incur a 2-stroke penalty. On the other hand, in ‘match’ play there will be no stroke penalty, but your opponent can cancel your shot and then you must replay it.
How To Play a Match Game A match game is quite different to play from a stroke game. Most Tournaments are stroke games, but amateurs play match games, which are rather more complex. The rules differ and so do the penalties, so it’s important to know what applies to which game. In a stroke game points are accumulated over the entire 18-hole course. At the end of the game, the player with the least amount of strokes is the winner. In a match game, the total number strokes for the 18 holes is of no account. Rather, each hole is a competition in itself and the player who has the fewest number of strokes for that individual hole is the winner, and at the end of the competition, the player or two-man team who has won the most holes, is the winner. It is important to know and understand your opponents’ game so that you can plot your own moves strategically. This is not to say you take more notice of his game than your own. John Ball, champion British golfer always claimed to play against ‘par’. It is said he never even noticed his opponents’ mistakes, so busily was he concentrating on his own game. That said, unless you are a 5-handicap player or better, you are better off to play against your own personal ‘par’. You should also keep to your own game plan – if you have one - and don’t let your opponent’s pace unsettle you. Just keep on at your own pace, be it faster or slower. Keep your emotions in check. If your opponent has a bad shot, no need to throw your hat in the air and yell. Your turn will be sure to come. Keep your energy for concentrating on the game, rather than kicking your heels up. If you can maintain your composure you will be more likely to play a good game yourself. Remember that the first hole is just as important as the last one and don’t get careless before you even tee off. Keep your socializing in check at the start, too. It’s amazing how comments about the weather or family can distract you from your game. Don’t quit before you’ve finished. Just because you missed a few shots or got into the rough, doesn’t mean that you’ve lost. It’s not over until the last shot has been played and you never know when your opponents may play as bad a shot as you just did, or worse. On the other hand be wary of carelessness when you are ahead. Remember that you are playing the course as well as your opponents. It’s a good idea to do some practice putting before the game to see how hard the course is. Watching your opponent’s ball will also give you some indication of this. Be patient, many games are won by the mistakes of your opponent rather than your owns spectacular game.
Learning About Your Golf Clubs It might surprise you to know that you should really buy golf clubs that are a custom fit. Why? You’re not going to wear them! No, but if you buy clubs that are too long or too short, you will not be able to play your best. This may sound expensive, but when you come to think about it, you may find it will actually save money in the long run. For starters, when you buy custom fit golf clubs, you have the options of buying one at a time rather than the entire set. Some of the cheaper sets may only last a couple of seasons. Five clubs will usually be sufficient for a starter’s set. These are: - 7 wood, 6 iron, 7 iron, pitching and sand wedge. Others recommend 3 wood, 3 iron, 5 iron, 7 iron, 9 iron and putter. Whatever you decide, there is no real need to purchase a full set until you are more proficient at the game. You may even find a used set at a bargain price if you look around 2nd hand shops or garage sales. Even if you do purchase your clubs off the rack, you can still have them fitted to a certain extent. Determine the best lie of the club by hitting off the lie board. The angle may then be adjusted for your individual swing. The grip can also be fitted to suit your hands. A good grip will enhance the flight of the ball, an important consideration in the game of golf. Once you are t the proud owner of a set of golf clubs, you will need to know how to take care of them. Whether they are used ones or new, they will serve you better for some TLC. Get into the habit of taking a small towel with you to wipe off any mud and sand as soon as it gets on. It will be easier to remove and not such a chore if you do it as you go. Some other hints for club care are: • • • • • •
Store the m inside where there is less humidity. Use head covers for your woods and putter – irons too, if you wish. Use warm soapy water and a soft brush for cleaning club faces at home. Wipe down the grip with a damp cloth. Dry them thoroughly. Wet clubs will rust. No abrasives or wire brushes.
Remember that poorly kept clubs can be detrimental to your game. How? For starters, dried mud on a club may fall off at the wrong time and go straight into your eyes. A lump of mud can also knock your ball off direction, so it’s well worth spending a bit of time cleaning them up.
Overcoming Your Fears - The Mental Game of Golf Playing golf should be an enjoyable experience, so if you find yourself losing your temper when you make a bad shot, what can you do about it? One thing that might help is to practice acceptance. The first thing you need to accept is your own limitations. All players vary in their playing ability and this is not always due to experience. Physical ability has a lot to do with it. If you suffer from arthritis it will affect your game, no matter if you have the best teachers. If your body is simply not flexible enough for a good swing, it will affect your game. Find out what you can do about this – if anything - and do it. For instance, if you are simply not very limber, take off-course lessons in exercises and stretches to make you more fit. Your golf game will improve and your temper will have less reason to spark up. Accept the game. A perfect game of golf is rarely if ever played by anyone. Even the pros have bad golf days. Why should yours be any different? Accept that bad shot as a challenge and concentrate on what you will do about recovering instead of wasting energy jumping up and down and shouting. It’s much smarter to get that ball back into play as quickly as possible. Once you’ve done that congratulate yourself on meeting the challenge. Work out a game plan before you arrive at the course and stick to it. Decide you will choose a safer shot and use an easier club to manage it. This may take a bit of discipline, but you’ll thank yourself in the long run. Remember high blood pressure is a killer! Accept the bad, but focus on the good. When you make a bad shot, immediately tell yourself what you liked about that good shot you played just before it. Say it out loud to trick your subconscious mind into feeling pleased. In your mind’s eye, see your ball rolling straight down the center of the green and into the hole. If it doesn’t happen, shrug and tell yourself it will next time. Forget about being embarrassed at bad play. Heck, who’s perfect? Not you and certainly not your golfing friends. Remember that negative emotions make you tense and tension is likely to spoil your game and could even cause injury, so do yourself a favour and lighten up. Breathe deeply and enjoy the day apart from the golf. Feel the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, listen to the birdsong, and breathe in the aroma of the green. It’s all great - enjoy it.
Proper Stance and Posture for Golfers Proper stance and posture in golf is extremely important, not only in the mechanics of the game but to protect yourself from injury. Posture is defined in the Golf Biodynamics Manual, (Check 1999) as “the position from which movement begins and ends”. Correct posture also reduces golfing injuries, promotes the ability to actually strike the ball, and enhances your power and stability. Anyone can work on achieving a correct posture; you don’t need to be a top athlete, or even a top golfer, but your golfing game will improve a great deal if you start with the correct posture and stance. Good posture is where your shoulders are directly above your feet, and your head and spine are aligned. Your arms should be rotated outwards to keep shoulders and head back. You should not be standing with your back hunched over because this is what allows your head and shoulders to come too far forward. You can check that your spine is correctly straight by touching your golf club to it. Both butt and upper back should be touching the club. The correct stance is one in which your heels are about the same width apart as your shoulders. Keeping your back straight, bend from the hips and let your hands hang down. Keep the ball in the bottom half of your vision to stop your chin from tucking in too far. Your knees should be slightly bent. Try and keep your body free from tension. If your muscles are tense, you could well suffer an injury that may take weeks to recover from. Many back and shoulder injuries come from poor posture and stance. If you are right-handed, your right side should tilt slightly further down than your left, but your weight should be evenly distributed on, and more to the front of your feet. Your left foot should be flared about 20 degrees if you are a right-handed player. If you have good flexibility, you may also want to flare your right foot. You should practice all this in front of the mirror until it becomes automatic. Once you have achieved the correct posture and stance, the accuracy of your actual golf swing will be greatly enhanced. When using a driver your feet should be slightly wider, with the inside of them in line with the outside of your shoulders. A good rule to remember is that the shorter the club you use, the less width there should be in your stance.
Proper Stance for Perfect Putts Only the newest recruit to the game of golf has any excuse to be a bad putter. Putting is one of the easiest parts of golf to practice. You don’t have to wait until you’re on the green; you can do it in the office or the lounge room without hurting anything. Practising putting is one of the most important things to do if you are interested in improving your golf. While the correct grip plays an important role in achieving the perfect putt, you must also know how to stand before you can improve your putting. •
• • • • • • •
Start by aiming your clubface at your target. The bottom – not the top – line of the face should be perpendicular to the intended line of roll. Sole the putter head right behind the ball. With your eyes over the ball sight down the target line. Make sure your feet, knees, hips and shoulders are all parallel to the target line. Hands under shoulders – slightly bent elbows. Weight on your left side – ball position 2 in. inside the left heel. Forearms parallel to each other throughout the stroke. Control the stroke with your shoulders – left one down and right side up. Head should be kept still and the angle in your right wrist maintained.
To be good at putting you also have to learn how to read the putt. Is it uphill or down? How much break (left or right turn) is there? What speed will determine your best chance of success? As you gradually become more experienced you’ll be able to work all this out. One way of gaining this kind of experience is to practice longs putts of 25 meters. Using three balls, read the putt, set it up and make the strokes whilst watching the target rather than your ball. This will stop you from focussing on the mechanics of your swing rather than rolling the ball the correct distance. Do a similar thing for short putts of about 6 feet, only in this case when you make your stroke, listen for the sweet sound of the ball falling into the hole. It will help you to visualize the ultimate aim in golf and to trust yourself to do it. Bet you a dime you can improve your putt! In fact, use the dime to putt to over a short distance of about six feet. Or put your ball on the dime and keep your eyes on the dime all the time, even after you’ve played the stroke. Another ploy for very short putts is to imagine a bullseye target is attached to the back of the cup. This will help you keep the clubface moving square to the hole. Then again, you could try putting with your eyes closed. This will make you more aware of whether your body is working in the right way or not.
Reading the Green Putting is a big part of playing golf and to putt successfully you’ll need to learn how to read the green. While this art comes with experience, here are a few tips to help you get started. • If the color of the grass appears to be a light shade, you know you are putting against the grain. That is, all those blades of grass are pointing towards you. If it’s dark, then you are down grain – the blades are pointing away from you. • Another way to tell is to scrape across it with the blade of your putter. If the blades brush up, you’re scraping against the grain. Only do this on the fringe of the green as it’s against golfing rules to do it on the green. • Yet another way to tell is to look at the cup. Often grass grows up against it and you can actually see which way the blades are growing. • Grain usually grows towards water, even if it’s saltwater like the ocean. If there is no ocean near your golf course, it will be most likely growing towards the setting sun. • When you step onto the green, be aware of any slopes and rises. If you feel a breeze on a high-set green, it will probably be fast. • Be aware of the feel of the ground under your feet. If it is hard, the green will be faster than if it has a soft spongy feel. • The push that each grass blade exerts on your ball is surprisingly strong. If you are putting into the grain, you’ll need a 20% harder hit than otherwise. Bermuda grass is the strongest. • If the ball breaks with the grain, you’ll need extra ‘borrow’ on the putt. Conversely, if the grain is against the ball there will be less break. The same is true for long grass or short. The break of your putt will be affected be many things. To play more break watch for hard or dry greens, downhill slope, crosswind with slope, light tailwind, afternoon play, greens of Kikuyu or Bermuda grass. For less break in your play you will need to see soft and/or wet greens, uphill shot, grain and/or crosswind against slope, bent or rye grass, or heavy tailwind. Another good idea is to watch the other players’ putts to see how they behave. But before you decide to copy their play, remember that you are an individual and so you differ from them. For instance, if you’re a lagger and the other player is a charger, you will play for more break than he does. With these few tips your putting will gradually become a successful part of your game.
The History of Golf Can you imagine that any country’s fighting forces would be so enamored of the game of golf that they downed weapons to play? This is what happened in Scotland in the 1500’s. But not only did they play golf for recreation, they continued on to the detriment of their weapons skills usage. Archery was the prime weapon relied on by countries in those days to drive off marauders and enemies, but it seems that the archers of the day put so much effort into their golf games that they began to lose their skill at archery. This problem was so widespread that King James II and his parliament had to pass laws in 1542 prohibiting the game from being played. Luckily for golfers, gunpowder was invented near the end of that century and so archery gradually became obsolete. But the game of golf did not. Even though it was illegal, the game continued to be played and even King James the IV, whose parliament had passed the last decree banning the game, became an avid golfer. He influenced his daughter Mary, later Queen of Scots, to love the game and her son, later to be James the 1st of England, played at Blackheath Common in London. The game of golf finally filtered through to the US in the late 1700’s. Here it was considered ‘a pleasing and genteel amusement’ and it was not until much later that it was taken more seriously. The first permanent golf club did not spring up until nearly a century later. Both the Royal Montreal golf Club and The Foxburg Golf Club vie for the honor of being the first permanent club in the western hemisphere, with the strongest evidence belonging to the latter, who claimed the oldest permanent existence and the oldest golf course. No matter who was the first, the game of golf continued to grow in popularity down through the centuries from its first humble beginnings played in a field by a group of friends to the formation of the United States Golf Association. By 1894 there were two US golf championships and it was then that uniform rules and conduct were established. In the 20th century Horace L Hotchkiss organized the first seniors tournament at Apawamis Club, Rye, NY to prove that it was not just a game for younger people. Now golf is popular in over 30 countries, but has the largest following in the US where there are well over 5,000 courses played on by in excess of 4 million people. The value of the land, buildings and equipment used in the game is well into the billions. Not bad for a game that was once considered a nuisance by kings.
The Importance of Back Stroke No matter what sort of swing you are about to make, the backstroke precedes it and has a great deal to do with the success or otherwise of your swing. The backstroke has two main positions and should be controlled by the upper body if you are flexible enough. (Another reason to do those stretches and exercises). There are three main backstroke procedures and various pros have their favorite. They are the one-piece takeaway (Tiger Woods), the two-piece takeaway (Karrie Webb) and the three-piece takeaway (Raymond Floyd). Which one you choose is not as important as choosing the one that feels best for you. Just make sure you do feel comfortable with it. Instructors have varying opinions about what starts a backstroke. Whatever your instructor thinks, the hand, trailing forearm and shoulder turn are equally important and must work together in perfect synchronization for the club to stay on the correct plane. The two main positions for the club to go through during backswing are the start back and upward swing. At startback, the head of the club should point at the base of the plane line until the shaft becomes parallel with it and horizontal to the ground. During the upward part of the backswing the butt of the club should point towards an extended base of the plane. If you find it too difficult to get the shaft parallel, just make sure the butt of your club is pointing to the base of the plane line. The club head has now reached the apex of the backswing position. It can be helpful to practice your backswing technique in front of a full-length mirror. The hips play an important role in completing a full swing shot. To achieve the most from your body at this time, hips need to turn, slide and turn to create the rotating force that will give more power to your swing. Although you may allow your weight to shift in sliding motion for the backswing, this force will be lost if you do. Most of the world’s major players use the first option. We can’t really separate the backswing from what comes next, since the main reason for the backswing is to accomplish the downswing. The key to success in the downswing is to develop what is called a lag. Your wrists have stored energy that will be released at some point in the downswing and when this happens is of utmost importance. The closer to the point of contact that it happens, the better your drive will be. If the power is delivered too soon – either at the top of the swing or halfway down, power will be lost, because your arms will have to do all the work that should have been done by the wrists. This is called ‘casting’ and is the opposite of a lag. To prevent this from happening, do this drill: cock you wrists at the top of your backswing. This will make a right-angle between your arm and the club. Try to retain the angle as you bring the club down slowly. Once you get used to doing this see if you can do it when it counts - during the game.
The Secret to the Perfect Swing If that perfect golfing swing is an elusive dream to you, there are several things you can do. • First, check your stance. You cannot deliver a perfect swing if you are misaligned to the ball. Many players who have not received correct (or any) instruction, step up to the ball and hit to the right in an attempt to correct a problem they don’t really know exists. To check your stance, address the ball in your normal fashion, but before you play your stroke, lay down your golf club so that it is touching both your toes. Step about 10 paces behind the ball and sight down the club. If the club is to the right of your target, your stance is out of alignment. • Square your stance. Try again and when you think your stance is square, hit some balls. Driving left? I thought so. This is the problem that you tried to correct with your off-square stance. It means that you are pulling the ball by trying to use too much of your arms. If the opposite side is the problem – that is, driving to the right, it means you are allowing your body to slide too much through impact. You have to let your body do a large part of the swinging, not just your arms. • Check your grip. It’s not the type of grip that is so important here so much as the consistency of use. You have to find what suits you and learn to use it every time, otherwise you can’t tell whether it is really working for you. • Practice with heavier clubs. If you are not focussing on using your entire strength for the swing, you’ll be able to concentrate on control and aim. • Watch your forward tilt. Coming from the hip, not the waist, a proper tilt leads to correct spine angle, which is most important in the perfect swing. • Many people advise a beginner to keep their head down, but this is bad advice. Chin on chest will put you out of balance quick. An out of balance person cannot make a perfect swing. • Watch your post-swing position. If you look like the reversed letter ‘C’ (even slightly) when you’ve finished your swing, expect back trouble. A reverse ‘C’ is when the upper body leans away from the target during follow through. Okay, that’s nothing to do with the perfect swing, but if you get bad back you won’t be able to make any sort of swing, much less a perfect one. Remember that when you execute the perfect swing there is very little stress put on your back, thus it will be worth your time and effort to correct this fault. • Watch your shoulders. If your right hand is below the left on your club, then the right shoulder must be below the left – unless one arm is longer than the other! Above all, you should feel comfortable when you make the perfect swing.
Tips for Golfing on a Windy Day The weather won’t always be perfect when you play golf, so if it’s windy, think of it as a challenge. One of the most challenging will be when you have to play in a crosswind. A crosswind will not only magnify any spin, but it will reduce distance too. If you are aiming for the green and want the ball to land softly, try and curve it slightly into the wind. However, if your objective is the opposite – you want more distance and a longer roll – use the wind to your advantage by curving your shot in the same direction. Starting on the windward side of the tee box will help you use the wind to your advantage. A knockdown shot can be a great one to play in a headwind. Champion Australian golfer Greg Norman’s favourite saying is “Swing with ease into the breeze.” This just about sums up how to play a headwind to your advantage. Play in such a way as to decrease your trajectory. To do this, tee the ball up 3-4 inches further back in our stance. This will lessen the impact that the wind has on the ball and give you extra control. Shorten your grip and play more conservatively to decrease the height of the ball and keep it out of the wind as much as possible. On wood shots, lower your center of gravity by widening your stance to achieve better balance. If you are lucky enough to have a tail wind, remember that you will not need as big a swing again, because the wind will take your ball, increasing both fly and roll. You shot will travel straighter in a tail wind too. If distance is your goal, play the ball forward and hit it higher, but remember to allow for the extra roll. Start by teeing the ball higher, then use a 3-wood instead of a driver because it has more lift and you’ll get a better trajectory to make use of the wind. The most important thing to do is to hit the ball solidly. If you mis-hit, any spin on the ball will be magnified greatly in all kinds of wind. Never compensate for windy conditions by swinging harder and faster, even though this seems to be a natural reaction. Remember that playing with the wind will increase speed and roll, while playing against it will decrease both.
Tips for Playing Golf in the Rain If you were a playing golf in Scotland in the 15th century and it rained, you could expect your ball to quickly disintegrate into a mess of boiled goose feathers. Balls these days don’t disintegrate when they get wet, but playing in the rain still has its potential hazards. For starters, rain on a ball will affect distance, both in the air and on the roll. Rain also makes the greens slower and creates drag on the ball, so you’ll need to hit putts harder. Playing in the rain needs a bit of thought too. You don’t really want your hands to be wet when gripping the club. If they are, you will tend to grip tighter, which is not a good thing. Keep your hands in your pockets until just before play, or wear waterproof gloves. Rain suits are a good idea too, but suit up in the locker room before your clothes get all wet. Rain suits are a bit more restrictive, but wearing one beats catching a bad cold and missing the next game of golf! Waterproof shoes are a great idea too. No use keeping your body dry if your feet get soaked. You’ll probably need to practice a bit in your rain suit and see how it affects your game. Pack some towels to take around the course with you, then you’ll be able to wipe the grips of your clubs dry just before use. Another thing that happens when playing golf in the rain is that your feet will sink into the green. To counteract this, choke up on your grip a bit – half an inch should be enough. If the rain should be coming from a storm with thunder and lightning, leave play and get back to the clubhouse as soon as possible. Greens are dangerous in a storm, as some players know to their cost. If it comes on suddenly and you can’t get back to the clubhouse, don’t shelter in an open sided building, as that will be no protection from lightning. Don’t make for the trees either. Get spiked shoes off as quickly as possible and if with others stay at least 15 meters apart. Choose a low place like a ravine or gully to shelter and if the hair on your neck starts to tingle, squat down with your arms around your knees and hold your raised knees with your arms. Golfing in a storm is for idiots.
Tips for Putting The key to making more putts is to improve your aim. If your aim is good, you won’t have to compensate in your stroke to correct the pull or push. The less compensation there is the better the contact, resulting in more putts. A great way to keep your alignment straight is to draw two parallel red lines about half an inch apart on your golf balls, then draw another two lines on the top of your putter. These last two should be slightly curving and converge to meet the lines on the ball. When viewed from behind the ball it should look something like a road disappearing over a hill. Practice hitting the ball so that the lines on your putter exactly meet the lines on the ball. This will help to improve your aim and even better, it doesn’t break any USGA rules. Another thought – do you need a new putter? Some people have a higher accuracy rate using two-ball or three-ball putters. Don’t fall into bad habits. If people like Tiger Woods continually check their putting aim, why shouldn’t you? Experts will tell you that the best approach for putting is a bold one. Too many times golfers have gone easy on their hits only to fall short enough to make them annoyed (to say the least). But when they play more aggressively and overrun the hole, the damage is not as severe. While a delicate putt might be fine for a green that is smooth and fast, bold strokes are far more likely to take the ball to the hole and they are super for a green that is shaggy, where a delicate swing is not. So if you get into the habit of playing bold putts, you will be more likely to sink that ball. Dave “Professor Putt” Pelz, used a special putting robot to prove that the putt most likely to succeed in its aim is one that’s firm enough to carry the ball 17 inches past the hole. A firm stroke is a good stroke, according to Greg Norman, who plays all his putting shots aggressively. Another good thing about aggressive putting is that if you putt the ball past the hole in a long shot, you’ll be able to see how it breaks and thus get an idea of what the ball will do in the return putt. If you’re short of the hole, you’ll deprive yourself of this important information. When you get the ball to the hole every time – even if you don’t sink it – you’ll be able to pick up certain patterns in your playing that may need adjustment. For instance you might see that you often hit to the right or the left and so need to correct an alignment problem. In a word – go aggressive when you putt.
Tips for Uphill and Downhill Swings When you must play on a slope you’ll find normal stance a bit more difficult to achieve. There are several adjustments you can make to ensure that you lay these shot well and maybe you’ll find that you even save a stroke here and there. The most important factor to consider is your balance. You need to be able to keep good balance right up to the point of contact – afterwards is not so important, since the ball is already in the air by then. If the ball is above your feet in a sidehill lie you’ll need a flatter swing. If you feel as if the pitch is up to your knees, grip the club further down than usual. You must aim for your shot to have a low, hooking trajectory, so align yourself to the right of the target. If you have a tendency to hit a fat shot, put the ball further back in your stance to compensate. If the ball is below your feet in a sidehill lie, it will usually peel off towards the right. This is a difficult shot for most players. It’s really hard to maintain address posture and you often get a low slice or topped shot. Bend by flexing your knees and tilting at the hips, use plenty of club and aim to the left. Keep your weight off your toes if possible and concentrate on keeping your balance. Your swing plane will be more vertical. An uphill lie is slightly easier to play than the other uneven shots. Just remember that because the ground slopes upwards, more loft will be added to the club, thus causing the ball to fly shorter than usual. You must allow for the fact that your right shoulder will be lower than your left in this play. Your weight will be more towards the right due to the slope. Watch that you don’t fall backwards at impact, as this will pull the ball towards the left. It is advisable to aim slightly to the right to allow for any movement to the side. In a downhill lie, the ball will naturally go lower and further. It often seems to tail to the right. To compensate for the fast low trajectory of the ball, select one or two clubs shorter than usual. The ball should be back in your stance. The steeper the ground is, the further back the ball should be. Your swing should be compact and weight shift less assertive with a lower body turn. You must keep your swing compacted and controlled to help you succeed in uneven lies. Much practice is needed, but that’s half the fun and when you see your game improve, you’ll be glad you did it.
Using the Driving Range for Swing Practice. Just imagine what happens when you go out to have a practice with your golf clubs. You’ve paid your fees – rather expensive too, and now you’re all ready, but somehow the ball stays on the tee while all around you divots are flying through the air at a dangerous speed. Worse still are the holes left where they came out of. Do you really want to be responsible for ruining that beautiful green? A driving range may be just the place for you to practice that golf swing. For one thing, it’s a lot cheaper – and some have rubber tees and artificial grass so you can’t ruin it. Some golf courses provide a driving range for their patrons to use while others may be found all alone, but wherever you go they are basically the same. Each driving range is equipped with stalls divided by wooden or metal partitions. Unless the place is packed, leave at least one empty stall between yourself and the next player. This will help to alleviate the distraction of their swing and help you to concentrate on your own. But first you’ll need balls; a lot of them. You can buy or hire them from the attendant or get them from an automatic dispensing machine. Put in your token and hey presto! Out tumble the balls. Remember to hang your bucket over the nozzle, or there will be balls going in all directions. The better driving ranges have automatic tees, so you don’t have to continually place the ball on the tee. Since you’ll be playing a lot of strokes, this is important. You could get exhausted just bending down and teeing up the ball. At least if the grass is artificial you won’t have to worry about cutting up the turf. If the grass on the driving range is the real McCoy, give yourself plenty of room so you can move around as you cut it up. It’s a good idea to use all of your clubs to practise with. This will give you a good idea of how they feel and what they do. After you’ve become used to them, choose the ones you will use most and practise diligently with them. There’s only one thing wrong with a driving range. They cannot emulate all the different conditions found on the green. They don’t have bunkers, so you can’t practice how to get out of one. They don’t have roughs. Still, you will get a good practice with your swing and save tearing up the true green.
What is a Handicap and How does it Affect Your Game? In the early 20th century the USGA (United States Golf Association) introduced a handicap system in an attempt to level the playing field. It meant that golfers who were great at the game could still compete fairly with those of ordinary ability. This was good news for all those ordinary golfers. It also helped the clubs to remain viable while everyone improved their game. Basically, playing with a handicap means that the weaker golfer may be allowed to deduct one of those many strokes it took to get to the hole. Then when the score is totalled at the end of the round, the net score is ascertained by subtracting the gross score minus the strokes they were allowed. There is no par allowed in computing handicaps, but course rating and slope rating are considered. In the 1980’s there was more added to the handicap system by means of estimating the slope difficulty of a course. This was in addition to the longstanding ‘course rating’. Slope rating is a number representing the degree of difficulty of a slope, with 113 being considered an average difficulty for a course. The least is 55 and the most difficult goes to 155. The official USGA Handicap Index is a difficult and complicated formula, which thankfully, players do not have to worry about working out. A player can get a handicap index by joining clubs allowed to issue them. A course handicap is a different thing altogether. This tells the player how many strokes they are allowed on a particular course and are available from charts that most golf courses have. Alternately, they can be worked out with the use of online course handicap calculators. To work it out the only information you need is the slope rating of the course and a USGA Handicap Index. Once you have this course handicap, you are able to play with any golfer in the world on an equal basis – but you must be a member of a club that is authorized to issue them. Most are, so that should not be difficult. You could also take 10 friends and form a club with a handicap committee yourself, without needing any real estate. Then you can post your scores by using a computer, after every round and the committee will handle all the computations and should issue the handicap indexes once a month.
When and How to Use an Iron When you are just a beginner in the world of golf, you will need to know when and how to use an iron. There are many different types of clubs and within each type, still many different clubs, so how do you know which one to use where? Irons are mostly used for short shots. Irons are available in sets consisting of different sizes. Before you choose one for that shot, you should take into consideration the length, style and even the material it is made from. If you think you want to make a swift swing, an iron with a steel shaft may be just what you are looking for. It will give you more control over the swing than others. A long distance shot or a slow swing will be better served with an iron made of graphite. It will be lighter than the steel one, though if cost is a factor, you may not have one. The term flex or bend refers to the flexibility of a club’s shaft. If a shaft has less, rather than more flex, the golfer will retain more control over his swing. Beginners should choose a shaft with more flex. Their swing speed will usually not exceed 65 mph, while the swing of a pro will most likely be in excess of 100 mph. When hitting with a short iron, your shoulders, hips and feet should be aligned to the tee, while with middle irons, the alignment should be more to the side. If you have a long chip shot you will require a 5-iron or perhaps a 6-iron, but if the distance is shorter use an 8 or 9-iron. If you’re not sure which you should choose, generally speaking, a 7-iron will do fine for mid-range. Iron shots are generally hit very crisply and in a downward motion. The club head should come in contact with the ball, continuing down and through and taking some turf (called a divot). This is to give the ball some backspin, which will stop it from rolling too far when it lands. You won’t want it to roll when you are making a mid to short shot. For a long iron shot, keep your stance similar to that for a wood. The ball should be off the left heel, but is paled more towards the right foot. Keep your swing slightly more upright and, on the shorter shots, your back swing and follow through are not as full.
