Golf Basic Tips

Being a golf fanatic I thought I would give a quick Golf GPS Review.

I first came across someone using a GPS for golf a couple of months ago and I initially thought it was just a gimmick and probably illegal. They are neither.

I had never played with Steve before and in fact met him on the tee where I thought he was busy checking his mobile. My first thought was “Oh no here we go, one of those who spends his life on the phone whilst playing golf – without consideration for the rest of the 4 ball”.

Wondering whether to say anything he interrupted my thoughts with “One eighty five to the bunker on the right and two oh five to clear it”. I said “that would sound about right” and asked him if he had been a member for a while. He said no he wasn’t a member and this was the first time he had played the course!

Yep, you guessed it, it turned out his “mobile” phone was a golf GPS.

I was fascinated and I spent the rest of the round totally absorbed by this tiny little machine which was giving almost pinpoint accuracy in terms of distances to all sorts of places on the course. Steve said the first time he used it he beat his previous best round by 5 shots which he swears was because of his GPS.

What really amazed me about Steve was his club selection and the speed at which he played. He would simply walk up to his ball check his “caddie”, take a quick look around – I suppose to confirm wind direction and any undulations that he might have to consider – select a club and fire away. Not a care in the world and seldom if ever did he ever come up short.

On the other hand, although I knew the course backwards I was still referring wherever possible to sprinkler heads for distances or doing a rough calculation when I was off line – which was often. I would invariably leave my approaches short whenever I missed the green. Once I owned my own GPS I realized that this was because I did not know how far I hit the ball with each club. It’s a humbling experience to come to terms with reality!

Over a few beers after the game Steve showed me all the features of his Golf GPS and explained that other “fancier” models had even more features than his. At the time I couldn’t imagine anything fancier than what I had seen that day!

But I have since learned that there are a lot of different brands and models of GPS and that each have different features.

When looking to buy a golf GPS you need to do some research and besides your budget the features you need to look for are:

Accuracy – determined by the number of satellites the unit has access to Screen resolution – determines how easy it is to read the information under all lighting conditions. Plus some of them come with a colour screen. Power source. Internal or external batteries and how long the unit can run before needing to recharge or replace the batteries. After sales service. Vitally important for ensuring you can get courses downloaded. Is there an annual fee? Some GPS models require an annual subscription for a variety of options including number of courses available for download, where these are stored, whether you retain ownership of them, can you share them with other users etc.? Size and weight. Do you want something that fits comfortably in your pocket or is most of your golf done from a cart? Can you use it to keep score? A great feature for those rainy rounds of which there are many for me living in New Zealand. No more soggy scorecards. Can you keep track of fairways and greens in regulation? This really interests me because it means I can reflect on the game at any time and work out what I am doing wrong and consequently work on my weak points. Can you work out exactly how far you hit each club? And I thought Steve was just very clever! You can even add your own reference points with most models. I have since found this to be a really useful feature at my home course and always map courses I play for the first time. If I think there is a particular feature, such as a tree, that I feel should be plotted – then in it goes.Like Steve my first game with a golf GPS also knocked a good couple of strokes off the round but unlike Steve it wasn’t my personal best – I think I was too busy showing my new toy off to my four ball and trying to operate all the different features.

Before I chose the first model I bought, yes I now have two and am about to purchase my third, I did a thorough golf GPS review and am happy I did. Although to be hones if you stick with any of the popular models you won’t go far wrong.

No-one could give you a better golf GPS review than existing users and you can be sure that any of the top fifteen most popular units will do the job admirably.

By: Lawrence Bredenkamp

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Today I want to share with you one of the biggest Secrets in golf that will transform your game. It is as basic and fundamental to human life as it is to your golf game. Quite simply is about the breath. That’s right breathing. It is how and when you breathe that will not only help you tap into the rhythm of life but also into the rhythm of your golf swing.  

Most golfers get over the golf ball and it into their stance, go through their routine, their set up and hold their breath throughout the golf swing. Unfortunately in holding their breath they lose their natural swing and cause themselves injury because they freeze the rib cage. By breathing in a particular pattern you free up the rib cage and your full movement and can play through the ball rather than to the ball.

When a golfers does the typical trying to hit the ball, they quite often pull back because they are playing to the ball. Even in micro movements this changes the outcome and can easily lead to injury as well slicing and hooking the ball, or even worse duffing it or top hitting the ball. The more poor shots you have, the more energy you use, the more tired you get. You get the drift.

A strong suggestion is that in your practice routine you practice breathing. Practice breathing in on the backswing starting from the time you start moving the club back to the top of the swing, then the natural changeover into the downswing is when you start breathing out in a nice even out breath, out through the ball and don’t stop breathing out until your club is pointing towards the target. So again, breathing in on the backswing and breathe out through the ball to the target.

Here is a hint. Play to the target not to the ball.

If you haven’t been conscious or aware of it before notice your breathing and whether you breathe when you are over the golf ball. It is recognised in most sports that people are at their highest strength on the out breath. We see this most vividly in weightlifting, boxing and martial arts. The breath is a crucial key to high performance. In addition to allowing you to tap into your own natural rhythm, it keeps your physiology, your body in peak condition and movement for high performance.

Not only that, breathing is crucial in your shot routines including in helping you to manage your emotions and to stay relaxed. Have you noticed that whenever you become frustrated, angry, upset, or flustered on the golf course you breathe less. Your breathing becomes shallow, faster, you swing faster, you make more mistakes and spiral into your worst round. Your routines go out the window and you become inconsistent.

Breathing is a wonderful anchor within your routines. It will transform your golf swing. Interestingly by playing your golf swing to your natural breathing pattern your swing gets closer to the ideal ratio of 62% of time in the backswing and 38% in the downswing. It also allows the mind to be clear and your physiology to work as one moving towards a decision and your commitment to play to your target. Some of you who understand mathematics and physics will recognise this ratio referred to in ancient times as the Golden mean.

By: Roderick Fraser

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Golf is obviously a favorite pastime for millions of people around the world. It has been estimated there are 50 to 60 million golfers worldwide and anywhere are from 26 to 37 million in the United States alone. Even a so-called “cold” country like Canada has been estimated to have 5.2 million golfers, which is about
20% of the population. So what can all these millions of golfers do when bad weather strikes, especially in wintertime where snow covers the golf courses? You could, of course, head off for Florida or California or the other warm weather countries to play. But unless you have an awful lot of money that can still only fill up a couple of weeks. What else can you do? Why, practice of course.

Now, that might seem difficult to do since many of the golf ranges or practice ranges are also closed in winter. But that doesn’t mean your backyard or the local park or an open field is closed. There are open spaces everywhere where you can get in some good quality practice even with snow on the ground. All you need are the right tools and the willingness to get yourself warmed up.

A good golf net is imperative for winter practice. These offer you the opportunity of working on your swing without having to try to find your white ball in the white snow or even having to chase them at all. You can find good golf practice mats that can simulate driving off the tee [you use your own tees in a hole in the mat] or one of the golf mat varieties that have tough fibers that act like grass and that stand up to drivers and irons as you hit off their surface. There are other mats available that simulate variable lie positions [uphill, downhill or side hill] that you can use to practice with your wedge. And of course, you drive the ball into the net or golf cage for containment and easy retrieval.

When you look for a good golf net, make sure you purchase one that pops up and folds up easily. Too many people find it difficult to get in a lot of practice when they have to take a lot of the available time assembling or setting up a net. Surveys show that a long setup time usually means most people leave their nets in the garage or basement after a small amount of use. You want to find one that is as easy as possible to use, easy to set up and easy to take down. You want to spend most of your free time on practice with a golf club rather than a screwdriver.

A good golf cage is often much tougher than a golf net, will last longer and will offer more protection to people around you. But once again, make sure you get one that sets up easily. Quick and easy is always the best route to ensure that you will use it. A number of golf cages have snap-in poles and easy twist-lock eye bolts that allow you to set up things quickly. Many of them don’t require tools for the setup work and that’s even better. Getting one that is UV stabilized and mildew resistant as well will add to the lifespan and usability of your golf cage.

Don’t let the winter rob you of valuable practice time. You may not be able to play very often but that doesn’t mean you should stop working on your game. All it takes is a little creativity and ingenuity [along with a golf mat and net] and your game will be much improved when the fairways are open again.

By: Lee MacRae

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Golf club swing weight is something amateur golfers rarely worry about. It is a way of measuring the weight of a golf club, to determine how it will feel when the golfer swings it. You might think of it as the “stats” of your club, and it tells you how well balanced the club is in relation to the club head.

Lower swing weights mean lighter clubs. For example, a 3 is the smallest club weight. A 3-iron will often feel heavier when you’re holding it because the shaft of the club is longer, to make up for that balance.

As the club heads get heavier, the clubs get shorter. The 3-iron weighs about 240 grams, but a pitching wedge is almost 300 grams. The shaft of the pitching wedge is shorter, in order to make up for the weight difference. In the end, it should feel the same as the 3-iron to the golfer.

Confused yet? Let me explain something that will make it less confusing. It’s important to understand that swing weight is different than real weight. Swing weight is a weight measured in its relation to the balance of the club. The idea is that swing weight determines not actual weight, but how it feels in the hands of a golfer.

Swing weight is not measured in grams, but has its own measurement system. This is usually a letter and number combination, like C4 or D1. They can be anywhere from A-G, and from 0-10. The lightest swing weight is A0 and the heaviest is G10.

It’s hard to tell the difference between swing weights without measuring the clubs somehow. Even pros often can’t tell small differences in swing weights by feel alone.

The point of measuring swing weight is to match all the clubs in a certain set to the same swing weight. This way, when you pick up different size clubs for different shots, you know that they will all feel the same when you swing.

The swing weight of a particular club can be raised or lowered, in order to make it feel like the other clubs in a set. Lead powder or tape can be added to the club to give it more weight.

In general, players who have a fast swing should use heavier swing weight clubs. Heavier clubs often help them have more control over their downswings. On the other hand, golfers who have a slower swing often choose lighter swing weight clubs in order to have a steadier swing.

Does Swing Weight Really Matter?

Serious golfers will often tell you that it does matter. For beginners and amateurs, it may not make much difference either way. Some golfers say that it is not important at all, because a good golfer can feel the weight difference and adjust their swing as necessary.

Swing weight was a more important gauge in the past, but there is a current trend among golfers to use actual weight instead.

If you’re serious about golf, golf club swing weight is something you should definitely know about.

By: Mandy Fain

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