Beginner Golf Info

Beginner Golf

Archive for May, 2009

Golf Putting Instruction

4 Putting Instruction Tips

The best way to improve your putting as quickly as possible is to put time into working your distance control. The reason? Most of your approach shots will likely be from a medium-to-long range of distance.

Here are some simple, yet extremely useful putting tips to get you going:

Always Set Your Eyes & Shoulders Perfectly Parallel To The Putting Line

Once your putter face is in aim with the target, set your eyes and shoulders in perfect alignment with that line. This is the only way to get an accurate perspective of the pathway to the hole. Should you make a habit of viewing the pathway with your eyes inside or outside of the line, and are having trouble putting, this is undoubtedly caused by an inaccurate view.

Forget Style – Just Putt The Ball

Always remember that putting doesn’t have to look good, it just has to get the job done. When it comes to putting, looks are not important as the end result is. In fact, Tony Johnstone, a European Tour Professional, agrees 100% with this advice in is new book titled “Master Your Short Game”.

Take A Quick Look (One Time) At Your Target & Just Swing!

One of the greatest changes that I made, and which produced the best results in my putting success, was to stop standing over the ball for so long trying to analyze every bit of information I could about the shot. In fact, this was the single most important change that helped me to increase my putt shot success by at least 300%.

The key is to focus still, while speeding up the process a bit. Too much thinking about your technique, length of stroke, and ground conditions will cause fear. Instead, get set up, take one quick look at your target, hold that image in your head, and simply swing. You’ll be amazed at how many more putt shots will sink in the hole from now on.

Find The Sweet Spot Of The Putter, And Use It

Another key to consistently successful putts is to strike the ball from the sweet spot on your putter. Don’t know how to find the sweet spot? Simply hold the club vertically in between your thumb and index finger. Make sure you are holding the putter directly in front of your eyes.

Now tap on the clubface with something small and firm, like a pen or a golf tee. Each time you strike the clubface and the putterhead twists, continue hitting it until the putterhead moves straight back. This is the sweet spot. Learn to use it.

With practice and some great golf putting instruction and tips, you’ll be well on your way to improving your putting game.

Bestselling Golf Books

Golf Advice: Stop Over Analyzing Everything!

Want some simple golf advice? Enjoy your game and stop over analyzing every detail! The reasons for choosing golf as your sport is to enjoy a game that is comfortable, confidence-building, and which is able to settle within your subconscious. This means avoiding the dreaded mistake over-analyzing everything. You must allow the game to come to you by just letting it happen.

You have probably taken a few golf lessons in the past, have put in hours on the practice range, and learned additional skills and tips from watching the pros on TV. It’s time to trust these lessons and past experiences that you have had by allowing your subconscious to guide your way. Just take your swing – it’s that simple.

The best thing you can do is develop a solid, consistent swing and grow your confidence with it. From that point on, the game of golf is simply hitting the ball towards the intended target, walking over and picking it up, and hitting it again, until you have reached the hole.

This may seem like an oversimplification, and of course practice and preparation are important, but if you spend time analyzing every second of the game to the point of seriously frustrating yourself, you are on the wrong track. Rather, enjoy golf and use your energy to focus and concentrate when the time is needed instead of mulling over every minor detail.

Golf Help: Are You Using the Wrong Club?

Looking for golf help? One simple thing to address is figure out if you’re using the wrong club…One of the biggest mistakes golfers make on the course is not using the right club. You can have a better short game, have more fun, and lower your score if you would just stick to a club which is the most comfortable for you when facing a specific shot.

For example, if you are confident using a 7 iron club whenever hitting the ball from 35 yards in, then use it. Just because you may have read that an amateur or pro golfer prefers another club when facing the same scenario, or have seen a golf training video which stresses the use of a different iron, it doesn’t mean you have to follow their golf help or advice. Stick to what works, for you!

I’ll give you a perfect example. Whenever Tiger Woods is facing a shot from anywhere around the green he always uses his 60 degree wedge. He doesn’t try to use several wedges. He sticks to what works for him. Why? Because he is most comfortable with that particular club.

Short game success has just as much to do with your confidence and comfort levels as it does with technique and shot specifics. In time you will find what is called your “go to club” when playing through a specific shot. And when practicing your short game, those practice sessions should be focused around this club in order to improve at the fastest rate possible.

Beginner Golf: Top Picks

Check out some of our Top Picks for Beginning Golfers

Beginner Golf Tips

Beginner Golf Tips What Every Beginner Golfer Needs to Know

What makes golf so difficult when compared to other sports? There are a few reasons, however precision and accuracy are a big part of it, in fact probably the number one factor when comparing the game of golf to other activities. You have much less room for error compared to sports like baseball.

With golf, you have to hit the ball with precision each and every time…you need to have a plan, a strategy so that you’ll end up where you want to be. You have one swing and that’s it. Add to that you have people watching, and that makes a lot of people uneasy!

Another Beginner Golf Tip: Take It Slow

What is the most important beginner golf tip? Take the game slow and keep things simple. The obstacles of golf for the beginner player are mostly mental. With the intensity of concentration, focus, and pressure from an audience, one of the best tips that you can appreciate is to simply take it slow.

Learn the game at whatever pace suits you. Many newbie golfers tend to go all out, buy a brand-new set of golf clubs, hit the ball at a driving range for a few days, and then immediately run out and start playing on a prestigious 18-hole golf course.

I understand that you are probably excited and want to jump right in headfirst, but compare the game to swimming. Before you knew how to swim, did you just dive into the deep section of your local swimming pool? Of course not. How could you expect to do the same with golf? Moving too fast will only lead to frustration and eventually you will quit playing.

Secrets to Winning Golf

3 Secrets To Winning Golf

Playing golf will bring you continuous ups and downs. From day to day, you never know if it’s going to be a great day or your worst! There will be times you’ll be frustrated wondering when your swing will improve. Maybe you’re having a rough spot hitting the ball in a straight line, and geez, don’t even get me started about trying to stay under par…so what exactly are the secrets to winning golf?

The Key: Short Game Practice & Consistency

Golf is a journey, and as simple as that sounds, it is what it is. Forget about reading the latest trick or technique in a magazine, and then making it happen on the course - because nine times out to ten your best lessons will be learned the hard way – through practice.

Players who want to improve are really just seeking some consistency in their golf game. There is nothing worse than swinging a club and not having the foggiest idea of where it will end up.

The short game is a complex world. Precision is everything and technique is what will get you there. Lucky for you, however, the short game can see improvements almost immediately – significant improvements at that.

What’s the Best Approach to the Short Game?

Fortunately, there is an endless array of golf instruction, lessons, and tips to get anyone who is interested in golf, or is having trouble, to making quick improvements on the course.

Essentially it boils down to this:

1) Study the various short game shots. Approaching the short game from an athletic standpoint means practicing your pitch shots, chip shots, bunker shots, flop shots, and of course, putting shots.

2) Make practice a priority. New players should be spending more time on the practice greens than on the actual golf course. Let’s also not forget to put down the driver. Hitting balls as hard and as fast as you can will not help increase your score in the long run.

3) Develop the proper mindset. In the beginning of this article we said that golf is a journey, not a destination. This means keeping the attitude of positiveness throughout your experiences, even when things are not going your way. And in golf there is one guarantee you can count on: things will most certainly not go your way, which is what makes this sport so much fun!

There you have it, the secrets to winning golf!

Golf Club Grip: Putter

Golf Club Grip: Are You Gripping Your Putter All Wrong?

Most golf students who have trouble putting all have one thing in common: they tend to grip the putter in the exact same manner that they grip the other clubs in their bag, using an overlapping grip or an interlocking grip. These students have no idea just how important it is to hold the putter differently for the best results.

The Reverse Overlap Grip

For using the best possible grip when making your putt shots, try learning the “reverse overlap grip” which is a favorite with amateur golfers and Tour professionals. This type of grip will help keep the putterface perfectly square to the ark of your stroke. The face will also travel right down through the target line. Here is a very simple 4 step drill to using the reverse overlap grip.

Step 1: Take your putter and hold it upside down so that the clubface is pointing towards the sky, and with both hands the grip should be right in front of your face, kind of like holding a baseball bat before a swing.

Holding the club this way will help you learn the proper set up for the reverse overlap grip. If you try to find it by gripping the putter in its normal fashion, close to the ground, it may be too difficult to adjust your hands to.

Step 2: Now take your left hand and place it on the putter handle. Your thumb should be pointing down the shaft and your index finger should be kept off for now.

Step 3: The next step is to take the fleshy part of your right hand and put it on the flat part of your grip. The thumbs should be pointing down. So far, if you have correctly followed these instructions, all of your fingers should be neatly wrapped around the handle of your putter, all except for your left index finger.

Step 4: Finally, take your right hand and slide it down the shaft just until your left thumbnail is covered up. Both of your thumbs should be pointing straight down the shaft, and your left index finger will overlap the fingers from your right hand.

Once you get used to putting with this grip, you should see immediate improvement on your shots. And the reason why it is important to hold the putter like this is because your standard grips (overlapping and interlocking) will cause unwanted rotation of the clubface, which is obviously disastrous when you need a dead-on straight putt.

Beginner Golfing Basics

When you’re just starting out, beginner golfing basics are the best way to start. Understand it’s going to take time to tackle just the basics! Sure your learning will come in spurts, but with time and repetition, things will fall into place. By starting with beginner golfing basics, you’ll learn golfing fundamentals and grow with the game.

With patience and perseverance, you’ll not only improve your game, but develop a lifelong love of the game. One of the tips I really want you to take note of is to stick with your clubs for awhile. Try to stick to the same pair of golf clubs for at least 1 to 2 years. When you are experiencing the early stages of golf, the equipment you use should not be changed so that you can experience as much stability as possible.

Trusting the same clubs during your initial year or two of golf will also help minimize variables that can affect your game in a negative way. For example, by sticking with the same driver during this time period, you will learn to identify what factors are making a positive contribution to your tee shots. Changing clubs too often, especially during this learning period, will not enable you to know whether your technique has improved.

Driving Range Tips

Driving Range Tips For The Newcomer

Here are some basic driving range tips to help you out as you get started. When I went to the driving range for the very first time, the person next to me could tell I was new…how do I know? They asked me if they could show me the proper way to grip a golf club! That was more than 20 years ago, but I remember that not only was I a little embarrassed, I was also grateful to know the difference. Of course, I was a kid….just a teenager going to “whack a few balls” to get out some stress. I’d seen the driving range attached to teh mini golf place I played and thought I’d give it a try. Who knew I’d come to really love that driving range….anyway, welcome to the place where every beginner spends hours upon hours hitting the ball in order to perfect their technique.

Beginner golfers aren’t the only players that can be found at the driving range, you will also find more seasoned golf players who enjoy sharpening up their skills in their spare time. The driving range is a great place to spend some spare time to not only improve your shot and swing, but enjoy the fresh air.

Golf Driving Ranges

Most driving ranges are very similar, which contain anywhere between 30 to 50 separate stalls so that you can have your own individual space and privacy, separated from the other golfers by barriers made from wood or steal.

You will find a tray inside every stall that contains your golf balls and an artificial green turf mat, approximately 6 feet square. The average cost for a bucket of balls, which contains anywhere from 50 to 100 golf balls, costs around $5.

At the end of the artificial turf mat there should be a rubber tee that is sticking out on one side of the area. This is where each golf ball will be placed for your shots. Larger golf clubs are typically used here, especially the driver. Many golf players may even make their shots from the mat instead of the tee, using their irons, because this resembles the feel of hitting from real grass.

Your local driving range should have measured markers located out into the field which helps you to see the distance your ball reaches. These markers should be 75 yards, 100 yards, 125 yards, 150 yards, 175 yards, 200 yards, & 250 yards.

The purpose of these measurements can mean multiple functions for each golfer. The beginner has an opportunity to find out how far each of his clubs will hit the ball. This is essential knowledge to have when actually playing the game.

Driving Range Tips: Always Focus On A Target

Some driving ranges offer simulated green areas that have flagsticks set up at different lengths. This enables you to swing right for the hole. However, regardless if there is a flagstick up for you or not, always have a target in mind when swinging. By hitting balls aimlessly, you will not learn how to focus on a target and control your shots as needed.

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