Latest-Golf-News-and-Information

This guy really has some great tips and advice.

"Relaxed and Poised"

One of the keys to playing well is the ability to relax and play
without stress and tension. Once you are relaxed, the key to
playing at your best is your ability to become poised to enter
the zone. This is quite an undertaking for the average golfer,
but poise under pressure is what all great golfers have in
common.

Unfortunately, many golfers find it hard to relax because they
are too stressed out trying to play well and shoot a low score.
Some golfers who can relax complain that it is hard to play well
because they are too relaxed. That's because they don't take
the next step and get poised before executing their shot.

Let's quickly review the four-step routine in "The Mental Keys";
1) feedback response, 2) relax, 3) preparation and 4) instinctive
execution. Once you make your shot whether it was good or bad,
learn from the feedback. Since it's over and is now just history,
take the time to clear your mind and relax before you prepare for
your next shot.

Now that you are relaxed, it's time to prepare for the shot
you're facing. First, you have to take in all of the inputs
necessary for your mind to calculate the requirements to execute
the shot at hand. Then, it is time to become poised so you can
prepare your mind and body to execute while in the zone, which
is when you play at your best.

So how do you become poised? The answer to this question is the
key to excellence in golf and life. Once you are relaxed and
have taken in the inputs, you focus intently on your target
expecting to hit it without any concern about the outcome.
While doing this, slow down and take your time. It's similar
to putting yourself into a trance like state of mind. By making
this practice the most important part of your preshot routine,
you will start to get a feel for what is it like to be poised
and ready to execute in the zone.

You will be in the present without any thoughts about the past
or future. You will not have a care in the world except your
total focus on your target. Your mind will have its full
intention on hitting the target without being attached to
achieving the outcome. Your brain's chemistry will be at its
optimum and you will be poised to execute your shot
instinctively.

It takes time and effort to train yourself to become poised.
Once you master this art, your game will never be the same
because you will fully realize that controlling your state of
mind is the key to increasing your ability and probability
of making the shot.

So if you want to lower your score, forget about scoring.
Focus on becoming relaxed and poised. This is what great
players do. If you doubt this, just ask Jack, Arnold or
Tiger.

More Infomation

July 1, 2005 15:30 - Golf Potpourri

byMac StevensonTaming Tension Tests ResolveTension and worrying that bad shots might occur during a round ofgolf are close relatives when you’re trying hard in a tournamentor gambling match.Two kinds of pressure on the golf course can affect how you playand... (Read Article)

July 4, 2005 17:37 - Todays Golf Tip........Chipping

Chip Shots!!

A chip shot is designed to be a low-flying, long-rolling shot that is usually hit from close to the green. The goal is to attempt to land the ball just on the green and get it immediately to start rolling toward the hole.

The most difficult part of any chip shot is the club selection.

Your choice of clubs will be dictated by how your ball is lying on the ground and by how far you must hit it in the air in order for it to land on the green.

If you watch as the Pro's setup for a chip shot you will notice that many of them use their putting grip for their chip shots. I recommend, for any golfer, that when you line up for a chip shot you follow these basic fundamentals:

1. Use a palm grip while choking down on the club (for anyone playing Natural Golf, simply use your regular grip and be sure to assume the simplified straight line setup)

2. Narrow the stance of your feet so that they are close together and align yourself slightly open to, or left of, the target line.

3. Position the ball toward the back of your stance and make sure that your hands are in front of the ball. This should put your right wrist (for right handed players) in an extended, or cocked, position, eliminating the need to further cock the wrist on the backswing.

4. Distribute your weight toward your front side.

5. Now, adjust your shoulders so that they are tilted in such a way that you can take a more upright backswing and a steeper angle into the ball on the downswing (this will help get the ball in the air faster).

6. Keep your hands "passive." Focus on your forearms coming through the ball.

7. Maintain a firm left wrist through the impact zone. Do not "slap" at the ball.

8. Keep the palm of your right hand going toward the target. As if you were tossing a ball underhand.

By following these steps and learning the proper distance for each club, you will improve your consistency around the green and you should be able to shave 3 - 4 strokes off your score.

Give Yourself an Arsenal of Clubs!!

Generally speaking, good players-those with excellent short games, want to get the ball on the green and rolling toward the flag or target as quickly as possible. Poorer players tend to throw the ball up in the air and take a chance on where it might stop. With minimum air time and maximum ground time, your chip will behave more like a putt and you'll know-with precision-where the ball will stop (well, you will after awhile!). When you add a stiff breeze to the scenario, the decision to fly the ball closer to the hole becomes even more questionable.

Using a complete chipping arsenal-from at least the 7-iron through your lob wedge-has another benefit. If you use one favorite chipping club-say, your pitching wedge-for all of your shots around the green, you're going to have to make somewhat dramatic changes to your technique for shots of various lengths. For example, the swing you'd make for a 50-foot shot will be much longer than the one for the 15-footer. But if you choose a 6- or 7-iron for the longer shot, now you can make approximately the same motion-with the same rhythm-for the longer shot as you would for a shorter shot; you let the longer club do the work for you rather than making a significant adjustment to your swing.

So experiment using a variety of clubs around the green. Use your wedges on faster shots, shorter shots, and those where you have to carry the ball over trouble. Use longer clubs for longer shots when you have no trouble to carry and plenty of green with which to work

July 5, 2005 15:24 - New golf putter from Taylormade

Taylormade have just released information on their new putters.

They are using a new technology called AGSI.

Click on the link below for full information More Infomation

July 5, 2005 16:53 - The Story of a Changed Golfer -- Part II

The Story of a Changed Golfer -- Part II

(Continued from the June 8 edition of Backspin)

Background: A young man came to me for instruction three weeks ago. He was desperate and confused. He wanted to succeed at golf, at least to the point that he was able to beat his brother in one round of golf.

We talked for an hour and he hit 40 balls on the range.

The basic situation: his swing was fine, but he was confused with conflicting information, had an alignment problem, and had no target concept. The only things that existed to him were his body, the club and the ball.

When ALL of his thoughts were on the target, his shots improved immediately, both in direction and in distance. He hit some 7-irons over 180 yards.

The next step: We then went to the golf course. It’s great to have a swing that works like magic on the range – but it’s not of much value. We all need a swing that works like magic on the course. To ensure that the swing idea would come to the course, he played a few holes under my watchful, supportive eye.

He got to think about the target that was needed for the shot he had chosen – and nothing else. No -- none, zero -- swing corrections or thoughts. The selected target was chosen according to how he understood the hole needed to be played depending on a few variables such as pin placement.

That was the extent of his thinking as we played. Good shot, bad shot, wrong shot were not up for discussion. One of his big problems was club selection. With his new mental, and therefore physical, freedom his shots were going much farther than he was used to them going. That is a problem, but its one that usually gets only mild complaints.

He got it. He understood that with his mind so filled with a clear picture of a very specific target, his system knew exactly what was expected as a final result of the shot. It took over and made the swing that was needed to get the ball to that spot. He never thought about his body or his swing.

“John, this is the first time in my life that I have played golf. I didn’t realize it until now, but I have been playing golf swing. This is the most fun I have ever had. It’s repeatable and my new all-mine swing is with me for the rest of my life.”

He got it.

The next day he played nine holes with a friend who usually scores lower than he does. He beat him by two shots, shooting a 41. Two days later, he played with his brother. In 18 holes he had 8 pars!!!!! And two quads. He had 91 and beat his brother by two shots over the 18 holes!!!

This is a 91 by a guy that was only occasionally shoots under 100.

This is by a guy that was hopeful to beat his brother, but not optimistic about that prospect three days after his golf lesson.

This is why I love the Concept Golf teaching system. It helped this golfer immediately; he had no chance of getting worse from the lesson; it was understandable instruction that simplified the swing and the game; he actually began to play golf for the first time in his life; he will have more fun playing golf than he ever imagined for the rest of his life; he discovered his swing that needs no practice and no fixing.

Help me get this wonderful message to as many people as possible. Pass on this newsletter and invite every golfer you know to sign up for Backspin.

Your coach for life,

John Toepel

More Infomation

July 6, 2005 16:53 - Knowing the rules of golf

Golf PotpourribyMac StevensonKnowing the Rules is VitalReading the “Rules of Golf” published by the USGA is tough going;parts of the booklet bear a striking resemblance to the fineprint in insurance policies. Everyday golfers need someguidelines written in... (Read Article)

July 6, 2005 16:58 - Have you played THE golf game yet

Have you had a go on the Great Shot golf competion yet.

Here are just some of the prizes you could win.

All expenses paid trip if you qualify for the final.

Meet and play with Fuzzy Zoeller

Meet other pro golfers eg John Daly, Kenny Perry.

Play for a $1,000,000 hole in one.

On top of all that you could also be helping your favourite charity to raise funds.

Just click on the link below and you will get 10 FREE shots More Infomation

July 12, 2005 17:32 - Todays Golf Tip

Shallow-Faced Fairway Woods

For a good many golfers today, there is apparently only one
season: winter. Even when the calendar states it is July, they
play winter rules, helping themselves to preferred lies before
each shot from the fairway. In the long run, they are not helping
themselves at all. To develop sound hand action, the secret of
good golf, a player must learn to hit his shots from all
varieties of lies. Besides, that is the game.

When it comes to the woods especially, the average golfer takes a
preferred lie almost automatically because he has no confidence
the club will get the ball up into the air. Here I would strongly
recommend that he use fairway woods with shallow faces. For one
thing, the clubhead can get down into the ball on a snug lie far
better than a deep-faced clubhead can. For another, on a normal
lie, the shallow face rides below the top of the ball, and this
gives you the wonderful feeling that you can't miss getting that
ball up. Call it optics if you want, but it will help you to move
into the complete swing with greater confidence and style.

I am always a little surprised today when I find myself referred
to as an outstanding fairway wood player, for I certainly wasn't
when I started playing. I do know, though, that after I changed
from deep-faced to shallow-faced woods, I became far more
consistent and accurate.

To improve your distance and hit longer drives, I recommend the
Body Golf Power Steps DVD. You can read more here:

July 14, 2005 15:33 - Latest From The Open

The British Open is off and running, here are some of the latest scores

Tiger is 6 under after 18
Steve Webster is 6 under after 9!!!!!
Luke Donald, P Lonard, J Olazabal,S Verplant, E Ramsay, C Riley and R Goosen are all 4 under after 18

The weather is being kinder to the late starters.

Can they catch the Tiger

Did you know that you can play the old course backwards!!! anybody know of any other courses where you can do this?

Have you had a go at the Great Shot Golf competition yet? membership is filling up fast, dont miss your chance to play for $1,000,000

Click the link and you are there. More Infomation

July 15, 2005 13:29 - Latest from THE OPEN GOLF

Day two started at 6-30 am (UK TIME) as Duffy Waldorf fired the first shot of the day,

Now 7 hours later nobody has yet passed Tiger's opening day score!!

Some of them are closing in, conditions are said to be tougher this afternoon, will it slow the Tiger down?

It is going to be a fascinating afternoon.

How about David Toms he disqualified himself for hitting a moving ball!!

Can Jack Nicklaus make the cut? he is 3 over at the moment

Below are the latest scores at 1-30 pm UK

-6 T Immelman 18
-6 V Singh 17
-6 T Woods
-5 S Appleby 13
-5 B Faxon 12
-4 R Green 18
-4 S Garcia 16
-4 F Couples 14
-4 B Van Pelt 10
-4 R Goosen

July 19, 2005 15:11 - The Open

Well its all over for another year and Tiger reigns supreme, it was exciting up to the 12th when Monty got within a shot, unfortunately it didn't happen for him...... again.

There were some real good performances from the " old brigade " namely Ozzie, Freddie Couples Bernard Langer who came in with good scores on the final day.

One to watch, well maybe two, were the young Scottish amateurs Saltman and Webster who finished 5under and 4 under great performances in their first Major.

Young Saltman comes from a real golfing family his brothers play off +3 and 1.

The fairwell to Jack was fantastic hardly a dry eye anywhere what a career he has had and what Man he is, he will be missed.

July 19, 2005 15:21 - Todays Golf Tip

Balance and the Four-Wood

On the amateur circuit, with tournaments scattered throughout the
country, a player spends a good portion of their time driving on
the road. Those hours behind the wheel can make you tense, and
when you arrive at the site of the next tournament, it takes some
loosening up. On the practice tee what I do first is to get two
or three clubs and swing them together easily, as a batter does
in baseball. Then I get my four-wood. There’s more feeling in the
four-wood for me than in any other club. I like the feel of the
clubhead—it has the weight on the bottom. Along with this, I
think it has the best overall balance of any club. I find it the
easiest to swing and the easiest to hit with. I can sting the
ball with the four-wood.

When I’m shaking the kinks out swinging the four-wood, I have a
very definite idea of the swing I want and the feel of the swing
I want: I want to get everything moving smoothly. Accordingly,
balance is what I work for. At the forefront of my concentration
is the importance of finishing every shot on balance, not to fall
back, for if you have the right balance everything comes through
faster. In this connection, I find a tip given to me early in my
career by my old club pro, Jan Knight, to be very valuable, and I
pass it on to you with the hope that you will really try it. When
you are hitting out practice balls, hold your finish after each
shot until the ball hits the ground. Simply having this thought
in mind seems to encourage a swing that is integrated and
balanced from start to finish.

This is very similar to some of the techniques Sensei Mark
illustrates in the Body Golf Full Swing Video.
More Infomation

July 20, 2005 12:33 - News from Great Shot/ THE Golf Game on the web

"Fuz Cam" to be Unleased Today!
Sellersburg, IN -- Dave Lobeck, President & COO of Fuzzy Zoeller Productions announced today that the much anticipated "Fuz Cam" will be "live" today, recording real time images of "The Fuzzy Navel Open" that will be played in Indianapolis, IN to benefit Riley's Children's Hospital." The official hosts of this event are Bob and Tom of the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom Show, as well as Fuzzy himself.

"I will be occassionally taking behind-the-scene pictures using my Cingular Treon 650, Lobeck said. "It's pretty amazing. Once I snap the picture, it is uploaded and viewable on the website within 60 second. Fun stuff," Lobeck continued.

But, this is not where it is going to end. Lobeck is looking into positioning webcams within Fuzzy Zoeller Productions, as well as featuring a live "webcast" of "The Wolf Challenge" so all competitors can see and hear what the Grand finalist winners are experiencing, including their shot at $1,000,000.

"Our goal is to make all who visit GreatShot.com feel as though they have spent time with us and our staff, and experience some of the exciting things we encounter," said Lobeck.

July 21, 2005 17:17 - Play the Ball Further Back In Your Stance

Did you know that Ben Hogan played ALL of his shots at the same
spot in his stance, from 2 iron up? Well, fact is we will never be
Ben Hogan, but there are lessons to be learned here.

Many of us fail to make good contact on the fairway because of ball
placement relative to our stance. The objective of a good ball
strike is to make contact with the ball while your club is in the
downswing. The perfect divots you see the Pro's make are made IN
FRONT of where the ball lies. Which makes sense. You DON'T want to
hit the ground before you hit the ball!! Talk about a loss of
momentum and velocity. Bad.

So, what does this lead us to? The average golfer should play his
low irons in the middle of their stance, and move SLIGHTLY
backwards as you go up a club. Many of us make the mistake of
playing the ball with a 3 or 4 iron off of our left in-step (if you
are a right handed golfer).

If this is new to you, you need to also remember that because the
ball is further back in your stance than normal, it should also be
a tad bit closer to your body.

Try it the next time you are on the course. Remember exactly where
the ball was when you hit it. Adjust your body, not the placement
of the ball relative to the stance, if you mishit. When you finally
hit that shot that jumps off your club, you got it right. Practice
that shot until you get it down (Practice doesn't make Perfect,
Perfect Practice makes Perfect).

Bear in mind that your head must be kept down. My favorite method
is too pick out a dimple on the golf ball, and stare at that
through my back and down swing, until my natural momemtum lifts my
head up.
More Infomation

July 22, 2005 16:44 - Todays Golf Tip

The Punch Shot

I want to give you a safety-first shot. It's called the punch
shot, and you can play it from the 3-iron up to the 9. When
properly hit, a punch shot flies in a low trajectory. It never
"takes oft'" on you like a high-flying approach. It sits down
with a little drag on it when it lands, and recommends itself as
an especially fine control shot to play when you have a following
wind and there is lots of trouble back of the green. I use it
regularly when I want to be certain to avoid going over a green
and collecting extra strokes for my troubles.

Let's say I have an approach of 160 yards. I could get there with
a 6-iron, but instead I take a 5. One club more is the general
rule. I grip the club slightly lower down the shaft and play the
ball a bit closer to my right foot. I close the face of the
club—just a fraction—and I drag it back more than usual. I use a
three-quarters length swing. As I come down, my hands are farther
in front than they normally are and I don't un-cock quite so
fast. This delay in the snap gives the feel of punching at the
ball, and this action gives the ball the flight and the drag that
keeps it from going farther than the player intends.

This is very similar to some of the techniques Sensei Mark
illustrates in the Body Golf Full Swing Video.
More Infomation

July 23, 2005 16:30 - Another great Golf tip for you

As you are probably aware, we, amateur golfers lose more shots on and around the green than anywhere else, here is a great putting tip for you.

Putting: Back to Basics

We're back to putting again. We feel that strongly about it. The
average golfer could easily make up 10 strokes a ROUND by putting
properly. And it is much easier to practice putting then driving or
fairway shots in your house or yard!
The game of golf should be learned from the green back to the tee.
That means putting, chipping, fairway shots, and THEN drives.
Remember, most shots in a round are from around the green!!!!
The average golfer's tendency, when putting, is to use too much of
their wrists and arms, thus breaking down their wrists through the
putt. No! No!! NO!!!! DO NOT BREAK YOUR WRISTS!! First it hurts
(ok, couldn't resist), second, you LOSE CONTROL!!!

To become a great putter, the perfect combination of shoulders and
arms should be used throughout the putt. Any wrist action involved
is through the motion of the weight of the putter.

During your putt, concentrate on your shoulders really the putting
stroke. On the backswing, your left shoulder moves down and your
right shoulder moves up, focusing on your shoulders becoming
synchronized. Your left wrist should stay nice and firm throughout.

In order to set up the putting grip, first place the grip in the
palm of your left hand, and your entire hand around the grip.
Place your right hand underneath your left, in a similar palm grip.
Overlap your right hand with your left index finger.

Your palms should be opposite to one another, for a nice locked-in
feeling. When setting up to address the ball, make sure your eyes
are over the ball, specifically your left eye (if you are a right
hand golfer).

Bend your knees slightly, and hang your arms over the ball.

Shift your weight slightly forward on your left foot, favoring the
left side of your body. Your hands should also be slightly forward
in your stance.

Before making your stroke, make sure your arms, shoulders, knees
and feet are all parallel with your target line.

Keep all these elements in tact, and you should see improved
putting in no time. .
Standard rule of thumb. Five foot putt, bring (sweep) your putter
back five inches, follow through five inches.
Why do most putts miss? Because the stance and the putter head are
NOT square to the target line (for such cool people playing this
game, isn't the word square used a lot?).
Put this in your muscle and visual memory bank:

Use a square tile floor. Place the putter head along one of the
squares, and align your feet using the square pattern of the floor
to be, well, square to the target.
Now, take a little peek down the target line. MEMORIZE that look.
That is a square look, and that's cool!

July 27, 2005 14:09 - Playing Golf in the wind.

Everyone Knows It's Windy!

It's a windy day. You are 140 yards out to the green. Which club do you use?? Hmm.. Well, I can't tell you WHICH club to use, because we all strike the ball differently. I CAN tell you that you if you are hitting INTO the wind, you should take one club more than you usually use for every 10 mph of windage. So, if you use a 6 iron from 140 yards out, keep it in the bag if you are hitting into a 10mph breeze, and use your five iron. If you are hitting with the wind to your back, you would go UP 1/2 a club. So, use your 7 iron, and adjust your swing speed accordingly.

Additionally, choke down on the club. This keeps the ball on a lower trajectory, and helps to avoid the hazards of the wind!!

Most importantly, don't swing hard!!! A hard swing, if it connects, causes the ball to go higher, where mother nature will do as she pleases. A shot with 80% of your normal swing speed will keep the ball low.

On Drives, tee the ball a little lower than normal. This takes a lot of practice, as you are going off your normal 'drive swing'. Play the ball SLIGHTLY back in your normal stance, swing easy, and your ball will come off in a nice, low trajectory, beating the wind, and scorching down the fairway. You'll also get a lot of roll from this shot

July 28, 2005 17:45 - Letter from a subscriber

Thought this letter was worth sending out its from one of Richard Myers subscribers

Letter from Subscriber:

I just want to say thanks for the help. you guys have a good
thing going. It would be nice to see you guys on those hour long
infomercials on the golf channel because people buy that crap and
you guys have a product that's actually worth buying. My father
and I decided to take up golf a few months ago because I've
always been an athlete but never had the money like these yuppies
to pay for golf. But I have some money now that I'm 27 and I can
still get to the gym 4 days a week and so does my dad so we are
in good shape. We got some nice clubs and decided to get into
it. I mean I've been a handful of times in my life. I hit my
driver naturally (from the start) about 320 yards topped out
probably, off the mat. Ask me to do it 5 times in a row and
there's NO chance. I also couldn't hit an iron consistently to
save my soul. All over the place. Anyway we bought a handful of
DVD's and all that and yeah there was some improvement with the
grip and to get a circular motion and all that but none I repeat
NONE out of like 5 other dvd's by Leadbetter, Wally Armstrong
(although I like this one too), golf for dummies, oh yeah and
need I say a couple hundred dollars in tutorial books and
magazines. None of them made improvements to my game and my
SWING like the golf school package with Sensei Mark Anthony did.
I mean I still have my struggles I'm no pga tour I've only been
playing a couple months and have only hit 18 like three times and
nine holes several times but I go to the range alot right now to
practice. My swing is so much more CONSISTENT!! and smooth than
ever before and right after watching these videos there were
IMMEDIATE RESULTS. Another good story is that I decided to read
a fundamental book (I forget who it was by) AFTER I had success
and was happy with the school videos by you guys, just figuring
more info couldn't hurt. Well let me tell ya I was all over the
place again, throwing my clubs, cursing, literally ready to burn
this stupid technique book. I went home and that night I watched
the DVD's again went to the range the next day and I was back to
hitting the ball straight, high, long, and consistent which
consistency is what I was struggling with the most. I mean a
couple more months and I might just feel confident swinging with
my eyes closed. My swing feels so good and comfortable. I just
want to say THANK YOU for all of your tips and help. They have
taken strokes off my card and years onto my life : ) . Good luck
with this product you guys are down to earth people and make the
game simple and easy to learn. You guys truly deserve to
succeed.

thanks again,
Nicholas Dudley
More Infomation