Beginners Golf Game

So who made it to Sunningdale to watch the Senior Open Championship last weekend? I know that one of the latest subscribers to my newsletter did and he tells me that he and his wife really enjoyed it? For me it was well worth the visit, especially as it’s only 10 miles down the road from me the Old Course at Sunningdale is one of my favourite courses in the world – not that the New Course isn’t just as good.

There’s absolutely no doubt that this weekend and so many times before in majors Greg Norman, also known as “The Great White Shark”, has struck the ball brilliantly and enjoyed a great short game, it just seems that he’s missed out on the mental side of the game, especially in the closing holes. As far as I can recall, Greg has never worked with a golf psychologist and sadly it shows at times like these. If he had Tiger’s training and could use golf psychology and self hypnosis at these critical times, just imagine how many majors he would have won by now.

Coming back to the venue, Sir Michael Bonallack, one of the UK’s and possibly the world’s finest amateur golfers of all time and secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews for 15 years, describes Sunningdale very aptly on the welcome page of the club’s website:

“All that one would hope to find in the ideal golf club is in abundance at Sunningdale. Two magnificently conditioned courses of superb design and so pleasing to the eye, a clubhouse which provides members and visitors with an unforgettable experience of pampered comfort, accompanied by exceptional food and wine, a staff that anticipates and provides for the members’ wishes, no matter how eccentric they may be, a first class professional’s shop and competent instruction on hand, the most knowledgeable caddies in the game and the finest halfway house I know.”

My first memory of playing at Sunningdale was in the early 1970s when I played in an event there run by The Plus Four Society an elite group of golfers sponsored by the Surrey Golf Union with membership restricted to handicaps of 4 and less under the old handicapping system. Thankfully, I can’t remember much about my rounds that day, but I do remember one of my fellow golfers playing both courses of the championship tees in 68 for a total of 136. It must have really felt like he was being cheated when his plus 2 handicap was added back to his score and he ended up with a net 140 for the handicap event. It certainly seemed so unfair to me, as someone playing off 2 handicap and desperately needing both my shots! Unlike today, there were very few players of plus 2 in those days. I was intrigued to see that same man playing in the Senior Open Championship there last week and still as an amateur.

I really enjoyed watching so many of my golfing heroes out there playing just as well as I remembered back in their heydays. People in their 50s and 60s playing that standard of golf is an inspiration to people like me of a similar age and, like last week at the Open, it reminded me that I really can’t use my age as an excuse for playing less golf.

I found it difficult to choose who to follow and who I really wanted to win and it came down to a choice of Greg Norman and Tom Watson. They are both players I admire and both have played remarkable golf in major championships in the last two years. I felt sorry that Tom again missed out after coming so close at the Open. However the person I really wanted to win was Greg Norman. Although Greg has won the Open twice before, I hadn’t realised how many times he had slipped up in the last round of majors. I remember of course his pushed long iron on the final hole of the Masters in 1986 when a par would have got him into the playoff and his turning a six shot lead in the last round there ten year’s later into a 5 shot defeat by Nick Faldo.

When I checked the records, it turned out that Greg had just had those two Open victories out of 23 majors where he finished in the top 6. In addition he came second in 8 of those majors and third in 4 more. So he clearly has a problem finishing off his rounds.

So what happened last weekend, well Greg was striking the ball awesomely well and his shots were going long and straight. Despite dropping a few shots, that you’d expect from a man who plays so little competitive golf, his short game was just amazing. He was probably playing as well as he did in all those top 6 finishes in majors. But when he got to the 16th on Sunday, needing one more birdie to tie the lead or two to win outright, he pushed his drive way right just like he had hit that long-iron back at the Masters in 1986. He made a miraculous recovery from deep in the trees and hit his third fairly close to the pin, he was out of it and three putted. He was still hitting the ball well on 17 and 18, but he was a defeated man.

Here’s wishing Greg Norman and all my other golfing heroes every success at the US Seniors Open this coming weekend.

Andrew Fogg, the Golf Hypnotist, is an enthusiastic golfer, hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner. He is a practicing golf psychologist and author of a soon to be published book The Secrets of Hypnotic Golf and a series of golf hypnosis MP3 programmes.

Visit his website for information on how to get the most success, pleasure and enjoyment from the wonderful game of golf. More specifically, it is about how to improve your golf by working on the 90 percent of the game that is played in the 6 inches between your ears.

Sign up for the free Golf Hypnotist ezine at http://www.golf-hypnotist.com/ and get your free 25- minute Your Own Virtual Caddy golf hypnosis MP3 that goes with this article.

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For Beginners Golf, it is quite easy to forget about the foundation for a proper golf swing. You watch those pro golfer who make it too easy to have a proper swing. And that gave you an impression that golf swing is quite an easy skill. However, ask around and most golfers will tell you that to watch and listen from the TV or CD is one thing and another thing is actually to do!

After you have picked up golf, you properbly realised that a proper golf swing does not come overnight. Many good golfers spend years developing their swing Keep in mind that the object is to get the ball into the hole at or under par for that hole?. The swing is one of the major factors in whether or not you break par. In most cases, a proper golf swing determines the entire outcome of the game for the day!

Nowadays, however, its not always necessary to have a perfect swing in order to play a fairly good golf game. With the modern technology in golf club design, material for the club head and shaft, and the availability of the assistance of a professional golf coach. There are many golf swing aids or tutorial available to buy online. You should always take advantage of the available technology to help you improve your game. Guides or tutorial ebooks are available that concentrate on certain aspects of your swing and some are more general in nature.

Since a proper golf swing is important, in order to develop a proper golf swing you will need to commit your time as well as money (some). If you are having difficulties in your golf swing, your should seek advice from a coach. But you need to try the swing routines, and keep going – success will come with the right amount of effort. With sufficient effort, you would have developed a proper golf swing and you will be playing like a pro.

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As a beginner golfer, you need to consider how to handle your golf bag with clubs when you are out there tp play your golf game. As it is heavy for a full set of golf club, you are not likely to enjoy your golf game if you decide to carry the golf bag yourself. Besides the golf club, you are like end up in your golf bag waterproof gear; water bottles, face towels, sweater, umbrella, mobile phone etc, as well as golf balls and tees. To carry all these items in your golf bag, a golf trolley which your can palce yru golf bag on it, will certainly be your best campanion througout your golf game.

There are seveal types of golf trolleys, most of them are manually push trolley while there are electric operated golf trolley. Although many senior golfers use electric trolley, manual trolley can do the job too. One big advantage of using a golf trolley is you save alot of energy while you walk around the golf course. The extra energy will certainly help in your golf game.

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When selecting a golf trolley, pay attention to the material used for the construction of the trolley. Golf Trolleys are made of metal such as mildsteel and alluminium. Each construction material has its own advantage and disadvantage. For mildsteel, it is heavy and easy get rusty. But this is normally overcome with a layer of paint on top of the mildsteel. On the other hand, there are trolley structure made from alluminium. It is lighter hence easy to move around the golf course. Although alluminium does not get rusty, a layer of paint work is applied on top to present different color scheme.

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We’ve just had the 2009 Open Championships at Turnberry in Scotland and many people were thrilled yet again at the climax to an exciting four days of golf.  Veteran Tom Watson seemingly had the tournament wrapped up with a two stroke lead on the eventual winner Stewart Cink but the pressure got to the 59 year old and with a series of poorly hit putts he entered the downward spiral that lost him the tournament.

As heartbreaking as this was to watch for the lucky crowds on the course and millions on television, if you ask any golfer they will tell you it happens to everyone now and then.  You could play great for the front 9 holes but have an absolute stinker on the home stretch.

In Tom’s case his short game (chipping, pitching and putting) really hurt him when it counted most and many other golfers can either send their ball off the back of the green or pitifully short of the flag if their short game isn’t up to scratch.

So how can you avoid these devastating moments?  Well practice is the key with many sports including golf.  A key aspect of an impressive short game is often touch and taking many shots at different distances from the flag will help you to get the feel for the power and speed you should put into a shot.

With chipping from short distances you are aiming to get the ball to land on the green, generally in front of the hole, as depending on your choice of club the ball can roll for a fair distance after it touches down on the green.  

Practicing either in your back garden or, if you’re allowed, on the edge of your local putting green try and aim your shots correctly and get used to using the correct club for the job.

By doing this practice or even using various chip training aids like a net basket set at different distances you should gain distance control, a vital skill and knowledge to have when approaching the green from short distances.  Although this will give you a benchmark, when out on the course, local conditions will dictate how you adapt the weight of each shot as greens can run faster and slower in wet dry and wet weather.

In the case of putting you need distance control again, in the form of how much power to put into each putt.  Practicing on your local putting green again will help you develop a sound judgement of how much power to put into your putt.  

One issue with putting is that the green is rarely even and so you should practice on various slopes and directions to know how to predict the line of each shot. Many players are surprised at how wide you need to aim your putt to get it to swoop round and back to the cup.

By practicing these skills you should be able to cut down on your handicap and make those vital pulse pounding shots that can truly decide who goes home a winner.

There are many other golf related subjects that John Woosey writes on such as Golf Insurance and Travel Insurance for Golfers

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Beginners Golf, like any other sport, proper body warm up before the golf game is essential to avoid body injury during the golf game. There are many different types of exercises for beginners golf that will help you improve your health condiction and your golf game. In beginners golf, body injury is not uncommon. However, the very basic golf exercise is stretching. With proper stretching with your limbs and body not only help your muscle to relax, it help your body to be more flexible hence avoid body injury and it help you a better and smoother golf swings.

In beginners golf, other forms of golf exercise will enhance your ability to play a better golf. As golf swing is fundamental, weight training can help you produce power on your swing that will help you control your golf club hence a better drives of your golf club.

Weight training can help you to build your muscle memory which is essential for you to maintain your golf swing for better and consisdent result. Different weight training workouts can help you enhance your golf swing.

Fro a consistent golf swing, you need to maintain a proper posture and stance. Your leg muscle is utilised. There are weight-training exercises that focus on your legs. Exercises for golf swing that concentrates on your legs can help generate leg power for your drives. In doing this weight training you have to focus on primary leg muscles, which are your quadriceps and your hamstrings. Working out these muscles will help you increase distance to your drives.

Another method is workouts for leg weight training are squats or alternative leg presses. Squats can work your quadriceps and your hamstrings. This workout can also help your gluteal muscles. You can also have an option of doing leg extensions to focus on your quadriceps and leg curls for your hamstrings.

Second group of exercises for golf focuses on core strength. Developing core strength is important, as benefits from leg workouts are useless unless you transfer that power to your swing. Strengthening your lower back or erector spinae and your abdominals will help you achieve this. This is because your lower back and abdominals are tied to your lower and upper body thereby allowing you to take the power generated by your legs and move it efficiently to your swing.

When you have a stronger lower back and abdominals, you can power your swing more efficiently. Workouts that will help you strengthen your lower back are back extensions. And, abdominal crunches and Russian twists or trunk twists will help strengthen your abdominals.

Then, you need to workout your upper body. Exercises for golf focusing on your upper body will help further increase power to your swing action. There is major muscle groups found in the upper body that you need to develop. These are the upper back, chest, and your shoulders. These muscles are important as they work together to push and pull your club through the contact zone, which further enhances the power generated from your legs. Workout for these group of muscles are one arm bent rows for your back, bench presses for your chest, and lateral raises for your shoulders.

Finally, you need to do work on your arms. Strong arms will help you control the golf club through the contact zone. Muscles in your upper and lower arms help to contain and focus on the power of your golf swing. They can ensure that the clubface is in the right place at the right time for the perfect contact. In addition, club control is essential for drive distance. Exercises for golf that focuses on your arms are bicep curls and triceps extensions.

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