The key difference between beginner and intermediate golf players is the consistency with which they make good contact with the ball, the speed of the club head and the well-centred contact between club and ball. All these things contribute to an increase in shot length and accuracy, which changes the type of club they are best-suited to using.
So, when it comes to choosing the right clubs, keep all this in mind; although you’ll still need a degree of forgiveness, you can sacrifice some of that for an increase in club control. Don’t be too tempted to drop the amount of loft in your clubs just yet, or even to down-size your club heads. You may feel a little foolish playing with your bigger heads when others have down-sized but, chances are, you’ll outplay everybody else of a similar standard if you stick at it! What’s more, your game may well go downhill if you change before you are ready, which can be crippling for your morale. The most important thing to do is take a good look at your shots and choose the clubs that will best support your strengths and weakness; watch your ball flight and choose clubs that will help you develop as a golfer as well as making support technique problems. If your shots have started moving left to right, consider a shot with more of a draw bias on it, for example.
If you are looking to expand your choices, consider adding in a lob or gap wedge to your clubs. You should, however, probably stick with a set of game improvement irons; you’ve still got a lot to learn, so don’t go compensating too much for bad technique!
Before you write in to complain, the post title doesn't contain a grammer mistake...read on!
Normally when I notice the words 'Tiger', 'golf' and 'car' in the news, I ignore whatever the report might be, assuming that it will be something about the world's top ranked golfer and his rocky personal life. Tdoay, however, I kept reading beyond the headline and realised that what I had found was nothing to do with Mr. Woods whatsoever! The news was, however, slightly amusing and related enough that I thought I'd share it with you anyway.
If you're like me, you'll have little interest in American sports beyond the various golf the country plays. Even so, you might recognise the name Jim Leyland - the manager of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. Apparently the ex-catcher had his toe run over by a golf cart driven by coach Gene Lamont (whoever that is). A trainer from the team has reported that they assume it's broken, although it hasn't been X-rayed.
It goes to show; they may look small and pretty harmless, but those golf carts can do some serious damage! I, for one, still prefer to walk around the course - it's what attracted me to the game in the first place. I won't pretend I haven't had some close shaves though... Now I'm going to be extra careful!
(This one would break more than your toe!)
Choosing beginner golf clubs is similar to Christianity; forgiveness is central to the whole operation. Given the high frequency of mistakes, swing problems and fluctuating hits, you should make sure you choose a set of clubs that won’t punish you too severely for your golfing sins.
For one thing, consider oversized club-heads; they might not look cool, but they’ll help you connect better with the ball, resulting in fewer miss-hits and momentum-related injuries! To further help these contact issues, a set of slightly shorter clubs will also help your accuracy when it comes to actually hitting the ball. Of course, you’re still likely to malfunction a few times, so choose club features that will help reduce the negative impact your beginner swing will have on the flight path of the ball; perimeter weighting on the irons will keep flight as straight as possible, offset club-heads will help you hit the ball squarely and additional loft will increase the length of your shots, as well as keeping them on the straight and narrow.
In case that’s confusing; lofted clubs created extra backspin, which will help reduce the sidespin most beginners get on their shots.
When it comes to putting; practise makes perfect. There’s not a lot a club can do for your putting accuracy, just keep playing!
In my last post I commented on the way Ian Poulter's victory was just as important for English golf as it was for his own career. Making up 50% of the top ranked golfers in the world (three of the top six) English golfers seem set to continue the dominance we've seen recently.
Although Poulter's victory has been all over recent golf news, let us not forget Lee Westwood's fantastic victory in the Race to Dubai not too long ago, not to mention the fact that Paul Casey is still ranked number six! Below that, we also have Ross Fisher, Luke Donald and Oliver Wilson all in the top forty - things are definitly looking good.
But back to Poulter, since it's his turn in the limelight. As far as technique goes,we all know he's not the best. His recent short game has been exceptional (as displayed by his two pin shots the other day) and his putting has been impressive as well. His ball striking, on the other band, isn't the best around - yet that doesn't seem to be holding him back. Why? I think perhaps Englishness plays a role here as well; Ian Poulter is full to the brim with good old fashioned English dive and determination. He may wear pink from head to toe, but inside he's made of iron! An excited time lies ahead for English golf!
The idea behind changing the rules about golf club grooves was to limit the amount of spin players can get on the ball when playing out the rough, with the intention of forcing players to play more on the fairway. It could be, however, that they new regulations are causing more bad than good as, after being accused of cheating on the grounds on the clubs he was using, Phil Mickelson skipped the WGC Match Play last week. With Tiger Woods out of it as well, this put Steve Stricker at the head of proceedings which, as great a player as he is, isn't exactly going to inspire the golfing world.
It does seem that, as golf technology advances, the game becomes less beautiful to watch. Clubs and balls have advanced to the point that players can now pull off the same shots, no matter what the conditions; nothing ever changes, it is starting to feel like just the same (admittedly impressive) shots over and over. I, for one, miss the days when things like wind speed and direction played a real role in the type of shots even top players had to play. Fairways get tedious after a while; I enjoy seeing people risk the rough for a good approach!
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell agrees with me (or would do, if he knew I existed) that changes in the rules and advancement in technology may be creating more problems than solutions. "It’s caused a lot of bad press and bad publicity and cost the manufacturers a lot of money and the players a lot of headaches" he said recently, going on to mentioned he feels, "The days of the shotmaker are nearly dead...a lot of golf courses today really favour guys like Quirós who fly it 350 yards off the tee, which I think is a bit of a shame."
We may relentlessly mock him for his golf clothes, but not since Faldo's Masters victory over 13 years ago has there been a golfing victory for an Englishman like Ian Poulter's defeat of Paul Casey in the final of the Accenture Match Play. In his own words, "It’s been a long time coming. I’m very happy. I knew I was in great form coming in. I felt calm all day on the golf course. Nerves didn’t come into it." To be honest, Poulter didn't need to tell us that; it was obvious from the way he played that he was confident to the core, as he wiped the floor with Paul Casey's valient efforts to keep up.
Now rated fifth in the world rakings, Ian Poulter is only one position below Lee Westwood and a spot higher than Casey! As great as this is for Poulter, it is even better for English golf as a whole, as our countymen now make up 50% of the Top Six ranked world golfers! When you consider Tiger Woods is still the top ranked player, the top six are essentially a top five; three of whom are English! A staggering achievement all round!
It seems, since the very start of the sex-scandal-laden few months, the world of golf has been getting used to the idea that it may well have lost its number one. The blog team here are wondering...can golf survive as we know it without Tiger Woods?
He may not be Eurpean, but Tiger Woods is widely considered the most dynamic, exciting and talented golfer of the modern generation. We may not always like how he plays or how he acts, but we keep watching him anyway! Golf may well need Tiger Woods like WWE needs Triple H; we don't like him all that much, but it wouldn't be the same without him.
Want some proof? When Tiger Woods plays in a tournament, the ratings rise up to 50% - not even Triple H raises ratings like that! President of CBS Sports, Sean McManus declared that they are "doing perfectly fine" without Woods in the sport; "Golf is still a valuable product for us." he went on to say. A valuable product, eh? If ever there was a clear indication of the Americanisation of golf, that may well be it! Perhaps that's what will change now Tiger is gone; maybe it'll become more about the game and less about the ratings, the money and the hype.
So, we put it to you readers; what will golf be without Tiger Woods? Better? Worse? Simply different? Exactly the same?
Golf, on the hole (hilarious), seems fairly straight forwards to your average player or spectator. Compared to other popular sports, there don’t seem to be that many rules; all you have to do is hit the ball into the hole in as few shots as possible. Sometimes you get penalty shots added, but even that is quite rare. Compare this to football, rugby or (heaven forbid) cricket, where you practically need a rule book next to you at times, and you’ll see what I mean.
However, there is actually far more to the rules of golf than people seem to realise; there are rules and regulations that govern everything down to the grooves on golf clubs! The reason I’m bringing this to your attention is to warn you that these regulations (about grooves) has changed and, sooner or later, you’re going to have to do something about it.
In short, the new rules mean the limit on groove volume is going to decrease, meaning all grooves will have to be shallower and narrower. The idea is that shallow grooves will make it harder to get spin on the ball out of the rough; encouraging players to aim for the fairway more than they otherwise might do.
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