Don’t you just hate scratch golfers? Well I’m here to cheer you up a little.

Did you know that most of the best scratch golfers in the world miss an average of six greens in any one round? That’s one in three, maybe it’s just me, but that’s not that great, is it?
But here’s the clever part, they still get around a golf course in par or better. So how are they doing it?

It’s very; very simple – they all have great short games. The way they play the shots on and just off the green are the real key to shooting low scores and reducing your all-important handicap.
So, down to basics, where do we start to improve our short game and get the ball in that hole in fewer shots?

OK, so where too begin. Lets start with the two fundamental questions we should be asking ourselves.

Question number one is:
“Can I use my putter?”
Question number two is:
“If not, can I use my putting stroke with another club?”

Now obviously you cannot use your putter if conditions are against you, all things in golf are judgement calls and the quality of your decision will reflect in your scores. The key to this concept is that it’s easier to roll a ball towards the hole than it is to judge a shot that spends most of its way to the whole time in the air. It also means you can retain control without having to take too much of a back swing where errors can creep in. Accuracy always decreases the more the club head rises during the back swing – it’s a sad but true fact.

If you are really serious about improving your golf game you need to concentrate on your short game. The old saying is “Drive for show – Putt for dough” and you know what that’s absolutely goddam right.

Now I like to stand on the tee and give the ball a smack as much as the next guy, but you know what, that don’t always get the job done The short game need not be difficult it just requires a modified approach and a little insider knowledge.

By: Peter Ward

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Grip, Stance & Posture – most pros call them the three pillars of a great golf swing. No matter how expert and experienced you are, if you have trouble with your golf swing, chances are you are doing something wrong with your grip, stance or posture – or maybe all three.

Every beginner golf player needs instruction about achieving a perfect golf swing. No matter how much of a genius you are, it is not likely you’ll get a good golf swing going without a lot of practice and trial.

So how can you learn to work out the kinks in your golf swing by fixing your grip, stance and posture?

Read a book:

While it may not always be easy to understand the niceties of a golf swing entirely from reading a book, it is often the easiest way to begin. Once you have learned the basics, you can get more personalized assistance with refining your technique.

If you are reading a book about improving your golf swing, make sure it has pictures that illustrate what is being advised. Golf swing exercises are one area where a picture is indeed worth a thousand words!

Visit a golf course:

Contact the pro at your nearest golf course and country club and ask if they offer instruction on improving your golf swing. Often they will, and at around $40 an hour, you can get priceless coaching to make your swing better.

Ask people:

If not, you can run an ad in your newspaper – or see if anyone is offering golf training. Or ask friends who play golf and are ‘experts’ if they will share their tips with you. If you play up to their vanity, you might be surprised!

Surf the Web:

On the Internet you will find countless websites offering free golf training. Some of them offer videos which you can review to see what you’re doing wrong – and then fix it. To refresh your memory, the three pillars of your golf swing you need to work on are grip, stance and posture.

No matter which kind of training you seek, one of the key elements is to keep your mind focused at all times on your golf swing.

By: Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian


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Everyone loves free golf tips, and I’ve got some great advice on how to play better golf overnight by simply changing your grip. One of the most common (and easy to fix) mistakes that golfers make is with their golf grip, and this short article is going to give you some great tips on how to change that once and for all.

Everybody knows that good golfers possess great golf swings. A solid golf swing can take years to master, and it’s one of the most important factors that can contribute to your overall success or failure on the golf course.

Did you know that you can greatly improve the effectiveness of your golf swing by simply adjusting your grip? It’s true. Your hands need to be one with the golf club as you’re swinging through the ball, and perfecting your golf grip will improve both the smoothness and accuracy of your swing.

Having said that, there is more than one way to properly grip a golf club. One of the things that is consistent regardless of the grip you use, is not to grip the club too tightly. A grip that is too tight will rob your swing of the power potential it has. A lighter, more relaxed grip will give you added flexibility which will result in a better shot.

Also, remember to use your wrists as you swing the club. The wrist hinge is a great source of power and will help you to hit longer, more consistent drives.

Hopefully these free golf grip tips have given you some ideas on how to improve your swing and have more fun on the golf course as a result.

By: Dave M. Johnson

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If planning one of the charity golf tournaments that are held every year across North America, the main starting point is defining the clients fundraising goals. Do they want a specific dollar amount or are specifically to get their message out to the public. On the other hand will it be a client appreciation structured event. The goal of the client will therefore dictate the specific direction of the tournament.

One of the next major steps is to prepare a budget for the charity golf tournaments. What the budget does is identify the possible sources of the funds and expenses required by the organization. A golf course needs to be booked about one year in advance. Creating a dollar amount for the entry is not too easy. Costs that need to be covered by the entry fee include:

Green fees

Cart rental

Food

Small gift for each player

Entry fee costs of charity golf tournaments can vary from one hundred dollars to over four hundred dollars. The higher the cost of the entry fee then the more extras the golfers will receive. If you want your particular event to stand out from the rest of the tournaments then you will need to make yours different. Being creative about it will help to make it much more successful.

To cover the high costs of staging charity golf tournaments are usually covered by corporate sponsorships. Everything about the event can be sponsored such as the actual name of the event, sponsoring a particular hole or providing gifts to the golfers. These types of events are great ways for businesses to get their name out in the community while supporting a good cause.

One key ingredient of a good fundraiser is matching the right sponsor with the particular charity golf tournaments. Corporations and businesses are constantly requested to sponsor events throughout the year so it is becoming more difficult to raise money for charities, as there seem to be new ones popping up all the time. If the event coordinators are lucky they can come across a Golf Club that will donate their course for a particular tournament, which will obviously, save the organizers a boatload of money.

By: David Karlson

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Lets spend a couple of minutes talking about one of the three most abused and misunderstood golf swing fundamentals, timing. Its an important term but its misused a lot. So, let me explain to you what timing is, and then itll draw you a lot closer to understanding when you’re struggling.

Timing is your ability to swing your arms and hands back to the golf ball as your hip turns out of the way. And the reason it has to turn out of the way is so the arms and hands can pass your body and wrap around you. Thats the definition, no more, no less.

Now, I have gone to the golf course many days where Ive hit the ball beautifully, solid, straight right. So, my timing was off a bit because my body was turning out in front of my golf club and that was sending it off to the right.

Now, the correction would be to slow the bottom half down and speed up the top part. There have been days where my timing has been off because the arms and hands were quicker than the bottom.

How do you correct that? Speed up the bottom and itll catch up with the arms and hands, and that will help that.

Now, how do you fix your timing? Thats probably the most difficult question in the game of golf. How do you get your timing back? I believe that if you cant hit your pitching wedge, you probably arent hitting your 5 iron and your 5 wood and your driver.

So, I love to send people out to the practice facility to hit thousands of pitching wedges and work on their golf swing fundamentals. That, to me, is the easiest way to find your timing.

Now, lets say that your favorite club in your golf bag is your driver and you’re driving the ball beautifully. Then go hit a thousand drivers. Or maybe its a 5 wood or a 5 iron. Whatever club you’re struggling with, stay way away from that one.

Go to the club that you’re doing well with. And if you’re not doing well with any of them, then go to a pitching wedge.

Now, the next question most difficult after that: How do you know when your timings off? I believe that your timing is off when your miss/hit pattern is not consistent. Ones fat, ones thin, ones top, ones good, ones to the left, ones to the right. Thats a great indication that your timings off.

Find your favorite club and go to the practice tee and hit ten thousand of them and remember when you hit the golf ball to think of the golf swing fundamentals.

Thanks and have a great day.

Copyright 2006 David Nevogt

By: David Nevogt

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Whenever you learn something new you start with the fundamentals. They are the basics that not only get you started, but they are the foundation upon which every aspect of that new skill is built. They are fundamental because every skilled practitioner does them, and when things get off, you correct yourself by going back to the fundamentals. In fact, to be a skilled a possible, you never leave them.

Golf has four fundamentals. They are a calm mind, the setup, tempo and rhythm, and impact.

Mind leads body. When the mind is calm, it will make good decisions, and the body can perform the skills it has been trained to do. A good setup leads the body easily into a good swing. A bad setup makes a good shot a matter of luck. Tempo and rhythm ensure all parts of the swing occur in the right order and in the right time. To hit the ball straight, the clubface must meet the ball traveling directly at the target with the clubface square to that path.

A Calm Mind. When we play golf we must replace thinking, which is subject to the dictates of our emotional condition, with a state of psychophysical union, a unification of mind and body, that allows us to apply what we’ve learned regardless of environmental stresses.

The application of the psychophysical union to golf is twofold – in planning the shot we are about to hit, and in hitting it. The application is the same for every shot from putt, to chip, to iron, to drive.

You plan a shot by calming your mind and letting the solution come to you. That way you’ll hit shots within your capability, and they’ll be shots that work. The makes golf very easy.

When it’s time to hit the shot, the knowledge in the mind becomes lodged in the body as well. Your body becomes a physical expression of your mind – not taking orders from the mind, but the mind made manifest.

Develop a calm mind away from the golf course. Whatever other people say or do, or what ever happens to you, stay calm and receive it in a positive way. There is good that can come out of any situation. Make it your habit to look for it. Being at peace on the golf course cannot happen unless you’re at peace with your life.

The Setup. The setup varies with the club and the shot. The one common element in every setup, regardless of the shot, is to calm your mind first. The state of your mind is as important as the position of your body. This is the most positive golfing habit you can develop to play better.

Other common principles are to have a good grip so the hands work as a unit. Good posture is critical. Keep your back straight, bend forward from your hips, keep your weight forward, let your arms hang naturally. Align your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders to your target. Hold the club gently, do not squeeze it. You can apply these attributes to every shot from chip to putt.

Tempo and Rhythm. Tempo measures the absolute speed of a golf swing. Rhythm describes the relative duration of its parts. Every good golfer swings the club with the same rhythm. The movement from address to the top of the backswing takes two counts, and from there back to impact takes one count. This fact has long been known. Tempo, however, is a personal matter. Some golfers swing faster, overall, than others.

To find the tempo and rhythm that are right for you, get a metronome and set it to 126. Count the ticks and time your swing so that it starts on the first tick, reaches the top of the backswing on the third tick, and hits the ball on the fourth tick.

You might find that metronome setting to be too slow. If so, move it up to 132 and try again. Keep going until you get to the point that you can no longer control your swing. Slow down the settings until you hit clean, straight shots at the fastest tempo you can comfortably control.

Impact. Impact is the point of golf. The entire swing comes down to that 1/500th of a second when the club and ball are in contact with each other. The clubface must be square, traveling toward the target, and making contact with the ball on the center. That’s a tall order when the club is moving at 90 miles per hour or so, but that’s what a good shot requires.

Practice square, in-line impact by making small, slow swings, no more than one foot long, while your body is in its impact position. Gradually make the swings longer, but as the clubface comes through impact, make sure the clubface is square and traveling toward a hypothetical target.

Keep lengthening your swing until it gets to the point where your hands are hip height on the backswing and follow-through. Swinging back and forth this much with the club passing through impact as it should. Be sure you square the club with your swing, not with your hands.

Building these four fundamentals into your game will have more affect, faster, than any other practice you can do.

By: Bob E. Jones

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Anyone who plays golf knows that the secret to being a good player with a low handicap is practise, practise, practise – but what is the best way to do this that will get the very best out you and your game? One answer to this that many people find very beneficial is to use a golf swing trainer which is a piece of equipment designed to teach golfers the perfect swing which will lead to great drives time and time again.

If you are wondering what a golf swing trainer is look no further, golf swing trainers come in different shapes and designs from a full circle golf swing trainer to more simplified golf swing trainers that have weights and elastic to provide resistance when perfecting your swing. Golf swing trainers can be used by anyone young or old alike and they can be easily set up and used with minimal effort and time involved.

A golf swing trainer is excellent if you find that when playing golf you are having problems with your swing – something which can ruin your game, after all what is the point in being a great putter if you are consistently going 10 or even more shots over par? To get the most from your golf swing trainer you should aim to use it ideally once every day but this is often not possible, so it is better to get two or three good sessions per week to maximise its effects. Golf swing trainers have the added benefit of being able to be used in back yards and other open areas so you don’t even have to go to your nearest golf course or driving range to use one. So if you want to get the most out of your golf swing buy a golf swing trainer and start practising.

By: Joe Marquart

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The great thing about Internet is that it is literally a plethora of all sorts of information that any user all over the world would ever be interested in. The same thing goes for instructions on golf swing. If you are having trouble with your golf swing, then you might as well turn to the information superhighway to grab some online golf swing instructions that you can use. This way, you will not have a hard time finding the help that you very well need.

If you are practicing and executing your swing the wrong way, then it will not matter how many hours you exert each and every day. You will find that you golf swing will not become any better at all. Other times, when you go to the driving range and ask help from fellow golfers there, you just might receive the wrong instructions and tips. This means you will just be wasting your time and effort going to the golf course or driving range for these tips. You would really be better off just staying at home and browsing the web for quality online golf swing instructions.

One particular online golf swing instruction that just might come in handy pertains to head movement. A lot of people might tell you to keep your head down when you are executing your golf swing. This is not the correct way to do this at all. Rather, you should keep your eye on the ball, and you cannot effectively do this if you just keep your head down, right? Thus, keep you head held up and your eyes strictly focused on the ball and on your target area, to which you want to drive your ball to.

Another valuable piece of online golf swing instruction that you should pay attention to is to keep your body as relaxed as possible. Remember that you have to execute your golf swing in one fluid movement. How then can you do this with a rigid stance and a grip that is all too firm? Gripping your club too tightly, for instance, can even result to sliced shots so this should be one thing to look out for. Just keep your grip not too tight, yet not too loose as well. This way, you can direct your ball more accurately.

You should also pay attention to your back swing. As many online golf swing instructions would have, this is the part where you accumulate the needed power for your swing. Thus, this plays an important role as well.

By: Alex Hawk


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So you’ve decided to take up golf. Great! If you stick with it you’ll have a game that you can play and enjoy well into your eighties. But before you hit the golf course there are a number of things you should learn about the game and that’s the purpose of this short beginner golf guide.

First of all know the rules and etiquette of the game. It’s not just about slamming away with golf clubs. You will probably be playing on a public course and you have to keep in mind how the way you play affects the golfers behind you and on adjacent fairways.

Imagine yourself a couple of years from now when your group gets stuck behind beginner golfers who have no idea how to play. How happy are you going to be then? As a beginner golfer, just keep up with the group in front of you and play by the rules and you’ll have a better experience.

Get some instruction on the fundamentals of the golf swing. Take a lesson, buy a book, do whatever it takes but you need to have a working knowledge of what the proper swing technique is. Without this knowledge you may just as well leave the clubs at home and play with a hockey stick as the results will be the same.

Learn the game from green to tee. Start by learning how to putt and read greens. Your putter is the club you will use the most in every round so this is the club, not your driver that you need to master first.

Work your way out from the green and master, or at least feel confident, with your pitching wedge. Odds are as a beginning golfer you won’t be hitting the greens in regulation so you want to develop a controlled golf shot from 100 yards and in.

Here’s the real secret to your success. If you can get this down you’ll be breaking 100 in no time. Develop a 150 yard shot that you can play with confidence. Now this might be an 8 iron or a fairway wood, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that when you stand over it you absolutely know the ball will go 150 yards and land where you want it to land.

Think about it for a second. How many 150 yard shots are there in a 400 yard par four? Yep, you could tee off with that club if you wanted and I will almost guarantee you will be on the green in three. If you’ve worked on your putting you will be down in two and that’s bogey golf, and that my friend is an 80 on most courses.

Are you getting excited? Can’t wait for Saturday? Just follow this guide and bring a bag of quarters. When your foursome gets together you be the one to suggest a friendly game of skins!

By: Chris A Smith

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For you to achieve those scintillating swings you see your friends deliver across the golf course, ensure you maintain a proper golf grip that won’t disturb your swings. When you grip the club in the right way, you get the club well connected to the club. The outcome and feel of the swing will definitely come from the grip of your hands on the club.

There is a great confusion about the grip of the club and the mere placement of the hand on the club. When you talk about grip most people associate it with tight holding of the club. Hence, it’s needful to make it clear about the two words. In the world of the game of golf, they both mean one and the same thing.

As you place your hands on the club, it’s important to note that the feeling of your grip on the club head is vital to your golf swings. They are meant to work in unison to provide a more powerful and efficient swing that will definitely great the needed impact of the club head.

Proper golf grip and the perfect golf grip pressure points are the strengths in stable strikes of the ball and the road to maintaining its uniformity. When you are left-handed, you need not get worried, simply do the reverse of this application and get going into the game. By placing your left thumb on top of the club, you make it easy and convenient for you to place the club at the base of your fingers as the pad lies on handle top. You can exert some pressure by using your left hand to squeeze gently; no more pressure is needed.

From this position, your hand is now in complete control as the snub is wholesomely resting in your fingers while the thumb on the handle top. Ensure your fingers are kept from the inside of your hand; they are supposed to stay closer but not come in contact. This will obviously provider you with a proper golf grip your have missed over a long time.

You have to ensure your right fingers hold below the shaft as the little finger covers the opposite trigger finger on the left hand.

By positioning the left hand in a downward direction, you are in a stable angle to meet the demands of the game and improve on your swings. The impact resulting from your hitting will not bother you anymore. Try practicing on this technique and see how a proper golf grip will improve your scores.

By: T Dugan

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