Golf Success Resources

Private Golf Clubs

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:06:00 +0000

Playing golf at private clubs is a different matter from playing golf on a public golf course. If you haven’t been to any private club, there are some things that you should consider as you’re preparing to play, and when you get to the golf course.

1. The course probably requires a dress code. Now this doesn’t mean that you have to run out and buy expensive or name brand clothing. It just means that there are some basic expectations for your attire. For men, it’s safe to assume that all you’ll need to wear is a collared golf shirt and some decent pants or shorts. Avoid ‘cargo’ style shorts and cut-offs, and tuck your shirt in, of course. For the ladies, it means that your shorts or skirt will need to be at least mid-thigh in length, and that halter tops, tank tops, or low scoop-neck shirts are out. You may discover when you get there that there isn’t a dress code – but believe me, you’ll be glad that you’re overdressed at that point, rather than being embarrassed and feeling out of place for being underdressed, or worse, being asked to change by the staff.

2. The next thing you’ll need to keep in mind is that it’s generally considered bad form to change your shoes in the parking lot. You’ll want to carry them in a shoe bag with you to the locker room and change there instead.

3. Another thing to think about is that the staff is likely going to be expecting you to tip them when they assist you along the way, so bring some cash and kick down. The valet attendant and the guy or girl who gets your clubs at the bag drop should get a buck or two. The shoe shine attendant in the locker room should get between 5 and 10 bucks if he cleans up your kicks before you go. If you take a caddie, the average fee is around $25 per person – not counting the tip. So plan to pay the caddie $30 or $40 or more to cover the total amount.

4. Keep in mind also that most private clubs don’t permit cell phone use these days. So what’s that mean? It means don’t use your phone until you find out from the staff or your host that it’s okay to do so. Simple.

5. One final thing to think about is just because you were invited to play, it doesn’t mean that the host intends to pay for your round. After you’ve changed your shoes in the locker room and met up with your host, ask him or her how you can settle up for the guest fee. If they plan to take care of it, you’ll find out at that time, if not, they’ll give you directions to the golf shop. But, believe me, in either case the host will appreciate your offer to pay. . . . . .

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How to Play Business Golf: Learn how golf and business merge, and how to be successful and play more golf!

Five Strategies That Lower Golf Handicaps

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:04:00 +0000

Five Strategies That Lower Golf Handicaps
by Jack Moorehouse

Forget your mechanics

When you’re been away like Tiger has, you tend to think about your mechanics too much. When you start focusing on where your hands are or where your shoulders are when you swing, you’re thinking about your mechanics. The place to work on your mechanics is in practice. There you can isolate a swing flaw and work on it without adding strokes to your golf handicap. On the course, think about where to hit the ball, not how to hit it. Trust your body to do the rest.

Think small

Hitting to an area on the fairway isn’t good enough. Think smaller. Pick out a spot on the fairway, like a dark patch of grass or a brown spot, and hit to it. It’s called narrowing your focus. Ben Hogan did it all the time. When told by his caddy to hit the ball to a clump of trees, Hogan asked him which tree he had in mind. Narrowing your focus works well when putting, too. When you have a tricky three-footer, focus on an imperfection in the back of the cup and stroke the ball confidently toward it.

Use visualization

Visualization is a powerful mental tool that can help shave strokes off your golf handicap. Use it as much as possible. The easiest way to access the power of visualization is through mental imagery. Imagine the type of shot you want to make and then hit several of those shots in your head. Now hit the shot for real. Mental practice helps both your tempo and your feel for the shot. That’s why some teachers devote entire golf instruction sessions to visualization.

Stay in the moment

This is one of Tiger’s strengths. It should serve him well at the Masters. When you think about a shot’s outcome, you’re focusing on something you can’t control, generating anxiety. Players who haven’t played in a while have enough anxiety. They don’t need more. Instead, focus on what you have to do then and there. That lessens the anxiety. If you’ve seen Tiger play in the past, you know how intently he concentrates on every shot, especially in pressure situations.

Enjoy the game

When you’re playing poorly, you tend to get down on yourself. If Tiger starts off poorly, this strategy will help. When playing poorly, ask yourself why you play? Is it for relaxation? Camaraderie? Mastery? Whatever the reason, remind yourself why you started playing the game in the first place. If you’re going to play golf, you might as well enjoy it. It takes the pressure off and puts the game in its proper perspective.

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Conquer the Mental Side of Golf to lower your golf handicaps.

Bunker Mentality and Etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:11:00 +0000

There’s a lot more to bunker mentality and etiquette than simply raking your footprints before you leave. The next time you ball ends up on the ‘beach,’ consider these following customs:

Try to enter the bunker from a spot as near as possible to your ball, but never from the ‘front’ of the bunker (green side), always from the rear (opposite the green). The reason for this is two-fold. One, it’s bad form. Two, should you hit a lousy shot, you really don’t want your ball to end up in one of your footprints.

Don’t enter a bunker by walking up or down a steep slope. Try to enter from a spot that is level. By doing this, you won’t cause an avalanche of sand to fall from the slopes to the bottom. Again, doing so, is just bad form.

Unless you are playing in a tournament, bring a rake with you into the bunker so you can rake your footprints on your way out.

Walk out of the bunker along the same line that you entered so you will only have to rake one trail of tracks.
Rake the bunker with purpose – don’t just go through the motions. The objective is to smooth the sand so there aren’t any bumps or troughs that might cause the next player additional stress.

Replace the rake where it was when you found it. Some course prefer to place the rakes in the bunkers, others prefer to keep them out. Just follow the local custom.

Always lay the rake with the teeth down.

Just like most things in golf, there’s a lot more to the custom than you might think at first glance. Getting those little things right is what demonstrates your respect for the game and the other players on the course. . . . .

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Fixing Pitch Marks

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:23:00 +0000

One of the most frustrating things for golf pros everywhere to deal with is the damage caused to the surface of a green by pitch marks.

Well, actually, it isn’t the damage that’s frustrating. The damage is inevitable. What’s frustrating is when players are too lazy to repair those pitch marks.

Fixing pitch marks is simple: all you have to do is bend over and stick your pitchfork in the ground a few times, and then tap the mound down with the bottom of your putter. It really isn’t a whole lot of work.

The long and short of it is this:

1. An unfixed pitch mark damages the greens mowers – which are expensive pieces of equipment.

2. An unfixed pitch mark leaves ugly dead spots on the green – and the greens are expensive to maintain.

Please just have enough respect for your fellow players and for the golf course where you’re playing to bend over a repair your damage. If you feel like it, fix an extra one or two on each green, because someone playing ahead of you will have no doubt left their pitch marks un-fixed. There’s not much more too it than that.

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What to Do On the First Tee

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:47:00 +0000

There’s a certain protocol that should be thoroughly understood and effortlessly executed while on the first tee. Although this list might seem like a lot to remember, it’s all worth it. Done right, all these habits will go unnoticed. Done wrong, you’ll be the center of attention for reasons you’d rather not be.

Here are some things to think about on the first tee:

Be quick, but don’t hurry: Be ready to take the tee when it’s your turn. . .

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Random Thoughts on Golf and Life

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:40:00 +0000

Golf is a microcosm of life, and the way we relate to the people and the world around us in that it seems a complicated motion with lots of variable and moving parts, but when dissected, the fundamental tenets are few and relatively easy to understand.

We rarely know how or why when we’re doing it correctly, yet it becomes painfully obvious when we’re doing it all wrong. At its core, everything that occurs is a chain reaction of events which begins with the knowledge that in the absence of a solid base and/or a proper grip on things, you’re destined for disaster from the very start. Well, that goes with life too!

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Fix Your Golf Slice Now!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:43:00 +0000

Studies have shown that less than 25 percent of golfers have straight golf shots, and the rest of them have golf slice problems. Interestingly, those who have golf slices are those with a handicap of 10 or higher. Nearly 50 percent of golf slices result in landing the golf ball at least 25 yards away from the center of the fairway. All in all, a golf slice is a common flaw in many golfers, and a golf slice is a stumbling block to golf success. Golf slices, if unattended, can only get worse, not better.

This is how you can fix your golf slice:

(1) Always point your clubface at the target.

(2) Glue a tee to a magnet and place it in the center of your clubface.

(3) Practice your golf swing in slow motion as many times and as often as possible until your clubface is always pointing at the target. Practice makes perfect -- practice until it becomes second nature to you.

(4) In addition, maintain a good posture (go to my web page: Good Posture) by doing regular sit-ups to strengthen your abdominal muscles, which not only enhance core stability but also prevent your arms and torso from swinging your clubface across the target line. Remember, your abdominal muscles play a pivotal part in your golf swing, and hence conducive to fixing your golf slice.

(5) Practice hitting the ball at the center of the clubface by affixing a face tape (obtainable at a golf pro shop) to the center of your clubface. In practiicing your golf swing, pay particular attention to the point of contact. With more practice, you will soon learn how to adjust your golf swing so that you will always hit the ball at the center of the clubface.

Instant Golf Slice Cure shows you the secrets to the best cure for golf slices for your golf success. Follow 4 simple steps and 4 drills to help you drop your strokes fast, as well as to make your drives a mindless act. Learn from a professional the groundbreaking tips to fix your golf slice to improve accuracy, confidence, distance, and scoring.

For more information on golf products for your golf success, go to my web page: Golf Success Resources.

Stephen Lau

Adjusting Your Golf Swing As You Age

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:32:00 +0000

As you age, you need to make adjustments in your golf swing in order to maintain your golf success. The reasons are as follows:

(1) You may have put on a few extra pounds over the years.

(2) You may have lost your muscle volume, which decreases with age.

(3) Your flexibility may have declined due to stiffness in joints, tendons, and ligaments. Worse, you may have rheumatoid arthritis, which is a disabling condition..

(4) Your mental alertness may have become less sharp than before. In addition, your power of concentration may have decreased with age.

(5) You may have vision impairment that interferes with your perception and depth of view.

All these setbacks may adversely affect your golf swing because they are physical and mental impediments to delivering the perfect golf swing at whatever current level you may be in.

To address this issue, do the following:

(1) Reduce the speed of your golf swing. It is more important to keep your body balance than to have a greater speed in your golf swing. Golf is about consistency. It is, therefore, critical that you anchor your feet and maintain balance through to your finish position.

(2) Make your takeaway low and slow when you swing back your club.

(3) At the top of your backswing, turn your shoulders to the target line at an angle less than 90 degrees; meanwhile, adjust the rhythm and tempo of your body accordingly.

(4) Focus on distance and accuracy rather than on the power and strength of your golf swing.

(5) Exercise on and off the green to promote muscle strength, flexibility, and endurance, which are factors for golf success at any age. In addition, balancing exercises can enhance your posture and overall well-being.

(6) Maintain an optimum body weight to keep you healthy and strong. Don't go for any of those fad diets: they simply don't work over the long haul. Just download a FREE copy of my 143-page e-book All-Round Weight Loss to get everything you need to know about losing those extra pounds. After all, it is free, and you don't even have to give out your email address to download it for free.

(7) Maintain your vision health through diet and eye exercises to keep your vision sharp as that of an eagle.

Senior Golfers Guide: Resources for senior golfers with over $200 freebies!

101 Stretches for Golf: Keep yourself in top shape at any age for your golf success!

You don't need to give up golf just because you are growing old. Golf is a lifetime sport. Just make some adjustments to your golf swing and your lifestyle!

Stephen Lau

How to Visualize Your Golf Success

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:41:00 +0000

Visualization is a powerful tool in attaining golf success. After all, golf is a mental game. Learn how to visualize your golf success.

If you can visualize the image of sending a ball to a target every time you are on the green, your swing would become much more spontaneous and free from any self-conscious interference. A too-conscious swing may inhibit a free, full swing, resulting in a poor shot. So, create a mental image of sending a ball to a target, instead of targeting on hitting the ball.

But how do you visualize a vivid image of your golf shot?

Mental visualization requires acute awareness of your sense perceptions, which can enhance your vivid image created in your mind's eye. Visualization is not something that comes naturally: it has to be trained and acquired. It was said that Tiger Woods' father trained him as a child to roll a golf ball into the hole from a distance, and then repeat the action with his eyes closed. In this way, you develop clarity of mind, which conceives concentration and composure -- the important ingredients of mental golf.

Practice and develop your sensory awareness:

(1) Sit comfortably with your hands palm-down on your knees, and your feet flat on the ground.

(2) Without moving your eyes, turn your vision awareness on by noticing as much as you can within your field of vision: notice their colors and shapes.

(3) Then shift your eyes up and down, left and right. Notice the extent of your vision.

(4) Gradually, shift your awareness to notice your bodily sensation, such as your breathing or your heartbeat.

(5) Continue to shift your awareness to different parts of your body, such as your neck, shoulders, stomach, hands, and feet.

Focusing on only one sense at a time while letting others fade into oblivion helps you develop your sensory awareness, deep concentration, and clarity of mind, without which you cannot visualize a vivid mental image of how your golf ball would go. For golf success, you must develop this mental strategy before you hit the golf ball.

Mindset Techniques is based on energy psychology; meaning all forms of energy are related to your body’s energy. It is the perfect blend of cutting-edge quantum physics and centuries-old wisdom to catapult your game to new levels. Learn the future of golf psychology for your golf success.

For more information on golf tips, go to my web page: Golf Success Resources.

Stephen Lau

Take Care of Your Hands to Take Care of Your Golf Swing

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:56:00 +0000

You use your hands to connect to your golf club, which connects to your golf ball. Therefore, you hands hold the key to your golf success. Accordingly, you have to come to grips with your grip -- which is the No. 1 fundamental in golf.

The importance of the golf grip is that it transfers your body energy to the golf ball, and hence the power of your golf swing.

A competent golf player regularly checks his or her golf grip because a correct grip enables efficient golf swings. A correct golf grip depends on your hands -- made up of fingers and wrists, the efficiency of which relies on their bones (28 in your hand and wrist), joints, ligaments, tendons, and nerves connecting them together. Their health and maintenance directly affect how you grip your golf club.

As you age, you may experience the following symptoms:

(1) Arthritis is the inflammation of the joints in your hands and wrists. There is no cure: anti-inflammatory medications only alleviate the symptoms.

(2) Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful condition affecting the ligaments in your hands due to repetitive movements. The only cure is resting -- which means you must stop playing golf.

(3) Tendonitis is inflammation of your tendons due to overexercise or strain. Again, the only cure is resting.

It is important not to ignore the pain in your hands and wrists -- do not aggravate the arthritic conditions by continuing to play golf.

Use diet to control your inflammatory pain: Meals That Heal Inflammation.

If you have pain in the elbow that hinders your golf swing, go to: Golfers Elbow Cure.

Stephen Lau

How to Become a Great Putter

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:28:00 +0000

Golf success demands the composite of a great player and a great putter. In other words, if you wish to have golf success, you must master both your swings and your putts.

Tom Sayers once remarked: “The man who can putt can play anybody.” This attests to the importance of putting in the game of golf.

How can you become a great putter?

To be a great putter, you must possess certain intrinsic characteristics, such as self-confidence and good judgment, and you must be able to apply them to the game of putting:

(1) You must be able to assess the conditions of the green, such as the contour with respect to the green sloping one way or the other, as well as the speed of the green, such as fast, hard, slow or soft. These intrinsic qualities of good judgment can be acquired and learned. Just pay more attention when you survey the green to predetermine the amount of break on side-hill putts. This is important because it helps you determine the “line” of your putt. Detailed observation and vivid imagination can facilitate your accurate survey of the green prior to the game. Your acute awareness of the conditions of the green will go a long way to help you decide on the strategy of the game even before you step on the first tee.

(2) To strike a “specialized” stroke, you need accurate assessment of the distance. Gauging the distance consistently is a factor in your golf success, in particular with respect to your putting.

(3) To be a good putter, you must have mastered your stroke techniques. Such mastery is often reflected in your self-confidence, your targeted concentration, and your relaxed mentality on the green. After all, golf is a mental game.

(4) Just as a carpenter needs different tools for different tasks, a good golfer knows how to select the right equipment for putting. Your choice of equipment should be based on your physique, your height, and your arm’s length, as well as your preference for power deliverance or finesse of touch. Just remember that a piece of heavier golf equipment may give you more power but less control, especially on a slick green. As a good putter, you need to master the art of arriving at a compromise between power and delicacy of touch in your choice of golf clubs.

Putting is an art, and there are no hard and fast rules regarding how you should deliver your perfect putt. Although many golfers would believe that "good putters are born, not made," you can, nevertheless, improve, if not master, the game of putting. Golf is a simple game to play, but difficult to master. There is so much to learn about the art of putting.

Master Your Putt -- Learn to putt like a pro!

This is a complete step-by-step kit providing excellent information on how you can slash up to 12 strokes off of your golf game without expensive golf lessons. This innovative short-game system shows you:

how to grip your golf club correctly
how to line up your putt accurately
how to use your body’s tempo and rhythm to enhance your putting on every shot
how to create putting strokes dead-on square

How to Drive the Golf Ball Correctly and Powerfully

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Golf success requires you to drive the golf ball correctly and successfully. Ben Hogan, the legendary golfer, once said: "If you can't drive the ball, you can't play golf."

So, how do you drive the golf ball clearly and powerfully off the tee?

To hit solid and accurate drives, you must address the golf ball appropriately. Pay attention to how you address the ball.

(1) When addressing the ball, spread your feet narrowly, instead of wide apart - a few inches wider than your shoulder width.

(2) Hang your arms down, instead of extending them outward.

(3) Place the golf ball opposite to your left heel. Make sure you feet, knees, hips, and shoulders are parallel to the imaginary target line.

(4) Set your clubface perpendicular to your target in the fairway.

(5) Now, point your toe-end of your left foot approximately 20 degrees away from the target line, while your right foot should be perpendicular to the target line.

(6) Then, slowly, bend your knees and waist. Make sure you are comfortable with your new body position. Balance is important: you should spread your body weight between your feet - approximately 55 percent of your weight on your right foot, and 45 percent on your left foot.

(7) Now, align your left arm and the club-shaft: they should form a straight line.

(8) Then, position your hands in line with the ball, and you are ready to swing your golf club.

Do not swing your golf club too fast, especially at the initial stage of the swing or during the takeaway, in order to avoid any off track.

Remember, once your takeaway is incorrect, it is almost impossible to correct it: that is, you simply cannot swing the club back on track, and any attempt at that will only destroy your body's natural tempo and rhythm, which is critical to your golf success. After all, the entire golf swing takes place within one or two seconds, and your reflexes do not allow you to correct a bad golf swing.

The Simple Golf Swing explains in detail how to get a perfect golf swing. This book has everything you need to know about simple golf swing.

The lesson here is: always go for a slow, smooth, evenly-paced takeaway. A smooth takeaway enables you to coil your body, and shift your body weight to the right in your backswing. This enables you to swing your golf club powerfully into the back of the golf ball, with its sweet spot finishing square to the target.

For more information on golf swing and golf tips, go to my web store: Golf Success Resources.

Copyright©2009 Stephen Lau