AP Photo/Peter Morrison

It is not unusual to hear people talk about betting on sports.  There are many who like to place the occasional bet on the horses, football, baseball and other sports.

Last week while watching the British Open, I was caught off guard when I heard the commentators talking about the odds of different players.  I was even more surprised to learn that golf was another sport where online sports’ betting is common.

In Europe, people like to bet on golf and have made a regular sport of it.  Wagers on events like the British Open draw lots of attention and ads to the excitement of the tournament.  There are many different types of wagers that are placed on the event and avid golfers have found that a side bet on golf brings a bit more anticipation to the event.

Having a little wager with your friends makes the round of golf a little more competitive and makes for an interesting afternoon. But it did surprise me to learn that betting on your favorite professional golfer would be as big as say, betting on the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby or other sporting events.

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.

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. That’s the definition, no more, no less.

Now, I have gone to the golf course many days where I’ve 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 it’ll catch up with the arms and hands, and that will help that.

Now, how do you fix your timing? That’s probably the most difficult question in the game of golf. How do you get your timing back? I believe that if you can’t hit your pitching wedge, you probably aren’t 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, let’s 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 it’s 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 timing’s off? I believe that your timing is off when your miss/hit pattern is not consistent. One’s fat, one’s thin, one’s top, one’s good, one’s to the left, one’s to the right. That’s a great indication that your timing’s 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.

This article courtesy – PurePoint Golf Instruction Golf Swing Fundamentals

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.

Playing out of the deep rough is difficult but there are some adjustments you can make to control the affects that it may have on your shot.

Here are 5 free golf tips you can use when playing out of the deep rough:

1. Club Selection – Choosing the right club in any situation is important, but it is even more important when playing these shots.

If the grass is growing away from the target, take one more club than you would normally play for the distance if you were in the fairway. Be sure to position the ball a little further back in your stance.

If the grass is growing towards your target, then take one less club than normal.

2. Stand closer to the ball – Standing closer to the golf ball will help you swing the golf club more vertically. This will get the golf club in and out of the grass more quickly, reducing the overall effect the grass will have on your golf club.

3. Open the club face – You are not going to be able to completely stop the grass from grabbing the hosel which will cause the club face to close.  By opening the club face some you will be able to help offset the effect the grass will have on the golf club.

4. Grip the club tighter – We have been taught that having a light grip on the club allows for a more fluid swing.  The opposite is true when playing a shot out of the deep rough.

Because the grass will grab and twist the golf club during the downswing, having a tighter grip on the golf club is imperative to minimize the effect.

5. Cock your wrists – When playing out of the deep rough, you want to come down sharply to reduce the amount of time the club face is in contact with the grass before striking the golf ball.

Playing out of the deep rough is never an easy.  Next time you find yourself facing one of these tough shots, try these 5 free golf tips.

Click here For more tips on playing those difficult shots.

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.