1.Play more golf.

If you played 2 rounds last year, make it four this year. If you played 20, make it 30. I played my all-time record of 198 rounds of golf in 2005, and it was awesome. Of course, it helped to have a job which includes playing a course virtually every day!

2.Play more courses.

It’s easy to fall into the habit of playing the same course over and over, but I suggest everyone play as many different courses as possible. It keeps the game fresh, exciting, interesting and fun. There are many fantastic courses that open every year in virtually every corner of the globe, and there is no better vacation than a trip which includes playing some of them.

3.Get properly fitted

If you bought your clubs “off the rack” they’re probably not playing the best they can. Take them to your local professional golf fitter and make sure the length, loft and lie are all correct for your swing. You’ll be amazed how much straighter you hit the ball.

4.Take a lesson.

The top athletes in the world have coaches and teachers. The top golfers in the world do, too. They are better than you, so why would you think you can’t benefit from some professional golf instruction? If private instruction is too costly get some friends together and take some group lessons

5.Introduce someone to the game.

Golf is a game for the ages. It’s the only sport of which I know that three or four generations can actually have fun playing together. It is also a great game for business. If you know someone who could benefit from the game of golf, take them to your local range and introduce them to the game!

6.Support a local charity golf tournament.

There will be more than 50,000 charity golf tournaments in the U.S. this year, and at least one of them will strike a chord on your heartstrings. Many tournaments are very reasonably priced – some as low as regular green fees. Others range into the thousands of dollars per player. Pick the one(s) that mean the most to you and sign up to play!

7.Take a Golf Vacation.

Need to get away? Golf courses offer some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, and playing golf is always a great excuse for a needed break. Whether it’s a weekend in Pebble Beach, a week in Scottsdale, Arizona, or a month exploring the origins of the game in Great Britain, there is definitely a golf trip to fit your budget and your time.

8.Join (or start) a Golf League.

This is a great way to enjoy the game of golf – and make new friends. Many courses are now offering league play on various days at various times, so check with your local favorite course. If they don’t have a league, help them start one!

9.Take time for nine.

Many golfers believe they need to play 18 holes of golf in order to enjoy the game. You don’t have to play 18! Nine holes of golf fits into the traditional time frame of sports games (2 to 2-1/2 hours) much better than 18 holes. If you want to play golf but don’t have time for 18 holes, go ahead and play 9! This is especially true when you can only get 9 holes in after work. Do it!

10.Buy better balls.

Are you stuck in the rut of playing balls you found in the woods or weeds last time you played? Don’t do it! New balls play much better than old balls, and golf balls can actually lose some playability after just a few holes. Many professional golfers switch balls several times throughout their round, and so should you. Different brands and models of balls really do play differently, so buy some top-of-the-line balls before your next round and see if it makes a difference to your score.

11.Spend some time on the practice green

Do you want to lower your golf score? I mean really lower it? Then practice your putting. Putting is half of the game of golf, and yet it gets about 1% of the practice time. Watch any golfer when they get to the course. They check in, grab a bag of balls and head to the range, whack their driver to see how far they can hit it, then head to the first tee. Start counting your putts and try to get down to 28 to 32 putts per round. You’ll be amazed how quickly your average golf score drops if you do. A great way to do this is to play “The Putting Game.” Every putt’s worth $1, and you pay everyone who beats your putt total $1 per putt. For instance, if you have 32 putts and Bob has 27, you owe him $5. If John has 38, he owes you $6 and he owes Bob $11.

12.Don’t swear or throw your clubs.

You can learn a lot about a person from a round of golf. In fact many highly successful business people won’t fill an important position until they play a round of golf with a prospect for the job. Bad shots are a part of golf, and they happen in virtually every round. So what? Take them in stride, offering a sheepish “oops” rather than a “#$@!&*%$” when you hit the roof of the house three doors down the fairway…or three streets away! Learn to laugh at a bad golf shot and you’re well on your way to learning to deal with adversity in a positive, healthy way.

13.Read a golf book.

There are a lot of different books about golf, in virtually every genre you can imagine. Visit your local bookstore and browse through their book section. You’ll definitely find a book you’ll enjoy. And it’s about time you read a book instead of watching the TV. A recent favorite is “Munie” by Bobby Steiner. It will bring the game of golf to life in a way you’ve never seen before.

14.Buy a fun head cover.

Are you into animals? Have a favorite college team? Know a real butthead? Whatever you’re into, you’ll probably find a head cover to match. Frank the Tiger is one of the most popular (and the only TV star in the bunch), but there’s a new company making head covers from the opposite end of the animals. They’re called Butthead Covers, and they’re some of the cutest things you’ll ever see. Check them out at www.buttheadcovers.com. You’ll love the cow. It’s udderly ridiculous!

15.Take a kid to a professional golf event

Whether it’s the PGA Tour, LPGA, Champion’s or Nationwide, take a kid to see the professionals play the game of golf. It’s an eye-opening experience that could literally change a young person’s life forever. Maybe yours as well.

16.Play faster.

The President of the United States loves to play golf. He often plays with his 80-year old father. They play in an average of two and a half hours. 18 holes! There is no reason for golf to take 4-1/2 to 5 hours to play. I’ve played in tournaments that took 6 hours to play. That’s NO FUN! There are many, many ways to play faster, so let’s all make a concerted effort to get the average round of golf to be played in under four hours – especially if you’re the first group off the tee in the morning!

17.Walk rather than ride.

Unless it is mandated by the course or impractical due to a physical impairment, you should walk next time you play golf rather than rent a cart. Did you know that the typical championship golf course can stretch to about a six to seven mile walk? Did you know that the typical walking golfer plays faster than the typical cart golfer? Did you know that the walking golfer also usually scores better? There are a lot of reasons to walk rather than ride, so unless you have a lot of beers to haul around, I suggest you walk!

18.Have more fun!

Golf is a game, and should be treated as one unless you’re playing for a lot of money. There are also a lot of games you can play within the game of golf that make it more fun and interesting. Captains, Wolf, The Putting Game, Bingo-Bango-Bongo, the Animal Game (Camel, Snake, Frog & Beaver), these are just a few of the examples of various games that make golf even more exciting. If you aren’t familiar with these, get a book about them (or just read Golf America every week) and find out about these games and a whole lot more ways to make golf the most fun it can be!

Have a terrific 2007 everyone!!

by Keith James of Golf America

Tags: 2007, golf, resolutions

To Ensure Consistency and Success - Play with a Straight Back!

I believe that to mature as a golfer, you need to have an understanding of why certain individual fundamentals on the course are working for you, and why others aren’t. In short, you have to understand the working components of your swing. Secondly, you need to understand what corrections or adjustments could be made in order to attain success.

The set-up that we teach is very specific and important. Playing with a straight spine and back angle is an important fundamental that we teach, and something that is literally the glue of our swing theory. Whether you are 5 yards form the green or teeing off, playing with a straight spine and back will ensure that you swing on a consistent plane every time you set over the golf ball. The following are reasons why a straight back is essential for you to see success out on the course:

Gives you a fixed position to start from - every time

Allows for the club to travel on a consistent plane

This is essential in golf. If you are hunched over (and golfers areusually unaware of this) your swing plane is constantly changing due to the level of your body over the ball. This leads to manyinconsistent shots (especially around the green).

Minimizes hitting behind the ball or hitting the ball thin This is a big problem for most golfers. If you haven’t played for weeks and you find yourself not making solid contact, the first fundamental that should go through your mind is: “Is my back straight at setup and throughout the shot”?

This is one of the most important truths that we teach about the golf swing. If you look at the tour pros they always have a straight spine angle and back at set-up and throughout the swing. Whether you are on the tee, fairway, around the green, or even on the green - having a straight spine and back angle is extremely important. Especially around the green when you are pitching and chipping!

For some golfers, straightening your spine angle is going to feel very strange, because you’ve never played that way. But trust me, maintaining a straight spine throughout the swing will do wonders for your consistency because it leads to better impact with the ball. Next time you watch the tour players on TV, make sure to check out how straight their backs are at setup.

The main point that I want to communicate is that there are many factors in golf that you can’t control. For example: course conditions, weather, and course difficulty. However, one aspect of your golf swing that can be constant and unchanging is your spine angle at set-up. So play golf this way and you will begin to develop consistency and confidence.

I have a great tip for you that’s going to end all the doubt you had in your mind about golf setup and where the golf ball goes in your stance. It’s called ball position.

A lot of amateurs, unfortunately, address the golf ball, what I call, backwards. They come in and they put their feet down and try to aim where they’re going, either down the fairway or towards the pin, and then they just stand to the golf club that they’re holding onto. Sometimes their golf setup is too far back and sometimes it’s too far forward.

Other amateurs do this. They like to play all of their shots off their front foot. Some like to play all their shots off the middle of their stance. But let me tell you something, and I think this is really going to help you.

This weekend if you’re sitting around watching TV, watch the tour players and watch how they come up and they grip the golf club first, they take a look at where they’re going, and then they stand to the golf club that they’re using.

For instance, put the butt of the pitching wedge across from your belt buckle, and stand to the golf club with the face square and your shoulders going where you want them to go.

What that does is put the golf ball in the middle of your stance for your pitching wedge. Now, keep that stance with your 7 iron.

Now, the 7 iron is three inches longer than the pitching wedge. If you just stand there and grip it with your shoulders square, look how the golf ball is just starting to move forward in your stance over towards your left heel, and it’s about three inches apart.

Now, pick up your long iron and do the same thing. Keep your shoulders square, don’t move your stance, and grip the golf club. And all of a sudden, the long iron starts to move even further forward.

Lastly, watch this. During golf setup, when you hold your driver in your hand. If you just put the butt of the club across your belt buckle, put the club on the ground the way it was built in the factory and stand across from it with your shoulders square, that puts the golf ball across from your left foot.

It’s not complicated, but remember this: During golf setup, stand to the handle of the golf club. Don’t address the golf ball first, but address the golf club to the ball and then take your stance.

David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to The Simple Golf Swing.

I have now been playing golf for almost a year and I think it’s probably fair to say that I’m hooked on the game. Whilst it hasn’t yet become a complete obsession it’s definitely pushing the boundaries.

When I began my journey I decided that I would start a website to chronicle my progress. The website has now become less about me but more about the game of golf and this has helped me stay incredibly focused. Now that I’m less of a novice than when I started, I thought it might be interesting to pass on some thoughts and ideas for those people thinking about taking up the game.

Firstly, it helps to clear your mind of any preconceptions about how easy or difficult the game appears to be. A comment I often hear, and something I was also guilty of, is trying to compare golf with other ball games. Do not assume that success in other sports can be easily translated to success on the golf course. While hitting a stationary ball with a stick doesn’t seem particularly sophisticated, ‘hand/eye co-ordination’, which many people claim to have, is not so relevant in golf

If you’re serious about taking up golf, then it makes sense to invest in a reasonable set of clubs. However, as a novice, don’t believe that a more expensive set of clubs will make you a better player- it doesn’t matter how good your clubs are, if you’re not making good contact with the ball. This doesn’t mean that you should buy the cheapest set, but be sensible and buy a set which you can be comfortable with for a couple of years

If you do have a little bit more money in the budget then you could perhaps have the clubs custom-fitted to suit your physique. Also, whilst golf equipment manufacturers would have you believe that the technology in recent years has evolved beyond recognition, older club sets which are coming toward the end of their product life cycle, will be discounted accordingly and can be incredibly good value for money.

An excellent way to receive these offers is to subscribe to an online, Golf Shop newsletter. In this way you will learn about the latest product information, and discounted Golf Clubs.

Then, when you realize the game is not as easy as you thought, seek professional tuition. Most reputable Golf Clubs will have a golf coach affiliated with them and this is a good place to start. The coach will correct your stance and grip so that you can go away and practice

Golf Clubs can seem quite intimidating to the beginner, particularly those courses with a stuffy image. This shouldn’t put you off and there’s no substitute for getting out on the course for playing and improving. Don’t take it too seriously and get too frustrated to begin with. Recognize that there will be a learning curve, something in fact every golfer will have gone through

I have found that there is an excellent comradery between golfers and as long as you observe the etiquette of the course, then you will usually be welcomed, whatever your level of play. For this reason a ‘Golf Rules’ book, makes suggested bedtime reading.

Above all enjoy the game, play with a smile and appreciate the freedom of being out on the course away from everyday stresses. With regular practice and some guiding tuition along the way you’ll be amazed by the progress that you can make in one year, and the better you become, the more you will enjoy.

I know some of you are laughing under your breath wondering what I am doing writing a tip on uneven lies. What in the world could I possible know about uneven lies living in Scottsdale, Arizona? Well, it is the Grand Canyon State for starters, but yes you’re right, we do not face as many uneven lies as someone from North Carolina, for example. However, there are plenty of times during the course of a round when we are faced with a golf ball that might be on a side hill lie.

Before I begin, I am going to first give you the definition of the four uneven lies in golf.

Uphill Lie - The easiest of the four uneven lies. The ball is level with your feet but the slope is up-hill, we refer to this as an uphill lie.

Downhill Lie - A ball that is level to your feet but the slope is down hill, probably the second most difficult shot in golf.

Ball Below Feet - The most difficult shot in golf is when the ball is below your feet

Ball Above Feet - The fourth uneven lie is when the ball is above your feet.

Don’t get confused between an uphill lie, and when the ball is simply above your feet. These are 2 different lies, and should be addressed separately. Also, don’t get confused with the downhill lie, and the ball being below your feet. Again, these are 2 different lies.

Let’s start with the easiest shot in golf, the up-hill lie. If you struggle with this shot, you probably swing the golf club to vertical into the ground and hit a fat shot. Before you prepare for an uphill lie, you need to think of a few important items first.

1. Make sure you take a less lofted club. When you have an uphill lie, it will make the ball go HIGHER and SHORTER.

2. The ball will have a tendency to hook to the left, so aim a little to the right.

3. To avoid hitting the shot fat, check your shoulder alignment and make sure they are parallel to the ground you are standing on. If you are on an uphill lie, your back shoulder should be a little lower that your leading shoulder.

4. The ball should be positioned according to what club you are using, as though you were on a level lie. (A bit forward for longer clubs.)

5. You want to make sure you follow through HIGH after impact.

Now we can move on to one of the hardest shots in golf, the down hill lie. If you have a tendency to struggle with this shot, the miss hit is usually a top. Follow the steps below and you will see a huge change in your down hill shots.

1. Because the ball will fly lower, you can take a more lofted club to help the ball go a little higher.

2. The ball will have a tendency to curve to the right, aim a little to the left.

3. If you have your shoulders at address tilted level to the down slope of your lie, this will encourage the club to swing DOWN into the ball (correct) and not up in the down swing. Thus, you will hit the bottom of the ball and not the top.

4. Play the ball in your stance according to the club you are using (again, a little forward for a longer club).

5. You want to make sure you follow through LOW to the ground after impact.

Now we are back to an easy shot, the ball above feet. If you follow the steps below, you will not hit the ground behind the ball anymore, and the ball above your feet will become your absolute favorite shot in golf.

1. If you struggle with hitting the ball fat in these shots, make sure you are standing taller than your normal stance.

2. The ball will have a tendency to fly to the left, aim a little farther to the right.

3. DO NOT BEND YOUR KNEES

4. This is the main point, the golf club wants to swing more AROUND your body, let it…DO NOT TRY TO MAKE A NORMAL SWING…let the club swing around you.

THE HARDEST SHOT IN GOLF. The dreaded, (I can’t believe this is happening to me) BALL BELOW YOUR FEET golf shot. You have come to the right place, below is the answer.

1. When the ball is below your feet, you will have a tendency to top it to the right, whiff the ball, or shank it.

2. The address is the most important part of this shot. Bend your knees and bend WAY over at address. You ALMOST can not bend TOO much.

3. The ball will have a tendency to go to the right, aim farther left.

4. The golf club wants to swing up and down, NOT around. LET IT…It will feel like a lob swing, this is correct. IF you make your normal swing, you will whiff the ball completely.

Now, forget everything you knew about uneven lies and give this a try. I KNOW IT WILL HELP! Get back to us with all of your golf successes.

David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to The Simple Golf Swing.

This is one of the most feared shots in all of golf by the amateur. Why? Because it looks so intimidating when you can barely see you ball, but it doesn’t need to be that way. You will be hitting great shots and impressing your friends when you follow these steps!

Here’s what you do:

1. Choke down on the golf club, about in the same position as a normal bunker shot (1-2 inches from the bottom of the grip)

2. Take your normal stance, however open it up a little bit.

3. The majority of your weight should be on your front foot.

4. Close your clubface and press your hands forward just a little (this will ensure you to drive the ball out of the sand)

5. Keep your lower body still! This is so important, especially in this shot

6. Just like a normal bunker shot take a steep backswing so that the butt of the club is pointed at the ball. *Remember that your left arm is going to lead this shot and will be completely parallel with the ground. Your right elbow is in the locked position.

7. When you start your downswing do not shift your weight - keep the majority of your weight on your front foot.

8. So once you’ve started your steep downswing hit about 2 inches behind the ball. This is very important because if you try and hit the ball first you’ll just drive it back into the sand. By hitting 2 inches behind the sand will actually lift the ball out your clubface really doesn’t even touch the golf ball. *Remember it’s very important to keep your clubface closed so that is can drive the ball out!

9. Remember to swing through the sand and not stop once you’ve hit the sand.

10. Keep your angle steep throughout the shot.

Drill:

At the practice bunker stomp a few balls almost completely submerged (make sure you can only see a little of the ball. This will give you so much confidence because this only happens in a small percentage of sand play. Focus on keeping your club face closed throughout your swing….I can’t stress this enough!

Putting it all together in the bunker:

Normal bunker shot: square to slightly open clubface, evenly balanced weight or weight on back foot, steep/vertical backswing (lead with your left arm and keep your right elbow “locked” to its side), keep your entire lower body still - no weight shifting until you hit the sand.

Buried lie in bunker: slightly closed clubface, forward press your hand a little, majority of your weight on your front foot, steep/vertical backswing (lead with your left arm and keep your right elbow “locked” to its side), keep your entire lower body still.

David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to The Simple Golf Swing.