Welcome to Our Golf Blog - Have Fun!!

Since you are reading this post, it is probably safe to assume you are either a golfer who would like to improve or a serious insomniac.  I will do my best to educate you on how to make significant improvements to your golf game over the coming cooler months. If you happen to doze off, I will add curing insomnia to my resume!

I think the biggest challenge golfers face when trying to improve is that making lasting improvements takes time and repetition of the desired motion.  When golfers try to make these changes during golf season, they are usually faced with heading out to play golf and having to decide whether to play poor golf while sticking with a new swing thought or reverting back to their “old swing”.  I feel your pain, it is very difficult to soldier on with a new swing move when faced with poor shots, possibly poorer than before.

This is why fall and winter is the ideal time to make swing improvements.  The fact the weather is cool and wet and you are less likely to be playing golf or less concerned with your score, means you are far more likely to stick with your swing changes.

How do we make a swing change?  The steps are quite simple to understand but there is a key element of practice reps.

Step 1 – The golfer is often unaware of what they should change about their technique (unconsciously incompetent)

Step 2 – The golfer is educated on what they need to change (consciously incompetent)

Step 3 – The golfers is educated on the more desirable technique and how to actually do it  (consciously competent)

Step 4 – Practice the desired motion while consciously controlling the motion.  This is the biggest challenge because if you are out playing golf, you will most likely be consciously thinking about where the ball is going. When you think about anything besides the desired swing motion, you instantly lose the ability to make the desired motion because at this point, it is only a “conscious skill” and not a habit yet.

Step 5 – After lots of repetition, the motion becomes a habit (unconsciously competent) and the golfer no longer needs to think about the swing to make it happen correctly. The golfer can then play golf thinking exclusively about the shot they want to hit and not their swings.

So, how do we make a swing change?  Ideally, we spend ample time making the proper motion and not worrying about where the ball is going.  The only time this will make sense is during the fall and winter.

Rules and Etiquette

Many new golfers are intimidated by the seemingly endless rules governing one’s behavior on the golf course.  Here is a summary of the most important things you should know before you head out on the golf course.  Notice I have listed “Rules of Courtesy”, “Rules of Fun” and “Rules of Golf”.  As far as I am concerned, when you are starting out in golf, play by the rules of courtesy and fun.  When your skill level improves you can start obeying all the rules of golf.

Rules of Courtesy

• Keep up to the group in front of you.
• Leave the course as you find it – Replace your divots, repair your ball marks on the greens, rake the sand traps when you are exiting them.
• Be quiet when someone is preparing to play a shot.
• Only play a shot when everyone is in a safe position.
• Be ready to play your shot when it is your turn.
• To keep play moving, play “Ready Golf”.  This means, if you are ready to play your shot and everyone is in a safe position, you can play, even if you are not furthest from the hole.
• When you finish a hole, move to the next tee immediately and mark scores there.
• If you are using a pull or power cart, keep it well away from the edge of the greens.  Most courses will have signs or white lines telling you where to drive.
• When you walk on to a green, take note of where the next tee is and leave your golf bag on that side of the green.  This way, when you finish putting, your clubs will be right on your way to the next tee.
• Don’t take more than one practice swing unless it is on the first tee to warm up.
• If you hit a ball into the trees, bush, deep ravine, black hole, etc., don’t spend too much time looking for it.  If you don’t see it after a few moments, drop another ball and play on.
• On the green, be aware of the location of other people’s balls and try not to walk between their balls and the hole.
• If you hit your ball in the general vicinity of another golfer, yell “FORE” loud enough to alert them of the impending danger.  We don’t know why you yell “FORE” either but it probably has something to do with a golfer getting hit because there wasn’t enough time to yell “Hey, look out, my ball is coming towards you!!”

Rules of Fun

• As long as you and your group are having fun, being respectful of the golf course and keeping up to the group in front of you, there really are no other rules!
• It’s only a game!!

Rules of Golf

There are actually 34 “Rules of Golf” so we have left a few out but these are the really important ones.

• Play the course as you find it.
• Play the ball as it lies.
• If you can’t do either of the above, do what’s fair.
• You should begin play on each hole by teeing your
  ball behind your designated tee-markers.
• You must mark your balls position with a small,
  coin-like object before picking it up on the green.
• The person who has the lowest score on the previous
  hole has “The Honour” and is supposed to tee-off first.
• The person whose ball is furthest from the hole is said
  to be “Away” and is next to play.

For complete rules information, visit http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-01/.

I hope this helps you have more fun.  Let the new golfers in your life know about the different kinds of rules and let them decide how they want to approach the game.

Taking your game to the Golf Course and/or
Playing Better in Tournaments

Have you ever had the experience of hitting the ball long and straight on the driving range only to have your game seemingly disappear before you could get to the first tee?  Maybe you play well with your friends and then struggle when you enter a tournament.  If there is a marked difference between your practice and play, or how you perform in tournaments, you will need to change the way you are practicing so you can improve your focus on the golf course.  It has been my experience; very few golfers hit the ball as well on the golf course as they do on the driving range.  Let’s put a stop to that!

There is an old saying.  On the golf course, you should play golf, not golf swing.  The biggest reason golfers have a tough time taking their games from the driving range to the golf course is they only practice their golf swing on the driving range and never get around to practicing golf.  When they get to the golf course, the added pressures of having one ball instead of eighty, the numerous water hazards and/or trees and several other self-imposed pressures can quickly expose a golfer’s lack of preparation.  All golfers get nervous, see the water hazards and can have negative thoughts.  The golfers who perform close to their capabilities on a regular basis simply have the ability to deal with these distractions a little more efficiently.  To perform at your best on the golf course and especially in tournaments, you will need to practice the techniques necessary to handle the distractions encountered on the course as much as you practice your swing.  It is important to realize that developing mental skills is every bit as important as working on your swing motion.  Golfers who have good mental skills and good short games are the ones who perform the most consistently.  Here are some steps you can take to improve your mental skills and bring your play on the golf course closer to your performance on the practice tee.

Step #1 – Develop a Pre-Shot Routine

Every good player has a series of steps they go through as they prepare to play EVERY golf shot.  The routine will ensure that your set up position is correct every time and will also occupy your mind so negative thoughts can be avoided.  If you don’t already have a reliable pre-shot routine, I suggest you ask a CPGA Professional to help you develop one.  I will detail the two parts of a good routine in future posts.

Step #2 – Start to Practice GOLF on the Driving Range.

Instead of bashing ball after ball with the same club at the same target, rarely even moving your feet.  Start practising what you will need on the golf course.  For each ball, pick a very specific target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit your shot.  After each ball or two, switch golf clubs, pick a different target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit the shot.  Some people who can’t get out and play as often as they like will “play” a round of golf at the driving range by simulating a round at their normal golf course.  For example, they will hit the club they would normally hit of the first tee, based on how that shot went they would then pick the club they feel would be needed next and so on.  Of course, using a pre-shot routine on every shot!!  The key is, by changing clubs and targets often you are preparing for the pressures you will face on the course and you are training your brain to work towards a target and not dwell on body movements or swing mechanics.

I am not suggesting you should not practice swing drills or focus on your swing mechanics to improve the quality of your swing motion.  What I am suggesting is by practicing these techniques and getting good at focusing on your target, you will give yourself the best chance to perform up to your capabilities.  The combination of improving your swing AND improving your mental skills will most quickly lower your scores and increase your enjoyment of the game.

Tell me about your on-course or tournament experiences and how you are trying to play up to your potential when you really want to.  Good luck with your golf!

How to take your game from the range to the golf course!

Have you ever had the experience of hitting the ball long and straight on the driving range only to have your game seemingly disappear before you could get to the first tee?  If there is a marked difference between your practice and play, you will need to change the way you are practicing so you can improve your focus on the golf course.

There is an old saying.  On the golf course, you should play golf, not golf swing.  The biggest reason golfers have a tough time taking their games from the driving range to the golf course is they only practice their golf swing on the driving range and never get around to practicing golf.  When they get to the golf course, the added pressures of having one ball instead of eighty, the numerous water hazards and/or trees and several other self-imposed pressures can quickly expose a golfer’s lack of preparation.  All golfers get nervous, see the water hazards and can have negative thoughts.  The golfers who perform close to their capabilities on a regular basis simply have the ability to deal with these distractions a little more efficiently.  To perform at your best on the golf course and especially in tournaments, you will need to practice the techniques necessary to handle the distractions encountered on the course as much as you practice your swing.  Here are some steps you can take to bring your play on the golf course closer to your performance on the practice tee.

Step #1 :   Develop a pre-shot routine.  Every good player has a series of steps they go through as they prepare to play EVERY golf shot.  The routine will ensure that your set up position is correct every time and will also occupy your mind so negative thoughts can be avoided.  If you don’t already have a reliable pre-shot routine, I suggest you ask a CPGA Professional to help you develop one.

Step #2 :  Start to practice GOLF on the driving range.  Instead of bashing ball after ball with the same club at the same target, rarely even moving your feet.  Start practicing what you will need on the golf course.  For each ball, pick a very specific target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit your shot.  After each ball or two, switch golf clubs, pick a different target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit the shot.  Some people who can’t get out and play as often as they like will “play” a round of golf at the driving range by simulating a round at their normal golf course.  For example, they will hit the club they would normally hit of the first tee, based on how that shot went they would then pick the club they feel would be needed next and so on.  Of course, using a pre-shot routine on every shot!!  The key is, by changing clubs and targets often you are preparing for the pressures you will face on the course and you are training your brain to work towards a target and not dwell on body movements or swing mechanics.

I am not suggesting you should not practice swing drills or focus on your swing mechanics to improve the quality of your swing motion.  What I am suggesting is by practicing these techniques and getting good at focusing on your target, you will give yourself the best chance to perform up to your capabilities.  The combination of improving your swing AND improving your mental skills will most quickly lower your scores and increase your enjoyment of the game.

Give these tips a try and let me know how they work.  Good Luck!

Manage your game for better scores!

It has been my experience in teaching golfers who don’t seem to score as well as they should and watching my partners in Pro-Am events that course management is one of the areas that most golfers can improve on.  I have seen business people come from the office where they manage hundreds of employees and millions of dollars step onto the golf course and totally mismanage their golf games!

Before we get to the actual meat and potatoes of course management, there are a couple of things you can do to make good strategy more applicable.

1. Work towards having a repeatable ball flight.  Trying to hit it straight is the hardest way to play golf.  You should strive to hit shots that curve in the same direction most of the time.  If your golf shots curved 30 yards left to right every time, golf would be pretty easy.  You would just need to aim 30 yards to the left of your target and then swing!  If you aim straight at your target, most times, your shots will curve away from the target!
2. You need to have good alignment so you can set up towards your target every time and have the confidence that you are correctly aligned.  Practicing with alignment aids at all times will ensure your eyes will recognize proper alignment on the golf course and using a consistent pre-shot routine will help you aim on line all the time.  If you need help with either of these areas, see a CPGA Professional for assistance.
3. You need to know how far each of your clubs travels in the air.  If you don’t know, spending a little time finding this out will really help you with your club selection and confidence on the course.  Again, a CPGA Professional can help you with this area.  Note: The yardages for each club should be an average distance.  When I do my personal yardages I hit 10 balls, throw out the long 2 and the short 2 and then average the other 6.
4. Finally, practice your short game as much as you can because being a good chipper and putter will make managing your game a lot easier.

Okay, now for the tips on course management:

1. Hit the fairway.  Especially off the first tee, take a club you know you can hit the fairway with.  No, you can’t use your putter!  If you are having trouble with your driver, try to find some time to practice on the range don’t keep using it to whack your ball into the trees.
2. When you get into trouble, get out of trouble as quickly as you can.  Get the next shot back into play at all cost.  I know “God doesn’t like a coward” but he doesn’t much care for quadruple bogies either!  A conservative shot back into play will usually save you shots over the Hero Shot.  Trees are 90% air but remember, so are screen doors!
3. Take enough club.  If you take the time to find out your yardages for each club then this will be easy.  If you don’t know your yardages yet, take enough club so that you don’t have to hit your Sunday Best to get it there.  Ask yourself, “would I be hitting this club if I was hitting over water”?  In certain situations, like when the green is very sloped or the flag is at the back of a green, being short is a smart play, if not, take enough club and swing a little smoother.
4. Use the 70% Rule.  Don’t try a trouble shot you can’t pull off 70% of the time.  If you have played a bit of slice all day long, try to resist the temptation to hit that high, towering hook, around a tree and over that lake to a tight pin!!  If you have hit your iron shot on the wrong side of a green side bunker and the hole is cut very close to the bunker on the other side, take your lumps and try to make a longer putt rather than getting too cute with the pitch.  When you are in a defensive position, play a defensive shot.
5. Focus on as small a target as you can find and pick the appropriate target.  I ask my amateur partners all the time, “where are you aiming this shot?”  The usual response is “the fairway” or “the pin”.  To hit more consistent shots on the golf course and make your bad shots more manageable, you need to tighten your focus and aim at a very specific target.  The more precise you become with your aim, the better your shots will become.  If you were to play darts and simply try to hit the board every time, you would probable hit the board most of the time but you would miss it from time to time as well.  If you focused in and tried to hit the Bull’s Eye, you would never miss the entire dartboard.  So…pick a specific target for each shot.  A specific tree, a rake, a church steeple, anything will do, just make sure it is as small a target as you can find on your target line.
6. You also need to pick an appropriate target.  People always sigh and moan when the pin is placed really close to a bunker or water.  My usual response is that the middle of the green never moves.  In other words, pick a target that is realistic for your skill level, you don’t have to aim at the pin all the time.  Aiming at a target that is less threatening will increase your chances of making a confident swing.

Let me know if these tips have helped you.

The Problem – Top Hand Placement on the Grip

Our topic today is probably the most common problem I see; the incorrect placement of the top hand on the golf club.  Almost everyone who starts the game begins by holding the golf club too much in the palm of his or her top-hand (the left hand for right-handed golfers).  This grip fault is often referred to as a “weak grip”. In most cases the club feels more secure in this position (see photos 1 and 2) but it is actually less stable and also leads to many other problems.  The correct hand placement will put the handle of the club more into the fingers of the top hand and will position the heel pad on top of the handle rather than along side.

Picture 1

Picture 2

The Potential Effects

Placing the club too far into the palm can result in several less than desirable outcomes.  First, because the club is resting in the palm, you will need to squeeze the club quite tightly to maintain control, creating tension in the forearms. This tension can inhibit the wrists from hinging correctly during the swing and cause a loss of power and control.  This lack of wrist hinge can also result in the golfer hinging their elbow in an attempt to finish their back swing (NOT GOOD)!  The incorrect hand placement causes the wrist joint of the top hand to be positioned to the side of the handle rather than the correct positioning over top of the handle.  This inhibits the wrist’s ability to hinge correctly as opposed to the more desirable wrist action and also leads to a breakdown of the arm and/or miss-alignment of the clubface. There are several other potential problems associated with a poor top-hand grip but I won’t bore you with the nasty details!

The Fix

The cure for this very common ailment is to place the club more into the fingers of the top hand.  By doing so, the club will fit under the heel pad and will also allow the wrist to position itself correctly; directly over top of the handle of the club (see photos below).  This will allow you to control the golf club without needing a “Death Grip”, allow the wrist to hinge correctly and will promote a square clubface at impact (REALLY GOOD).  The easiest way to check how you have placed your hands on the club is to lift the club to vertical by simply hinging your wrists.  This should be quite easy and you should not feel any need to bend your elbows.

Good Top Hand Grip for Righty

Good Top Hand Grip for a Lefty

Let me know if this article is helpful and if you would like to see a specific topic in future posts.  Good luck with your golf!

Putting Drills

This Post’s focus is helping you putt better.  Almost everyone who plays golf has gone through a stretch when they miss a lot of 3 or 4 footers or struggle to control the speed on their putts.  It’s no accident that I have about 20 putters in my workshop just waiting for their next chance to get back into the line-up!  If you want to be a better putter, you will have to practice. The following are a few of my favourite drills.

Aim the Putter Face Correctly for Direction Control

The single biggest factor, which controls direction, is the aim of the putter face.  You must learn how to aim the putter face correctly if you want to putt effectively.  The putter face must sit perpendicular to the line you want to start your ball on.  The easiest way to check you putter aim is to have someone stand behind you and tell you where your putter is aiming.  If you are aiming incorrectly, have them adjust your putter until it sits correctly.  Do this a few times so you can begin to recognize a correctly aimed putter.  There are also many training aids on the market, which can help you learn to aim in the right direction.

An easy way to check your aim on your own is to put two clubs down to form a track towards the hole (as in the drawing).  You will be able to easily see if your putter is perpendicular to the shafts on the ground.

Once you have your putter aimed correctly, a good stroke will be much easier to execute because you won’t have to compensate for you bad aim during your stroke.  There are a few fundamentals with respect to set up and stroke, which you may also need to improve but those issues are better dealt with in person with a CPGA Teaching Professional.

Develop a Feel for Distance Control

The other major factor, speed control is a learned skill.  You can very quickly acquire a sense of distance by going to a practice putting green and rolling some balls.  The best drill I know of to improve distance control is to roll a series of putts with each putt rolling a few feet further than the putt before it.  You should be able to roll 4 or 5 putts and have a consistent distance between them.  If you struggle to do this, spend more time practicing because distance control is entirely a learned skill.

Do You Expect to Make the Putt?

The final component of being a good short putter is attitude.  You have to expect to make every putt you attempt.  To develop this confidence, I have a couple of drills I use with my students; the “Compass Drill” (pictured below) and the “Line Drill”.  The compass drill involves rolling putts from north, south, east and west from a distance of two feet.  You must make all four in a row to move on.  You then do the same from four feet and after you make all four of those putts in a row, you move out to six feet.  If you’re like me and you have limited time to practice, you may not complete all the six-footers!  There are two really strong benefits of this drill.  First, you may not make four putts in a row very often but you will make a lot of putts as you go through the drill.  Secondly, as you stand over that fourth ball, needing to make it to move on, you will feel just a little bit of pressure and this will help prepare you for the golf course.

The line drill (pictured below) is a simple one as well.  You line up four or five balls, every three feet, in a straight line back from the hole.  To complete the drill, you must make all of your balls in a row.  Once again, you will make a lot of putts as you attempt to complete the drill and when you get to the last ball, you will really want to make it so you can go home!

I hope this post will help you make more of those 3 and 4-footers.  Remember, aim the putter correctly and then forget about direction.  Switch your brain over to speed and roll the ball the correct distance.  It may take you some practice to rid yourself of that need to control direction with your stroke but once you do, your putting will really improve!!

Please let me know if you have more questions about putting or if you have other drills you have used to help your putting game.

Today’s topic is chipping.  Strictly speaking, a chip shot is one played very close to the green and spends most of its time rolling on the green like a putt.  We teach chipping in three steps:

1. Good Technique = Consistent Contact
2. Consistent Contact allows you to learn feel for distance through the air
3. Practice teaches you which club to use for different amounts of roll

Consistent Contact

We have all hit chip shots when we hit well behind the ball and the ball goes only a few feet.  We have also hit the ball near the equator and watched in horror as the ball goes zipping across the green.  To become a good chipper it is imperative to have the ability to consistently strike the ball solidly.  To accomplish this we need a good set and a solid chipping stroke.

SET UP

Our set up should discourage excess lower body motion and promote a descending blow on the ball.

• To limit lower body movement, position your feet closer together, and bring your front foot back slightly away from the target line.  This is called opening your stance and it will help allow your follow through to happen more naturally.
• Stand more upright and closer to the ball.  Do not bend too much at the hips or with your knees.
• The position of the ball will be between your back foot and the middle of your stance.
• Position your hands in the middle of your grip (choking down).  This will bring you closer to the ball and will also give you more control over the clubhead.
• Your hands will be slightly ahead of the ball.
• You should have more weight on your front foot than your back (60% front – 40% back).

THE STROKE

Now that you are in a good set up position, your stroke should be like a putting stroke.  It should be an arm and shoulder pendulum motion.  There should be very little wrist hinging.  The loft of the club we choose will determine how high the ball flies, so we do not have to chop at the ball or help the ball up with our wrists.  By using this set up you should hit the ball solidly on a more consistent basis.

DISTANCE CONTROL

Once you can achieve solid contact most of the time you can learn to control the distance your ball flies with each club by changing the length of your stroke.  This skill will allow you to land the ball where you want, on the green whenever possible.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CLUB

In order to determine what club to use you must decide how much you want the ball to roll after it lands.  The best thing to do is take your Wedge and your 7 iron and hit it from the same area and try to land them in the same spot.  What you will see is that the 7-iron will will not go as high in the air and will run a lot further than the the wedge.  As you practice this shot, try using your 8 and 9 iron as well.  In time you will know how much roll each club will give you.

Remember to always plan the type of shot you are going to play, don’t just step up and hit the ball without visualizing how much roll you want.  Your target is the spot you want the ball to land, not the hole.  The sooner the ball gets on the green, the better.  Try to land it 2 – 3 feet onto the green whenever possible.

With a little bit of practice around a chipping green, you can quickly become a good chipper.  When you are a good chipper your scores will go down and your fun will go up!

I hope this helps your chipping game and those up and downs start happening all the time.  Let me know if this article was helpful for you.  Good Luck!!

Playing a New Golf Course

With golf season almost starting, many of you will be playing lots of golf and maybe planning a golf trip with your friends or family.  So, I thought I would focus on some tricks to playing a course for the first time.  When I was “on tour” I played a lot of courses that were new to me and I needed to be able to adjust my game very quickly.  Granted, since I am now a teaching pro, I didn’t adjust quite quickly enough!!  Here are some tricks to preparing to play a new golf course.

Do Some Research Online

If you know where you are going to play, go the golf course web site and see if they have a course layout, helicopter fly-overs or pro tips on how to play the holes.  A little research may give you that little advantage that makes you more comfortable with the course.

Leave Time to Get Ready

The most important thing you can do is get to the course with enough time to prepare.  You will want to spend sufficient time hitting warm up balls but more importantly you should spend a lot of time on the chipping and putting greens to learn the firmness and speed of the greens.  Nothing ruins a day faster than struggling with the speed of the greens and three-putting your way to a high score.  Time spent on the putting green will really pay off.

You should also spend some time in a practice bunker.  Sand varies greatly from course to course so a little time familiarizing yourself with the sand conditions can save you some valuable shots.

Ask a Local for “Inside Scoop”

Don’t be afraid to ask a member of the pro shop staff if there is any inside scoop on how to play the course.  There may be a trick to the greens like “everything breaks towards the ocean” or the course like “take one less club on #12”.  People who are working at golf courses will be glad to give you some tips on how to play their course.

Ask if there are yardage books available that will tell you how far certain objects are from the tee or how far it is to a green from a certain point.  Also, find out if the course has sprinkler heads marked with yardages or if they have other ways of telling you yardages to the green.  Most golf courses also have a certain way to let you know about the hole-location on the greens (front, middle or back) so you will want to find out about that.

Ask someone who works there which tees you should play.  They will ask you how you play and try to be honest so they can give you some accurate advice.  A lot of people feel the need to play the “Championship” tees.  A lot of people have ruined a fun day at a new course by playing the “Championship” tees!!!  You will have way more fun playing from the tees, which fit your game the best.

Most resort courses or courses which get a lot of daily fee play will have a starter who can bring you up to speed on a lot of these things but a little research before you hit the first tee will make your day more fun and let you shoot a lower score.

Practice Before You Go

Many golfers play once a week when at home and then go on a golf trip and play 72 holes in 3 days.  The end result is a lot of aches and pains which can make a golf trip less fun.  In preparation for a trip, up your activity level in the weeks leading up to your departure.  Go to the driving range a few times, play a couple of nine hole outings and maybe even do some stretching to be ready for action.  You never know, a little practice may even improve your game!

I hope these tips will help you play a little better next time you go to a new course.  I have really enjoyed passing along my advice this year.  Good luck with your golf over the winter and I look forward to seeing you next year.

Sources of Golf Information

We live in the age of information. One of the biggest obstacles to improving your golf game is getting advice from too many people or trying every tip you read or see on TV or the internet.  Here is a list of potential sources of information and my thoughts on their quality.

Spouses, Friends and Playing Partners

• Everyone is trying to help.
• People tend to offer advice from their own experiences.  Most times their experiences are not exactly applicable to yours and therefore, their advice really doesn’t apply to you.
• Taking advice from a spouse, friend, etc. can make golf more frustrating.
• In short, unless you are married to or dating a golf professional, good friends with a pro or are playing with one, it is in your best interest to let people’s advice go in one ear and out the other.

Television

• The Golf Channel is an excellent source of golf information.  The problem is, you are getting the same information from several experts who say the same things, totally differently.  As a result, you can become very confused when trying to implement their ideas into your game.
• Golf telecasts provide a great opportunity to watch the best players in the world do their thing.  You can learn a lot from observing their swings and the way they play the game.  The announcers are mostly very knowledgeable but again, they are talking about the same things in their own ways.

The Internet

• Web sites offer many kinds of golf information.  They can be very helpful for finding out about different golf courses and golf products. As far as tips and other advice on your game, once again, one person’s opinion explained in their words.  Use web sites and chat rooms for information about where to play and products but try to resist the temptation to use them as a teacher.
• “Ask the Pro” or personalized lessons are a little better but you are still relying on the advice of someone who can’t see you

Magazines

• Publications such as “Golf Magazine” and “Golf Digest” can also be great sources of information.  You have to be careful when reading the instructional articles because they have different contributors each month and once again, the advice is from a golf expert but may confuse you when compared to last month’s articles.  Read them for entertainment and enjoy the great pictures but be careful!!

Books

• Books are a terrific way to learn about golf.  The good ones are written by experienced Teaching Professionals and will usually take you from the very beginning all the way to very advanced topics.  Books are potentially less confusing because they offer one persons views.  They are still lacking in that the author can’t jump off the page and give you the specific instruction you need at any given moment, it is up to you to decide which page you should be on.

PGA Professionals

• I really feel that getting some instruction from a certified CPGA Golf Professional is the best way to get started or most efficient way to improve your game.
• Keep in mind, the Teaching Professional you choose is going to have a big impact on your golfing enjoyment so choose carefully.  Find an instructor you trust and understand and stick with them.  Going from teacher to teacher is like trying to learn from all the different instructors on The Golf Channel.  This is the perfect recipe for confusion and frustration.

As you can tell, there are a lot of sources for golf information.  It is important for you to find one source and stick with it.  Whether it is an instructor in your hometown, a particular golf book, one instructor on The Golf Channel every Monday night or your horoscope, find a source which helps you improve and stick with it.