Golf Tips For Choosing A Driver

By Lea Hairson

The irons weigh from 14½ ounces for the No. 2 to 16½ for the No. 9. Sand wedges will go up to 17½.
Shafts of clubs are graded in three types, flexible, medium, and stiff. Most of the bigger, stronger pros use the stiff shaft. The medium shaft is for the average player. The flexible is generally considered best for players of more advanced age and for women. It is best suited for a slow swing. The limber-ness of a shaft is known to the manufacturers as shaft deflection.

The amount of loft in the face of a club (the amount it inclines from the vertical) varies from 10½ degrees for the driver up to 58 degrees for the sand wedge. There is only one degree difference between the No. 4 wood (19 degrees) and the No. 2 iron (20 degrees). Here are the lofts of the standard clubs:
Woods Irons
Driver 10 ½ degrees

No. 2 20 degrees
No. 2 13 degrees

No. 3 23 degrees
No. 3 16 degrees

No. 4 27 degrees
No. 4 19 degrees

No. 5 31 degrees
No. 5 21 degrees

No. 6 35 degrees
No. 7 39 degrees
No. 8 43 degrees
No. 9 47 degrees

Pitching
wedge 53 degrees
Wedge 55 degrees

Sand
wedge 58 degrees

We have heard a great deal, for years, about swing weight. The term is tossed about so loosely, in fact, that few players have much of an idea what it is. Swing weight indicates the distribution of the weight of a club. It is the proportion of the weight in the head compared to the shaft and the grip. Swing weights are listed from C-0 to D-9.

But a D-9, for instance, doesn't mean that 9 ounces of a club weighing 13% ounces are in the head. D-9 is merely one of the calibrations on what is known as a lorythmic swinging weight scale.
A D-9 is no club for the average player to use, either. It is what Arnold Palmer and many of the other pros use, and it is for a strong, fast swinger. For the average player the ideal swing weight is from D-1 to D-4. For women the range is from C-4 to C-6.
In a general sense, the more you "feel" the head of the club when you waggle it or swing it, the higher the swing weight. You have often heard players say, and no doubt you have said it yourself, when handling a new club, "Feels like a lot of head in this." What you are feeling is the swing weight.

You could be fooled, of course, by the shaft. A medium swing weight, for instance, in a club with a flexible shaft, would feel like a very high swing weight. You would "feel" an inordinate amount of head when you swung it. In fact, with a club like this, you would have a very difficult time developing a decent swing at all. But the manufacturers have taken care of this. They do not put out clubs with high swing weights on flexible shafts. In men's clubs the swing weights for a flexible shaft are D-0 and D-1. For medium shafts they are D-1 to D-4. For stiff shafts they are D-4 to D-9.

Which Clubs to Carry
Since the USGA permits the carrying of fourteen clubs, it would be difficult to persuade the average golfer that he shouldn't take full advantage of the rule. He would not be happy, indeed he would feel himself laboring under a handicap, carrying fewer than the rule allows. So, which ones should they be?

From the conventional set of three woods, nine irons, a sand wedge, and a putter, the average player should drop the No. 1 iron and the No. 2 wood. For these he should substitute the No. 4 wood and a pitching wedge. The No. 2 wood and the No. 1 iron, with their relatively straight faces, are the hardest clubs of all to use. Many pros dispense with the No. 2 wood, the old brassie, though most of them carry a No. 1 iron, mostly for use off a tee. If the pros cannot use them effectively, what chance does a 16-handicapper have to make them behave?

It is also a fact that most golfers find a lofted wood easier to handle than a long iron. This seems to be specially true as the player grows older. If you are one of these, and do not want to or cannot take the time to master the longer irons, then drop out the No. 2 and pick up a No. 5 wood.
Generally speaking, we recommend the carrying of a driver, Nos. 3 and 4 woods, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 irons, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, and a putter.

There are some to whom the No. 1 wood, the driver, seems to be a special type of poison. There is no logical reason for this. Anybody who can hit a 3 wood, or any other wood, off the fairway has more than enough ability to hit a teed-up ball with a driver. If you hook or slice so badly with the driver that you are afraid to play it, something is radically wrong with your swing.

Lewis is and avid golfer. He has trained, played and gives expert golfing lessons golf for a number of years.
To learn more about his golfing style check out Golfing Tips
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The Importance of Keeping Track of Your Golfing Scores

By Joseph Pahl

Golf is truly a unique game. You use different clubs for different purposes. There are different stances and different grips for those purposes. It's the only game where the playing field changes from course to course, unlike basketball, football and other sports.
You can play with others, or you can play alone. Keeping score can be a bit of a hassle, so why, when it's a friendly game or if you're golfing by yourself should you keep score? What does it really matter if you keep score or not?

What matters is the reason why you took up golf in the first place; because you wanted to do something where you could get out in the fresh air and challenge yourself. As fun and as competitive as play among friends is, the ultimate player that you play against is yourself.
There's something keenly satisfying about watching that slice that you have been working on getting rid of suddenly disappear. Or when your short game becomes your best game. But you won't be able to keep record of these events unless you keep scores of your games.

Everyone wants to lower their handicap, but, if you don't keep a score card, how will you ever know if it's going down. Or up, for that matter.
Keeping track of your score will help you to map your problem area, find your strong points, and keep track of your handicap. You can watch from course to course to see if the problems you run into at your home course come up when your at a different course at a different locale. But you can't do that without keeping track of your score.

Enjoy playing with others? If you all have a similar handicap the game will be more enjoyable. Your can study each others scores and help each other get better and more consistent play.
Playing golf is more than a game. It's a mindset. It can help you to better yourself by watching how you improve over time. This can be very motivating, especially if your workplace is a pressured environment. But you can't tell if you've improved if you don't keep accurate scores. Where would you be in your business if you didn't keep track of your progress?

Golf is about fellowship, fun, personal fulfillment, personal growth. Keeping score will simply keep all those elements working together.

Joe Pahl
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How to Avoid Obstacles When Golfing

By Robert J. Carlton

The obstacles you face on the golf course range from sand traps to water and trees. Even though you will not usually encounter more than one obstacle during the game, having to move your golf ball from behind a tree or trying to get it out of a sand trap could end up costing you a higher score. Golf balls that are lost in the water cannot be retrieved, so you will have to place a new golf ball near the water and sacrifice a shot in order to get back on track. Because of these obstacles, your game may never be as good as another golfer, but it is the obstacles that make the game much more interesting.

If you dread the obstacles on the golf course, you are not alone. They can be a real pain to get around and could cost you valuable strokes. In order to avoid these obstacles, the best way is to perfect your swing so that you can purposely avoid these obstacles. If you see a few sand traps, or brush up ahead, plan your next move. This could be anything from shooting over the trees, shooting around the sand trap, or shooting past the water to get to the green.

Once you reach the green, you should not think that you are safe from obstacles. Greens that are on hills are also obstacles you much overcome. If you don't hit the ball correctly, it may roll down into a sand trap or small pond. When trying to get the ball on the green, you should gauge the distance and use enough force to push the ball to the top of the green and close to the hole. Inexperienced golfers are apt to overshoot the green, which can cost them two or three strokes if they are not careful.

When practicing at home properties in La Manga, Spain, you can create obstacles such as hills and bodies of water by purchasing a putting green and moving to different areas in your yard. This will help you learn how to gauge your shots and learn how to control your ball. You can also practice at the driving range or on the golf course. Golfing at different courses that offer a variety of obstacles is a great way to learn even more about controlling your golf ball so that you can avoid these obstacles.

Golf is a great game, but it takes patience and practice in order to become better. If you are prepared to have a good time while golfing and you are able to focus on performing well, the game of golf will become even more enjoyable.

Being especially interested in Oliva and Denia, Robert Carlton has been writing countless short articles on the matter. You might come across his publications on properties in la manga spain at http://www.alicante-spain.com
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