Baggin' it Right...Raises Your Game

Even the most casual of golfers needs a golf bag. Having the right golf bag is essential. It is another tool to help raise your game. If your clubs and other equipment are stored in an appropriately sized and organized bag, you can concentrate on your game. Otherwise you can be scrambling to find your rain gear when hit by a sudden shower or for another golf ball to replace the one you just hit into the middle of the lake. For anyone looking to purchase a golf bag, there are several things to consider and brand is not necessarily one of them:

Size

When it comes to golf bags, size does matter. Some tour bags seem like they are big enough to double as a shelter in a rainstorm while I have seen golf bags so small they look like they could hold no more than a putter and a driver. So how big of a golf bag do you actually need? Try to determine your present requirements based on current equipment. Then, consider how your equipment list may change and grow over the projected lifetime of the bag.

Durability

The durability of a golf bag depends on design, material and treatment. If you are a casual golfer who stores your golf bag in the house after use, you could enjoy a nylon bag that isn't very expensive.

If you are a more frequent golfer and keep your golf bag in the trunk of your car, then you will probably want a bag made of leather or vinyl. Remember, the golf bag is not just for carrying the clubs, it is also for protecting them.

Style

Depending on how you get around the course, you will want to decide between a carry bag and a cart bag. A cart bag is nice if you use a golf cart frequently. Cart bags are also designed to be used with a pull cart.

When considering a cart bag, consider also the type of pull cart you will use. Test the ease of motion and comfort of the handle at preferred transportation angles. Check if any of the features that help you transport the golf bag are adjustable, as the center of gravity will vary depending on the load in the bag

If you are accustomed to walking, you should look for a golf bag that is comfortable, light weight and ergonomically designed to minimize the stress on your back and shoulders. Many of the new bags have gel carry straps for shoulder comfort.

Depth/Design

If you use extended length shafts...ensure that the golf bag you are considering will adequately protect as much of the shaft as possible and comes with the enough club dividers to satisfy your needs.

Cosmetics

Color and accessories are really a matter of taste, need and how much extra money you are willing to spend. Some golfers want to make their bags unique. Some just want a place to put their clubs.

Storage

It does not matter how often you play golf, at some point that golf bag is going to need to be stored somewhere. Ensure that the size golf bag you purchase will fit in the area where you will be storing it.

Chris Bennett is lifelong golfer who has played extensively in the USA and Europe. He hit his first golf shot at age 4 years old and since then has played golf at every possible opportunity. If he is not playing golf he is watching it, reading about it or most likely writing about it. Read more about golf bags and other equipment at http://www.golf-topics-tips.com

One Wrong Thought You Must Eliminate From Your Golf Swing

You try your skills at golf and some (or all) of the following results occur:

* You miss the ball * You miss it again and again and…

* You hit the top of the ball

* You correct this mistake and you hit the ground behind the ball

* You see people hitting the ball in the air but your hits cause the ball to bounce along the ground

* Whoops! Where did that big curve in the flight of the ball come from?

* The more you try the more you find yourself creating other poor results

* You finally get a nice hit but you have no idea what you did to get the good result

* You look around and some of your friends and relatives are having the same problems as you

* Grrrr! Why can’t I hit the ball like those people on T.V.?

The slice, duck hook, complete miss, topping the ball, hitting fat (hit the ground behind the ball), and most of the other undesirable results you have experienced or witnessed in other golfers are caused by one incorrect thought.

Replace this thought and you will have much more success with putting, chipping, pitching, and the full swing.

However, this thought is buried deep in your subconscious mind. It is very **logical** to our way of thinking.

To change your approach to your golf swing and your putting you will have to accept an illogical thought. But, when you make the change you will begin executing some of the easiest swings of the golf club you have ever made (and know why this happens.)

Five amazing results in ball flight will occur once you overcome this wrong thought in favor of executing unusual, **illogical** movements.

1. You will finally learn to make a divot like the Pros.

2. You will lift the ball in the air.

3. You will hit the ball straight.

4. You will hit the ball farther.

5. You will get a lot more backspin on your ball.

This "wrong" thought causes movements of various parts of your body in ways which ruin an easy golf swing. These incorrect movements are visible in your hands, forearms, arms, body, hips, and legs.

This thought triggers incorrect movements at various stages of your swing sequence. Wrong body movements can begin as soon as you start taking the club away from the ball until after the ball has been hit.

But, if the ball is gone how can a wrong move affect the result. Simply put, muscles which produce the wrong movement after the ball has been hit have begun to “gather” or bunch-up before the club reaches the ball. This initial bunching of muscles interferes with your intended swing movements. You, or your golf partners, are not aware that this has happened.

Most of my teaching lessons are geared to helping you change from the wrong, logical thought to the correct, but illogical thought. You will learn movements which respond to the correct thought.

Since this wrong thought is logical it is buried in your subconscious. The various views at golf courses, as you try to hit the ball, cause this thought to be more involved in your swing movements.

To toss out this thought from your mind and replace it with the correct thought cannot be done by simply being aware of the correct way of thinking. Even though I am aware of this error the scenery of the golf course or the desire to make a precise hit will cause this wrong thought to reappear to influence my golf swing. I believe it can even affect the best golfers in the world due to the pressures they face in golf tournaments.

Another article will show you a basic step-by-step process of playing any golf swing or putt. I call it “the phases of playing a golf shot”.

By following a regular process of playing a golf shot you will soon develop a new subconscious thought so that you can rid yourself of that one wrong thought.

Oh yeah. Before I forget. What is the **one wrong thought**? A quick story, first.

A few years ago I witnessed a young woman take some golf lessons from the local Pro over a 2 year period. He did a good job at showing her some very good swing skills. But, I saw her continually hitting the ball out the right and she could not hit the ball as far as she was capable. At the beginning of the third year she came for another lesson. I could see from her hand movements that she was saying something like, “I’m still hitting the ball out the right!”

What was happening in that woman’s swing which caused her to hit the ball slightly to the right despite very good swing skills?

Answer: The ball is at point A. The green, flag, and hole are at point B. Logical, subconscious thought tells us that we want to smack the ball from point A to point B. This same thought also convinces us to create movements at some stage of our swing which will cause a forward motion of the golf club through the ball so that it can go from A to B.

But, these forward motions occur at various stages of our swing which cause such a variety of poor results. Forgotten in this thought process is the most important part of the swing.

And that is - apply a blow to the ball so that it can firstly be put in motion to leave the vicinity of point A.

P.S. There are a few “tips” roaming the world which leave wrong ideas in the minds of new golfers. Some of these blatantly interfere with good body movement. Future articles will show you some of the wrong movements used by you or other golfers. You will learn WHY each wrong movement is produced. You will discover why and how to replace these wrong movements with better moves.

P.P.S. There are 2 or 3 lesser faulty thoughts for certain golf situations such as hitting the golf ball over a hill or a tree. Future articles will cover these topics.

Glen Osborne teaches his golf program for Ladysmith, BC Parks & Rec. An expanded version of this article is at http://basicbodymovementforanygolfswing.com .

Controlled Body Movement The Key Essential For Your Golf Game

Basic body movement is essential in any sport. Of course it is also essential for any type of physical activity we do.

As parents, we teach little children how to do the simplest of things. This includes how to move and how to control movements for precision and safety.

Basic body movement also means limiting movement to the essential movement for what you want to do. We control the desired movement. And, we prevent unwanted movement. We learn to keep our movements just firm enough to be coordinated. We also learn to allow just enough relaxation so the movements can flow through their proper range with the most comfort.

For many golfers, if you think about your hands doing something or even have much of your focus on your hands then, usually, you will do something incorrect with your hands.

Basic body movement, under control, is to be your main focus. When you become good at this part of your golf swing then can you try advanced hand movements. But, any of these hand movements should only be done in harmony with the dominant body and upper arm movements.

Even your arm movements need more focus in the early learning stages than any perceived hand movements. And, these arm movements should focus on movements generated in the upper arms which are as close to your body as possible.

A Special Lesson With A Good Golfer

A few years ago I did 2 golf lessons with a man who stood a little over 6 feet tall. He was having trouble spraying his hits with his mid-irons to his woods. I asked him to hit a ball with a wedge. He chose his 64 degree lob wedge and promptly hit a high, 95 yard hit.

What was he doing wanting a lesson from anyone? Answer: He had one wrong move that he wasn't aware he was doing.

I used my interpretation of Fred Couples' looping swing to guide him to the correct arm movement. When he tried my idea of Fred's swing Andy hit the ball higher and 15 yards farther.

He did not want to develop that move but he understood how to correct his error with the proper movement. He hit a lot of good golf balls afterwards and knew why he did so.

Andy's other problem involved chipping. He had a good hand movement in his chipping effort. He had no idea how to use that good movement with the movements of his body. As well, he had no idea of the importance of his body activity during his chipping.

A few minutes into the 2nd lesson he had learned how to time his hand movements with his body movements. He also learned where his hands should be in relation to his spine as he did the hand movements that he wanted.

His chipping improved dramatically within the lesson. His confidence was as high as possible that he could land a golf ball where he wanted. And, all it took was understanding how his arms and hands were to move in harmony with his body and also in relationship to his body position.

How I Developed My Understanding Of Basic Body Movement

I taught physical education from Grades 1 to 9. In one short span of time I could see the development of movement in all stages of growth. I could also see the physical and mental effort carried out by these children as they learned the skills and the games which I taught.

I used to teach the various Grades a level of a game which they could handle. I taught positional play in slow motion and then introduced body movements which enabled the students to move fluently up and down the playing surface. They quickly learned this and asked for more. That is when I taught the various skills. The game was taught first; and then came the skills.

In golf, there are a number of games played during a round.

* We try to get a better score than someone else.

* We try to get a personal best score during a round.

* We try to play against the golf course to get a par round or better.

* We try to get a better score than par on each hole.

BUT, usually forgotten is the game of playing each golf shot as good as we possibly can. It is this last "game" which I teach in my golf lessons.

The free articles combined with the instruction modules will teach you how to win "the game" of playing each hit during your round of golf.

Relating this to teaching golf swing skills I emphasize basic posture, alignment, control, and body movement. Arm and hand activity do not get taught until my students learn basic movements. Because of this, beginners and students who had never hit the ball in the air soon hit draws with even their short irons when they hit the ball over a fence.

You, The Ground, And The Golf Ball

We stand on the ground. The golf ball rests on the ground (er, usually). Before we try to dislodge that golf ball from its place on the ground we should learn a good method of relating what we do from our "perch" on the ground.

Between our connection to the ground and the ball's position on the ground we have a lot of body mass and joints along with that "stick" thing. We need movement to make the golf ball move. Therefore, we swing back and forth to make the golf club move the ball. But, those joints want to do all sorts of contortions during our golf swing efforts.

We need to develop an understanding of how to move at the fewest possible joints and how to control or prevent movements of the rest of our joints. This is basic to anything we do. It is very important to this "confusing" skill called the golf swing.

Glen Osborne teaches his golf program for Ladysmith, BC Parks & Rec. Free articles and info about affordable live lessons, lesson modules, and video based lessons are available at: http://basicbodymovementforanygolfswing.com

Latest Golf Instruction Books

You have read the all the latest golf instruction books by Stan Utley, Dave Pelz, Fred Shoemaker, etc on different putting theories in an attempt to improve your putting stroke. You have been working and working on your putting motion and you think your it has improved. You are just looking for a way to challenge yourself in your practice. Here are some ideas:



• Take Notes - Keep track of your practice sessions by using The Ultimate Golf Journal or your own notebook. It is also important to keep track of your putting statistics to find out where you need the most practice. To improve your putting you must keep track of the results from your rounds of golf and to improve even faster, keep the statistics from your putting practice sessions as well.



• Take the hole away - Stroke multiple putts to the fringe. With the goal being, to stop the ball where the putting green means the green’s collar. Again, it is very important that you hold your finish for three seconds. When a player has trouble with their lag putting, it is typically due to the putter re-coiling at the end of the putting motion. Stroke putts from different distances to improve your lag putts. This putting drill works on the speed of your putts.



• Keep track of your misses – If you are missing the putting cup more to one side or another, the face of your putter is either opened or closed at impact. You can fix this by putting balls from just two feet from the hole on the practice putting green. In addition, hold your finish for three seconds. The good news is you really have to hit a poor putt to miss from this distance and more importantly you will bee able to see the line of the putt you hit. If your putting line does not improve, look into purchasing a laser pointer that will easily attach to your putter. Most are inexpensive and will give you instant positive feedback.



• Compete against a friend – There is no end to what could happen with this idea. I like playing the game pullback. Pick the amount of holes you are going to play ( I suggest nine hole increments). In this version, we will play nine holes. Decide who will go first. This person will pick a hole and stroke a putt at the determined target. If made, it is one stroke. If it is not made, you must pull it further away from the hole by a putter length and putt again until the ball is holed.



Use this article along with the techniques that you have gained from your reading of Stan Utley, Dave Pelz, Fred Shoemaker, etc. to improve your putting stroke motion. Choose the technique that you think will suit you the best and go to work on the putting green with that information. With just a little work your putting will improve and then get ready to watch your scores get better and better.



About the Author: Latest Golf Instruction Books can be found at www.virtualgolfswing.com.