Golf Practice Blog

This guy’s wife asks, “honey if I died would you remarry?”  The husband replies, “well after a considerable period of grieving, we all need companionship… I guess I would.”

She says, “if I died and you remarried, would she live in this house?”  He replies, “we’ve just spent a lot of time and money getting this house just the way we want it.  I’m not going to get rid of my house, so I guess she would.”

His wife then asks, “if I died and you remarried, and she lived in this house, would she sleep in our bed?”  The husband thinks it over and says, “that bed is brand new, we just paid two thousand dollars for it and it’s going to last a long time, so I guess she would.”

So the wife asks, “if I died and you remarried and she lived in this house AND slept in our bed… would she use my golf clubs?”

The husband replies…”oh, no… she’s left handed.”

There’s a lot of great ways to improve your game in 2007, but planning on a new, left-handed wife, isn’t at the top of the list.  There are many very simple ways that you and your spouse can work together to improve your golf game.

The V1 Golf Swing Analysis Software allows you to capture video of your golf swing and play the clip back at full speed, slow motion and even stop-motion to determine exactly where your golf swing is “breaking down.”  It is doubly helpful, and a great activitiy to do together, to have your spouse operate the camera and computer while the other takes swings.

Also, if your New Year’s Resolution includes correcting the slice for you and your spouse, the Right Link is the way to go.  Despite the product’s name, the Right Link is suitable for right (or left-handed) men and women golfers.

Finally, in making those top three New Year’s Resolutions to improve both your family golf game, spend more family time together, and learn to multi-task, you can accomplish all three at once with Find-A-Lesson Golf Lesson Gift Certificates, providing lessons for you and all memebers of your family to grow closer by learning and playing golf together. Simply log-on to Find-A-Lesson.com to find a Gold Pro in your area!

When the average club player goes to his PGA pro for a golf lesson, the last thing he usually wants to hear is that they are going to be working on the fundamentals.  He feels “ripped off” if the lesson revolves around the golf grip, the stance and posture.  The typical reaction is: “I know all that, let’s get on to the interesting stuff.”  But, invariably, while he may well have heard it all before, he almost certainly doesn’t put that knowledge into practice and repeat those good golf habits that essentially ingrain good technique and determine the success of the golf swing that follows.

Read the rest of the Golf International Magazine article by Justin Rose, and see how even the pros use golf training aids, such as the Eyeline Practice-T, to ingrain the fundamentals of golf.

Golf Training Aids represent a much larger segment of the golf products market that one would ever think possible.  The question is, why would a golfer choose to purchase a bona-fide “golf training aid” when they could simply buy a range-card at the local golf practice facility or, like my dad made me do ad nauseum…go into the backyard and chip balls into a good ol’ 5-gallon paint bucket? 

The answer is simple, the bona fide golf training aid is designed to help the golfer build the fundamentals needed to make the consistent and correct movments every time… once the muscle memory is built, then the range card (or much-dreaded paint bucket) becomes exponentially more beneficial and enjoyable.  Fortunately for the more thrifty-minded golfer, there are golf training tools on the market today that have transcended their single-use, range-only stygma and are either approved by the USGA and R&A Rules of Golf, or are designed to be used on the golf course during practice-rounds.

The Momentus Short Game Wizard is the first of such multi-use clubs that comes to mind.  In its Short Game Wizard, Momentus has integrated the technology it developed in its weighted swing trainers and “pioneered and developed a revolutionary new concept in wedge design called Variable Shaft Weighting. Variable Shaft Weighting increases the shaft weight as the loft of the club head increases. This concept has proven to create a uniform accelerating motion through the ball, ensuring crisp and solid contact, and producing more consistent and accurate shots. The Momentus Short Game Wizard Wedge Series conforms to the USGA Rules of Golf and Short Game Wizards are designed to replace your existing wedges to give you more control, touch and feel around the green and from out in the fairway.”

Gary Player, long known as one of the most prolific promoters of physical fitness related to golf, lends his name to the Gary Player Heavy Hitter line of training clubs.  His driver is designed to take out on the range and actually hit balls, and when fitted with a standard grip is approved by the USGA.  Each club is precision balanced with a perimeter weighted clubhead, matched to a balanced weighted shaft. It flexes perfectly for a natural ball flight trajectory. On a busy Saturday morning when the only tee-times available are in four- and five-somes, a trip to the driving range isn’t always feasable.  Because the Heavy Hitter with a standard grip is USGA approved, you can use it on the first few tees to get warmed-up while you play.  After a few holes, you can pull your standard woods from the bag and comfortably and confidently knock the ball straight down the fairway.

Of course, no commentary related to USGA approved training tools would be complete without mentioning the laser rangefinder or golf GPS. The USGA New Decision 14-3/0.5 allows a Committee to permit the use of distance-measuring devices by Local Rule. This applies to devices that measure distance only, not any other conditions that might affect a player’s play (e.g., wind or gradient). The SkyCaddie GPS and the Bushnell Pinseeker Tournament Edition (without slope-reading function) give the golfer the ability to accurately know the distance between the ball and the pin without having to search around the fairway for the yardage marker, or imagine how many times the pin has been moved since the yardage sign was erected at the tee-box.  The SkyCaddie gives the golfer satellite-accurate readings of points on many courses, while the Bushnell Pin Seeker, with a push of a button, gives immediate feedback on the range to any target on any course. 

It’s hard to watch The Golf Channel nowadays without seeing a 30-minute infomercial for various products which promise to improve your swing, help you hit the ball farther and lower your scores. Langston Wertz Jr. from the Charlotte Observer put a few products to the test with everyday golfers.

Check out his review of the I Gotcha Ready, The Golf Gym, and Momentus Power Hitter Driver

Fun and exciting are not often used to describe practicing golf. That’s about to change. TopGolf Learning Centers use radio frequency (RF) technology to transform your practice session into a point-scoring game played at a high tech driving range. 

Played with real clubs and premium golf balls, players hit into one of the range’s 10 scoring zones and get real-time feedback on their shots. The system also features target-practice games you can play solo or against others. The first US TopGolf range was built in Washington, DC, last summer; swingers in Chicago and Dallas can log on and tee off later this year. 

RF technology is also being introduced on the course to help find lost golf balls. RADAR GOLF System uses advanced electronics to enable the handheld to transmit a specific radio frequency (RF) signal. When this signal reaches RADAR GOLF Golf Balls , the ball returns a separate specific RF signal. The handheld receiver is tuned to “listen” for the signal from the ball. An LCD provides visual feedback and an audio tone allows you to hone in on your lost ball. You will receive stronger feedback as you get closer to your ball. The system has a range from 30 - 100 feet depending on the terrain.