Golf is a living sport, yet steeped in history and folklore. When you play you are pioneering the future while connecting to the past.
It is a game that has been played for centuries. It has traditions and customs that go way back in time. However, it is also a game that is evolving, not only in the equipment we use, but what we wear and how we play.
Here is a selection of short Ezine articles. The articles are arranged under the headings shown below with the latest entry in each category appearing in RED at the top of the list.
If you are revisiting the web site you will quickly be able to see if anything new has been added.
- PUTTING
- RULES AROUND GREEN
- GOLF
- GOLF HISTORY
PUTTING
Putting is often the fine line between success and failure. Outwardly it appears that nothing could be simpler. Inside our head it can become the stuff of nightmares.
Putting is more than just stroke mechanics. It embraces the intangible areas of touch, feel, mind games and an ability to handle misfortune.
64. Cut Stroke
A Cut Stroke in putting is where the path of your putter travels through the ball from outside the target line to inside the target line. The question is: Why does this matter as long as your putterface is perpendicular to your target line at impact?
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63. Putting Short
Putting Short is not only frustrating, it also adds to your score and deprives you of useful information. If you miss long, at least you learn which way your ball will break on the return putt.
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62. Depth Perception
Putting is not just about stroke mechanics and technique. Your vision and depth perception play a vital role in seeing slopes on the green, aligning your putterface accurately, and judging distance.
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61. Arched Wrists
Arched wrists position the putter shaft so that it is better aligned with your forearms. This helps to remove unwanted wrist action in the form of hinging up and down from your putting stroke.
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60. Putting Smart
Putting Smart is all about putting in such a way that everything in your setup and stroke helps rather than hinders your ability to make a good putt. Why make putting more difficult than it is?
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59. Putting on Plane
Putting on Plane is the ability to keep your putter on plane up to the moment of impact. At setup you aim your putterface to your target. If your putter subsequently moves off plane in your backstroke, it will be difficult for you to re-square your putterface on your forward stroke.
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58. Putter Release
'Putter Release' is a term that refers to the way a putter swings along a natural inside-to-square-to-inside arc. It derives from the belief that the best putter path moves inside the target line on the backstroke, is square at impact and then returns inside again on the through stroke.
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57. Angle of Contact
The Angle of Contact is the angle at which your putterface contacts the ball at impact in your putting stroke. If the angle on approach is too steep, or too shallow, you will have trouble with both your direction and distance control.
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56. Left Elbow
Your left elbow forms part of the putting triangle that is recommended for the putting stroke. However, within this framework you have a degree of choice as how to manage its position.
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55. Putting Comfort
Putting Comfort at the expense of proper form can trick you into setting up to the ball in such a way that you make it more difficult for yourself to sink your putts consistently.
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54. Follow Through
There is a saying that no golfer has ever looked up from a shot and seen a good one. The same saying can be applied in spades to putting when you look up too soon in your follow through.
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53. Eyes Down
Eyes Down is the usual address setup when you are putting. The question is where exactly should you look? The answer to this question depends on who you listen to.
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52. Wrist Angles
The Wrist Angles that you establish at address are critical to the impact position of your putter during your putting stroke. Change them mid-stroke and you could be in trouble.
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51. Toeing the Putt
Toeing the putt is a common suggestion for handling fast downhill putts, or putts that break sharply right-to-left. The question is whether this is a good idea or just a compromised technique?
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50. Bladed Wedge
A Bladed Wedge is a short-game technique that pros often use when their ball has nestled against the collar of the green. It is a smart choice as you have more chance of contacting the ball cleanly.
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49. Reading the Break
Reading the Break starts with gauging the speed at which your ball is likely to roll enroute to the hole. Except for straight up and down putts on the Fall Line, all putts break one way or the other.
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48. Windy Conditions
Golf is an outdoor game and windy conditions can play havoc with your putting if you let the wind get the better of you. However, it does not mean you have to putt poorly.
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47. Fast Greens
Fast greens are not what every golfer needs, or should ask for, in order to putt better. In fact, the exact opposite is the case as fast greens soon lead to fearful putting.
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46. Solid Contact
Solid Contact with the ball is a critical component in distance control on the green. Without it you are going to three-putt too many times for your liking.
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45. Putting Decision
The Putting Decision you must make on every putt is crucial to the outcome. Get it wrong and you could be looking at a three-putt green. Make the right choice and the worst you can do is two-putt.
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44. Putting Game
The Putting Game stands in direct contrast to the rest of your shots from tee to green. Nothing that you learn on the driving range is readily transferable to the putting green.
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43. Putting Technique
Golf is a game that lasts a lifetime. However, your Putting Technique will haunt you in your advancing years unless it is based on sound fundamentals. You should therefore act now before it is too late.
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42. Putter Acceleration
Putter Acceleration on the downstroke is essential for accurate distance control. However, this does not mean consciously speeding up your stroke as the putter head approaches the ball.
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41. Putting Tempo
Putting Tempo is the total time your putting stroke takes from start to finish. Different golfers have different tempos, but the tempo of most golfers is generally too quick.
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40. Reverse-Overlap
The Reverse-Overlap grip has been the recommended putting grip for a long time. Today it is under threat. This is because the best way to hold the putter has become anyone's guess.
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39. Setup at Address
A consistent Setup at Address is an important fundamental in putting. It does your putting no good to keep changing the way you stand to the ball. You need to do the same thing every time you putt.
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38. Judging Distance
Judging distance is a task that is accomplished largely by sight. However, most of us are not very good at it. While vision is important, it is not the only source of information for judging distance.
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37. Emotional Putting
Emotional Putting is an unhelpful habit whereby we label our putts. As soon as you start to label your putts as anything more than just another putt, you start to put pressure on yourself.
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36. Flatsticks
The choice among flatsticks is a moving target as manufacturers jostle for market share. You need to think hard before you commit to a change. Is it really your putter that is hurting your putting?
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35. Speed Putting
Speed Putting is a technique to free up your putting and turn it more into a reactionary motion. Unfortunately most golfers dwell over their putts too long allowing doubt and tension to creep in.
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34. New Putter
Only fools believe that you can buy a better game of golf. You are truly missing the point if you think that a new putter is the only thing that stands between you and greater success on the green.
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33. Continuous Putting
Continuous putting is an unofficial rule to speed up play. It doesn't mean rushing your stroke. However, missing a short putt through carelessness will undermine your confidence well after the round is over.
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32. Better Lag Putting
Better lag putting leads to lower scores. This means doing what you can to avoid three-putting in the round. Using your putting stroke with a chipping setup helps when faced with a long putt.
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31. Putting Stats
Putting Stats are a curiosity, but often of little practical value to improving your putting. If you don't know if you are putting well or badly without them, you are just not paying attention.
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30. Mental Image
A positive Mental Image is a clear picture in your mind's eye of a successful outcome. For example, on the green you can see your ball tracking to the hole, and then hear it falling in.
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29. True Roll
True roll of the golf ball off the putterface is one of several marketing promises made to golfers hoping to buy a better putting game. In reality, putter design using the latest anti-skid groove technology plays only a small part in achieving the promise of true or pure roll.
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28. Making the Putt
Making the Putt compared to Holing the Putt may just seem like a play on words, but it is not. It is a completely different mind-set. It is an attitude that will keep your emotions in balance.
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27. Balance
Many golfers don't realise how much their body moves when putting. This swaying movement unsettles their balance and causes their centre of gravity to shift about during their putting stroke.
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26. Left Shoulder
The objective on every putt is to strike the ball when your putterface is perpendicular to your aimline. This will be difficult to do if you allow your left shoulder to rotate backwards during the downstroke and a little beyond.
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25. Anatomy
Your anatomy attests to the fact that you were born to move. However, to putt well you need to be still. Unnecessary movement during your putting stroke is a killer of consistency.
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24. Swearing
Swearing and cussing intrudes on our everyday life. We hear bad language everywhere and, heaven forbid, even on the golf course. But can swearing and cussing help to improve your putting?
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23. Line on Ball
Many golfers use the line on ball technique to aim when putting. They assume that because they are aiming from behind, their aim is accurate. Unfortunately this is often an illusion of accuracy.
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22. Clock Drill
The Clock Drill is an excellent way to practise short putts while learning how to read the break of a putt. As you move around the clock, you will see that your ball breaks in different directions.
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21. Putt Straight
To putt well you must be able to putt straight. If you can't hit your ball in a straight line over a short distance on a true and level surface, you will have difficulty in becoming a good putter.
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20. Sticking Your Tongue Out
Sticking your tongue out when putting makes more sense than you would think. If you watch closely the faces of professionals when they are concentrating, you will see a number of them stick their tongue out to the side of their mouth.
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19. Right Elbow
Your right elbow may be more important in putting than you think. Your right elbow can anchor your backstroke in much the same way as affixing the butt of your putter against your body.
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18. Breathing in Putting
Breathing is not something that you have to think about in everyday life. It is an automatic body function. However, breathing can be controlled consciously.
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17. Width of Stance
Is the width of stance in putting immaterial? If you were asked for your opinion on how to set up your feet what would be your recommendation?
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16. Forward Press
A forward press is a technique that some golfers use to initiate their putting stroke. The question is whether this technique is a good or bad habit.
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15. Putt like the Pros
Putt like the Pros is Dave Pelz's first book on putting published in 1989. How realistic is the book's title? Certainly putting does not require great athleticism. It is not a test of strength.
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14. Reference Putt
The Reference Putt allows you to evaluate the green speed prior to your round. Its purpose is to give you an internal gauge as to how hard you have to hit a putt to travel a certain distance.
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13. The 17-Inch Rule
Ever since Dave Pelz recommended that 17 inches past the hole was the 'magic number' for good touch, golfers have followed his advice without much questioning.
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12. Straight Putt
'Every putt is a straight putt'. This statement seems as incredulous as the assertion by The Flat Earth Society that the world is flat. To the golfer, putter in hand, with a green shaped like an upturn saucer the putt looks anything but straight.
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11. Putting Gap
A small putting gap between your ball and your putterface can make a big difference to how well you putt. Because you position your ball forward of where your putter contacts the ground, you could snag your grounded putter during your take-away.
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10. Ability to See
'Your ability to see can harm your putting' seems a contradiction when you consider that golf is such a visual game. But there are times when our vision works against our best interests.
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9. Mismatched Putting Stroke
Is a mismatched putting stroke detrimental to your putting? How important is it that the length of your backstroke matches the length of your forward stroke?
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8. Optimum Ball Position
The Optimum Ball Position in a putting stance should be a simple matter, yet an inch or two divides opinion.
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7. Aim
The ability to aim your putter accurately is a critical skill if you want to make more putts. Unfortunately our eyes often deceive us and our aim is either off to the right or left.
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6. Left Hand
Your left hand is more important than your right hand. It is the hand you should always place on your putter first. Your right hand should help and support your left hand – it should never control it.
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5. Body Motion
Unnecessary body motion is a common fault in putting. The more you move about during your stroke, the more you will reduce your chances of holing the putt.
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4. Balanced Ball
Should you always play with a balanced ball in order to putt better? If you believe the claims made by the advocates of ball balancing, then the answer is a definite Yes.
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3. Golf Ball
When choosing your golf ball, it is not so much which ball you play, but the importance of playing the same make and model throughout the round.
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2. Big Grip
Fitting a big grip to your putter is a quick way to improve your putting without taking a lesson.
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1. Laughter
Laughter is a human emotion than we don't use enough in golf. We get mad at ourselves when we miss a short putt or duff an iron when the best remedy is to laugh at our mistakes.
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RULES AROUND GREEN
It is important for you to know the Rules of Golf in order to avoid unnecessary penalties and to exercise your rights. A number of the Rules and Decisions deal with situations that arise when you are on or around the green.
2. Rule 18 - Ball at Rest Moved
Rule 18 – Ball at Rest Moved is a rule you need to place close attention to when on the putting green. A ball is deemed to have moved if it leaves its position and comes to rest in another place.
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1. Rules of Golf
The Rules of Golf are there to protect the integrity of the game. Many golfers break the rules because they have never learned them. Others simply choose to ignore them.
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GOLF
Today's golfer is spoilt for choice. There are golf balls to suit every swing speed, clubs with perimeter weighting to minimise the effect of a mishit, drivers with massive heads, and putters of every description.
The only things that haven't changed are the size of the hole, and the number of holes that make up a round.
10. Dimples
Dimples improve the flight of a golf ball. Their size, depth and specific arrangement affect its aerodynamics. They are to a golf ball what tyres are to a racing car. They add to its performance.
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9. Practice Swings
Practice Swings should be left on the range. They slow down the round, irritate your fellow competitors, and do little to improve your performance.
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8. Etiquette on Green
Etiquette is important in the game of golf as the sport relies on the integrity of the individual to show consideration for other players and to abide by the Rules.
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7. The 10 Commandments
The 10 Commandments of Golf form a Test of your ability to play the game to your full potential. Every shot in your round presents you with a unique challenge. How many commandments will you break next time you play?
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6. Modern Ball
The modern ball gives you a range of options from which to choose. Tough competition has pushed every ball manufacturer rapidly down the road to develop the 'ultimate' performance ball.
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5. Tip
Everyone welcomes a good tip, solicited or not. It is the hope of better things to come. How to lose weight, how to increase your income, how to bake better cakes - the list goes on and on.
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4. Cheating
Golf may be for the most part beyond reproach, but it is not immune from gamesmanship. Whether gamesmanship borders on cheating is a moot point.
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3. Hole-in-One
A hole-in-one can be a fluke, or a well struck shot that finds the bottom of the cup. Both require luck. Financially it can be an expensive achievement as you are expected to buy drinks for everyone.
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2. Slow Play
Little is being done to reduce slow play on the golf course. Imagine how long a round would take today, if the number of holes had not been reduced from 22 to 18 in 1764.
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1. Hazards of Golf
In the Rules of Golf the definition of a hazard is any bunker or water hazard. However, the hazards created by course designers are the least of your worries if you play golf.
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GOLF HISTORY
We tend to think of the game of golf as it is played today as how it always was. Nothing could be further from the truth. Golf has become easier, and continues on this road, as the playing fields improve along with the technology of clubs and balls.
We can all learn from a better understanding of how lucky we are today to have benefitted from those great golfers who have gone before us.
5. Tee
Consider for a moment the humble tee the next time you play. In your hand you will be holding a piece of history that tells in part the story of how golf has evolved since its early beginnings.
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4. Caddie
The caddie and golf are inextricably linked. From an early beginning as a servant-in-waiting to today’s tour player’s partner and confidant, the caddie has been an integral part of the game of golf.
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3. Bunker
It is ironic that when you can save yourself from the sand with mindless ease, you seldom get the opportunity to demonstrate your skill and so invite the envy of your fellow competitors.
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2. Dress Code
The dress code for golf has evolved in keeping with the game itself. As times have changed, the outfit for day-to-day play has kept pace. Today fashion clothing is all the rage.
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1. Head Gear
Golf was played in the second half of the 19th century by men wearing top hats. This form of headgear denoted that you were rich and powerful.
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