Used Golf Clubs Buying Guide
Golf equipment can get expensive as you start buying more and more branded golf equipment. In this era of recessionary trends the option that you have is to buy used golf equipment and that will help you save enormous sums of money over a period of time.
Golf clubs is an expensive item within the golf equipment set that can be bought used and there are several on-line and offline shops that sell used glob club sets or even used golf clubs. These shops sell branded and high end golf sets at a discount to the original prices as these are pre-owned. But there are certain things that you should be careful about before you go ahead and start looking for used equipment.
Golfers know that grooves on a golf club are what is really needed for a golf ball to be driven further and with a spin. That means that when you start your hunt for golf club or club sets then you need to buy clubs that have good club face which means that they have good grooves on the club face.
The next important area for golf club is the shaft and the shaft needs to be closely inspected when buying the used golf clubs. Close inspection is a must for the shafts as the cracks in the shaft may not be easily detected with the naked eye. There are two types of shaft available which are graphite shaft and the metal shaft. Each has its own characteristics and you need to be aware of the way they work so as to eliminate any chances that you will get a faulty shaft when buying the used golf clubs.
The golf club is held with a grip on the top of the golf club and that grip can be an important factor for you as a golfer. If the grip is worn and damaged then my suggestion would be to try buying the new one or try some other used golf club.
If you are buying on-line then get the pictures of the club face , shaft and the grip individually so that you are reasonably sure about the quality of the golf club you are buying. Also make sure that you have the right to return if you do not find the club satisfactory. It will save you a lot of agony and hassle later.
Buying used golf clubs is definitely a money saver but there are some risks attached to it.
The author is an advocate of buying used equipment for golfing and he also goes for buying used corporate logo golf balls to cut costs. Used corporate logo golf balls are usually available online at great prices if you buy in bulk.
Choosing the Correct Golf Ball For Playing
If you are planning to buy golf balls then you should be aware about a few things so as to make an intelligent and an informed decision. This decision will impact what you purchase and for how much.
Now if you are a beginner you need not go and buy yourself a high end golf ball. In the market there are golf balls that are available for beginners , intermediates and the absolute professionals. The factor is the kind of game you play and how do you play. The ball can vary if you are a long or a short hitter. The ball may vary if you hook more than you slice . That means you need to decide the type of game you play . Usually a short hitter would need the ball to go a long distance than a long hitter.
Rather than worrying about anything that I have said before the best bet for beginners is to get the cheapest possible balls and try to improve the game. At the beginner level you will probably lose a lot of balls and that may impact your budget. You are better off buying golf balls in bulk as that will help reduce cost. Also never ever lose sight of the fact that almost anybody who is an advanced player started as a beginner and patience definitely is a virtue you need to have.
There are two piece low compression balls available from leading manufactures of the ball which help in going good distances with even slower swing speeds. Then there is another type which is two piece performance golf ball which can go longer distances with absolutely no spin. As you gain proficiency in your game then you need to have advanced balls to help keep up with your game and these balls are known as multi layer balls. Each layer of the ball gives you several benefits like the urethane covers give that special spin, soft covers give that feel and firm mantle helps go the distance.
The advanced category of balls come with very high prices and make sure to check at all stores and compare prices before you buy the high end variety of golf balls. These golf balls definitely give you an edge when you play professionally but yes they cost a fortune.
So in short choosing a golf ball which is right for you is important so as to not to wash your budget with red ink but also gives you an opportunity to improve your game.
The author suggests buying in bulk corporate logo golf balls for getting that benefit of great prices. Most beginners should go for that as these special corporate logo golf balls are best for them and have steep discounts attached with them.
Titleist Golf Balls- A Buyers Guide
If you play golf you will have heard of Titleist, manufacturer of one of the worlds finest golf ball, the Pro V1.
Titleist have been producing golf balls for over thirty years and have a huge list of acheivements to back up their reputation as a leading light in the golfing world.Currently they have six balls in their catalogue so how do you choose the right one for you.
Lets start by looking at the range.
Premium Balls
Pro V1 - Recently revised the Pro V1 is the most durable, Tour proven golf ball in the range. This ball has a soft core encased in Ionomer with a 392 dimpled Urethane Elastomer cover. Great I hear you say but what does it mean?The soft core gives outstanding feel for iron play and the 392 dimples mean a higher penetrating trajectory to give a longer driving distance and and dynamic drop and stop control.A ball which is premium priced but you do get what you pay for.
Pro V1x - The sister ball to the Pro V1.This ball has a dual core matched with fewer dimples, 332, to give a flatter penetrating flight.It has the same softer Urethane Elastomer cover to give the increased short game spin for total control at greenside. Generally this ball drives the furthest.
With either ball once you have driven it down the fairway and wedged it onto the green the AIM, or Alignment Integrated Marking helps you to drain it in the hole.
Mid Range Balls
NXT Tour Designed with the average to skilled player in mind the NXT Tour features a dual core with a Fusablend cover.The 392 dimples give a high spin ,higher trajectory which translates as more carry and less roll thereby giving the drop and stop control round the greens.
NXT Extreme - A harder ball than the Tour with 332 dimples and as before this gives a lower spin off the tee and a flatter flight.This is a ball for the higher handicappers who need a little help keeping on the straight and narrow.
Budget Range
Although called budget range these are not low end balls. Developed with the same thirty year tradition of design excellence these balls have a place in anyones bag.
DT Carry - A large soft core engineered ball with a revolutionary 252 high lift dimple design ensuring greater distance.Tough durable Surlyn cover.
DT Roll - Combination of soft core with 392 dimples giving lower flight and maximum roll and the Titleist design experience this is a great ball for those dry summer fairways.
Norman Stanley is a weekend hacker and part time tutor with particular interests in the mental game and short game wedge playAll Golf
Wedges
Chipping Lessons That Really Work - I Am Not Joking
We have all heard during our chipping lessons that you must get the ball rolling on the green as soon as possible. We have heard it from our golfing buddies to our local PGA Professional. Is it always a good idea to get the ball rolling as soon as possible and why is everyone so emphatic that this happens?
Once you have missed the green, you first must decide which type of shot you need to hit. Here are the questions that you need to be asking yourself to get the most from your chipping lesson to determine what type of shot you need to perform:
What does your lie look like? You hear this all of the time, especially on TV. What they are basically referring to is how much of the back of the golf ball can you see or will be able to get the clubface to the ball without any grass interfering between the two. This will be one of the factors that determines whether you end up chipping or pitching the ball onto the putting green.
What is the distance to the putting green and to the hole? You will need to factor the distance off the green as well as the distance form the edge of the green to the flag. Keeping in mind that the ball will be flying low and rolling out quite a ways once it hits the green, the farther off the green you find yourself then the more green you will need to work with on the shot.
Is the putting green going uphill or downhill where you want to land the ball? You must realize not all putting greens are created equal. Rarely will you have a straight or flat chip to the hole. This means that the slopes and undulations on the putting green will not only affect the roll of your chip but maybe your shot selection as well. If you are looking to land your ball on a spot that has severe slope to it, you may want to change that spot to a flatter one, if available. This could change the type of shot you are going to need to make. However, it is much easier to control how far your ball will roll when it lands on a flat surface.
If the ball does not go in the hole, where do I want the ball to finish? There are really two sides to this. Most players understand that you want to have the ball stop close to the hole. True. However, what most players do not understand is that you also would like to have the remainder be and UPHILL putt. Why? Would you want a three foot uphill or a three foot down hill putt? Without question, the answer is I want an uphill putt.
Have we answered the question “Is it always a good idea to get the ball rolling as soon as possible?” The answer lies in the spot you are attempting to land the golf ball. If it is on a severe slope you are better off to pick out a spot that is flatter and you can better control the roll of the golf ball once it hits the putting green.
Max Johnson of VGS Golf Click for more Short Game Theories by Stan Utley or Dave Pelz. Click for Golf Training Aids.
Do You Need A Belly Putter?
On Thursday and Friday, Sergio Garcia conquered the greens at The Open Championship with a belly putter. What length of putter is right for you? How do you find the correct putter length for you?
Conventional Putter
A conventional putter would be measured from 32 inches to 36 inches. To insure the putter fits properly, take your stance while the sole (bottom) the putter is flat on the ground. Your arms should feel as they are hanging straight down and your eyes should be positioned over the ball. You may check this by dropping another golf ball from in-between your eyes while taking your putting stance. This ball from between your eyes should hit the golf ball on the green.
Next, allow your arms to freely hang and take your grip. Once comfortable, this should reveal your proper putter length.
“The rule of thumb is: If you can use a conventional putter, then use a conventional putter” says Bill Craig, Head Professional at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center in Houston, TX.
The Belly Putter/ The Long Putter
The Belly Putter or Long Putter would be a putter 37 inches or longer. The belly or Long Putter attaches to your body to insure a pendulum stroke while eliminating wrist movement. With varying lengths some players literally place this in their belly while other will anchor the putter to their chest with one hand. Many players who use this style do so because they have been challenged by “the yips” or as Sergio said after his round today “I just wanted to try something different.”
Fitting the length of a belly or a long putter is much more personal than the conventional putter. Your eye-line will be .inside. the ball due to the length of the shaft. The sole of the putter needs to lie flat on the green. You will need to try many different lengths as all of us are built differently. Unfortunately, trial by error is the best way to find the proper length for the belly or long putter. Your local PGA Professional can help you with this.
The main advantages of the longer putter length are 1. the putter is anchored against the body 2.wrist action is minimized. The main disadvantages that are discussed are 1. feel is reduced 2. distance control is more difficult.
Which putter length is right for you? Take the time and use these putting tips to find the correct putter length for you.
Max Johnson of VGS Golf - Click for more on Belly Putters or Putting Training Aids.
How To Select The Perfect Birthday Golf Gift
You need an idea for a birthday golf gift for your spouse, boss or friend and have no idea where to begin. You can relax as we are going to steer you in the right direction and you will be able to find the perfect birthday golf gift for your golfer. We are going to give you a couple of hints to find out what they may want for their birthday.
One of the first places to go is the straight to the horse’s mouth and go to the golfer themselves. If you are also a golfer, you can do a little snooping around their golf bag as you play golf together. Do they have grooves on their wedges? Are they unhappy with their Driver?
If you know they are going to be purchasing a new set of golf clubs in the near future, you can get them a golf club fitting done by a certified club fitter in your area. If you are not a golfer you may need to be a little more direct and just ask them what they would like. If you are not comfortable with this, purchasing a gift certificate at their golf shop could be another idea.
Another great place to get ideas on what birthday golf gift your golfer would enjoy is to simply ask their golfing friends. The golfing buddies are the ones who get to hear all of the good and bad about your golfer’s game and should be able to fire off some suggestions for a birthday golf gift that will excite your golfer. Maybe a two or three day golf trip with their friends is the answer? It seems only fair that then you could take a two or three day trip of your choice! Oh wait, we are trying to find a birthday golf gift for them and not something for us. Time to get back on task.
One more good resource to find specific birthday golf gift ideas for your golfer would be to ask their golf professional. This is especially true if your golfer is taking lessons. Their golf professional should be able to give you a couple of creative ideas in various price ranges. The ideas could be a golf club or a golf practice aid that they have had their eye on in the golf shop. Typically, the golf professional would also be able to wrap and ship the birthday golf gift, if needed, making it a one stop shop.
Use the resources listed above, in an attempt to find the perfect birthday golf gift. Ask questions of their golf professional, the golfing buddies and the golfer themselves. Keep in mid that you can always purchase a gift certificate. This may be helpful if your golfer does not live in a close proximity to you.
The golfer could then use the funds to purchase or towards the purchase of something they would really want and properly fits them. In addition, it would save you the worry and time of trying to be perfect. With the gift certificate you know in the end they will receive the perfect birthday golf gift.
Max Johnson of VGS Golf Click for perfect birthday golf gift Click for Golf Equipment
Should We Purchase A Country Club Membership?
Are you thinking of purchasing a country club membership at a local country club? Compared to playing at different golf courses all of the time, purchasing a country club membership has many advantages and benefits. What are the advantages to owning a country club membership? Here is a list of five reasons to purchase a country club membership.
1. If you play golf on a regular basis, it could be more cost effective to become a member of a local country club. This way you are not shelling out a green fee every single time you play. In addition, most memberships would include your entire family. This would allow your spouse and children play or learn to play the great game of golf. The great part about this is that you can get your kids involved in this great game. Your child or children can become involved in the junior golf program that is offered and this may give you a way to spend more family time or one-on-one time with your child or children.
2. Make no mistake, when you purchase a country club membership you are purchasing a lifestyle as well as a new social network. You will meet others with similar interests as yours at the golf course, pool or wine tasting. Many join a club just for the business connections that they are able to secure to help them grow their business.
3. Most clubs administer a handicap system. As you complete rounds of golf, you will turn in your scores and the handicap system will keep track of your handicap according to USGA Rules. The system should give you your monthly handicap as well as a local or a trend handicap. This is important as you begin to play in club tournaments. as a handicap will be required.
4. Most clubs have an active golf tournament program. The club golf tournaments are administered for Men, Ladies, Seniors, Juniors and Couples. First, opposed to what newer golfers and many high handicappers believe, these club golf tournaments are not scary. Club golf tournaments are a great way to test where your skills are currently. Club golf tournaments are broken down into flights. This simply means if you have a golf tournament of one hundred players, it is typical to have ten flights. This equates to you competing against the nine people with the handicap closest to yours.
5. People tend to practice golf where they play golf. Most clubs have good practice facilities that will allow you to practice all aspects of your game. Many country clubs have full service driving ranges that will allow you to practice half-wedge shots to the full swings with your driver. You should also make sure that the practice putting green is in similar shape and speed to the putting greens on the golf course.
If you are considering a local country club membership, consider the points made above to make the correct choice for you and your family. A country club membership can become an important part of where a family can spend quality time together.
Max Johnson of VGS Golf Click for Joining A Country Club or for Ladies Golf
How To Make A Tee Time - Literally
Are you a beginning golfer or a member at a course that is wondering how to make a tee time on a new automated tee time reservation system? If you currently do not have to make a tee time using an automated system get ready because they are coming sooner than you think. Do not be scared of them. Once implemented properly they are a big timesaver for you!
In an ideal world, you decide that you will call up your usual suspects to play a round of golf. Once gathered, the foursome would arrive at the golf course and spend a little time socializing and warming up on the driving range. Once ready to play, you and your group would walk out to the first tee and begin to play. Unfortunately, this experience is only available at a few high-end country clubs.
What is a tee time? For the beginning golfers, a tee time or a starting reservation is the designated time a golfer or group of golfers begins to play on a golf course. Typically, play begins on #1. Due to golf course maintenance or maybe during a tournament, occasionally you may start on #10.
Eight to ten minutes apart is a common interval to set up tee times on a tee sheet. This allows each group of golfers to move in an orderly fashion through the course and regulates the waiting at the starting hole. Making a tee time has become more and more challenging depending on the club you are attempting to play.
Obtaining a starting reservation or a tee time is the only way to insure you will be playing when you want to and are able to play. The further ahead these reservations are made, the better chance you have of teeing off at your selected time. You will need to check with the club as this range can vary from ten days to thirty days depending on that golf club’s rules.
Some golf courses have taken the leap into new world of technology. The internet is offering many new options for the golf courses to make a tee time online. These new technologies allow you the luxury to sit at home or the office and make a tee time by selecting the day and time that you want to play. The online technology will suggest the closest possible time and make your reservation.
Again, the earlier you make your reservation, the better your chance of getting the tee time of you choice. To access the system at your club, it is possible that a user name and password will be needed. This will only take a short time and is not unusual or difficult to an internet user.
Do not forget, you do not always have to make a tee time. You can always just show up at the golf club and take your chances. If this is your choice, be prepared to wait or maybe even be disappointed. To make a tee time, reserve tee times or multiple starting reservations in advance will make you experience much more pleasurable.
Max Johnson of VGS Golf Click for How To Make A Tee Time. Click for Golf Gifts.
Clap For Your Golf Grip
You do not have to look past the PGA, LPGA or Champions Tours to see there is not one conventional way to take your golf grip on a golf club. The tours have all types of grips from an overlap golf grips to interlocking golf grips to ten finger golf grips and even cross-handed grips. Ben Hogan outlined his thoughts about the grip in his classic book, The Modern Fundamentals. Your proper golf grip should feel comfortable to you. However, there are fundamentals for your proper golf grip. By simply clapping your hands together you can easily test your golf grip fundamentals. Here is how you do it.
When you are ready, allow your arms to hang naturally. Now take your regular golf stance without a golf club. Since your do not have a club to grip, stand with your palms flat together. Notice how the palms of your hands are parallel. Now that you are in you proper set up with your palms being parallel to each another, this results in a good golf grip fundamental. If your hands are not parallel to each other, your hands with fight against each other trying to get back to impact.
With your palms of your hands being parallel to each other, your hands will now work together as one unit.
Now, take your golf grip on your golf club. Straighten out your fingers while still holding the club in your hand and open your palms just wide enough to reveal if your palms are parallel. If your palms are parallel, then you have this grip fundamental conquered. If your palms are not parallel to each other, you need to work your hands around on your club until your palms are parallel. Now retake your golf grip. You need to realize that this new feeling should be your new grip.
The palm of your right hand as well as backside of your left hand will be facing your target if you choose to assume a neutral grip. A higher handicap player typically needs to use a stronger grip to release the golf club. For a stronger grip, the back of your left hand would be tilted towards the sky with the palms still parallel.
This article about your golf grip gives you a quick way to test a fundamental part of your proper grip. Once you are able to insure that your grip includes that your palms are parallel to each other, you should be lowering your scores soon. Your golf handicap will be falling as a result as well.
Max Johnson of VGS Golf Click for How To Hold A Golf Club. Click for Full Swing Golf Training Aids.
Getting The Correct Golf Club
Depending on the kind of move you want to make at a specific moment in a game you have to always consider getting the correct golf club for the situation. Very experienced golf players usually do not have any difficulty in getting the correct golf club without a blink of an eye, but for beginners, conditions are different. You need to be sure that you are getting the correct golf club since this could mean better results from you. After all, this is part of the golf playing tricks beginners and professionals recognize alike.
Getting the correct golf club means choosing from the woods, the irons or the putters as the main club categories are known. Let us see when you should use each, and why it is so important you do so. When you play for the long distance shots the wood-headed is the right one. Getting the correct gulf club under the circumstances is essential since this usually works as the driver; the woods are the longest clubs and with the biggest of heads. If you are hitting from turf which requires high golfing skills if you choose the woods, you should be getting the correct golf club for the situation.
Then the irons fall in their turn into three categories according to their length, with the shortest being known as wedges. They are usually used for shorter shots particularly when approaching the green. We should mention that getting the correct golf club may get the most experienced player out to rely on very versatile shots, and the irons are usually the choice. However, many golfers now prefer the combined types wood and iron when it comes to getting the correct golf club. Then come the hybrid woods that serve the purpose of getting the correct golf club when on very rough terrain.
Last but not least, there are the putters, the clubs that you will need most when getting on the green. Though many say that getting the correct golf club on the green is not so important, it is advisable to stick to the clubs that where precisely designed for the matter. Getting the correct golf club is sometimes a matter of personal choice and many professionals choose to follow their instinct, nevertheless. You may also have a look at a professional site to learn some more on clubs and specific golf items for all sorts of players.
Dennis can provide you with more information on the game of golf whether it be your swing or your club choice if you would please visit his site at http://abme3-llc.com
