All Putting Greens

By Gary Jack Palmer

Chipping instruction – now why in the world would I need to spend any time or money on that? Chipping’s just a short little shot before you get your putter out. Does chipping really play much of a role in an 18 hole round of golf? You bet it does, for touring pros as well as beginners.

The best players in the world only hit 65% of the greens in regulation. So what does that mean? Well, hitting a green in regulation means getting your ball on the putting surface by the first stroke on a par 3 hole, the second stroke on a par 4, or the third strokes on a par 5. Touring pros only do that about 12 times per 18 hole round. But on the other holes, they chip it close to the pin nearly every time. That’s a really big difference between average players and the guys on TV.

An 80 shooter only hits about 8 greens in regulation per round, a 90 shooter only hits 3, and a 100 shooter plays most of his rounds without ever hitting a green. So where should we spend our practice time – on the driving range or around the putting green? That’s right, grab your shag bag, get over to the practice green or out in the backyard, and work on the chipping basics that follow. You’ll very quickly see the results of your efforts on your scorecard.

Chipping Instruction – Mechanics-Based Fundamentals

Address the ball with most of your weight on your front foot

The ball should be positioned slightly towards your back foot

Place your hands ahead of the ball

Keeping your lower body quiet, make a short backswing with your arms and accelerate the club through impact

Check Point – Make sure your hands lead the clubhead through impact

Check Point – Make sure there is only minimal body movement except with the arms

A tendency of poor chippers is to allow the clubhead to overtake the hands, causing a flipping of the hands in an effort to scoop the ball into the air. Keep the hands in front of the clubface throughout the downswing, letting the loft of the club elevate the ball.

Another major cause of poor chipping is taking too long of a backswing and then decelerating the club at impact to prevent hitting the ball too far. Keep the backswing short so you can accelerate through the ball on the downswing while keeping the clubface square to the intended line.

Practice the chipping instruction above and you might just cut 5, 10, maybe 15 strokes off your 18 hole scores.

For more help with your chipping, you might want to visit Short Game Instruction. And, you might also want to get a copy of my Free Short Game Guide.

“Perfect practice makes perfect, but any practice will help.”

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// Category Backyard Putting Greens, Home Putting Greens, Putting Practice Tips // Add Comment »

 By Mike Pedersen

Are you a frustrated putter? Is your putting killing your golf score? If so, you’ve got to find every opportunity you can to practice your putting, and why not indoors with a training aid?

Golf Putting Aids Can Help

You’ve seen them…indoor putting aids! There are a ton of them! Some are good and some are worthless. But anything is better than nothing. Just getting a putter in your hands and making some putting strokes is going to help. Practice makes perfect!

The great thing about golf putting aids is you can try them out at your local golf store. Many of them are set up for you to try at your convenience. This will give you a firsthand feel for which ones you think will help your putting woes.

Putt In Your Office

I’m dead serious! Bring a spare putter to your work and do it whenever you can. Shut your door…grab your putter…and give it a go! A simple putting drill is to lay a glass on its side and putt your ball into the opening of the glass. You’ve probably seen this drill before, but have you ever done it? It works!

You can also putt to a spot that’s maybe 8-10 feet away if you don’t want to do the glass drill above. If you have any kind of thick carpet, the ball is not going to roll as well, but again…it’s better than nothing.

On Your Garage Floor

You want to mimic the greens at the Master”s? Put on your garage floor! Talk about fast. Now I wouldn’t do this too much as it will really throw off your feel for speed on real greens, but it’s kind of fun once in a while.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The ONLY way to improve your putting is through practice. As I mentioned before, One very effective way is to get a indoor golf putting mat. They come in a variety of prices and styles, but you’re sure to find one that you like. They can be fun to use on those miserable winter days.

Anyhow…I hope you take my advice and get that putter in your hand as often as you can! The next time you hit the course, you’ll shave several strokes off your score.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf performance experts in the country. He is the founder of 8 golf improvement websites, including his golf training aid review site. He also has more information on golf putting aids. Visit his site today.

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// Category Indoor Putting Greens, Portable Putting Greens, Synthetic Putting Greens // Add Comment »

 By Jack Moorehouse

Today’s marketplace is flooded with training aids. You can find one for nearly every part of the game. And more and more are being introduced every day. While a training aid won’t lower your golf handicap overnight or replace golf tips, it will help improve your golf game if you work with it faithfully.

Below are five training aids golfers often ask about in my golf lessons. Designed to improve your swing or a phase of your swing, these products help correct faults, groove mechanics, and/or ingrain the feel of swing. The key, as always, is finding a training aid that works for you before investing your hard-earned money.

(And incidentally, I am in no way affiliated with these companies nor do I make money from these reviews.)

Amazing Assist Swing Trainer (www.matzie.com)

Available from Gibas & Matzie Golf Products, the Amazing ASSIST training club improves your swing and increases strength. It’s like getting a golf lesson free of charge. Its weighted head and bent shaft teaches the correct hand action. The ASSIST improves muscle memory, extension, and weight transfer as well as tempo and timing.

As the club is swung, the proper release action is exaggerated to eliminate slicing, increase clubhead speed, and produce straight shots. In addition, the training grip places the thumbs and index fingers Vs of your hands in the traditional 11 o’clock and 12 o’clock positions. You can use it at home, on the range, or before your golf lessons.

The Amazing ASSIST is ideal for pre-game or pre-practice warm-ups or for everyday use to improve your swing. The ASSIST is available for men, women, and juniors, and for right-handers and left-handers. An instructional video comes with the product. The cost is $70.

The Elbow Tac-Tic (www.4golftraining.com)

Maintaining one’s left elbow (for right-handers) as straight as comfortably possible determines the width of your swing arc, as I’ve explained in my golf tips. The wider the swing arc, the greater the power. The Elbow Tac-Tic sleeve clicks when the elbow breaks down, providing the instant feedback needed to correct the swing and keep the left elbow extended. The Tac-tic also works on the right arm, clicking when the elbow bends at the proper point in the backswing. Cost: 39.95.

The Speed Stik (www.speedstik.com)

Most golf instruction will tell you that clubhead speed determines the distance a ball is hit. The faster the clubhead speed, the farther the ball goes. Working out with the Speed Stik increases a golfer’s clubhead speed and trains proper balance and on-plane swing. Swing the Speed Stick in a continuous motion back and forth, keeping it about 18 inches off the ground. Start slowly at first, and then build momentum. Check the speed gauge for your MPHs. Every increase of 1 MPH equals three more yards of distance. Repeat a few days a week and chart your distance. Cost: $99.99

The Impact Ball (www.theimpactball.com)

The Impact Ball develops the feel of hitting a ball properly. Available from To-M-Pact Golf, Inc., it’s easy to use and understand. It’s based on the idea that many recreational players have certain swing faults (chicken wing, flying elbows, etc.) or that they try to scoop the ball off the ground when hitting. Sometimes, even the best golf instruction can’t rid a player of certain faults.

The Impact Ball works. It’s placed between the forearms and held there through your swing. The ball is bi-colored, and the only thought to focus on is to getting the ball to change colors as the club moves through the impact area. The product trains golfers to strike the ball solidly with a square clubface, eliminating any attempts to flip or scoop the ball during the shot.

The Impact Ball addresses every phase of the game–chipping, pitching, putting, driving, and bunker play. You can hit balls on the range with the Impact Ball or practice swinging the club with it at home. The cost: $39.95 + shipping and handling.

The Swing Magic Driver (www.swingmagic.com)

Training with Kallassy’s Swing Magic Driver ingrains the proper motion into your swing. Designed to improve timing, tempo, and rhythm, the Swing Magic synchronizes the movement of your arms, hands, and body. A sliding training clip enables you to separate your right hand (for right handers) during the backswing. By separating the right hand on the backswing and reconnecting it on the downswing imprints an on-plane golf swing, essential for consistent ball striking. It prevents you from coming “over the top” as well. Cost: $89.95.

Remember, a training aid is not a panacea, as I often mention in my golf tips. It won’t dramatically improve your game overnight. It won’t make up for good course management. And it won’t take the place of a one-on-one golf lesson. But it will ingrain the fundamentals of a good swing, cut strokes off your scores, and lower your golf handicap, if you practice with it faithfully. Just make sure the training aid is right for you before buying.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

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// Category Putting Trainers // Add Comment »

 By Tobias Savage

With golf being such a popular sport and with most players getting hooked and taking it very seriously artificial grass is becoming more and more popular as a solution to the maintenance involved in ‘real grass’ putting greens.

There have been big steps forward in the creation of this much specialised artificial surface that mimics the real stuff and in corporate situations or even your own back yard this alternative should be considered as a very easy to maintain option,

Advantages:

• Can be installed almost anywhere, indoors or outdoors
• Can be used for pitching chipping and putting
• Can be any cut to fit any shape or size
• Is very flexible so it can fit flat or contoured surfaces
• Has a low maintenance requirement – 2 hours a year!
• Specially formulated to hold the ball like natural grass
• Great for your own personal backyard putting green
• Environmentally friendly as no need for fertilisers etc
• Can cope with heavy usage with no loss of quality

Disadvantages:

• Some types of artificial grass can look unnatural
• You will need to carefully consider the type of grass/underlay you purchase as you may incur a water logging problem
• Once you get used to a perfect surface you may find it hard to adapt to the real surfaces on your local golf course
• Perhaps not so unpredictable as the changes that occur on natural putting greens.

So as you can see from the above there are many reasons why artificial putting greens are becoming more and more popular and also available to everyone from a small back yard green too a large corporate golf training course. It is also becoming a more economical solution as once laid there is very little maintenance required and very little additional costs to incur.

Tobias loves the sport of golf and all that surrounds it. An avid player he feels there is always something to learn. He has certainly gained lots of experience and has some great golf tips to share.

The above information is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to information about improving your game of golf Click Here to access more great tips.

http://www.advanceyourgolf.com

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// Category Artificial Putting Greens, Home Putting Greens, Indoor Putting Greens, Outdoor Putting Greens, Portable Putting Greens, Putting Greens, Synthetic Putting Greens // Add Comment »

By Kenny Leones

If you are a devoted golf enthusiast, creating a putting green in your residence may be the best way to practice your skills without spending a lot of money. Constructing one may require a lot of confidence but the chance of improving your golf skills in your own home will be worth it.

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR CONSTRUCTING A PUTTING GREEN

The materials needed are seeds, different lawn-care products, irrigation tubing and fill.

TOOLS

The tools needed for this project are metal rake, hose, wheelbarrow, soil removal equipment, bobcat and shovel.

STEPS IN MAKING A PUTTING GREEN

If you are creating a green in your backyard, you need to decide where it will be constructed. It should be an area that is not disturbed by individuals since a big volume of human traffic will just disturb and destroy the condition your project.

Digging up the location of your project is one of the important parts of the whole process. Use a shovel to remove all rocks and clumps since it will just affect the beauty of your masterpiece. Remember to make some blocks for your golf putts when placing a new dirt-free soil back.

Place a one inch thick layer of debris-free soil. You can place a layer of sand first before the soil to ensure that your green will have a good H2O drainage. Then place your top layer of soil. Make sure that you remove even the smallest bit of debris. Design your golf green according to your preferences.

Do not forget that your green will settle down in the down in the long run. You can either create an independent irrigation system for your set-up or place tubing connected from your own home to maintain your set-up. But if you are not sure that you can do it, ask for professional help since this is one of the most aspects of your project and you do not want to mess it up. Make sure that you water the grass daily to keep it in good condition.

Maintaining the putting grass is not the same as maintaining your front yard. Remember that you need to use a different mower and chemicals to keep your project in top condition. You can also ask a golf putting green expert for some tips in how to maintain your set-up so that it will last for a long time. You can now enjoy your very own putting green any time you want to.

Please click these links if you want to know more about how to build a putting green or how to build a putting green in general.

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By Mark Owen

The majority of recreational golfers do not focus enough on their putting skills until the time comes for a round of golf. Yes, it’s good to practice on your full golf swing, but you can’t avoid putting during the real game. You should allocate at least one half of the time you practice on putting.

The Fundamentals

First, work on your stance. It should generally be the narrowest of all the shots you play, meaning, not wider than your hips. It should also be close enough to the ball, but not too close as to have the likelihood to force the clubhead to the outer part of your target line in the backswing. You should turn your feet open, squared or closed, considering how those alterations affect your swing’s path, with the right foot being the main influence to your ability to perform the right way. Your weight should be balanced a bit toward the inside of your left heel.

When it comes to the ball placement, play the ball in the area between the middle of your stance and the left instep. This enables both the clubhead and path to square up to the aim before the strike. As for the stroke, your aim is evidently to hit the ball with the clubhead so that it follows through to the target precisely and surely. For a good grip, lightly position your hands on the club in a manner that it is easy for you to swing the clubhead squarely, of course aiming at the target.

Preparations

Do some simple exercises to ease the play. Make sure to warm up your hips, back, shoulders, ankles and knees. It is essential to take regular breaks during long periods of practice to avoid strain and injury to your neck, back and legs. In between, do some self-massage and keep muscles relaxed instead of stiff and tense. After every session, flex your body by forward-bending.

Try Not To Look When Putting

While this should be some kind of last resort, it doesn’t hurt to practice. The best golfers sometimes even close their eyes, as this has shown to help improve putting. Why is this so? This is supposed to help one concentrate on the hole rather than on the ball, particularly when losing confidence in the game. The ideal effect of this is to gain more mental clarity and really feeling and gaining control over where the ball goes. This has been adequately researched and concluded to help with brain-muscle control.

Making Constant Improvements

Give yourself some drills. Begin with your ball in line and ascertain you are facing down straight at the ball. Utilize your judgment and analyze the green so that you can establish the force and speed that you will incorporate into your shot. The putter should be around 10 inches away from the ball. Now attempt to take your putter directly back from the ball and swing it directly through. This raises the possibility of the putt going in the right direction. Your follow through should be like your backswing as well. Distance control is the major technique in the putting stroke. Always attempt to practice the back swing and forward swing with various distances.

Mark has been an entrepreneur and business owner for nearly 20 years. Come visit his latest website over at http://www.youthgolfclubs.ws/ which explains some of the reasons to buy youth golf clubs for your young children.

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Tags: golf putting// Category Putting Practice Tips // Add Comment »

By Hank Kerfoot

When it comes to golf course putting greens, MiniVerde has been the most popular Bermudagrass in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Trials for more than a few years. Golf course owners and superintendents are very specific in their demands for turfgrass products, and MiniVerde seems to be the choice to meet their unique needs the best.

Characterized by a very fine leaf blade and deep green color, this type of grass is also known as MiniVerde Ultradwarf Bermuda and has a lower temperature color retention than other similar varieties. Because it is so versatile, the grass can be closely mowed to heights even lower than 1/8 inch. Golfers appreciate the low height and lack of grain while golf course superintendents say they spend less time baby sitting their greens after planting MiniVerde sod or sprigs.

Golf course owners and course maintenance workers are fans of MiniVerde because it makes their jobs easier. The surface is easily managed in comparison to other ultradwarf grasses due to deep roots and the ability to bounce back from high traffic and cultural practices. Owners also love the fact that it requires less down time which means more tee times!

Primarily a warm season grass grown especially for golf course putting greens, MiniVerde can be planted with a no-till process if the location and site is right. Other qualities that make MiniVerde the top choice of golf course superintendents include:

o Far less grain than other ultradwarf Bermudas.

o Significantly less thatch than others.

o Lower maintenance than other ultradwarf Bermudas.

o Deep roots and plenty of rhizomes.

o Ultra fine leaf blade.

o Deep green hue.

o Velvety look and feel.

o Superior disease resistance.

o Quicker recovery from injury compared to other ultradwarf types.

o Ability to spread quickly during establishment.

Normally planted as sprigs, MiniVerde sod is also available. MiniVerde sod offers a quicker solution to replacing or establishing greens when waiting for sprigs just won’t do. MiniVerde sod is more expensive than sprigs but significantly decreases down time allowing for revenue streams to begin more quickly. Many end users also find MiniVerde sod useful for repairing existing stands of turf that may need to be replaced from time to time.

Keeping putting greens fast, true, attractive and in ideal condition for demanding golfers can take a lot of hard work and money, but using MiniVerde sod and sprigs simplifies the process. You can rest easy when you select MiniVerde, because you know its excellent reputation speaks for itself. With MiniVerde putting greens and the right kind of maintenance, your golf course will keep golfers coming back time and time again.

To learn more about the high quality sod and grasses Modern Turf grows in South Carolina visit their website at www.modernturf.com. Schedule a consultation today to end your search for the perfect high-quality sod- the most durable grass you have ever worked with, guaranteed.

Hank Kerfoot owns and operates Modern Turf, the SE US premier sod farm and are golf turf experts. For more information about how to prepare your soil for sod, contact http://www.modernturf.com today

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