Before you enter the golf course, especially if you are a beginner, know that there is a technology behind a good golf shoe. Just like a good Pima cotton shirt and pants can breathe and keep you cool, a good golf shoe can actually help your swing.

Golf shoes have come a long way in style and comfort. Water proof shoes are always a good idea but in a golf shoe, pay attention more to comfort than style. Style is OK but it is not going to do you any good if you have to walk 4 plus miles on the course.

The shoe itself today is designed for the stresses put on the feet from the swing. The feet start out with weight equally balanced on the right and left foot. A good golf shoe will keep you balanced but be comfortable at the same time. In a good golf swing there is a shift of the lower body and feet that take place. From a lightly balanced position the weight transfers to the front foot with more weight placed on the inside of the feet as you are leaning over, then as the back swing occurs the weight shifts to the back foot still while maintaining a slight inward stance of the feet. If you shift to the outer part of the foot, you can get the very undesirable sway.

If your feet are pronated outward or inward then you can have special inserts made by you Podiatrist that you can place inside your golf shoe. This can dramatically improve your game.

Some name brand quality golf shoes:

Tommy Bahama
Ecco
Dexter
Foot Joy
Etonic
Addidas
Nike

The spikes on golf shoes have changed considerably and most clubs have banned the metal spikes because they rip up the course and are bad for golf carts and club walk ways. Today’s shoes have plastic spikes that still grip the course but are far more comfortable than metal. As spikes wear down, they need to be replaced to ensure that you stay at the top of your game.

Do your research on shoes before you buy. Shop later in the afternoon when your feet have spread and walk around in them enough, to really get a feel for them.

Author: Willie Jones is a freelance writer, researcher, floral designer, and artist, for Art Inspires, Inc. Make sure you enroll in the free motivational poster drawing at http://www.artinspires.com

Good Golf Shoes And Foot Placement Can Improve Your Game

So you decided to start playing golf, and be the next Tiger Woods? Well, you're not alone. Golf's popularity is exploding, and not only in the US. This great game is one of the most challenging and rewarding ones around. It gives all of us the opportunity to see who we really are. If you play for a few years, you'll know what I mean by that.

If you are starting out with golf, after you get your clubs and balls, the next thing you should be looking at is getting a good pair of golf shoes. If you think you can stroll into the golf course with a pair of tennis or basketball shoes, you will soon find out that most of the golf clubs won't allow you to enter the course with anything other that a good pair of golf shoes. You should check with them even before you're first visit to make sure you show up properly equipped.

They do that to protect the grass from being harmed by inappropriate shoes. But beyond that, it's your best interest to get a pair of great golf shoes to begin with.

You see, the heart of the game is the swing, and in order to get a great golf swing you need to be standing properly. You simply can't get the best swing if you're shoes are sliding and don't have a proper grip in the ground. Take into account the fact that you'll be hitting the ball on all kinds of slopes and angles, as the golf course is "natural" and not necessarily a plain. Golf shoes are especially designed to provide you with a great ground grip while you swing.

You can find golf shoes with soft spikes as well as hard spikes. The soft spikes are in many cases the ones that are preferred by the golf club, as they don't hard the grass, and you can use them in the club area, too. The hard spikes shoes may provide better traction, but in mast cases they are less comfortable. These should be left for pro's (maybe you'll be one of them one day).

Choosing your golf shoes is as easy as going to a golf equipment store or even going online and ordering it via the Internet. Golf shoes used to have a very boring look, but in the last years golf shoes manufacturers have gone a long way to improve their look and make them much more appealing to the eye.

Before you choose your shoes, ask yourself - are you going to walk the course or are you going to use a cart? It you're going to walk, make sure your new pair of golf shoes are comfortable. You are going to walk a few hours with them, so make sure you won't need a stretcher at the end of the game. If you are going to use the cart, you can go for a pair that looks good, even if it's less comfortable.

Author: Gill Reese is the owner of http://www.golf-training-101.info. You may visit the site and learn all about golf shoes, golf tips, golf swing and more.

How To Choose A Great Pair Of Golf Shoes - Essential To Your Golf Success

At some time or other we reach the stage where using a golf cart becomes an experience and leaves us with the thought of someday purchasing one. I have played with those who use a cart for eighteen holes and also play another 9 holes for exercise. This is good if you have the time up your sleeve. None the less, golf carts are not only a time saver but come with a whole bunch of benefits that shouldn't be over looked. Here some things you ought to know.

Golf carts are small vehicles, initially designed to carry the golfers and their equipment around the course with less effort and faster than walking. Now, they are used everywhere: airports, universities, warehouses, farms, etc. Coming as a mixture between hobby and utility, golf carts are also being purchased for personal use.

Golf carts are also referred to as “golf cars”, which is more technically correct, as carts are not self-propelled, or as “utility vehicles”, especially by the manufacturers who reserve the term for the vehicles used on the golf course.

Types of golf carts

If you are considering purchasing a golf cart, it is important to know exactly what you’ll be using it for.

If you want a cute low-pollution easy-to-drive vehicle in order to get around your neighborhood, you need a standard golf cart and you can choose from a large variety of accessories and options.

If you live in a locality where golf carts are street-legal, you can outfit the vehicle appropriate safety features( turn signals, brake lights, windshield, seatbelts, and headlights). There are communities that encourage the use of electric golf carts due to their lack of pollutants, lack of noise, and safety for pedestrians.

Another category of golf carts are the commercial and industrial vehicles and they are used in a variety of ways. They are used to carry tools, sod and fertilizer in office parks, cemeteries, sports complexes, etc. Foremen and managers use them for supervising the activities efficiently. Golf carts are also used in large farms or ranches, for carrying large loads.

Choosing the right golf cart

Before buying a golf cart, you have to gather information on your driving terrain, like: type of surfaces, hills, and weather. For instance, if you need it for use in a warehouse, a low horsepower vehicle is better as it is more economical. On the other hand, if you want to drive it on a hilly golf course, you need a much more powerful vehicle. You also have to estimate the physical size of the cart, the weight and the number of passengers you want it to carry. There are many brands to choose from, and as in all other fields, each manufacturer has its own strengths and weaknesses. The main manufacturers of golf carts are Club Car, EZ Go, and Yamaha. The better is to test drive the models you ‘re considering and see how you like them.

Gas vs. Electric golf carts

Electric golf carts have an electric motor run by standard lead-acid batteries. The batteries are recharged by plugging into a standard power outlet. Power choices range from 24 volts to 72 volts, but the most common are 36 and 48 volt models. Electric vehicles are much more popular than the gasoline ones, because of their lack of pollutants, lack of noise, and their low cost to operate: it is five to ten times cheaper to operate in comparison to a gas model.

Gas-powered golf carts are still the top choice for some specific applications. They are a good choice for carrying heavy loads or for farming and hunting use.

Golf carts pricing

The prices for new golf carts vary between $4,000 for a bare bones model up to more than $10,000 for luxury models including fancy wheels, lights, upgraded upholstery radios and cell phones chargers.

If you are not willing to spend that much for a golf cart, but still want to purchase one, you must consider the option of buying a used one. They can be found for as little as $2,000. Golf courses need large numbers of golf carts and they always want them to be in top condition. They permanently exchange the used golf carts with new ones. This is why you can always find many used but good golf carts on the market.

If you are a golf player, you must certainly understand the pleasure and advantages of driving a quiet ,non-polluting vehicle such as the golf cart. But even if playing golf is not one of your passions, you must consider all the benefits that a golf cart might bring to you. It can help you a lot in your daily activities and it might also be the perfect way to relax and enjoy beautiful landscape views on the course.

Author: Chip Enrunn - Chip often writes for and with Golf Schools where there is far more information, news and resources. If that link is inactive, you can paste this link into your browser - http://golfing-schools.com

About Golf Carts and How To Select One

We all know that without rules and regulations there is no game. Every game has its own rules and regulations. The rules of golf {2} {3} are internationally standardized and are jointly governed by the royal and ancient golf club of St.Andrews, which was founded in 1754 and the united states of golf association. After the agreement with R&A, USGA jurisdiction on the enforcement and interpretation of the rules is limited to the United States and Mexico. Canada has the separate royal Canadian golf association, but generally follows the lead of the two larger bodies. The rules of golf continue to evolve, and every four years, the amended versions of the rule book are published. Any brand of Golf Equipments can be used. But it is better to go in for Good brands of Golf Equipments

The rules are made keeping in mind “fairness”. There are few statements stated “play the ball as it lies”, “play the course as you find it”, and “if you can’t do either, do what is fair”. Some rules that are stated:

• Every player is entitled and obliged to play the ball from position where it has come to rest after the stroke, unless a rule allows or demands otherwise

• A player must not accept assistance in making a stroke.

• The condition of the ground or other parts of the country may not be altered to gain an advantage except some cases defined in the rules.

• A Golf ball may only be replaced by another during play of a hole if it is destroyed (rule 5-3), lost (rule 27-1), or unplayable (rule 28), or at some other time permitted by the rules. The player may always substitute balls between the play of two books.

The decisions on the rules of golf are based on formal case decisions by the R&A and USGA and are revised updated every other year.

Amateur golfers:

There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers. Anybody who played golf for money or who has ever received payment or compensation for giving instruction in golf game will not be considered an amateur. He may not be allowed to participate in competitions limited only to amateur only non-cash prizes won in competition may be accepted within the limits established by the rules of amateur status.

Golf course architecture and design:

There are many kinds of golf courses. Each country has one kind of golf course. It varies according to the climate, etc.

The different kind of golf courses:

• Link courses
• Parkland courses
• Heath land
• Desert courses
• Browns courses
• Sand courses
• Snow courses
• Par 3 courses
• Executive courses.

1. Links courses: this is the most traditional type of golf course. It is located in the coastal areas, on sandy soil, often amid dunes, with few artificial hazards and few trees if any.

2. Parkland courses: this happens to be in typical inland courses, they often resemble British parks.

3. Heath land: this means less manicured and more open area. They often feature gorse and heather and typically less trees.

4. Desert courses: this course has been recently started in Australia and parts of USA and Middle East. It’s a new invention.

5. Browns courses: akin to sand courses, but not much involved in terms of using layers of tar and gavel below the sandy surface layer, to give firmness and support and ensure a consistent bounce/roll.

6. Sand courses: instead of heavily irrigated green, the players play on sand unlike most golf players. Holes are less involved than browns courses. And are only for the casual golfer.

7. Snow courses: can be played in arctic or sub arctic regions during winter. This is a recent invention. Golf is played on snow, typically with an orange colored or any brightly colored ball.

8. Par 3 courses: this course consists entirely of holes with par 3. These are considered a good test of iron shot precision and short game, as the driver is rarely used.

9. Executive courses: the course is generally smaller than the typical 18 hole course.

Author: Acario Daire Author profile: Author is a Golf player he has been playing Golf since 15 Years. He is experienced in choosing the right Golf Equipment. He has been Experimenting with all brands of Golf Equipment. Visit http://www.golfgophers.com

Rules and Regulations of Golf

So you love the game of golf. The idea of spending all of your time on the greens is your idea of paradise on earth. Perhaps all of those Saturdays playing your favorite game aren't enough anymore. For people with this deep love of the game, considering a career in the golf industry may be a perfect fit. Like any other sports industry, golf jobs run the gauntlet from caddy to CEO of major companies.

Many people, such as students and retirees, have found ways to use their passion to their benefit. Some work as caddies or grounds keepers to receive paychecks and possibly the perk benefit of reduced or free golf time. These golf jobs work well for individuals who need to have flexible schedules to fit around classes, another full time job, or to leave time to enjoy retirement. Choosing to work at the local golf course or driving range is an excellent way to combine a favorite hobby with a paycheck.

Sporting goods stores are another great place to combine the love of money with the love of golf. Especially during the holidays and peak golf times, these stores are more than happy to have knowledgeable people ready to assist their golf challenged clients. Besides the paycheck, another benefit could be employee discounts of merchandise that would otherwise be difficult or even impossible to afford. Of course on the other hand, an awesome golf job would be to own your own golf store. However, the area you live in must be suitable for a profitable establishment if you choose to own your own store. Some of the fringe benefits of this golf job are having the opportunity to choose specific products and meet a lot of other people who live, breathe, eat, and sleep golf too.

For the outgoing type of golf lover a career in sales may be the way to go. Whether you decide to go to work for your local golfing store selling directly to the public or apply with one of the larger manufacturers and distributors of golfing equipment and sell to stores, this golf job would offer the same benefits as sales positions in other industries. Competitive wages, health benefits, 401K, you know, all of that important stuff. Who knows where networking within the job may lead? Perk benefits like free golf time, free or discounted golf equipment, and possibly meeting some pros of the game are all possible. Merging your knowledge of golf with a golf job is a great method for thriving in your job and making ends meet at the same time.

Another often overlooked golf job that may be suitable, especially for the literary gifted, would be a sports writer. There are a huge number of websites geared toward sports and specifically golf on the Internet. Those great articles come from writers. If you think you have the right stuff for golf writing, contact the editor or webmaster and pitch your ideas. You never know how things like that will turn out and you may end up with a unique, golf job that fits perfectly within your schedule. While the Internet is probably the fastest means to a golf writing job, don't forget about the more traditional magazine publications. You will just need to check out their submission guidelines in the magazine itself, on their website, or by letter to find out the editor's name and submission preferences. Writing about your favorite sport would help keep you current on all of the latest golfing news and be a fun golf job.

Golf jobs are out there if you keep your eyes and imagination open. Whether you choose to work on the course itself or from the comfort of your home writing great golf content, it is possible to use your passion as a means of income.

Author: Andy West is a freelance writer and communications specialist for SDGA. San Diego Golf Academy is a premier golf school with five locations across the United States. For information on how you may obtain a golf job, please visit http://www.sdgagolf.com

Golf Jobs: What A Great Life

Golf Training Aids – Good for a New Golfer?

Many golfers take up the game after they retire from more strenuous ball games such as baseball, football, soccer or cricket. I mean after playing in a game were a bowler or pitcher is sending a ball towards you at a high sped and you are expected to hit it out of sight how difficult can golf be?

When you watch it on TV Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson and Justin Rose make it look so very easy to propel the ball to the exact spot they want to. And lets face it why should it be difficult? The ball is just sitting there waiting to be hit, and you don’t just have one bat to hit it with, you have a choice of fourteen. So it has got to be an easy game, right? Wrong.

You go to a driving range just for a quick practice before launching yourself on your local golf club. And you suddenly discover the game is not quite so easy as it appears. The ball has an annoying habit of not going where you want it too. It may slice to the right or hook to the left; even more embarrassingly it may just roll a few feet forward as you hit your divot further than the ball.

Of course the sensible thing at this point is to book a series of lessons with a club pro. But you’re a golfer now, so commonsense tends to go out of the window. Instead you look through the golf magazines and find advertisements for a whole host of training aids that are going to sort out every aspect of your game.

There are training aids that will improve your swing, stance and your alignment. Nets and buckets that it is claimed will make you the best short game player in your club.

It is fortunate for the manufacturers of these training aids that golfers tend to spend more money on their game than almost any other sportsmen or women. Because training aids do not tend to come cheaply and you can spend a great deal of money on some of these tools and devices.

Golf training aids have a place to play in many golfers development but they should be used after you have learnt the basics from a skilled trainer such as your club professional. Teach yourself golf and you not only have an idiot for an instructor but you will ingrain faults into your game that will be difficult to eradicate later down the line when you want to improve your game.

Author: Dave Bromley has been playing golf for nearly 30 years. In that time he has spent a fortune on golf training aids and lessons but still classes himself as a learner. "We never stop learning at this game". To find out how you could knock shots off your game visit Dave's web site http://www.shotsavinggolftrainingtips.com

Golf Training Aids

When we think about the basics of the golf swing, we usually think about ball position, stance, grip, and so on. In other words, we think about the swing's physical mechanics. That's only natural, because its what most golf pros focus on in their golf lessons and what golf magazines highlight in their articles on the golf swing. It's what I write about the most in my golf tips as well.

But not everyone agrees that these are the true basics of the golf swing. For many, the true basics of the swing are something quite different, something that has nothing to do with the physical mechanics of the swing. For these people, a swing's true basics are four components-plane, centering, radius, and face. Golf instruction sessions focusing on these concepts are as helpful as golf lessons on the swing's mechanics, maybe even more helpful

Plane

Most golfers have heard of the concept of plane, but are confused as to how it applies to the golf swing. Plane is defined by the angle your club creates when it is ground at address. To master accuracy, the club must remain on this plane, especially while it approaches the ball on the downswing. (Actually, two planes-one formed by the takeaway and the other by the downswing-are involved in swinging a club, but the second plane is key.) This plane is the most powerful and direct route to the swing, as I discuss in my golf tips. Coming back to the ball above or below this plane results in pulls and slices.

Centering

Every swing has a center to it, a foundation defined by your head and your spine. If you want to hit accurate golf shots, this foundation must remain steady. Watch Tiger or any of the pros on TV and you'll see how steady their heads and spines remain throughout their swings. This foundation has two angles to it. One is the angle your spine creates with your hips at address. The other involves the lateral movement of your head. Focus on preventing both your head from moving unnaturally one way or the other and your spine from moving up or down, and you will produce better results.

Radius

Radius is the distance between the lead shoulder and the clubhead. You must keep radius intact, if you want to hit good quality shots. The key is releasing your wrists at the right time. Most amateurs release their wrists early, forcing the shaft ahead of the lead arm before impact. An early release causes you to hit the ball thin, or even worse, mis-hit it altogether. If you execute the proper sequence of movements in the downswing, you'll maintain radius.

Face

The ball travels in the direction in which your clubface is pointing at the moment of impact, minus the effect of sidespin. You must attain the same clubface position at impact that you establish at address, which is why you need to align your club properly. The key to doing this is matching the position of your hands at impact with the position of your hands at address. If you grip the club on the right side of the shaft, your hands must be on the right side of the club when you hit the ball; otherwise, you'll mis-hit.

Conclusion

Is one basic more important than another? Not really, as I tell players who take my golf lessons. They all must be executed properly, if you want to achieve a powerful, repeatable swing. Now that you are aware of them and how they contribute to your swing, try filming yourself some day and see how well you maintain them during your swing. Also note how well you hit the ball.

Plane, centering, radius, and face-these aren't the usual basics you talk about when discussing the golf swing, but they are critical. While the physical mechanics of the swing, like ball position, stance, and grip, are key, so are these four components. Master both sets and you'll achieve accuracy and consistency every time, lowering your golf handicap in the process

Author: 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. Visit http://www.howtobreak80.com

4 Basics of Any Golf Swing

Cheat. Lie. Intimidate. These are the true fundamentals of golf. If George W. Bush shoots a 7 on the par 5 9th hole and his playing partner Rex W. Tillerson the CEO of Exxon Mobil asks the President of the United States of America what he shot, George W. Bush says “Put me down for a 5.”

George W. Bush and Rex W. Tillerson are walking down the 10th fairway at the Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport Maine surrounded by 10 heavily armed secret service agents. What is Rex W. Tillerson supposed to say to George Bush? “No, I’m sorry Mr. President you shot a 7 on the last hole, not a 5?” By the time Rex got the words out he would be gunned down into the dirt. The secret service agents have been given their orders in advance. Lets say that Rex actually pointed out the President’s error to him and lived to talk about it. President Bush would merely break into song, with the vocally trained secret service agents as his back up singers singing “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.”

In 1921 renowned golf course architect Walter Travis redesigned the Cape Arundel Golf Course at 19 River Road, Kennebunkport, Maine, just down the road from the George Bush seaside compound. George Bush Sr. bought the beautiful home to keep up with the Kennedys. Walter Travis said of the Cape Arundel Golf Course he designed, “A really good golf course must abound in hazards, and good courses develop good players. Trees are non existent, as they should be, and the wind should always be an ever present factor on such a course. The greens are real beauties and will delight the soul of any real golfer.” This assumes that the golfer has a soul. To make the course more challenging, Mr. Travis placed improvised explosive devices on several of the cart paths. He was a true visionary.

It’s amazing how golfers tie their entire sense of self worth to the way they are hitting the golf ball. Robert Trent Jones designed the Shady Oaks Golf Course in Fort Worth Texas, another Bush family favorite. Robert Trent Jones redesigned Augusta National in the late 1940’s. Robert Trent Jones believed that golf should be a no risk, no reward sport. His golf courses encouraged daring play. Eminem wrote a song called “The Real Slim Shady” in which he says, “We aint nothing but mammals, well some of us cannibals who cut other people up like cantaloupes.”

In “The Silence of the Lambs”, serial killer Buffalo Bill kidnaps and skins Kathy Martin, the daughter of Ruth Martin, the United States Senator from Tennessee. The famed forensic psychiatrist and serial killer cannibal Hannibal Lecter gives a riddle to young FBI agent Clarice Starling which leads Clarice to a rent a storage facility and the car of Benjamin Raspail, a former patient of Dr. Lecter. Hidden in the parked car is the severed head in a jar of Benjamin Raspail. This was Dr. Lecter’s way of teaching his student to keep his head still on the backswing and the downswing until the swinging of the arms on the follow through brings the head up.

It’s one thing to tell the average golfer to keep her head still. The fact is that a steady head is often the result of the movement of other body parts during the swing. Twenty thousand American men and women so far have left their body parts in the sands of Babylon. Butch Harmon, the former coach of Tiger Woods recently taught Phil Mickelson that the way to keep his head still on the backswing and cure his overswing was to keep his right knee firm and flexed on the backswing instead of straightening it out. Somehow Phil Mickelson won 30 PGA tournaments and 2 Masters at Augusta National straightening his right knee on the backswing and overswinging under the tutelage of his former coach Rick Smith. At least Rick Smith didn’t have Phil Mickelson hacking balls endlessly out of the rough at Oakmont in preparation H. for the U.S. Open until lefty developed chronic carpal tunnel syndrome and then sending him out to compete with one arm.

Christie Kerr recently won the U.S. Open golf tournament at Pine Needles by two shots over Lorena Ochoa and Angela Park. After her victory on the eighteenth green Christie Kerr ran over to her new husband Erik Stevens, jumped up on him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs around his lower body, and hung there in suspension until all thoughts of Hale Irwin running around the green high living the gallery disappeared from the collective American consciousness. There are many ways to begin the downswing with the lower body, most of which lead to disaster. Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear recommends beginning the downswing by rolling the right ankle laterally and not allowing your head to ride forward. This is the secret to beginning the downswing properly, as it will drop your passive hands and arms to shoulder height from where you can then rotate your left forearm in a counter clockwise motion to the finish. However, George Bush says, “When you roll your right ankle laterally to begin the downswing, make sure that your right foot remains planted and no part of it comes off of the ground, otherwise you wil slide and come over the top, and you will shank, like I did by invading Iraq. I’m very sorry. My fellow Americans and Jesus, please forgive me for I knew not what I was doing.”

Author: Karen Fish is a writer currently living in Los Angeles California. The Temple of Love http://www.thetempleoflove.com

George Bush’s Secrets to Better Golf