Private Golf Clubs

Playing golf at private clubs is a different matter from playing golf on a public golf course. If you haven’t been to any private club, there are some things that you should consider as you’re preparing to play, and when you get to the golf course.

1. The course probably requires a dress code. Now this doesn’t mean that you have to run out and buy expensive or name brand clothing. It just means that there are some basic expectations for your attire. For men, it’s safe to assume that all you’ll need to wear is a collared golf shirt and some decent pants or shorts. Avoid ‘cargo’ style shorts and cut-offs, and tuck your shirt in, of course. For the ladies, it means that your shorts or skirt will need to be at least mid-thigh in length, and that halter tops, tank tops, or low scoop-neck shirts are out. You may discover when you get there that there isn’t a dress code – but believe me, you’ll be glad that you’re overdressed at that point, rather than being embarrassed and feeling out of place for being underdressed, or worse, being asked to change by the staff.

2. The next thing you’ll need to keep in mind is that it’s generally considered bad form to change your shoes in the parking lot. You’ll want to carry them in a shoe bag with you to the locker room and change there instead.

3. Another thing to think about is that the staff is likely going to be expecting you to tip them when they assist you along the way, so bring some cash and kick down. The valet attendant and the guy or girl who gets your clubs at the bag drop should get a buck or two. The shoe shine attendant in the locker room should get between 5 and 10 bucks if he cleans up your kicks before you go. If you take a caddie, the average fee is around $25 per person – not counting the tip. So plan to pay the caddie $30 or $40 or more to cover the total amount.

4. Keep in mind also that most private clubs don’t permit cell phone use these days. So what’s that mean? It means don’t use your phone until you find out from the staff or your host that it’s okay to do so. Simple.

5. One final thing to think about is just because you were invited to play, it doesn’t mean that the host intends to pay for your round. After you’ve changed your shoes in the locker room and met up with your host, ask him or her how you can settle up for the guest fee. If they plan to take care of it, you’ll find out at that time, if not, they’ll give you directions to the golf shop. But, believe me, in either case the host will appreciate your offer to pay. . . . . .

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How to Play Business Golf: Learn how golf and business merge, and how to be successful and play more golf!

Five Strategies That Lower Golf Handicaps

Five Strategies That Lower Golf Handicaps
by Jack Moorehouse

Forget your mechanics

When you’re been away like Tiger has, you tend to think about your mechanics too much. When you start focusing on where your hands are or where your shoulders are when you swing, you’re thinking about your mechanics. The place to work on your mechanics is in practice. There you can isolate a swing flaw and work on it without adding strokes to your golf handicap. On the course, think about where to hit the ball, not how to hit it. Trust your body to do the rest.

Think small

Hitting to an area on the fairway isn’t good enough. Think smaller. Pick out a spot on the fairway, like a dark patch of grass or a brown spot, and hit to it. It’s called narrowing your focus. Ben Hogan did it all the time. When told by his caddy to hit the ball to a clump of trees, Hogan asked him which tree he had in mind. Narrowing your focus works well when putting, too. When you have a tricky three-footer, focus on an imperfection in the back of the cup and stroke the ball confidently toward it.

Use visualization

Visualization is a powerful mental tool that can help shave strokes off your golf handicap. Use it as much as possible. The easiest way to access the power of visualization is through mental imagery. Imagine the type of shot you want to make and then hit several of those shots in your head. Now hit the shot for real. Mental practice helps both your tempo and your feel for the shot. That’s why some teachers devote entire golf instruction sessions to visualization.

Stay in the moment

This is one of Tiger’s strengths. It should serve him well at the Masters. When you think about a shot’s outcome, you’re focusing on something you can’t control, generating anxiety. Players who haven’t played in a while have enough anxiety. They don’t need more. Instead, focus on what you have to do then and there. That lessens the anxiety. If you’ve seen Tiger play in the past, you know how intently he concentrates on every shot, especially in pressure situations.

Enjoy the game

When you’re playing poorly, you tend to get down on yourself. If Tiger starts off poorly, this strategy will help. When playing poorly, ask yourself why you play? Is it for relaxation? Camaraderie? Mastery? Whatever the reason, remind yourself why you started playing the game in the first place. If you’re going to play golf, you might as well enjoy it. It takes the pressure off and puts the game in its proper perspective.

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Conquer the Mental Side of Golf to lower your golf handicaps.

Bunker Mentality and Etiquette

There’s a lot more to bunker mentality and etiquette than simply raking your footprints before you leave. The next time you ball ends up on the ‘beach,’ consider these following customs:

Try to enter the bunker from a spot as near as possible to your ball, but never from the ‘front’ of the bunker (green side), always from the rear (opposite the green). The reason for this is two-fold. One, it’s bad form.  Two, should you hit a lousy shot, you really don’t want your ball to end up in one of your footprints.

Don’t enter a bunker by walking up or down a steep slope. Try to enter from a spot that is level. By doing this, you won’t cause an avalanche of sand to fall from the slopes to the bottom. Again, doing so, is just bad form.

Unless you are playing in a tournament, bring a rake with you into the bunker so you can rake your footprints on your way out.

Walk out of the bunker along the same line that you entered so you will only have to rake one trail of tracks.
Rake the bunker with purpose – don’t just go through the motions. The objective is to smooth the sand so there aren’t any bumps or troughs that might cause the next player additional stress.

Replace the rake where it was when you found it. Some course prefer to place the rakes in the bunkers, others prefer to keep them out. Just follow the local custom.

Always lay the rake with the teeth down.

Just like most things in golf, there’s a lot more to the custom than you might think at first glance. Getting those little things right is what demonstrates your respect for the game and the other players on the course. . . . .

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Fixing Pitch Marks

One of the most frustrating things for golf pros everywhere to deal with is the damage caused to the surface of a green by pitch marks.

Well, actually, it isn’t the damage that’s frustrating. The damage is inevitable. What’s frustrating is when players are too lazy to repair those pitch marks.

Fixing pitch marks is simple: all you have to do is bend over and stick your pitchfork in the ground a few times, and then tap the mound down with the bottom of your putter. It really isn’t a whole lot of work.

The long and short of it is this:

1. An unfixed pitch mark damages the greens mowers – which are expensive pieces of equipment.

2. An unfixed pitch mark leaves ugly dead spots on the green – and the greens are expensive to maintain.

Please just have enough respect for your fellow players and for the golf course where you’re playing to bend over a repair your damage. If you feel like it, fix an extra one or two on each green, because someone playing ahead of you will have no doubt left their pitch marks un-fixed. There’s not much more too it than that.

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What to Do On the First Tee

There’s a certain protocol that should be thoroughly understood and effortlessly executed while on the first tee. Although this list might seem like a lot to remember, it’s all worth it. Done right, all these habits will go unnoticed. Done wrong, you’ll be the center of attention for reasons you’d rather not be.

Here are some things to think about on the first tee:

Be quick, but don’t hurry:   Be ready to take the tee when it’s your turn. . .

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Random Thoughts on Golf and Life

Golf is a microcosm of life, and the way we relate to the people and the world around us in that it seems a complicated motion with lots of variable and moving parts, but when dissected, the fundamental tenets are few and relatively easy to understand. 

We rarely know how or why when we’re doing it correctly, yet it becomes painfully obvious when we’re doing it all wrong.  At its core, everything that occurs is a chain reaction of events which begins with the knowledge that in the absence of a solid base and/or a proper grip on things, you’re destined for disaster from the very start. Well, that goes with life too!

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Fix Your Golf Slice Now!

Studies have shown that less than 25 percent of golfers have straight golf shots, and the rest of them have golf slice problems. Interestingly, those who have golf slices are those with a handicap of 10 or higher. Nearly 50 percent of golf slices result in landing the golf ball at least 25 yards away from the center of the fairway. All in all, a golf slice is a common flaw in many golfers, and a golf slice is a stumbling block to golf success. Golf slices, if unattended, can only get worse, not better.

This is how you can fix your golf slice:

(1) Always point your clubface at the target.

(2) Glue a tee to a magnet and place it in the center of your clubface.

(3) Practice your golf swing in slow motion as many times and as often as possible until your clubface is always pointing at the target. Practice makes perfect -- practice until it becomes second nature to you.

(4) In addition, maintain a good posture (go to my web page: Good Posture) by doing regular sit-ups to strengthen your abdominal muscles, which not only enhance core stability but also prevent your arms and torso from swinging your clubface across the target line. Remember, your abdominal muscles play a pivotal part in your golf swing, and hence conducive to fixing your golf slice.

(5) Practice hitting the ball at the center of the clubface by affixing a face tape (obtainable at a golf pro shop) to the center of your clubface. In practiicing your golf swing, pay particular attention to the point of contact. With more practice, you will soon learn how to adjust your golf swing so that you will always hit the ball at the center of the clubface.

Instant Golf Slice Cure shows you the secrets to the best cure for golf slices for your golf success. Follow 4 simple steps and 4 drills to help you drop your strokes fast, as well as to make your drives a mindless act. Learn from a professional the groundbreaking tips to fix your golf slice to improve accuracy, confidence, distance, and scoring.

For more information on golf products for your golf success, go to my web page: Golf Success Resources.

Stephen Lau