I will tell you what you are supposed to do, quit falling for all of the marketing hype on expensive equipment and only buy what you need. For example, I recently interviewed a local golf shop owner over the phone and we were discussing some of the new golf balls on the market. He explained to me that representatives from different companies send him golf balls to use, hoping that he will like them so much that he would recommend them to the shops customers. In the midst of this conversation he mentioned that he has tried just about every golf ball out there, and in his opinion, they all play about the same. He told me that “Titleist is probably the best ball on the market. They cost $24.99 for the dozen.” Then he laughed and said “But they are not our best seller, our best sellers cost $44.99 a box.”

I was a little shocked to say the least and asked why, “It’s all hype. People think that if the golf balls cost twice as much they are going to be twice as good.” So ask yourself this, do you fall for the marketing hype or genuinely buy a good product for an even better price?

Will those new clubs actually improve your game, or is it hype? How could they improve your game? I have worn plenty of tennis shoes but I can say that none of them have ever made me jump higher or run faster, not even the ones that said they would, so why should you believe that the latest club is going to give you a longer drive, because honestly it probably won’t.

While speaking to the Pro Shop owner he also mentioned that a friend in the manufacturing business told him that do to the saturation of the golf market, he priced his new line of clubs at three times the price of anyone else’s. What do you think the outcome was? People wouldn’t buy them and bought something else right? Wrong! In fact he sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of those clubs because golfers assumed that the higher price tag brought a superior product.

These golf manufacturers are scamming us out of millions of dollars and can set their price to anything they want because people will buy them. What does this cause, other manufacturers to say you know what I want some of that money lets raise our prices to just beneath theirs and we will make a bundle. Sadly enough, they usually do make a fortune and they are ripping you off with you even suspecting a thing.

So what can you do to save money on all this equipment. Buy the affordable stuff! Look at it, swing the clubs, more often than not you will find it to be exactly the same as those clubs that cost two or three times as much money. Usually they are even made from the same materials, they just have a different brand name.

Use your best judgment when buying any products, if a new club says it will give you more distance, find out why, what is so special about it that the club can actually do that. Even if it does, how could it possibly do that for everyone, every golfer has a different swing style, everybody hits the ball differently. With a little research you will know when you find the right equipment and chances are it will cost considerably less.

Golf Tips and Advice for Kids

The most important thing to remember when you’re teaching kids to golf, is that you have to make it fun! Once you start setting to many rules and critiquing swings you can count the kids out, they only want to play and the PGA Tour means little to them. It can be hard, especially for competitive players, but you just have to grit your teeth and let the kids play for enjoyment and experience of the game, when they get older you can teach them the technical aspects. Let them have some fun while their young and you will have a golfer for life!

Keep your practice times to a minimum, the easiest way to overwhelm your child is to spend hours teaching the boring details. Try hitting the course for about thirty minutes or so, hit some balls and have a few laughs it will keep their motivation and interest high. Forget about grip techniques or how to hit the ball, just let them get use to the feel of the club and start swinging.

Unless you’re a wealthy individual that loves spending money(feel free to donate!), I wouldn’t suggest heading out and buying a set of kids clubs for their first time. Sure your child might want to be a golfer today, but tomorrow a fireman might be much cooler. Instead a used set of Women’s clubs should do the trick just right. They will be a little lighter and more manageable for the young ones and honestly you really don’t even need a full set. A 9-iron, a 6-iron, a 3-wood and a putter should get through a game. Should they decide they enjoy golfing and are sticking with it, get them their own set for their birthday.

Make up some little mini games to get them comfortable with the clubs. You can even do these in your backyard, something like bouncing the ball off of the face of a wedge develops ball control and its fun, even for us older guys. You might even take them to a local putt-putt course and play a few rounds, it will do wonders for their short game.

Try keeping games short and non-competitive, kids crack under pressure and it won’t take much. Try not to confuse them with to much all at one time, remember little steps. If you start demanding wins and emphasizing competition you’re going to be playing by yourself.

Once your child becomes more interested in the great game of golf, you might consider spending the money to get them some professional lessons. There are several schools that tech kids how to golf, although if you can private lessons would be the most beneficial. Children will usually learn better in a one on one environment.

One of the first things you should teach your child is a little golf etiquette. The reason being that you don’t want them on the green talking through someone else’s swing or walking in front of other player’s.

One last tip, take the initiative to praise how they play, let them know that their swing is so much better or that last drive was great and encourage them to do little things to make their game even better without dwelling on it to much.

Just think the next time you are preparing to tee off, your son or daughter might be standing right beside you, that is the best feeling of all. What a great way for you to build a stronger relationship with your child.

After being lined up with the ball by his volunteer assistant, Dunham was a  9 iron and away he went.  He swung through the ball, and landed softly on the green before taking one hop into the cup.   As imagined, Dunhams golfing buddies broke into a cacophony of cheers and high-fives.

So what was the visually disabled World War II vet’s reaction to this?  “I thought they were kidding me,” Dunham said. “I told them, ‘You guys better not be pulling my leg.’”

Dunham began losing his vision around 10 years ago, but has been in the VA program for only three weeks.  Sounds like Tiger has some new competition, watch out!

–Source

Friday, at the Harbour Town Golf Links, Weekley shot a 64 to move a shot behind current leader Lucas Glover. Weekley’s round left him at 9-under par, second to Glover’s 10-under 132.

Weekley has been all smiles on the course this week, enjoying the cheers and friendly atmosphere from familiar fans. In fact, this course is where Weekley won his first ever PGA Tour event, which took place last year, when he beat out Ernie Els by improbably chipping in on the 71st and 72nd holes.

“It’s always fun to be able to look out on the crowd and see all the people pulling for you and chanting your name,” Weekley said. “I always have a place in my heart” for Harbour Town.

As well he should have, Weekley won his first time playing here and on top of that he has never shot higher than 69 in six career rounds here. So of course Weekley loves this place, he loves everything about it.

Weekley shot up the leaderboard Friday with four birdies on the back nine, setting himself up for a second straight run at the title. His determination and great play so far may come as not so welcome by some of his competitors this weekend. Either way he can expect to have some very stiff competition.

Glover, while battling an already rough season, continued his improved play, finishing with his second straight 66. Despite his inability to finish better than 22nd in his first eight events, he was able to squeeze his way into the lead Thursday with two late birdies, then managed to use four birdies on his back nine to push past Weekley into first.

After missing the Masters for the first time in three years, Glover was able to motivate himself even further to improve for Harbour Town. Of course it may have helped that at the Shell Houston Open, Glover had apparently discovered a problem with his ball positioning and posture, which he has corrected.

“I told myself I had to go to work and it’s not going to come easy,” Glover said. “I was able to do it the last couple of days.”

Five-time Heritage champ Davis Love III, tied with Glover and Justin Leonard for the lead after one round, But fell five shots behind after a 71.

All of the players will have to get past Weekley if they hope to take the championship.

“It’s great to be able to come back here and say, ‘Hey, I was defending champion at one time,’ and might still be coming up,” Weekley said. “All depends on what happens.”

–Source

See you on the green!

After watching the video you can head to the course and try it out. Just another reason to hit the green, enjoy!

The History of my Golf Ball Carvings:
I have been carving intricate scenes into the inside of real TopFlite golf balls for about 4 years now and people are still amazed at the amount of detail I am able to include. My work has been featured in King 5 News in Seattle, Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum and several National Talk Radio shows. You will also have the ability to see my work in an upcoming issue of Golf Magazine.

I kind of began carving golf balls by accident. I was originally a wood carver and out of boredom one day decided to cut open a golf ball to remove the rubber bands. Well to my surprise there were no rubber bands, they are now made with a rubber like, composite core that helps increase distance on your golf swing. The artist inside of me instantly decided to try and create something from it and away I went. Armed with carving chisels in hand, I went to work and yes, my first few carvings came out pretty bad, but over time, I got better and now they are what you see today.

Once the bulk of the scene has been carved, I begin using an assortment of dental tools to sculpt the fine details found inside each golf ball. These details often include trees, rocks, water scenes and yes even ships and cars. This is usually the longest and most painstaking part of the entire carving process.

Now the golf ball goes to paint. Each scene is painted in its full glorious detail once the carving is complete. I always use acrylic craft paints and the paint is applied with artists’ detail brushes, with the smallest of details being painted using toothpicks, due to their very fine points.

Get Your Custom Golf Ball Today:
Contact me today to get started on your order. As I have mentioned several times already, each golf ball is hand carved, so it will require some time to get your custom piece finished. Orders have increased steadily with the news coverage I have been receiving so don’t wait any longer, order your’s today while you still can. Prices start at $35 and average around $55 per ball, depending on the scene and level of detail involved. You can view some of my work in the golf ball gallery, feel free to contact me for availability.

Hey, I can’t blame him, I have tried that trick numerous times and have yet to get it right.  Maybe some of us just don’t have the hand-eye coordination.  Better luck next time Tiger!