Golf is a hands-on game. You will not learn how to play well by studying a video or playing a Nintendo game. You can watch all the pro golf games on TV you like, but can you remember how Tiger Woods did it when the ball is in front of you and the club is in your hands?
People make millions out of golf videos, golf tutorials and golf games, but few people have ever learned anything from them. You will learn much more by spending an hour with the club golfing pro.
If you really would like a video to watch at home, why not make your own when you are spending an hour with the golf pro? Take a youngster with you to film your lesson on a camcorder.
The first suggestion for novices is to keep your eyes on the ball. This might sound obvious, but if you watch novices taking a shot, you will often see that they look away too early. This can result in a sliced stroke or even a miss. If you keep your eyes on the ball, you will not lose it either.
Whilst putting, stand squarely over the ball. The ball should be midway between your feet and your head should be directly over the ball. This also permits you to get a decent line of sight to the hole. The stroke ought to be smooth, with a graceful follow through.
Keeping the ball on the fairway is a problem for most novice golfers. It appears all to easy to slice the ball into the rough. This has to do with your stance. A sliced ball is one that has been hit on its side, like putting side on a snooker ball to make it spin in that direction.
If you put side on a golfing ball, it will spin in that direction and veer off in that direction as well. The answer to this difficulty, is to always hit the ball squarely will the centre of the blade of the club, unless you want it to curve in mid flight. That is for advanced players though. Beginners ought to concentrate on learning how to hit the ball straight.
Hooking the ball is another difficulty altogether although the affect is similar - that is that the ball goes off to the side. Hooking the ball has to do with swing and posture. It is usually the result of not driving the ball straight ahead of you, but slinging it to the opposite side of your prevailing arm. That is, right-handed golfers will hook the ball to the left.
To right this, practice hitting the ball only a couple of yards into an upright bucket or a dog's basket. Each day you ought to move the basket back a couple of feet until you can confidently chip almost each ball into the basket. Then go for power and endeavour to hit the ball from the tee onto the green.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is at present involved with Golfing Tips for Beginners. Click a link if you are interested in the Golf Swing Secrets.
