Archive for Sports Resources
June 2, 2008 at 9:23 pm · Filed under Sports Resources
Your golf bag is a piece of golf accessory that allows you to carry all your other equipment with you such as the clubs, tees, markers, and perhaps an umbrella or towel. This piece of equipment doesn’t necessarily have direct effects on your game but may have great influence on your overall game, comfort and fatigue level.
There are two major things that may affect your choice of golf bag- the gears that you will put into the bag and the way you will carry the bag. Are you making use of a caddie or a golf cart?
To these, there are basically three kinds of golf bags: the staff bag or the tour bag the travel or carry bag and the cart bag.
The staff bag or tour bags. The largest selection of golf bags is staff or the tour bags. They are readily equipped with enough storage space for 14 standard golf clubs and have rooms for other golf equipments that are necessary during the games. Most professional golfers use this type of golf bags as they always have caddies with them. So they may often choose to bring as much equipments as they prefer. Good staff bags are generally made of leather and other premium materials and are relatively highly priced.
Travel or carry bags. If smaller bags appeal to you and you are thinking of carrying your own bag, you may chose to have the travel or the carry bag. Though they may vary in different forms and sizes, they are rather smaller than the other golf bags. They are designed purposely to make room for the basic golf equipments such as limited number of golf clubs, other small accessories and a number of golf balls. There are also specialized carry bags for junior golf players.
The majority of travel bags are made of plastic, nylon and other lighter materials. There are carry bags that have added features that may expand the ease of use. Many are equipped with straps, others appear with stands. These stands allow players to get their clubs easily.
Cart golf bags. These are relatively smaller than the tour bags. However, using this kind of golf bag may require the help of a cart or caddie since it is more bulky than most tour bags. As the name suggests, cart bags are designed exactly to be used by golf carts. These have lesser pockets and are generally made of light materials.
Things to consider when choosing golf bags
- Given that you have a caddie with you, the size and weight of the golf bag may not necessarily bother you, unless it has become too heavy for your caddie. The weight specially won’t matter if you are using a golf cart. However, if you intend to walk around the golf course while carrying your bag then it would be most ideal for you to choose the not-so-heavy bag that may contain all the equipments you need without being bulky. The most ideal in this case is the carry bag with a stand.
- The first question that would probably arise is ” how much the bag will be”. Like with most things, the more money your pocket may allow you, the more features you may get. You may buy golf bags for as low as $40 however, prices may reach up to $500. If your budget is limited, it is best to stick with a golf bag that has more features than what its price may earlier suggest. Finding for such may be a painstaking task but it will after all be for good.
- It is relatively important to take note of the feature of the bag. If you are normally carrying lot of equipments during your game, it is recommended for you to buy a bag that has many side pockets. However, if you prefer to bring along the most basic gears, lots of pockets may not necessarily be of the initial requirements.
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, golf bags don’t have direct effects on the outcome of the games. It is not bad though to get some of the life’s pleasures.
Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides golf bag resources on href=”http://www.your-golf-bag.info”>http://www.your-golf-bag.info
April 30, 2008 at 8:03 pm · Filed under Sports Resources
Although hitting from a bunker is straightforward once you learn the basics of stance and posture, the thought of hitting into a greenside sand trap unsettles many golfers. Improving your technique reduces the fear of bunker play and builds self-confidence in your shot-making capabilities.
Assuming the texture of the sand is similar, and the ball is not plugged, the technique for hitting out of a greenside bunker remains the same for shots up to 30 yards (27m). The key to making this shot, as I’ve explained in my golf tips, is hitting the sand about 1 to 2 inches behind the ball, throwing the sand forward with the ball. For longer shots the only thing that changes is the swing’s length. Rhythm and tempo remain the same.
Below are 5 points I cover in my golf lessons on bunker technique. They’re the focus of my golf instruction once I’ve reviewed how a wedge works and the fundamentals of stance and posture.
1. Move Arms Away in Unison
Having taken a slightly open stance, resist the temptation to get too steep early in the takeaway. Keep the wrists passive as you sweep the club away. Try to synchronize the arm swing and body turn. In other words, make the first part of the takeaway a one-piece movement. Also, make sure the clubhead follows the path away from the ball parallel to the line of your toes.
2. Rotate and Open
Rotate your left arm and wrists as the swing continues, as if you were looking at a wristwatch. It’s a visual I often use in my golf instruction to help players remember to make the move. It opens the clubface and helps maximize the bounce effect on the sand wedge at impact. Also, start hinging your wrists as the clubhead passes your right thigh. Keep your head still, turn the left shoulder in under the chin, and turn your back to the target.
3. Turn to the Top
As your body turns, you should feel as if your clubhead is pointing toward the sky and your wrists are cocked. Keep your head and body centered over the over the ball. Swing the club down on a slightly flatter plane, with good rhythm and tempo, as always. This is a key move any time you swing a club.
4. Make the Right Contact
Hitting the right impact point is critical when playing from the sand. In golf lessons I tell students to visualize the ball sitting on top of a tee instead of the sand, then focus on clipping the tee beneath the ball, which just happens to get in the swing’s way. Executed properly, this move will throw the ball out of the bunker with just the right amount of sand.
5. Create a Controlled Explosion
As the club comes down in the downswing, you should feel your hands drag left, pulling them across the ball through impact. Make sure that your right hand doesn’t cross over the left and that you clear your left hip as the club comes through. If the stance and clubhead are open sufficiently, the ball will fly straight, with a high trajectory.
Of course, the technique for longer bunker shots differs slightly. The key with longer shots is in the follow-through. Use a full finish for long bunker shots, and a short finish for shorter bunker shots.
Below are two exercises that I use in golf lessons to help students improve their bunker technique:
• This exercise establishes how the sand wedge should really work. Stand in a practice bunker without a ball. Adopt your normal bunker stance and take several swings down into the sand. The object is to get the feel of the clubhead dragging through the sand, not digging into it. After a dozen shots, try hitting a ball. Pick out a spot where you want the ball to land and then go for it. Repeat the exercise until you’re comfortable with the feel of the wedge splashing through the sand.
• Focusing on a spot where the clubhead hits can divert attention from where it emerges, resulting in a fluffed shot. The “Two Lines” exercise helps eliminate the tendency to lose focus. Stand in a bunker and take your normal bunker stance. Draw two lines in the sand about 6 to 7 inches apart. The lines represent the length of the sand you should carve from under the ball. Line up several balls between the two lines then hit them. The clubhead should enter the sand where the first line is and emerge where the second line is.
Practicing these two exercises while keeping the 5 points in mind will help build better bunker technique. As you become more and more comfortable with hitting out of a bunker, you will increase your self-confidence. And that, as I often tell my students, leads to better play and lower golf handicaps.
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.
April 4, 2008 at 11:19 am · Filed under Sports Resources
When you have that bar discussion if Mitch Richmond or Robert Horry belongs in the Hall-of-Fame, remember that answer is probably no. Several once sure-fire Famers aren’t guaranteed anymore, not after Dominique Wilkins, 9-time all-star and former slam-dunk champ was skipped from the Hall last year. Gary Payton is in the same boat as Wilkins, and might not get into Springfield as quickly as he might have hoped. But why exactly did Wilkins get skipped?
Let’s get one thing straight: the NBA has a Hall-of-Fame system might just be worse than Baseball’s. For some reason, there is no “NBA Hall-of-Fame”; instead we get the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. The difference in this politically correct age that we live in is that nobody gives a damn about any basketball Hall, other than the one that the pros go in to. Now all factions of basketball greats go into just one Hall-of-Fame, so we notice some other stars, if only by accident.
It’s a decent idea on paper, but you know it’s a failure when Dominique Wilkins doesn’t get in. The most bizarre portion of the Hall inductees is that they elect in everyone, even players who played in the Europe leagues. Of course, Wilkins played in the European leagues, but I guess that was missed somehow in the voting. Why exactly should we care about non-American athletes-I’m pretty sure they don’t care about us. Tell me how a guy named Drazen Dalipagic can get in, and Dominique Wilkins cannot?
Casual fans will say that he might not deserve to get in because he never won a ring. Of course, that argument has to be nullified when you sit down and realize that Darko Milicic, Isaiah Rider and Tyrone Lue all have rings. Are you going to award a guy who’s the 12th man on a championship team more than a great player who stuck with one lousy team? If you did, then welcome to the Hall Will Purdue.
There is but one feasible possibility that Wilkins is not inducted in Springfield right now: he didn’t finish with a legacy. Reggie Miller didn’t win a title, but he was great up to his final playoff appearance. That’s why he’s a lot safer to get in than Dominique or Gary Payton. ‘Nique finished his career very sloppily. In his final 4 seasons, Wilkins played for 5 teams over a span of 6 years. Dominique missed the entire 95-96 and 97-98 seasons, playing time in Europe when he wasn’t interested in other teams offers. While his stats were just as great with the Clippers, Celtics and Spurs as they were with Atlanta, fans just couldn’t get over him in a Magic jersey.
Payton is the same. His career essentially ended when he left Seattle. Spending his last years with the Bucks, Lakers, Celtics and Heat is no legacy. He too didn’t win a ring, although we’ll have to wait and see on this year. I’d like to see him get in, but not before Dominique Wilkins, the human highlight film, gets in.
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