Many people take up Golf thinking that it is easy, after all, how hard can it be to hit a little white ball with a stick? This thinking evaporates the first time they step onto a driving range and attempt to hit that little white ball. Golf is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. My experience with golf began in May of 2005 when friends came to stay with us; my wife informed me that I would have to take Roy, her friend’s husband Golfing. I had not been to a driving range (since I was in my teens) and I had never played golf on a course before. It was quite an experience; the weather was cold, rainy and nasty the three times we played while they where here, the game hooked me badly, even with the bad shots and the nasty weather. This essay is about the cause and effect aspect of hitting the golf ball with proper and improper technique.
Everything about golf is counter intuitive, for instance, to make the ball go up you need to hit down on it and compress the ball into the grass so the groves on the club face can impart the proper spin to the ball which makes it rise into the air. This is why you see the tour pros take large divots from the turf, on almost every swing.
Most beginners want to help the ball into the air by swinging up on it, which leads to mostly thin shots, (thin being: not taking any turf at all and striking the ball at or above its equator) or fat shots (the club bottoming out into the turf before the ball is struck). When the ball is struck thin, (commonly known as a worm burner) it leaves the clubface very close to the ground and may have decent distance through roll but most times, it goes 50 to 60 yards hits the ground. The fat shot typically leaves the clubface with a high trajectory but lacks t...
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...tle thought and wonder why the ball is not going where they think they aimed. The proper way to align yourself is to step 10 to 15 teen feet behind the ball and view your target. Pick a spot 1 to 2 feet in front of the golf ball that is in line with the target and the golf ball. Once you have this point in front of the ball, draw an imaginary line from it trough the golf ball, when taking your stance; line everything up parallel to the imaginary line, feet, knees, hips and shoulders. Please remember that the golf stance is parallel left of target for the right-handed golfer. If you line yourself up with everything at the target, you will hit the ball to the right of the target. If you speak with any pro golfer and ask him how he fixed a particular problem that was affecting his swing, he would tell he went back to the fundamentals, proper grip, stance and alignment.
To start off, Now, we come to the tee-box where we put our stretching and breathing into effect creating the positive mentality, followed by a few quick practice swings. You then tee-up the ball, making sure the ball is lined up with the center of the face of the club. Then, you line up your shot and swing away, sending the ball flying down the middle of the fairway, creating a sense of euphoria. Next, we approach our second shot, making sure to choose the correct club according to the distance from the green. Once again, you line up your shot and swing, letting the ball coast and land on the green, as close to the hole as you possibly could. Now, comes the trickiest part which is reading the green. You grab your putter, then step back and squat, all the time trying to visualize the ball path. You, determine then were you should line up your putt depending on the break which is in the ball path. You step up to the ball, line up your putt, and swing your arms like a clock pendulum. The ball sinks into the hole sending you into a jumping fit of excitement. Thus, neatly showing how you can successfully play a hole of
Most amateur golfers believe that impact on the ball is the only key factor for hitting straighter and farther by swinging harder and faster, forgetting important facets in basics of the swing. There are multiple parts of the swing that involve biomechanics however; some key points are set-up, backswing, downswing, follow-through, and ground reaction force (GFR). To focus primarily only on one point of the swing to fix all problems is an obscure way to view the s...
Although golfers end the day on the 18th green, their day begins on a tee box. A drive, the first hit off a tee toward the objective hole, may seem very routine and insignificant, but, in fact, it is the most important shot taken on each hole. If golfers hit a long drive into the nicely cut fairway, they have only to hit the ball off the nicely cut grass on usually a clear path to the hole. But if they hit a drive into the woods, then they have to make sure the ball does not hit any trees, branches, or other obstacles when exiting the woods. That’s why hitting a good drive is a must. With practice, even you can hit a fundamental drive.
Golf is the ultimate battle between man and nature. It is a beautiful sport in which dreams come true and hearts are broken. Man is challenged on every stroke by nature’s elements. Wind and rain are only a few of the conditions that affect this great game. Undulating hills, sand bunkers, thick rough, and even creeks and ponds come into play on most golf courses. These features are fierce at Augusta National Golf Course. Located along the fall line, the natural beauty of the region is the perfect complement to this championship golf course. Every spring when the flowers are in full bloom, Augusta plays host to The Masters Championship and is transformed into the Mecca of Golf.
Golf is a game of honor. The furthest ball from the hole must be hit first to try and get it in. In match play, if the a player gets a double par they must pick up the ball and move on to the next hole. In golf, a player compete against an opponent to see who can hit the ball in the hole, the least amount of strokes. The athlete must endure mild to intense workouts to become good at the sport. The most important aspect to work on in golf, is the swing. The athlete must focus on their golf swing to perform optimal swing mechanics. This is because the players consistency for 18 holes “depends on a stable golf swing” (Pedersen). While swinging a club, a person can work at least 16 different muscle groups in their body, so training these muscle groups will help their overall ability. Last but not least balance is another essential for every golf player. In golf, “...players who are restricted in their hips or shoulders start to strike the ball better if they downshift to 75 percent or 80 percent of full tempo” (Nilsson). Balance is a key factor in playing and being good at
I guess it started when I was about twelve years old. My father took me to this place called a golf course. I did not know why or what we were here for, but I was interested in finding out. We entered a building called a clubhouse; then, he paid for a bucket of practice balls. I followed him to the driving range. Once we got there, he got a metal stick from his golf bag and gave it to me. I grabbed the stick, and he showed me how to hold it. Then, he told me to swing it. I swung it back and forth as careless as I could. He then said, "Son, you have one of the nicest golf swings I have ever seen." I did not even know what I was doing with that stick, but I guess my dad saw something I didn't. My father then decided that he was ready to teach me how to use the three clubs of golf: a putter, iron, and wood. He handed me the putter, and we went to the green. He explained to me that a putter is used on a green to get the ball into the hole. I took a few smooth swings back and forth to get a feel for a putter. He said, "Hit this ball until it goes into the hole." I was impressed with myself because it only took me six hits to get it in the hole. He laid twenty balls on the green, and he told me to hit every ball in with one shot. It took me about three hours, but I accomplished what my dad told me. He thought I was ready to try the next club, so we headed to the next location. We went out onto the fairway, and he handed me an iron. He laid out some more balls on the ground and told me to hit them towards the flag on the green. The first ball I hit did not even get close to the green. The rest of the balls I hit went either over or on the front of the green, but I never let another one fall short. My dad said, "Keep practicing until you hit all of the balls on the green." I kept practicing until all of the balls were laid up around the flag.
Ever since I was a little kid, golf has been there. Golf has been something in my life that I can always fall back on and use to get some anger out of just to clear my head. No matter what it was, golf has been my rock. There is nothing like waking up at the crack of dawn to get out under the sun to play a game you love.
The golf ball has changed dramatically through the years. Smooth hardwood balls were used between the 1400 and 1700's.
Imagine the sun bursting through the trees for the first time of the new day, the smell of freshly cut grass still potent to your nose as you tee the ball up for a round of golf in the cool mist of a spring morning. "That is what brings you back every time, the smell of the air, the coolness of the whether and the beautiful surroundings that make every shot enjoyable." (Suess, PI) This is the game of golf in its finest and most exquisite time to many people and many people it has touched in its long history. Golf is a lifestyle and not just games to people that are avid in playing. The game of golf has a history that is rich in technological advances and personal accomplishments, which through time has shown to shape the sport into what it has become today.
Contrary to what most think, an “Arnold Palmer” is not just a blend of tea and lemonade. One day, all might be able to swing a golf club like Arnold Palmer. Golf has been around since the thirteenth century and was introduced by the Scottish and Dutch. The main goal of golf is to reach the hole in the fewest amount of shots possible. One main difference between golf and many other sports is the lower the score the better. Regardless of the fact that the game was once banned, golf is now enjoyed by many (“The History of Golf”). Despite the images in common golf commercials, the golf swing is endlessly complicated.
Golf is different than any other sport I’ve ever played. Golf challenges the body, mind, and soul. The average person doesn’t think a lot about golf, or thinks that it is not a challenging sport. Once they have played it is a different story. Golfing is not just taking a swing at the ball, it involves several tedious techniques and strategies such as; making sure you are aimed where you want the ball to go, your hands are in the right spot on your clubs, your knees are slightly bent, etc. In the book “The Mind at Work” a member of the UCLA Graduate school of education and Information Studies, Mike Rose, states “With time and practice, all this becomes routine, automatic.” We are asked to compare Rose’s work with intelligence that we as students have acquired through our lives thus far. Something that I have worked for and learned about since I was young is golf. I
I grew up at Ravenwood Country Club. I had the perfect life. My dad was a PGA golf professional and I got to use the club’s facilities whenever I pleased. However, there was one problem: I despised golf. Not only did golf disgust me, but it was my mortal enemy. I was around it so much that I never wanted to play. I would have been much happier chasing butterflies than playing golf.
Because of the evolution, golf looks much different than when it started. Because the sport of golf has changed, many people have been able to better their game and lower their handicap. Along with this, many more people have been introduced to the game which may be helping the sport be
Up until this point, all the golf balls that were created had been made with a smooth, rounded surface. But the Gutta Perch balls had a strange phenomenon occur when they began to wear down and get chips and defects on the surface. They actually became more accurate and flew in a straighter line at this point. This is due to the aerodynamics on the ball, which is comprised of two elements, lift and drag. Lift pushes golf balls upwards in the air, whereas drag creates a force against the direction the ball travels. Small depressions on the ball 's surface, such as chips/ defects on a Gutta Perch and the dimples on modern balls you see today, create a layer of smooth flowing air turbulence around the ball that decreases drag. These indentations also help create a backspin on the ball, which positively affects the
The difference in the two sports that the athletes played (basketball and golf) is quite a big one. In basketball, the object of the game is if you are on offense you want to put the ball into the round hoop while you are being guarded by opposing players and you have a boundary you have to stay in. If you are on defense, you want to prevent the offense from scoring into the hoop and if a shot is made, you throw the ball from out of bounds and then you are on offense. In golf, you are not on a team you are playing for your own