Your Foundation for A Great Swing

"Straighten up!"...I was told when they caught me slouching. Well, "straightening up" is not quite the tight thing in your golf but I'm sure you're not surprised to discover that your posture is crucial in ensuring consistency and power in your strokes. What's more when you embody, my "3 Tenets of Great Golf Posture" you'll enjoy a more relaxed, easy comfort through 18 holes of play...

P for Posture - Your swing is a whole body phenomenon involving your feet, your legs, your hips, your trunk, your arms, your shoulders etc. You need good flexion, stability, strength, rotation in the hip, knees and torso in order to effectively result in perfect contact between the club and the ball. Proper posture is the framework that brings it all together and it's crucial to executing a killer swing. Here are some pointers that will help you guarantee that posture is not the weak link in your game.

Start from a relaxed upright posture, with your ears over your shoulders and knees slightly bent. It is very important during your golf posture to maintain the space between your head and your chest so that you allow easy rotation of your shoulders. Now let's talk a little "spine angle".

Spine Angle is the angle that your torso makes with the ground. Bend at the waist while keeping your torso and spine straight. You'll need an angle of about 30-45 degrees depending on your height and the length of your club. The taller you are and the shorter your club, the more spine angle you'll need. To complete your posture, simply flex your knees so that your head comes over your feet. You will engage the most powerful muscles of your body - your leg muscles. You are now perfectly set to take a power shot with optimal comfort. And what's more, because this posture is congruent with the natural bio-mechanics of your body, you can do it over and over through the course of 18 holes without the fatigue, the aches and the pains that come from improper use of your body.

Maintain a Consistent Spine Angle through the full range of your stroke and you will be delighted to produce a great shot. Keep your eye on the ball as you swing and notice how your posture changes. Be sure to keep your head up and maintain your viewing position by appropriate flexion of the hip and knee joints. Keep your spine straight at all costs. Bending the spine causes the chest to collapse and the neck and shoulders to rotate forwards and inwards. This not only distorts the natural arc of your swing but it makes it difficult to turn your head through the range of motion required to keep your eye on the ball. The accuracy of your shot goes to hell in a hand basket. So keep your back straight and you'll maintain a solid base from which you can accurately aim those long drives.

Core Stability and Flexibility is the key, and a little practice on the core stability ball with some simple yoga or Pilates exercises can help you develop these much needed attributes for a great golf swing. Abdominal crunches are an excellent exercise for developing core strength and endurance. But that's a subject for another article.

The 3 Tenets - So the next time you're enjoying a gorgeous, sunny round on the fairway, be sure to practice the "3 Tenets of Great Golf Posture", keep your back straight, adjust your spine angle by hinging at the hip and most important, keep it constant through the execution of your swing. You can look forward to hitting, longer, further and with more accuracy. What's more you'll feel great at the end of the day with far fewer aches and pains from improper posture.

Custom Golf Cart The Golfers Dream Accessory

By: Allan Wilson

There is no limit to the number of accessories that you can buy for golfing. You could spend thousands of dollars on small items that will hardly ever come in handy. However, you may not have had the idea of skipping all of those small accessories.

Why not save your money for an extremely handy golf accessory that will continue to be useful throughout the whole game? A custom golf cart satisfies these requirements, and is arguably one of the best golf accessories that money can buy.

It may not seem practical, but if you read on you will find out about the many ways that you can accomplish this, and how it can come in handy when you are hitting the golf course.

Golf carts are almost necessary for some of the bigger golf courses. If you are going to be hitting a huge golf course anytime soon, you will almost certainly need a golf cart in order to get from one course to the other while carrying all of your gear with you.

You can rent golf carts from almost any golf course, but why rent when you can have your own for a cheaper rate in the long run? It is preferable because it allows you to buy a cart that has exactly what you want, and allows you to customize it in the future. The choices for custom golf carts far exceed those for the ones that you can rent, and you can get quite a luxurious setup going on.

The size of the golf cart can vary greatly. It is possible to buy one that is almost like an oversized go-kart. It will only hold you and your clubs, but it will be inexpensive and very efficient with gas. However, if you play golf socially then you will probably want to invest in a golf cart that seats 2 or even 4 people along with their gear.

The power of the cart is also important. If the cart is fully loaded down and traveling along at a steady rate, will you immediately start to backslide when you start heading up a hill? This is very important to consider, especially with the hilly nature of golf courses. With most golf cart manufacturers you will not have much to worry about, especially if you stick with brands that are more well-known.

With your own golf cart, you can begin to make the ride more enjoyable, much the same way you would with a regular car. You can install a stereo system if you want to enjoy some tunes in between courses.

If you are good with electronics like that, you could install a regular car stereo system in the golf cart without too much trouble. Just imagine being the only one on the golf course who is able to crank out music as loud as a rock concert.

Sounds tempting, doesn't it? You can deck out your golf cart with as many features as you could imagine, whether your goal is to make the ride more enjoyable, more efficient, or simply quicker. It can make a great ongoing project to add onto at later dates.

If you are interested in putting together a custom golf cart, you can either do it yourself if you are the engineering type, or you can contact a golf cart manufacturer. There are several companies that sell golf carts to individuals, and if you can get one as close as possible to what you want then it will be very possible to add features in the future.

Make sure you are very clear on the cost and the methods of delivery when you begin to order your golf cart, so that you aren't hit with any nasty surprise bills that you weren't expecting. It's definitely a big project to undertake, but if you have the time and money to do it then you will surely have a good time.
Article Source: http://www.bettergolfarticles.com

7 Great Golf Gift Ideas

By: Sid Johnson

If you are pondering on a golf gift idea for a golf enthusiast, whether it's your golf buddy, a member of your family, spouse, co-worker or your boss, think no further. Get something that is related to golf and you can be sure that your gift will be appreciated.

There's plenty of golf gift ideas and choices because of the hundreds of golf items available in the market. So roll up your sleeves and get ready for the search. It will be fun!

To start you off, here are some golf gift ideas:

Golf Gift Idea #1: Golf Gift Baskets

Depending on your budget, you can purchase for about $20.00 or less gift baskets pre-packed with small golf items. If you're willing to go all out, you can opt for the more complete golf gift baskets that contain training aids, books, DVDs and perhaps rounds of golf. Be prepared to shell out at least $200 for these gift baskets. There are still other types of golf gift baskets in the mid-range price so you can really make a good choice.

Golf Gift Idea #2: Golf Watches or Clocks

Another functional yet very thoughtful gift is a golf watch or a golf clock. You can choose from among the many types of watches available -- from clip-on bag watches to wrist watches with images of golfers on the face. They may even be equipped with monitoring technology to analyze the player’s swing. If you want a bigger gift, you can buy golfers’ desk clocks or even wall clocks.

Golf Gift Idea #3: Money Clips or Wallets

You can find golf money clips intended for golfers. They are usually made of silver and you can even get those with ball markers attached. If the recipient prefers wallets, there are many made of leather that can be engraved with any golf-related image together with the recipient’s name or initials.

Golf Gift Idea #4: Golf Bag Organizers

Organizers are very practical gifts any golfer would surely appreciate. There are mini suitcases that can hold shoes, tees, golf balls, sun screen and other golf paraphernalia. Still there are golf club organizers that can be useful in the garage.

Golf Gift Idea #5: Golf Putter Sets

Portable putter sets disassemble for easy storage. They come in impressive hardwood cases that the recipient can travel with or keep in the office for use anytime they wish to play.

Golf Gift Idea #6: Golf Divot Repair Tools

Divot repair tools are small inexpensive gift items but they are very handy and you can be sure the recipient will always use them at the greens. They can even be personalized with the golfer’s name, initials or other catchy lines. See if you can get a divot repair tool as a key chain.

Golf Gift Idea #7: Portable Pocket Ball Cleaners

A pocket golf ball cleaner makes a great gift. It stays moist to clean the ball for 18 holes and yet is leak proof so it can be kept in the golfer’s pocket as they play.

These are only a few golf gift ideas to help you get started. Hopefully, you can get your creative juices flowing so you can come up with the best gift for the golfer in your life.
Article Source: http://www.bettergolfarticles.com