Golf Equipment tips for new golfers

People start playing golf for a variety of reasons; some because they need to start some form of exercise and really don’t want to go to a gym, some because they have become too old to play football or rugby and are looking for another pursuit that isn’t quite as strenuous and some will start because of peer pressure as their friends have told them it’s such a great game and a great social pastime too. Whatever the reason when they start they have a choice: do they buy all the golf equipment they will need or hire something until they are sure they will like the game of golf?

More than likely they will start by borrowing some equipment of friends and travelling to their local golf driving range a few times.  Once they are hooked, and we all know it doesn’t take long, they will be itching to get hold of some spanking new golf clubs, a bag, some balls and various pieces of golf clothing.

They will be faced by loads of choices; do they buy Callaway, Titleist, Nike or Taylormade? Do they buy a carry bag or a trolley bag and trolley? What balls to buy! Well in the past you always made a visit to your local pro and asked their advice but you certainly paid extra for doing so. Well nowadays we have the internet for researching and purchasing great golf equipment. So get yourself online read as many reviews as you can and buy some great gear at really low prices.

You must be systematic though; make a list of everything you need and go through them one by one. The most important thing to do is to be honest with yourself as to what you are able to do with a golf club. Do not go out and buy equipment that a pro would be proud of, golf equipment that can shape the ball or that can impart backspin if hit right. They are likely to be useless in your hands and will cost the earth. Go for cavity backs, go for large headed forgiving woods with a good degree of loft that will get the ball airborne easily and get some good balls that don’t cost too much because as sure as death itself you will lose plenty.

Don’t be afraid to choose last year’s stock or sale items, if it does the job it is intended for then who cares if it hits the ball 3 yards further or is a nice colour. Once you are armed with all the information you need go to a respectable site like www.golfonline.co.uk where you can buy all your gear at a fantastic price, that way if you don’t take to the great game of golf you are not out of pocket too much.

Golf is so much about fashions and fads these days so it is hard not to get sucked in, but as a beginner it’s important to concentrate on what is right for your game not for the 5 handicapper you play with on a Saturday. Golf equipment is designed for different types of player; make sure you use the ones that are designed to help you.

Nike Golf comes of age

The 2009 regular golf season has shown that Nike Golf is now a serious contender in the golf equipment race. This year Nike Golf pros have dominated the majors (winning two out of the four with Luke Glover and Stewart Cink) and won lots of events on the PGA tour as well as all around the world. Nike’s biggest asset, Tiger Woods, remained the number one golfer in the world having won an incredible 6 times in the year.

Nike became the first company to win a major using a square headed club, with both Cink and Glover using the Nike SQ Sumo square tour driver. Also this year a Nike Putter was used to win a major for the first time showing Nikes improved use of technology in the full range of clubs. At the end of the 2009 season 5 Nike stars were in the world top ten, Tiger Woods, Paul Casey, Stewart Cink, Luke Glover and Anthony Kim.

At last Nike is to be taken seriously as a golf club manufacturer and has shaken off the mantel of just living off Tiger Wood’s reputation. The success of many Nike tour pros all over the world is showing what a great company they are and shows the quality of their merchandise.

Every one of the Nike pros used SQ drivers; Nike irons; Nike ONE Balls and wore Nike Golf clothing and footwear. Why not visit www.golfonline.co.uk and have a look at the full range of Nike golf equipment available so you can share in this success story at a price you can afford.

Golf Equipment

It seems to me golf must be the only sport in the world where you need so much equipment. For most sports you need a kit and either a ball or a bat and that’s about it but with golf you must have all the clothes that’s golf shoes, trousers, t shirt, jumper, short sleeved jumper, waterproofs (both long sleeved and short) hat, cap and gloves. These all have to be golf clothing as you cannot get away with any run of the mill stuff at the local course. Ok so you’re all kitted out in the latest gear, its windproof, rainproof, breathable and looks great and now all you need is the actual golf equipment to play the game.

So you buy a branded golf driver with a massive head promising 300 yard drives straight down the middle then of course you need a fairway wood, a rescue club and a set of irons. So you’re ready to go? Oh no! You then must have a bag, towel, ball cleaner, markers, tees, pencils, balls and a trolley, one of those electric trolleys everyone else has. So at last your ready to play all you have to do now is pay your green fees or your membership and you’re away.

BUT don’t lose any balls or you will have to buy more constantly, oh and if you don’t lose them they will get scuffed and you will need to buy more, it’s a dilemma. And another thing before long all your clothes will be old hat and will need replacing, and you must change your driver every couple of years or you will be ridiculed by your playing partners.

It really is a lot of golf equipment: So how does the normal man in the street buy all this? Well unless he has a bottomless pit of money he shops around and normally the best deals can be found online. Find an online store you know and trust and you will constantly find good deals. I personally use www.golfonline.co.uk and find that it stocks everything I need and the prices are fantastic. Go ahead kit yourself out for a great price and enjoy the great game of golf.

Golf Divot

One of the best ways of analysing your golf swing is to look at the divot you leave after hitting the golf ball. Creating a divot means you are either hitting the ball first, then the ground or the ground first or then the ball. The latter is the shot you want to avoid as this means you are hitting the golf ball ‘fat’ and losing distance.

If you hit the ball then take a divot; this is something the professionals do on every golf shot. Your hands have to be ahead of the clubhead at impact, which creates a descending blow on the ball and you can then replicate their shot. If you don’t take a divot at all it is likely you may be trying to lift the ball in the air and not letting the clubhead do the work this will sometimes lead to thin or bladed shots.

After your golf shot you can look at the divot and it will tell you many things. The ideal size is about the size of a ten pound note and roughly a centimetre deep. If it’s any deeper you are coming in to the ball too steeply.

Have a look at the direction of the divot, ideally it should point at the target and any variance can show that you may be playing a slice or a pull and will give you pointers to what you need to do to correct this.

Your ball position can also play a part. If it is too far back, you probably won’t have room to rotate after impact and if it is too far forward this can result in you’re moving laterally to reach the ball.

Once you have perfected the ideal divot and are imparting the correct spin on your shots ensure your golf equipment is up to date and your grooves are clean and working. They are essential to guarantee your ball behaves as u would want. www.golfonline.co.uk is the ideal place to get your new golf clubs and they have unbeatable prices.

Do we need golf spikes?

If you search the web you can find some interesting stories about the changing face of golf. One i noticed is that more and more golf clubs, granted mainly in America, are getting rid of their dress code. Now I personally like the dress code and am not keen on seeing people going round the course in jeans or even worse ‘trackies’. I can however see their point, they are looking to enable people to pop in for a game when they are passing and trying to see off the effects of the credit crunch by attracting a larger audience. So these people don’t need golf shoes they can play in trainers. This begs the question does anyone need golf shoes. Are they a marketing ploy to get us to part with our money or do they really offer benefits.

Well manufacturers actually make golf shoes without Golf spikes. Does this mean golf shoes don’t need them? Some people think you only need spikes if your play in bunkers a lot or when it’s raining. My personal opinion is that golf shoes are a part of the whole golfing ensemble and wouldn’t be seen without them, it would be like running naked down the street to me. As to whether the spikes are needed, well I don’t know I’m not privy to the science but the blurb on all the sales literature about cleats and spikes convinces me. Even if it just gives you confidence to stand taller and keep your posture longer then it’s worth it to me. It seems common sense that that bit of extra grip when you rip into a drive won’t do any harm at all and I for one will keep a nice pair of golf shoes in my car ( bought from www.golfonline.co.uk by the way!) so I can pop for my regular game of golf.

How to choose a driver for your golf bag

Down at the golf club there is a lot of talk about which driver you have in your bag. It’s the sexiest club and creates a lot of driver envy. There are long discussions about length and accuracy of the hit much more so than the type of irons you use or the bag you carry. I think it’s a macho thing as the driver is the longest hitting club. It’s akin to who has the nicest car or the most expensive house and is seen as a status symbol as it is also, most probably, the most expensive club as well. Although it’s only one club and isn’t even used on every hole it gets a lot of extra attention.

However for most club golfers the driver can be the most difficult clubs to master so choosing the right one for your swing and skill is all important. So what should you look for when you need to choose a golf driver?

Well most importantly the driver should fit with your swing and your skill level as a driver that works well for a talented low handicapper with a fast swing speed is unlikely to work as well for a high handicapper with a slower swing. The main components that make up the driver are shaft, head and loft so we will consider these individually.

The driver shaft needs to be linked to your swing; if you are relatively new to golf or slightly older you may not have a powerful swing and could benefit from a more flexible shaft. On the other hand if you are a good golfer with a faster swing speed you will need a stiffer shaft providing better control over the golf ball. Generally there are two choices for the material used for the shafts; either graphite or iron with the graphite option costing somewhat more. Actually for most golfers steel is fine but graphite shafts can help when you have a slow swing speed and may gain you a few yards.

Driver heads vary considerably but for higher handicap players it is probably best to look at golf clubs with a large sweet spot so you get benefit from off centre hits. Manufacturers can make the sweet spot bigger by using very light materials such as titanium. The down side is these newer materials cost more and drivers are therefore very expensive these days. Steel is still used for club heads and is available at a much lower cost however they are harder to control as their size has to be smaller.

Once you have chosen your head shape you need to consider the required loft. Generally higher handicappers should go for a higher loft which imparts more back spin and therefore reduces side spin leading to straighter shots. Those who are better able to shape the ball can do so easier with a club with less loft. I would recommend higher handicappers looking at drivers with 11or 12 degrees of loft with better golfers looking at 10 degrees of left and less.

When you understand your own swing and which driver suits you it is then time to go and find a driver that suits. Have a look around and find a good deal for your chosen driver and don’t go crazy and spend more than you can afford on a club that won’t give you much added benefit. www.golfonline.co.uk has a wide selection of drivers to suit all golfers at great prices. Go take a look and order your ideal golf club today. Hopefully you will still have funds left to buy some more pieces of golf equipment to aid your golfing prowess.

Improve your golf with fantastic training aids

Learning golf can be a very difficult thing and sometimes no matter how many times someone tells you you’re doing something wrong it’s hard to put it into practice. Training aids offer a solution where you can train yourself to do something right by practicing in the right way or by having advice when you need it or where you need it. Whatever way your mind and body picks things up best there is a golf equipment solution to hand whether it be a  golf tips DVD or something more practical. There are for instance numerous putting aids to mimic real conditions or to put right an incorrect swing path. There are nets that can used indoors or out and for chip shots or full shots. You can even plug accessories into your games console to help you.

Recently Vijay Singh was paired in the final group with Tiger Woods on a Saturday but his putting let him down badly. He was soon after seen practicing putting with a training aid. He hit several putts along a metal yardstick. He was not aiming at a hole, but instead trying to make the ball smoothly roll down the 1-inch wide, 3-foot-long stick. This helped him ensure his putter was square at impact.

If the pros can get benefit from these golfing training aids then why can’t we. They could turn out to be the best piece of golf equipment you have ever bought. Have a look at the range available at www.golfonline.co.uk you will find something to suit everyone and it won’t cost the earth.

The TaylorMade R9 460 Driver

Let’s have a look at what this much hyped and well loved driver offers; well it’s certainly big and it does offer a load of different options in how you can set it up for your round

Ok so firstly it has Flight Control Technology (FCT) which allows you to adjust almost everything from the metal wood’s loft and lie to its face angle by utilising the rotating metal sleeve at the tip of the shaft.

So how does it hit the ball; well it certainly gets the ball in the air with ease as well as offering great forgiveness due to the size of the head. It is basically an updated more technological golf driver then the R9. The R9 although having a smaller head had removable weights and this may be something that you liked but the larger head and more adaptability and set up options in my mind makes this a better option. Golf equipment has moved on in such a small space of time and this TaylorMade R9 driver is certainly a winner in my book.

So where do you find one well I bought from www.golfonline.co.uk because their products are great, their service second to none and their price out of this world. Go take a look tell me i’m not right! Oh and enjoy the club and the benefits it offers I don’t think you will regret it.

Powakaddy golf trolleys

As the use of electric golf trolleys increases we have seen much better trolleys being developed. The best, in my opinion have always seemed to have come from Powakaddy. When I first got one they were considered an old man’s trolley and I got abuse from my playing partners constantly. However years of sport had ravaged my body and it did help my golf by conserving my energy and body throughout the round. I also like to be prepared for all weather conditions especially as live in the rainy north, my Powakaddy allowed me to carry all sorts of paraphernalia to deal with any conditions. Nowadays everyone seems to have an electric trolley as an essential part of their golf equipment and everyone is aware of their benefits, I’m sure if professionals needed to carry their own bags they would have one.

The new Powakaddy Freeway II promised to be a major upgrade on previous offerings and I was keen to have a look to see what it could offer me. So what do you get for your money?

Well the soft touch hand grip incorporates an integral multi function control pad and display. This features a distance measuring facility (amongst many other features). The Digital Distance Function (DDF) allows you to set the trolley to proceed ahead of you for a predetermined distance and then stop. You have the choice of 10, 20 and 30 yards/metres approximately. This new easy select distance feature can be enabled and disabled with ease. The trolley has a key lock front wheel housing with an on course wheel adjustment. A new padded bag stay holds all bags with no wear and reduces bag twist. The High Tech and lightweight battery pack is extremely stylish and design wise the new Powakaddy Freeway II retains the sporty looks of its predecessor.

The Powakaddy Freeway II golf trolley I saw had a lightweight lithium battery but you can opt for the lead acid battery which saves you quite a bit. The lithium one reduces weight and also means that you can that you can fold the trolley down without having to remove the battery which makes getting it in and out of the car so much easier.

Let’s be honest this electric golf trolley isn’t cheap but in my opinion it’s worth the money and if you buy from the right places you can get a really good deal. I opted for www.golfonline.co.uk as their prices were the best and I have used them before and always found them to be reliable and trustworthy, a great bonus when buying online.

Time for Electric?

If you, like me, feel jaded at the end of a round then maybe it’s time to start thinking about an electric golf trolley. Electric golf trolleys have successfully replaced the old style golf trolleys that need to be pulled around and the powered version can be seen on many courses now being driven along by young and old alike. In the old days an electric golf trolley was considered a luxury and if you were under 50 you got a ribbing from all your playing partners for turning up with your golf vehicle. Nowadays it is appreciated that these trolleys can actually improve your performance by helping you to save your energy and focus more on your game. This is important as golf in the main is not too physically demanding on the body, but it does require concentration levels to be high.

On most courses electric golf trolleys are common these days, in fact you hardly ever see people walking the course, pulling on their traditional trolleys. These electric golf trolleys definitely help you to keep your golf on par and outperform your competitors as they save valuable energy and stress caused by walking the course and pulling or carrying your golf clubs along.

An electric Golf trolley is a battery operated automatic trolley or golf cart that can be either manual or remote control and can contribute to your performance by helping you to maintain muscle control and energy throughout the entire game. The automated nature of this piece of golf equipment means that you can carry more in your bag and be better prepared for adverse weather conditions or carry more snacks to keep you going.

If you want to give your best when you are on the greens then you definitely need an electric golf trolley and fortunately golf trolleys no longer cost you the earth. There are many websites that sell electric golf trolleys, however you should always ensure that the trolley is safe and reliable and the buyer you are buying from is reputable. The best site I have found with great low prices and up to date stock of all golf equipment is www.golfonline.co.uk have a look see if you agree.