Listen to what Dr. Kilstein has to say:

"In the past, I would've stayed mad for four holes, but that was
everything I promised myself I wasn't going to do when I came out on the
Senior Tour.  About midway through last year [1994], I made up my mind that
I was going to play golf and enjoy it."  Bob Murphy 1995

When Bob Murphy changed his emotional response to his golf game, great
things happened.  He went on to win four times in 1995.

Emotions affect our desire to drive for show, putt for dough,
and hit the best approach shots possible.

Everyone has seen people lose it on the course. Balls, clubs, golf
bags end up in the water.  People mangle their Big Bertha drivers after
blowing both another drive and their cool.

Everything you do on the course is affected by your emotions.

The best golfers are in control of their emotions.

They don't ignore them.  They don't pretend they are not there.
They acknowledge them and deal with them.

What are some of the factors involved in emotions:

1. Expectations.  Tiger Woods does not drive every shot with perfect
accuracy.  One of my clients came in all excited on the day of the
British Open after Tiger lost his ball on the first hole.  "Today I played a
shot as well as Tiger."
Do you have realistic expectations on the course?  What is driving
those expectations?

2. Perfectionism.  Look at your palms.  Do you see any nail holes?  No?
Good.  That means you are not perfect.  If you expect your golf game to
be perfect, you are bound to be disappointed.

3. Injuries.  If you play with an injury, not only will you stress your
body, you may also stress your game.  Take care of your body to play
your best golf.

4. Tiredness.  Golf is a mind game.  You need to recharge your mental
batteries on the links.  Listen to your favorite music.  Take a break.
Smell the breeze.

5. Personal Issues.  If there is "stuff" going on in your life - your
job, your homelife, etc.  Don't be suprised if it affects your game.
Hey, you're human.  The more you deal with the issues, the quicker your
handicap is going to head down.

If you are not managing your emotions and stress, they are going to
manage you.

Only regular work on your emotions is going to produce the results that
you want on the course.

Most of the great golfers have hobbies aside from golf.  Do you?

Improve your game by controlling your mind

Listen to what the renowned golf mental trainer, Dr. Kilstein has to say:

“We have an expression: “Seeing is believing” but the opposite is also true,
“Believing is seeing”.
You are not going to sink the shots you don’t believe you are capable of. 

You can have the most fluid swing, the most powerful impact and the best swing
in the world but if your mind isn’t part of the game, you’re in the water!

Isn’t Dr. Kilstein right?

Remember what one of the great golf teachers, Jim Flick once said? - "Golf is 90% mental… and the other 10% is mental." That’s right, controlling the mind is the key to great golf. Dr. Jay Brunza, a sports psychologist and hypnotist was responsible for training Tiger Wood to excel with a strong mental attitude. He had caddied for Tiger all through his Junior and Amateur events. He even caddied for him in the Masters. What are their secrets? It’s the blinking of Tiger’s eyes to self-hypnotize each time before takes a shot!

Great golfers need to control their mental game to ensure consistency, confidence,
and lower scores. Many have resorted to hypnosis which is proven to be the easiest,
quickest, and most proven way to great mental golf. 

Keep your head level whatever you do

The first thing a beginner should learn id to beware of their head position which is the most important factor in golf. It can make or break your game!

Try not to move your head back and forth or up and down as you swing your club. Any movement of the head could disrupt your whole swing and your control over it would be totally gone. Do not drop your head during the back swing and keep it on the same level until it is well after the impact on the ball.

Remember, keep your head level whatever your other parts of the body are doing in order to have a solid hit on the ball.

Beware of your grip throughout your swing

One of the greatest challenges for beginners to achieve consistent golf is to maintain a constant pressure on the grip throughout the entire swing. Many golfers tend to loosen their grips at the top of the swing thinking that as they move their clubs on the down swing, they could “re-grip” again before they strike the ball. Very often, loosening and “re-firming” the grip would result in the changes of the position of the club face when it hits the ball, somtimes with very disastrous result! Therefore always ensure that the grip is firm (and yet passive without too much pressure) at the top of each back swing.

Also, you must not allow the hands to loosen just because you have hit the ball. One should maintain the grip even after the ball has been struck and taken off, otherwise one would loose the control of the shot.

Choosing of Golf Balls

Golf balls might come in different bright colors but basically there are only three main types of golf balls, namely, the one-piece, two piece and three-piece balls.

1) One-piece balls are normally found in Driving ranges as they are the cheapest. They are made of tough, rubberized plastics designed to withstand beginners’ rough handling or mishandling. The disadvantage of this type of ball is the fact that it does not fly as far as other types. But it’s fine for beginners who tend to loose a lot of balls.

2) Two-piece balls are ideal for most golfers because they are hard wearing while travel a longer distance when hit. It has a core made with a blend of resins which allow the ball to be compressed and then expand to propel itself when hit at the right spot. The cover is made of very tough ionomer which is a polyelectrolyte that comprises copolymers containing both electrically neutral repeating units and a fraction of ionic units. A common ionomer made by DuPont is Surlyn.

3) Three-piece balls have either a solid or a liquid center, surrounded by high-energy elastic windings. It cannot be hit as far as the two-piece balls but farther than the one-piece balls. The cover is again usually made from Surlyn or balata. Balata has a unique property in that it gives the golfers a superb feel during striking but it cuts easily and is therefore mainly used by only the very experienced golfers like the leading amateurs and professionals who rely on perfect control.

Maintenance of your golf clubs

All clubs new or old require regular cleaning and maintenance to perform at the level they are designed to do so. Please take note of the following:

1) Woods: These must be protected from dampness. Head covers must be removed after paying in the rain or under damp condition. Dry the clubheads with a dry cloth.

2) Shaft: To prevent the chrome plating from getting rust, wipe it with a piece of cloth soaked in oil such as WD40. Do this once every 2 to 3 months.

3) Grip: Scrub it with soapy water every one to two months to prevent the grip from getting slippery. Soapy water must then be removed by rinsing. To improve old grips, gentle rubbing with sandpaper could help.

4) Clubhead: The grooves on the clubhead provide good control during the swing, hence these must be kept clean. Wipe away the dirt in the grooves with a piece of cloth after each shot. The grooves must be scrubbed with a brush with soapy water after each game.

Jack Nicklaus advises you to tee high for distance

Hear what Jack Nicklaus has to say about Tee-off:

Teeing the ball almost as high as possible for the driver enables me to hit slightly on the the upswing and catch the ball flush near the top of the clubface.

The resutis a high carrying ball which, in my opinion, will cover grater distance than one teed short and hit low. By contrast, iron shot should be teed low, since the ball must be struck near the bottom of the face with a more descending blow.

What you need to get started as a beginner

For the beginners, only a half-set or a few clubs are required. You need a fairway wood (either a No. 3, 4 or 5 –wood), four irons (such as No. 3, 7, and 9-iron), a pitching wedge, a sand wedge and a putter. The maximum number of clubs allowed by the Rules of Golf is 14.

Please take note of the following general rules of thumb:
1) Woods have longer shafts than the irons but they are usually lighter.
2) The longer the club, the farther the ball will go when hit solidly because of the longer swing arc.
3) The higher the number of the clubs, the shorter they are. Also, they have more “loft”. This refers to the amount the face of the club is tilted back from the “vertical”. This also means that the “lie” is more upright, i.e. referring to the angle between the ground and the shaft of the club.
4) The more the “loft”, the higher and shorter the ball will go.
5) The higher the ball goes, the lesser would it roll.

When buying your clubs, always ask the experts. Clubs vary quite a lot from brand to brand in terms of cost, weight, length, lie loft and the stiffness or flexibility of the shaft. Most golf professionals would be willing to help you determine what clubs would best suit your body type, age, agility, strength and natural ability.

An Introduction to Golf Instruction

Anyone can play the game of golf. Golf requires practice and some basic instruction on technique, equipment, rules and etiquette. In the United States golfers can take lessons from professionals certified by the Professional Golfers Association or the United State Golf Teachers' Federation, study books or magazines, use trial-and-error on the course, or get tips from practically anyone. The history of golf instruction is a fascinating story of technical improvement and personalities, just like the game itself.A game hard to master.

Golf students have different learning styles. There are Show-Me Golfers and I-Am-What-I-Am Golfers. Show-me golfers are eager to try new ideas, new equipment, new teachers, and new locations. They are the golfers most willing to contemplate a complete rebuilding of the golf swing. Greg Norman is an example of a Show-Me golfer. I-Am-What-I-Am golfers tend to more conservative in their approach to new ideas and techniques, tend to favor their old clubs and tested instruction techniques, and prefer tinkering with their swing rather than rebuilding from scratch.

Golf instructors work at private clubs, public courses, resorts, driving ranges, high schools and colleges, specialized golf schools, or in a private practice.

The most important things a golfer learns are correct posture, grip, alignment and the golf swing itself. These are essential to every shot played in golf. Qualified instructors teach either the Vardon (overlapping) grip, the interlocking grip, or the baseball grip, depending on the student's hand size and athletic abilities. Great ball-striking golfers all have great club position at impact and tremendous swing velocity, generated by correct application of the fundamentals.

Golf instructors (like the famous Robert Baker) teach multiple types of standard shots, including driving, fairway shots, approaches, chipping, putting, and sand-shots. Advanced instruction can teach techniques such as controlling the "shape" of the shot, controlling loft, ball-stopping and spinning, playing off uneven ground or sidehill lies, and trouble shots such as hitting out of the woods. Consistent practice sessions are essential to the improvement of the beginner golfer.

Instructors use a combination of physical conditioning, mental visualization, classroom sessions, club fitting, driving range instruction, on-course play under real conditions, and review of videotaped swings in slow motion to teach golf.