Narrow that stance

While a wide stance at address may offer greater stability and a solid base from which to make your golfswing, it can be the cause of golfers suffering with lower back strains and injuries.

Many golfers tend to take a stance outside their shoulder width and swing their hands and arms back and forth around their bodies but by doing so some may start to feel the build-up of tension in their lower back

A wide stance is not as stable as you may think. Try the same exercise with your feet together and you will immediately notice you have more control over your upper body compared to a wide stance, which can  block the natural rotation of your body and force your backswing either to turn over your left leg (reverse pivot) or sway too far to the right off the ball.

If you Reverse Pivot or from a position too far off the ball, your downswing will have to include several creative compensations to get back squarely to the ball. It makes your swing inconsistent and drags your body through a range of motions that tease your tendons and joints to find the weakest link.

From a stance inside your shoulder width your body functions in line,  the way you naturally stand and balance on two feet. In a more agile and receptive position your body turns more freely and promotes a far better connection with your hands, arms and trunk.

And no, you won’t fall flat on your face but your golfswing will be more powerful and consistent. Legends like Bobby Jones, Annika Sorenstam, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman all practised for hours hitting balls with their feet together to develop a natural balance.

Feel, Hear and See the Shot

My main problem in golf isn’t my grip, my clubs or my swing. No, it’s my concentration. The slightest thing will distract me. A leaf blows by; a plane flies over; someone near me breathes!

When I relayed this information to young professional Tom Reid – who you may know as the 2010 Trilby Tour champion – he had some interesting things to say. “It’s strange because in the early 1990s mental game advice wasn’t spoken of. There was an element of embarrassment if a player had to see a ‘golf shrink’ to enhance their performance,” explains the 25-year-old from Twickenham.

“But in the current game players are forthcoming in thanking their golf phychologist in acceptance speeches and interviews. Graeme McDowell paid tribute to Dr Karl Morris on the 18th green at Pebble Beach when he won the US Open last year. “And Open champion Louis Oosthuizen has the famous red dot on his glove which he uses as a mental 'on/off' button for his concentration – a very simple mental game tip that enabled a talented player to reach his full potential at golf’s biggest event.”

I stood over my second shot at Fulwell Golf Club’s opening hole. And with 120-yards to go, I pulled my wedge from the bag. I looked at the shot in front of me. Moments previous, Reid had pitched his ball to within five-feet of the pin

“The player I’ve learnt the most from mentally is, of course, Tiger Woods,” he told me. “The way he focuses under extreme pressure is uncanny. “When Tiger stands over a shot preparing to swing and stares at the target, there’s a cool and calculated look in his eyes. You can tell he’s visualising the ball flying towards the target.

“He does this by feeling the shot, hearing the shot and finally seeing the shot. If you rehearse the moment, your body is more able to create the shot when the brain is sending it the correct messages.” I did as I was told. I stood behind my ball; I pictured a smooth swing; a nice connection and the ball finding the green. It worked... and some. As we strolled up to survey our respective birdie putts, I asked Reid what he’d tell my readers to do to help focus.

“Next time you are out on the course, take a moment to stand behind the ball and really imagine the perfect shot,” he revealed. “See the ball leave the face, see its flight and then how it reacts when it lands. “Allow yourself to hear that perfect strike and how it feels. This will allow you to let go of inhibitions, employ a natural flowing swing and hit accurate shots.”

The importance of controlling your heart rate through breathing has been practised for hundreds of years through deep meditation. Tiger has practiced this since he was a child. Tom says he has studied what Tiger does.

“When under a pressure situation he simply reverts to calmer, deeper breathing. This controls his nerves and enables his body to relax and hit quality shots. It’s almost like he’s in a trance or more what’s better known now as the ‘zone’. “I have practised all these skills and it has enabled me to perform at higher level.”

Tom’s advice certainly helped me so hopefully it will help other golf players.

Record-breaker Colsaerts takes China Open

In a weekend where we’re all ditching our diets to eat our own body weights in chocolate, it seems fitting that a Belgian should come out on top in the Volvo China Open.

Nicolas Colsaerts secured his maiden title with a nerveless four-stroke victory at Luxehills International Country Club to become only the second Belgian golfer to win on the European Tour.

And Pablo Martin, Danny Lee, Soren Kjeldsen and Peter Lawrie will be feeling a little sick this evening – and not from an overdose of sugar. The quartet all broke the wholesale golf clubs, finishing at 20-under, but still didn’t win because 28-year old Colsearts cruised the final day with a six-under round of 66 to finish at 24-under for the week.

“I have been waiting a long time for this and so I am pleased I won in such a good way,” said Colsaerts. “A lot of people expected me to win a lot of events but it has not been that easy. It has been a hell of a journey.”

Colsaerts picked up three birdies each on the front and back nine to stay four strokes ahead of the chasing pack, which included Spaniard Martin who fired a 9-under 63 – the day’s best score.

Sergio Garcia failed to end his trophy drought and finished tied 22nd with a final day score of 69, while the highest-placed Brit was Welshman Jamie Donaldson - who finished in a tie for seventh at 18-under.

The only Belgian golfer to previously win on the European Tour was Philippe Toussaint, who won the Benson and Hedges International Open in 1974.

TaylorMade R9 460 Driver in My Bag

Compared to the R9 driver, the taylormade r9 460 driver has a larger clubhead which combines with a deeper clubface and lower centre of gravity to deliver a much higher MOI that promotes forgiveness and a higher spin rate.

This has added about 40 yards to my driver - I used to average about 200 with my Yonex Nanospeed and King Cobra drivers, but with the R9 460, I've even hit one drive 256 on flat terrain without wind. Deadly accurate, very forgiving, and excellent feel. I used to lose at least a few balls to slices, but not anymore with this club. I even broke 90 my last 2 rounds played, with much of it thanks to the R9.

Each R9 driver comes equipped with an Aldila REAX 60 gram tip-soft shaft and measures 45.75 inches. This allows the R9 460 to deliver much greater clubhead speed which, in turn, promotes distance off the tee. Flight Control Technology ensures that players using the TaylorMade R9 460 can shape the shots they want but the club also delivers the length that the modern player demands.

Besides, there are a lot of left handed golf club sets. For a lot of golfers the TaylorMade R9 460 driver will be just what they have been waiting for. Unless you are a low handicap golfer you probably found the head of the standard R9 driver a little on the small side at 420cc. This is because that is the maximum size of head for moveable weight drivers.

And the club is a little longer front to back than the R9 and is verging on being triangular shape but stop just short and still looks pretty good. As the weight is further back the flight is a little higher on average than the R9 but still penetrating.

In a word, it is the best driver I have ever hit. I love the fact that you can adjust the face, which gave me more confidence to "swing away" without fear of slicing it into the woods.

Astonishing Ping K15 Irons

It's always something of a thrill to get your hands on a new set of clubs and particularly so when they come from Ping.

Having used my current set of irons for some time now - foolishly purchased for their sleek aesthetics rather than ease of use, a fatal mistake for any mid-high handicapper - it was a genuine pleasure to use the new ping k15 irons.

The wide sole enables the clubs to sit comfortably behind the ball, almost positioning and aligning themselves, and it wasn't long before I was struck with the realisation of how easy they are to use. At no point did I feel the need to force shots, such was the ease in getting the ball airborne without any loss of distance, and as a result I was swinging easier and more consistently.

A multimetal iron design combines a large, lightweight titanium face with a 17–4 stainless-steel body to increase forgiveness and improve launch conditions. Weight saved from the titanium face is allocated to the sole and perimeter to achieve more accuracy and higher ball flights. The K15 hybrids are available in 3H, 4H, 5H and 6H. They rely on an extremely high moment of inertia and a patent-pending feature that creates lower-spinning, higher-launching shots that fly longer and straighter.

The clubs are classed as 'game improver' and I would defy anybody not to improve their game using them. They simply make a difficult and frustrating sport easier and as a result more enjoyable to play.
Their chunky design and dark grey finish won't be to everyone's taste, but if they consistently send the ball where you want it to go I don't think anyone would complain wholesale ping k15 irons. I also got a chance to try out a No.4 hybrid which on first impressions makes you think that the unusual shape and design shouldn't be used for hitting a golf ball.

PING engineers made the iron club face larger and added 27 grams to the perimeter for a higher MOI. The iron’s extra-wide sole features a low and deep center of gravity to promote high trajectories and low spin. High launch angles allowed iron lofts to be strengthened without compromising control. A large internal weight pad in the hybrids produces a high MOI for added forgiveness. The hybrid’s offset hosel and face relationship increases launch and lowers spin.

As well as hitting full shots I was also very impressed at how much control I got with the 9 iron around the greens. Of course, there are other wholesale golf clubs.All of them are very astonishing. I believe, they are your good choice.

New Style: Callaway X-24 Hot Irons

I am a Callaway guy, but after the test this was by far a more superior product. They really are great for the approach shots, lots of spin. I have used the same irons for four years the X24s are the first clubs I tried that made enough differnce to upgrade.

callaway x-24 irons is a new style. From the makers of the #1 Irons in Golf for the last 13 years and counting comes the longest, most accurate callaway x Series Irons ever.

Callaway Golf has announced the release of the new X-24 Hot irons. The company is touting them as the longest and most accurate irons the company has ever made.

In a media release, Dr. Alan Hocknell, Callaway's senior vice president of research and development said, "We recognize there are golfers looking for distance gains throughout their entire bag, and thus employed our core technologies and faster ball speeds into the design of X-24 Hot, a longer, more accurate set than any of their predecessors."

Like previous X Series irons, Callaway designed the faces of the X-24 Hot to progress from thick on the bottom to thin along the topline. According to Callaway, this lowers the center of gravity and makes getting the ball into the air a lot easier.

They are powered by a consistently hot face that generates blazing ball speeds for maximum distance with pinpoint accuracy. The new stealth PVD finish provides a distinctive dark look that minimizes glare. 

Na declared another unplayable lie and asked a rules official who had burrowed into the Golf Wholesale after him if he could go back to the tee. That was no longer an option. He could drop in the woods. Try them if you like them!

Why Is the Golf a Popular Sports

All along, the public image of golf is honest, virtuous self-discipline gentleman. Many people regard it as self-cultivation, and then it is extended to the enterprise management among corporate culture as a universal. All these are direct evidences of the existence of golf as a cultural reasons.

Nearly 100 years, the popularity of golf began in Europe, the United States now has more than 16,000 courses, about 2,600 people participated, golf population, total population of about 1 / 10, has become one of the five largest American movement, can be said American Golf has become a very popular sport. Japan has more than 2,500 pitches in this game for 1,500 people. South Korea also has 500 million golf enthusiasts. From the international point of view the number of people involved in the sport, golf is not a so-called 'noble sport'of.

And many people on the "Golf is a noble sport, "the bias was more due to outperform or indifferent. In fact, in recent years many clubs have introduced a variety of relatively low-cost membership products, the costs can be relatively low in the country to play each course booking. The support of the local government, many cities there have been more and more public golf course, relatively low cost. Many driving ranges are also taking the low road, only three to four dollars an hour, compared to tennis, skiing and other sports, the cost is much cheaper hand.

Overall, it can be predicted that golf will fade from the nobility and return to the public in the near future.