Golf Newsletter for December 2008

Here are some great Holiday Season Discounts on Golf Equipment:

Pinemeadow Golf is offering some of their popular 2008 models at steep discounts, including 'buy-one-get-one' offers:
Click here for Pinemeadow Golf Holiday Savings

On top of that we have negotiated with Pinemeadow to offer you a very generous 35% discount on the (already low) listed price for ALL their pre-owned clubs. This exclusive offer is ONLY available to the readers of our newsletter and websites and not anywhere else! You need to use the following link to make it work, your 35% discount will automatically appear in the shopping cart:
Click here for Pinemeadow Golf Pre-owned Clubs (ends Dec 31, 2008)

New Discount Coupons from GigaGolf (good until December 7; click the coupons for details):

Coupon Codes:
GX2 Square Driver	P2 Hybrid	Revelation Set
35% OFF	35% OFF	25% OFF
CODE: 0801	CODE: 0802	CODE: 0803
Offer expires 12/7/2008	Offer expires 12/7/2008	Offer expires 12/7/2008

Purepoint Golf is arguably the most popular developer of instructional golf DVDs and books on the web. As a reader of our newsletter you qualify for a 27% off sale at PurePoint Golf for the holiday season. EVERYTHING is 27% off, including brand new videos and bundles. The sale ends strictly on Dec. 8, that's next Monday.
You need to use the Coupon Code BETTERGOLF (no spaces) to enjoy the discount. Just enter BETTERGOLF in the shopping cart, and it will knock off 27% automatically on any product that they have:

Browse their Complete Catalog (yes, ALL items are 27% off!!)

The offer also includes the brand NEW Full Swing Fundamentals eBook (see 'Golf Tip' below)

The Grip

by Coach Bobby Eldridge from Purepoint Golf

Left Hand

When you pick up a golf club your hands are the only part of your body that touch the club. For many years the hands (grip) have often been referred to as the steering wheel of the golf swing. I don't believe this could be more true. Gripping the golf club correctly makes playing this game a much better experience. 

Gripping the golf club at first glance does not seem like a very difficult thing to do, however, it can take a lot of trial and error to figure out the correct grip for you. This is a very interesting aspect to the game of golf. Gripping the golf club is a VERY INDIVIDUAL thing for everyone that plays golf. There are no two grips alike. You can only find what works for you through hitting golf balls. I can and will guide you, but ultimately, results on the golf course speak louder than me.

1. Place the golf club up in your left hand, the golf club goes across the left palm- from the base of the forefinger to the pad above the pinky.


2. Now, hold the handle steady with your left fingers and wrap your palm around the top of the grip.

1. Club Goes Across the Left Palm

2. Wrap Palm Around Top of the Grip

The grip does more to effect actual ball flight than anything else in the game. That's why we've started with the grip. It's the foundation of the swing, and a quick fix for those of you that have undesirable ball flight patterns.

The more you grip the golf club in the fingers, the faster you can swing the golf club and the quicker the clubface will close. If you grip the golf club further up in the palm, the slower the golf club will travel and the longer it takes for the clubface to close. If you are slicing the golf ball, you will want to move the grip more into the fingers (the base of the fingers), if you are hooking the golf ball, you will want to move the grip more into the palm area (higher up in the left hand).

Right Hand

Now that the left hand is in place you are going to place the right hand on the golf club.

3. With your right hand on the side of your right leg, slowly bring it towards the bottom of the golf club.


4. The right hand will be placed on the golf club more in the fingers than the palm. You will simply fold the right hand around the fingers of the left.


5. BOTH PALMS MUST ALWAYS FACE EACH OTHER. It is not a difficult thing to do but it is mandatory, no gray area. 

3. Bring your Right Hand Towards the Bottom of your Left Hand

4. Fold your Right Hand Around the Fingers of the Left Hand

5. Both Palms MUST Face Each Other

Congratulations, you have now GRIPPED the golf club. But hold on a second, there is a good chance this is not the correct grip for you, so you will have to experiment. However, I have given you a great starting point. The placement of the hands on the golf club controls what the clubface will do during the golf swing and ultimately what the clubface will look like at impact.

In the next section I will show you some variations of the grip that will help you find the one that works best for you.

**SPECIAL NOTE Most golf clubs either have a "ladies" grip or a "men's" grip on the golf club. If you have small hands it is very important to make sure you have your clubs gripped with a ladies grip, it doesn't matter if you own men's clubs. If you have large hands you should have your clubs gripped with men's grips. There are a couple more options, if your hands are really small you can have “junior” grips placed on your clubs or if you have x-large hands or arthritis you can have “jumbo” grips placed on your clubs. The grip size also effects ball flight. Large grips tend to make a person fade the ball and small grips tend to make a person draw the ball.**

Grip Variations

There are multiple ways to grip a golf club. Although it sounds overwhelming, it truly is not. Once you begin to experiment you will eliminate four or five of them instantly. I will give you a guide to get you started on the right track.

Interlocking Grip

Overlapping Grip

For starters, if you have small hands and fingers, the interlocking grip will probably work best for you. It helps you wrap your fingers and palm around the grip handle.

On the other hand, if you have large hands, the overlapping grip will probably work best for you.

The above-mentioned grips are the proper way to hold a club- however there are three different ways you can apply them to the golf club.

Weak

Neutral

Strong

You can grip the golf club in a weak position (no knuckles of the left hand showing), neutral (one knuckle of the left hand showing) or the strong position (2 or 3 knuckles of the left hand showing).

During your experimenting, if the golf ball has a tendency to curve to the right, you will want to move BOTH hands to the right (strong). When you move the hands make sure you do it slowly. If the golf ball has a tendency to curve to the left, you will want to move BOTH hands slowly to the left (weak). Now, if the golf ball is flying without a curve, you have the correct grip for you. DO NOT EXPERIMENT WITH ANY OTHER GRIP.

Grip Pressure

OK, you have found the correct grip for you. There is one last item we need to deal with. The amount of pressure you apply to the club plays a major role in how you swing the golf club. The tighter you grip the golf club the slower your arms will swing and the longer the clubface will take to release in the downswing (causing a slice). This is a good thing if you HOOK the golf ball. This will definitely stop the ball from curving from right to left. On the other hand if you have problems SLICING the golf ball this amount of grip pressure will make the ball slice more. 

If you are struggling with slicing the golf ball, you will have to hold the golf club like you were holding a baby's hand. Gently, the lighter you grip the golf club the faster the club will swing and the quicker the club will release in the downswing. If you do not have any problems with the ball curving, you have found the correct amount of grip pressure. 

About the Author: This tip is re-printed with permission from Coach Bobby Eldridges' new ebook Full Swing Fundamentals. As mentione in the coupon section above you will get a 27% discount if you use coupon code BETTERGOLF at checkout.

This coupon is also valid for all other products by Coach Bobby Eldridges, to see them all Click Here.

In stroke play, a player deems his ball unplayable and lifts it. Then, he discovers that the ball was in ground under repair. What is the ruling?
  
(1) If he drops a ball under the unplayable ball Rule, he may lift the ball and proceed under the ground under repair Rule without incurring any penalty strokes.
  
(2) If he drops a ball under the unplayable ball Rule back into the ground under repair, he may then lift the ball and proceed under the ground under repair Rule incurring a total of two penalty strokes.
  
(3) If he does not drop a ball under the unplayable ball Rule, he may proceed under the ground under repair Rule without penalty.
  

Golf during tough economic times

These days all the media talk about a recession in the US which in turn affects the rest of the world. I'm no economist, but I've read the common definitions of a recession in the newspapers as 'decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two or more consecutive quarters'. However, as an 'Average Joe' my definition is a lot simpler: I may have less money to spend; hence I have to be more prudent with my purchases.

As an avid golfer, does this mean that I have to shelve my plans of buying some new clubs this season? Of course not, I just have to be more prudent as per my definition above. On the other hand I don't want to buy some cheap, inferior clubs just because I'm a bit short of money. I still want top quality, but at a reasonable price I can afford. The solution is to stay away from the well known but expensive top tier brands like Titleist, Ping, Nike, Callaway and the likes, and instead look at the cheaper second tier brands which offer the same quality but at a much reduced price. And just to make sure, I'm not talking about some cheap counterfeit clubs slapped together in a sweat shop in some third world country, I'm talking about proper clubs from well established manufacturers and merchants. Let's look in detail at the two main issues: price and quality - how can a second tier manufacturer offer the same quality at a fraction of the price?

Quality: there are only so many factories out there that produce club heads, shafts and grips - the three main components of every golf club. Quite often the factories that produce club heads for the big names also produce the heads for other, less known manufacturers. They use the same raw material, including high quality titanium and stainless steel, in the production processes. When it comes to shafts and grips it becomes even more obvious: both top and second tier manufacturers use the same shafts and grips which can easily be verified when you read the respective product descriptions. In other words, since the same materials and components are used the quality of top and second tier manufacturers is very similar if not the same. Price: An article in the respected Golf Digest a while ago argued that a modern $500 top-brand driver actually costs about $77 to build: $55 for the club head, $15 for the graphite shaft, $3 for the grip and $4 for assembly. Since you as the consumer pay $500, where does the remaining $423 go? Well, some of course goes into R&D, some goes to the company shareholders, but a huge chunk goes into the pockets of golf professionals for endorsing that particular brand. Let's look at some cases in point:

A more recent article on the Golf Digest website listed both the on-tour and off-tour income of the top 50 money earners for 2007. It will come as no surprise that Tiger Woods leads the list, having had tour earnings of approx. $22.9 Million plus an additional $99.8 Million in off-tour income. That's almost $100 Million in endorsements and other engagements! Phil Mickelson made approx. $40 Million in off-tour money, and Vijay Singh about $25 Million. Even Michelle Wie, who only won a measly $9,899 for playing golf, raked in some $12.5 Million in off-tour income in 2007 alone. So who paid for that? Well, if you bought a golf club from a well known brand than you did - by paying a huge premium on top of the actual value of the club. This is definitely not where I want to see my hard earned money go, especially if times are getting tougher.

So what's the alternative? Second tier manufacturers! Their manufacturing costs are still the same as above, but they don't spend money on endorsements. They also save money by selling their products online rather than in a retail shop, thus cutting down on rent and related costs. While it still costs them some $77 to build a driver (as per above example) they are able to sell it for just around $100 - and still make some profit.

For the same money I otherwise (involuntarily!) stuff into some golf pro's pocket I can now buy a complete new set of golf clubs. I like that! What about you?

I strongly suggest you visit the following two manufacturers' websites - I have personally bought their products and was (still am!) very happy with the great quality and value I got:

Pinemeadow Golf, a respected custom club manufacturer who has been around for some 23 years. They operate out of Portland, OR.

GigaGolf, another well established (over 10 years) custom clubmaker - they are from Oldsmar, FL.

Check out their clubs, and especially the prices, and you will see why I like them...
  

Free Golf Swing Video Instructions

A new website called "iGolf Videos" offers free weekly instructional golf videos, delivered right to your email. Click the following link to get more details and to sign up for the free video clips:

Golf Swing Video Instructions
 

Moving Your Head

by Dr Richard Myers of thinkandreachpar.com
  

The head is the keystone around which the entire golf swing circles. When you lift, jerk, or otherwise move your head, you set up a terrible chin of events during a golf stroke. With head movement the easy turn of the shoulders into the shot is restricted. A majority of bad drives go off to the right because a moving head doesn't give an adequate pivot point for a good swing.

Think of the head as an axis or hub around which the swing revolves. The less it moves the better. It may take you a while to develop a comfortable chin position, and you may have to do what Jack Nicklaus does-point you chin slightly to the right as you start your swing. This slight alteration from a straight up and down head position will help you get a better pivot and more accurate swing.

Correct answer: (3) If he does not drop a ball under the unplayable ball Rule, he may proceed under the ground under repair Rule without penalty. (Decision 28/13)

Provided the player has not put a ball into play under Rule 28, he is not precluded by the unplayable ball Rule from taking relief, without penalty, under the ground under repair Rule (Rule 25).
  
Source: USGA