Know your distances.

I have heard many golfers on TV and on the range say that they honestly don't know the distance that they hit their clubs.  They might now a general distance but not a very specific one.  I heard somebody say once that they hit their 8 iron anywhere from 135 to 150.  This caused a major problem because when you are out on the course, you never know which club to use.  Part of the problem is that many people's swings are not even close to being consistent.  One day they try to just hit the ball solidly and the next they try to just hit it as far as they can.  It comes down to being the same golfer everyday instead of constantly changing.  Here is a list of what amateur golfers average distance wise in yards with their clubs so you can compare. 

Driver (Men 200-260) Women (150-200)
3-wood (Men 180-235) Women (125-180)
5-wood (Men 170-210) Women(105-170)
3-iron (Men 160-200) Women (100-160)
4-iron (Men 150-185) Women (90-150)
5-iron (Men 140-170) Women (80-140)
6-iron (Men 130-160) Women (70-130)
7-iron (Men 120-150) Women (65-120)
8-iron (Men 110-140) Women (60-110)
9-iron (Men 95-130) Women (55-95)
PW (Men 80-120) Women (50-80)
SW (Men 60-100) Women (40-60)

When practicing, always choose a target.

Far too many golfers go out to practice at the range and they just beat balls over and over without picking out a target.  NEVER HIT A PRACTICE SHOT WITHOUT PICKING A TARGET!  This is one of the most important practice tips because in a real round of golf, every shot has a target that you are aiming for so why should your practice be any different?  A good way to practice this is to make imaginary targets if there are no specific practice greens to hit.  Pick a specific area of the range to hit balls instead of just beating them everywhere.  Also with the driver, imagine a tight fairway that you must hit your ball in instead of randomly hitting your driver 15 times and saying you are done.  This will truly change your game and you will get your moneys worth when you go to the range.

What to do in the winter?

Many people are stuck inside most of the winter because it is just too cold.  What do you do then when you want to practice your swing but you can't go outside and you don't want to pay a load of money to go a dome or indoor driving range?  The first thing is obvious, find a wide open area such as a garage or basement and just practice swinging.  You don't even have to be hitting a ball to be doing some good for your swing.  Practice all kinds of swings such as your full swing with all your clubs and even practice some pitch and chip shots.  Secondly, the most overlooked part of practicing inside is the ability to putt.  You can putt year round in your house.  You just need a target and preferably tight carpet.  This is the biggest thing that somebody can improve on over the winter and it will make a huge impact on their game. 

How to get better ball striking without spending any money.

Everyone knows that better ball striking increases accuracy and distance.  Most people know that they are supposed to hit down on the ball but don't really know how to.  Well there is a simple drill and all you need is a towel, club, and a ball.   Take the towel and lay it down flat on the ground about 2 inches behind the ball.  Set up to the ball and take your normal backswing and on the downswing, focus on coming through without touching the towel.  This will cause you to swing down on the ball with forward shaft lean instead of trying to flip or sweep it up off the ground.  I know this really helped me and I know it will help you too!

A great way to improve your lag putting.

Lag putting can be one of the most frustrating things to do in all of golf.  You are happy that you hit the green but you have a 45 foot putt.  Your first put sails 10 feet past and now you have a tough putt for par.  You miss that one and tap in for your bogey.  We have all been there.  Stropping the dreaded three putt is one the fastest ways of lowering your score. 

A great drill for helping with this is practicing the mindset that you must have.  It is very difficult to hole a lag putt but too many people try to.  Even for the pros it rarely ever happens.  When you try to make the putt, you put too much emphasise on hitting it perfectly from that far distance in order to make it.  Instead, think of a giant hole like the picture I included.  If you focus on hitting your lag putt inside of the circle, it dramatically reduces your chances of a three putt.  It is all mental when you are out on the course but if you truly focus on the big hole instead of the little one, it will greatly help your game.

This is going against the budget theme but hey, it's just food for thought!

I know many golfers who have dream courses that they want to play before they die.  Well, this is one of mine.  It is Punta Espada golf club which is in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.  From the pictures I have seen it looks like the most amazing course ever.  The champions tour makes an annual stop here and the greens fees are $320 a person (that includes a caddie...Oh boy)  It is a Nicklaus designed course that reaches 7,396 yards from the back tees and is a par 72.  It has been rated the #1 course in the Caribbean the last two years by Golfweek magazine.  The signature hole is #13, a par 3 that reaches 250 yards from the farthest tee box that requires a shot to carry the crystal clear, blue water of the shores of the Dominican.  Like I said before, this completely breaks the budget aspect of this blog buy hey, we can all dream and fantasize every once and a while right?

Here is the view from #13

How I fixed my dreaded slice and how you can too.

It is one of the biggest and worst problems that most amateur golfers face.  They hit the dreaded slice or banana ball as some like to say.  I was one of those people who constantly sliced every shot I had when I first started.  I admit I am not  perfect in this area now but I would say that I only accidentally hit a bad slice 1 out of every 20 to 30 shots.  How did I fix my chronic problem?  Well first of all I bought a swing training that that helped dramatically. 

The momentus weighted swing trainer was so helpful for me.  I bought the pro edition which is the heaviest one that they make.  The reason it works so well to cure your slice is that it is so heavy that it forces you to swing on a more correct plane.  It is just about impossible to fully come over the top in your swing with this club.  This means that you hit straighter shots without really even trying to. 

Secondly, a huge aspect that most golfers overlook is the grip.  Many golfers do not know how to grip the club properly which can cause a slice.  This club also comes with a molded grip that forces your hands to stay in the proper position.  If you can afford this club, buy it.  It will do wonders for your swing.  It is also much better and heavier than those slide on weights that they sell. 

A third tip to try is to draw a straight line on your golf ball.  Place the ball on the ground and point the line just right of your target.  As you prepare to hit the ball, you must imagine swinging the club on that line.  If you follow that line, it will produce a draw or a right to left ball flight that many of you cannot produce.  Just really focus on the line and swinging directly down it with a square club face. 

Lastly, I cannot stress this enough.  You much practice, practice, and practice.  This is not easy and you cannot cure your slice overnight.  You don't even have to be at the range to practice this.  You can do this anywhere you have room to practice a full swing. 

I have included the picture of the training club I was talking about and a helpful video by a PGA professional that you can watch to further illustrate my points.  

Here is another video that is great to analyze as well.  Read my prior post and use that information and relate it to this swing.

A sure fire way to improve your golf game without spending any money

Hey guys, this is one of the best possible ways of improving your game and it does not cost anything.  All you need is an internet connection (which obviously you have to read this).  I have never had a true lesson in my entire golf life which has only been about a year and a half.  I started out slicing my driver wildly and carrying it about 150 yards at best.  I now am hitting the ball straight with an average carry distance of about 260.  I plan on improving this greatly over this next summer but the first way that I started to teach myself was to watch the golf swings of professionals on youtube.  I know that it might seem like you can't relate to them and you might wonder how you are supposed to learn just from watching a short clip.  Well this is one thing that has greatly helpedd me.  I love to watch swings in slow motion and at full speed from all different angles.  Just take your favorite tour player for example and just search on youtube for his or her swing.  I have attached a video of Ernie Els because in my opinion, he has one of the smoothest best swings on the tour.  What I do when I watch clips of pros swings I break them down into smaller sections.  The first thing to watch for is the great extension that he gets at the start of his backswing.  He turns his arms and chest together which generates a tremendous shoulder turn.  Next check out what his full shoulder turn looks like as he is at the top of his backswing.  His back is completely square to his target and notice his left arm.  You could draw a straight line down his left arm and it would hit the center of the ball.  This means that he is on a great plane.  Finaly on the backswing, notice the wrist hinge that he gets.  I like many other amateur golfers had trouble with this.  I always had trouble getting the club flat at the top like Ernie does.

Now for the downswing, watch how his hips begin the swing.  They are the first things to move as he starts swinging down.  This also creates a huge amount of power and it creates what you here the pros talk about as being a "rubber band" effect.  Secondly, watch how on plane his swing is going down.  The end of the shaft points dirrectly at the ball as he starts down.  That means that he is on the proper path to hit a straight shot.  The last thing to really notice is his wrist action right before impact.  If you stop the video right on :19 it shows how his wrists have not fully released.  This was the main aspect of the swing that I had problems with.  Ernie is lagging the club which creates a tremendous amount of speed and power.  From :19, watch how he releases the club through the ball with a square clubface and then finishes on balance. 

If you can learn to analyze a swing like this of a pro on youtube, it is not only free but it is a great way of learning the game to help you improve.  In the winter months especially you can watch this and increase your IQ of your golf game to figure out what you need to improve on come spring and summer. 

The hardest golf decision you will ever make.

Hey everyone, I am going to talk to you about what I feel is the most important aspect of becoming a great golfer.  DETERMINATION!  This blog will be useless to you if you are not determined to get better.  It is so easy to say that you are determined to get better and to save money in the process but unless you really put your mind to it, it is useless.  Determination is what truly sets even the good golfers apart from the great ones.  If you follow this blog and be determined to get better, I promise that you will see great improvement.

Why I started this blog.

Hey everyone, my name is Nick and I am currently a fulltime college student.  I have to say that this is my first experience with a blog so I hope it works out well ;).  The reason I am starting it is because I like to think of myself as being a "smart shopper" in all areas of my life especially with golf.  I am a college student so that mean that I have a very low budget to work with.  I also am an avid golf fan with the goal of making it to scratch one day.  We all know that golf is a very expensive sport with a set of top of the line equipment and clothing that could be valued well over $2,000 and greens fees that can be a couple hundred for one player.  I am making this blog because I want to try to help the average to low budget golfer be able to get the most out of their game without spending much money.  I want to show you how I am improving considerably without spending much and how other are too.  This blog is all things golf with a specialty in being a cheap golfer.  I hope you find this blog helpfull and useful as we all are on the road to scratch land!