Sunday, December 28, 2008

Few points to ponder for a golfer

By Kevin Gillett

Golf is a fascinating concept. Spread over lush green fields and shallow lakes, they are a sheer delight for those watching the game as well as those playing it. (If you do not have a cart, its a nice way of losing weight as well). Novices make the mistake of imagining that golf is a pretty easy game. All you have got to do is connect the club to the ball and look for a strong impact. Unfortunately, they are mistaken. Too many things come into the picture.

As a player, you have got to cure three major defects that are there when you are a novice. These are grip, slices and swings. A poor grip reduces wrist action and takes away from the control over the shot. Poor swing means that you are most likely to miss on the trajectory. It will create weaker, misdirected shot. Similarly, the ball feels a false spin when slice is being introduced into the shot. Moreover, the wrong rotation of the arm hinge causes the shot to go somewhere else than desired.

For the grip bit, it is advised to use as much finger as possible. This would bring a lot of wrist into the shot. Element of wrist is always desirable as it gives the shot a lot of power and fairway distance. Do not use too much of palm. For swings, you must understand that relaxation is the key before hitting a shot. Moreover, you must stop a little at the top of the backswing. This would give a strong and healthy downswing to the shot. For narrowing slices, keep your chin right in the line of the nose and head extended on the line of spine.

Golf ball has a great aerodynamic force, its movement, trajectory, spin; distance is all guided by this force. The aerodynamics is due to its dimples. It causes lift when a golfer uses spin on a ball. Gutta Percha balls introduced around 150 years ago did not travel the distance. This brought forth the idea of marking or scoring the ball. It was believed that such marks could add to the fairway distance.

Naturally, a lot of surface designs were put to test. Today dimpled enamels are being used; the balls are made up of rubber core wound over a rubber thread. The aerodynamics hence introduced provides the ball with a lot of distance. It also induces lift and trajectory. The reason is simple. A marked ball has a greater separation drag. This causes a large change in pressure flow on hitting the ball. This is why the ball gets the momentum we see once the club hits the ball.

Another important part is the golf driver. It is the longest and the most expensive club that a golfer has. It is either made of titanium or steel. Again it has graphite or a steel shaft. It has the lowest loft among all the golf clubs and hence gives longer distance and smarter trajectory. Golf drivers club head size is standard, mid or oversized. Today, used golf drivers are available over many online retail stores at very reasonable prices.

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