Games of Knowledge | Sports and Exercise

Games Guy | February 6, 2012

One of the problems many golfers face on the golf course is getting off to a poor start. Some golfers hit one bad shot, get it out of their system and they can relax and start playing. Others allow one bad shot to destroy the first few holes and essentially their entire day.

The majority of the time bad starts can be traced to nerves on the first tee. You don’t have to accept this anxiety as a fact of life. Instead you can find out how to fix it so you get your rounds started off on the right foot. Here is how.

Nerves are typically caused by the unknown. You have not hit a drive all day so on your first shot you really do not know where it’s going. If you would like to prepare for your first shot you can go to the range before the round and hit one or two balls. Do not simply whack away though, instead picture the hole you are about to play and try to hit a shot like what you have got to do on the first hole. Pick out 1 or 2 markers on the range. One you’ll aim at and two others that will act as limits you have got to keep the ball between. If you hit several successful shots in a row, you’ll have little to be afraid of on the first hole.

You do not necessarily have to physically hit balls though. A peculiar quirk with our subconscious is that it doesn’t know what’s real and what is clear imagination. If you are running late to the course try visualizing the shot you are going to hit on the 1st hole. Be as detailed as practicable beginning with approaching the box to your preshot routine and eventually feel your ideal swing while watching the ball fly through the air and stop.

Try those two tricks and you will be able to play better right from the start.

Get more mental game tips at Easy Pars. We have you covered so that you can learn how to golf and play well.

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Tags: anxiety, Fact Of Life, First Hole, First Tee, Fly, Fly Through The Air, Game Tips, Golf Course, Golf Tips, Golfers, Holes, Imagination, Mental Game, nerves, Pars, Preshot Routine, Quirk, Right Foot, Subconscious, Swing, Two Balls

Games Guy | February 6, 2012

Before buying antique golf clubs, you have to get into the practice of evaluating it properly. Unfortunately, many of us at some point have had the experience of giving a club an easy once-over glance and then finding out after we’ve acquired it that it may not be the antique that we believed it was.

Here’s some information to help you appraise vintage wooden shafted golfing clubs. The most important thing is to begin at one end of the club and carefully work along the club, reviewing all of its parts, guaranteeing that you've an antique golf club rating which is sound and trustworthy. As always, if you've got any questions, there are a great number of gurus available who can help you with questions or concerns. There are also many great reference materials which make appraising an antique golf club far easier.

Here in this 3 part series on antique golf club assessment, we take a look at the grip, the end grain of the shaft, and wood rot as factors in figuring out the providence and price of a vintage golf club.

Checking the grip

Only a very small percentage of antique golf clubs have their original grip. The older the club the more chance it's been regripped when in use. Grips on hickory clubs have a tendency to come in two main types: softish suede or hard leather. The most important clue whether a grip is original is to search for tiny tacks (nails) or holes in the shaft from prior fittings at the bottom, and especially, the head of the grip. Prior holes at the bottom may naturally be covered by the newer grip, nevertheless it is awfully tough to disguise totally the holes or tacks at the very top. Do not immediately become concerned if you think the grip isn't original. The proven fact that a grip is not original isn't generally a factor when determining the veracity of an antique golf club. We now move on to an inspection of the wooden shaft.

The End Grain of the Shaft

When viewing the butt end of the shaft head on, with the club face lined up as if hitting a ball, the grain of the wood should generally run left to right and not top to bottom. The grain of the hickory running in this direction also makes it less likely for the shaft to split when the club is employed in play. If the grain isn't in a general left to right direction, it clearly indicates that it was not fitted by a talented club craftsman, and an approval (or not) of its vintage nature.

Wood Rot

It is not uncommon to find hickory golf clubs with wood shafts that have rotten ends at the butt end of the club. The wood may be literally coming apart or it may just be very soft. A mild pressing with a finger on the tip can exhibit any underlying condition. If the tip is falling away then you can consider removing a few inches off but you would need to know by how much before solid wood is reached. Frequently it's going to be clear to you from the beginning, the club isn't, nor will it ever be, playable. That does not prevent you from making it a valuable and appealing display piece. If the wood is really soft then few liberal coats of polish can stabilise it and make it quite hard and interesting for display.

There are several more steps concerned in gauging an antique golf club which we are going to cover in successive articles, enabling anybody to establish precisely what you have.

Andrew Shea has been concerned in Antique Golf, both on a personal level, and in a professional capacity for a few years. If you've got a query or are interested in vintage golf clubs usually, you are frequently welcome at his site.Once you've determined what you have, the very next step is working out what it could be worth. For a clearer description of the antique golf club appraisal process, and to take the next step and establish more exactly what you piece is worth, you can explore the diversity of resources at our site.

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