Archive for July, 2011

Proper Golf Grip

July 25th, 2011

What is a proper golf grip? In order to be a good golfer and deliver a great golf swing, holding or gripping a golf club properly is very important. If the club is not being held in the correct manner, the swing won’t be as smooth or accurate. Plus, your game and its scores will also be affected. Look at it this way, in the game of golf, there’s always a connection between the club and the ball. And in order to make this connection, how you place your hand is critical. You not only need skills, but also have to understand the mechanics behind holding a golf club effectively. Now it is absolutely normal for people to not understand golf terminology right off the bat. So gear up on those terms and get learn about the different grips. The following article will give you various proper golf grips and the correct manner to execute them.

Placement of Hands

The placement of both your hands is a fundamental key to a sound grip and swing. So let’s look at your lead hand and trailing hand for a powerful golf swing.

Lead Hand
Before you attempt a proper golf grip, you need to decide which will be your lead hand (top hand). The correct placement of the lead hand determines accurate control of the club’s face. While your body turns/swings during a swing, the club will turn as well. Your lead hand guides and controls where the club will hit the ball during the swing.

Suppose you are right-handed, so the left hand will be your lead hand, and vice versa. When you wear golf gloves, you will see four dots on the inside of the left glove. Keeping the alignment of the dots in mind, the placement of your club should match it. However, you don’t want to grip the club too much. If you do so, all you will do is take the power behind the shots away. So hold the golf club at least 3 feet in the air and place the club face square right in front of your body. Position the club at an angle, align the dots in the glove and through the fingers. Finally, comes the placement of your thumb, which goes behind the shaft.

Trailing Hand
Now comes your bottom hand, known as the trailing hand for a proper golf grip. For many, the trailing hand is their dominant hand; this means that the trailing hand is your writing and/or eating hand. Positioning this hand is important as well because this hand will be responsible for providing power to your swings as the lead hand manages the control. Hence, placements of both the hands should be equal to one another.

Before you place your trailing hand on the club, your lead hand should be in the perfect position. It doesn’t matter which of the proper golf grips you choose from, the lifeline of your trailing hand will always be kept against the thumb of your lead hand.

Proper Golf Club Grips

There isn’t just one proper way to grip a golf club. In fact, as the most basic or primary golf grips for beginners, we will go over three different styles of proper golf grips tips. All the three grips are common in order to get any beginner started promptly. Just pay proper attention towards how tight each of the grips should be. Always have your grips light so that you can enhance the power of your wrist’s flexibility (as tight grips result in weak shots).

Vardon Overlap
First of the three proper golf grips is the Vardon grip. It is one of the most popular club gripping methods used today. In 1900′s, Harry Vardon made this style famous and it has now become the top choice of many professional golfers and teaching masters. To learn this grip, overlap the trailing (bottom) hand’s little finger between the lead (top) hand’s index and middle fingers. The lead hand’s thumb will fit itself inside the grip of the trailing hand’s lifeline.

Interlocking Grip
To learn the interlocking grip, position your little finger of the trailing (bottom) hand amongst the middle and index fingers of the lead (top) hand. As you perform the hold, you will see that your hands are ‘interlocking’ with each other. Many professional golfers use this grip, including Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, who have smaller hands and find the Vardon grip a bit awkward. » Read more: Proper Golf Grip

Golf Tournament Prize Ideas

July 24th, 2011

Holding a golf tournament for your staff outing is a trend that has caught the fancy of many corporates. Even non profit organizations are relying on golf tournaments to raise money for charity. After all, a laid back game of golf, under bright sunlight, is enjoyed by all and sundry! To make such events even more interesting, the organizers always keep some prizes for the winners as well as gifts and takeaways for the participants. So, if you are planning such an event yourself, here is a list of some unique golf tournament prize ideas, which you can consider.

Golf Tournament Prizes

Golf Accessories
Golf tournament prizes and gifts should be chosen keeping the budget, event as well as the people they are meant for, in mind. Golf accessories, such as golf gloves, golf t-shirts, water bottles, golf towels, golf umbrellas, and a pack of golf balls, make for good golf tournament gifts. If you plan to give golf accessories to the winners, a gift basket, which has a number of such accessories, gift wrapped separately, will be ideal! Such prizes and gifts keep the memory of the event alive, which the participants cherish forever!

Golf First Aid Kit
A golf first aid kit, that includes items such as antibacterial wipes, sunblock, skin soothing moisturizer, bandage, golf towels, and golf t-shirts amongst other things, makes for a useful gift. Every time the participants use the items in the kit, they will be reminded of the golf event. If the event that you are holding is for your clients, having your company’s logo engraved on some of the items in the kit is a good idea!

Home Gifts
It is not compulsory that gifts for a golf tournament should be related to the game. Gifts which the participants can use in their homes, such as beer mugs, photo frames, decorative cigar boxes – all engraved with the organization’s logo, make for excellent gifts for such an event too. Home gifts go especially well with charity golf tournaments.

Gift Vouchers
If the golf tournament is for the employees, corporates can keep prizes like the best golfer, the worst golfer, the most enthusiastic participant and the overall winner. Gift vouchers for shopping at a retail store, vouchers for a family dinner at a restaurant or a voucher for a relaxing day at a spa, etc., can be awarded to the recipients of these prizes.

Golf Watches
One of the most interesting golf tournament prize ideas is to gift the participants a pair of watches. Have the company’s logo engraved on the dial, along with the date of the tournament. A few fun words such as ‘sporty’ or ‘adventurous’ can be printed on the strap of the watches. If ordered in bulk, this golf tournament gift will not cost much. At the same time, will make for a cool, useful gift!

Golf Bags
Durable duffel golf bags are another excellent choice for giving tournament winners. They can be purchased for as little as twenty-five dollars on the Internet. There is a huge variety in duffel golf bags to choose from, right from the travel bags which a person can carry on his shoulders to a standing, trolley one. Choose the one depending upon your budget. » Read more: Golf Tournament Prize Ideas