WHAT'S IN A GOLF BALL?

WHAT'S IN A GOLF BALL?

History has it that there are things that seem to be peculiar on their make-up hundreds of years ago which eventually came up with a better composition based on scientific research. And a golf ball is the best paradigm of this theoretical stand in history.

During the earliest days of golf on the eastern coast of Scotland, most players used ancient apparatus in order to play the game in a more disorganized and informal way. Here, the first clubs and golf balls are made up of wood.

It was on 1618 that the feather golf ball was finally introduced. This was commonly known as the "Featherie". This feather golf ball was a handcrafted ball made with goose feathers securely pressed into a horse or cowhide sphere. This is being done while the ball is still wet. After drying, the leather shrank and the feathers expanded creating a hardened ball.

But because these kinds of golf balls are specially handcrafted, they usually cost higher than the clubs. In doing so, only a few privileged people could afford to play golf during those times.

Next came the Guttie golf ball. This prehistoric kind of golf ball was made from the rubber like sap of the Gutta tree that can be found in the tropics. Normally, these Guttie balls can be easily shaped into a sphere when hot and eventually used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, guttie balls can be cheaply reproduced and can be easily repaired by reheating and reshaping.

However, between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was said to travel farther than the gutties. This is due to the smooth surface of the gutties that limits the capacity of the golf ball to cover more distance.
With this new scientific analysis, the developers of golf ball finally came up with balls with the "dimples" that are predominant in modern golf balls nowadays.

Dimples are crafted into golf balls so as to reduce the aerodynamic drag, which will be acting on the ball if it were totally smooth. This is because smooth balls, when sailing through the air, leave a huge pocket of low-pressure air in its stir therefore creating a drag. With the application of drag, the ball slows down.

Hence, by having dimples on golf balls, the pressure differential goes down and the drag force is reduced. These dimples create turbulence in the air surrounding the golf ball. This, in turn, forces the air to clasp the golf ball more closely. By doing so, the air trails the warp created by the ball towards the back instead of flowing past it. This results to a smaller wake and lesser drag.

Dimples also help players to put backspin on a shot making the golf ball break off on the putting green.

The idea of putting dimples on golf balls can be traced back during the gutta percha phase. Coburn Haskell introduced the one-piece rubber cored ball encased in a gutta percha sphere. It was during this time when the players observed how their shots become more and more predictable as their balls turned rough from play.

When William Taylor applied the dimple pattern to a Haskell ball in 1905, golf balls finally took their modern form.
From then on, dimpled golf balls were officially used in every golf tournament. In 1921, the golf balls took its form with standard size and weight.

Today, there is an abundant selection of golf balls to fit different golf game and condition. There are golf balls that offer control, while some offer distance. In whatever ways golf balls vary, only one thing is common and known. Golf balls are not just elements of the sports arena; they are more than ever paradigm of a concept in physics. 

Golf Backswing Stretch During Round

Golf Backswing Stretch During Round

Here’s a golf backswing stretch to help you maintain a full backswing loaded with more power during your round of golf.

Golf Backswing Stretch With Golf Club

Golf Backswing Stretch Instructions:
•Extend left arm out in front of you (if you are a right handed golfer).
•Take both hands and put on top of club.
•Drop upper body down against club to feel a stretch in your left shoulder.
•Hold for at least 15 seconds, repeat once more and do the opposite for follow thru side

Benefit to Golf Swing:
•Improve back swing and follow thru range of motion, allowing for a bigger shoulder turn and generating more club head speed.
•Stretch back of shoulder for more range, but with-in golf swing.
•Indirectly improve trunk rotation while maintaining golf posture.

This is a fantastic stretch to do every couple of wholes. You’ll keep your backswing and follow through muscles nice and loose, maintaining a higher clubhead speed (and distance) for 18 holes.

Golf Tips To Improve Your Game

Golf Tips To Improve Your Game

Majority of veteran golfers say that the sport they love is more of a game for the mind. As such, a few tweaks on the way a player views the sport will go a long, long way in radically improving his performance on the course. Let's discuss other mental strategies that can amazingly change the way a golfer plays his game.
Never let the golf course to own you; control the golf course! A lot of beginners in the game of golf are terrified by the humongous size of the golf course.

 

Think of the close to 60 holes of some exclusive golf clubs and you'll discover the reason for of the discussed intimidation. Here's an essential golf tip: this sport is not a one path game. Just because the golf course is bigger than Central Park should never mean you will pee on your pants and wish for the darkness of evening. There is more than one way to skin a cat, as the saying goes, and there there are several ways to aid you to hit the ball in the hole, no matter the distance between the hole and the ball. Instead of hitting the ball from point A to point B, as an illustration, you can try to hit the said ball towards your sweet spot, that area where your shots are at their best, where your golfing acumen is always at its best. It may not be the shortest approach to the hole, but it can be the surest. Force your will on the golf course and get the best from your game.

The physical game of golf has 2 elements. Knowing that golf if really made up of 2 distinct physical games will go a long, long way in improving the way you approach the sport, and consequently, the way you play the same. Several players practice only for a single game in the physical aspect of the sport, and their their inability to foresee the other game is the cause of their poor performance. 

 

Golf is comprised of these 2 distinct games:
1. The game played between you, the tee and the field. This is the game that is prepared for by all those hours spent in the driving course.
2. The putting game. This is the game implemented on the putting grass with a putting iron, when the ball needs that weak, last hit to lead it to the hole. This requires training different from the first game.
Always keep in mind these principles and the sport will become a clearer - if not an easier - game. 

Golf Swing Instruction Enhances Consistency

Golf Swing Instruction Enhances Consistency

If you are a golfer on a limited budget, you may wonder how you can even afford to think about getting some full golf swing instruction. However, as the golf swing is one of the most important aspects of the game, then it is important to get it right.

As with everything, it is important to make sure that you get your spending right. Make sure that you carefully work out how much money you can afford to spend on your golf hobby. If there are cheaper things that you need then see if it is possible to get them for presents from friends and family when it is your birthday and then you can save some money that way.

The more expensive items could be more difficult. Try to shop around and see whether you can find cheap supplies, making sure that you are still getting good value for money. Some cheap things are not good quality and you could end up having to replace them more quickly and therefore paying out more money in the long run.

Things that you do not use that often could be worth buying second hand or you may find second hand items which are in very good condition or have hardly been used. If you are buying instruction books then you may find it worth buying some second hand, but look at them carefully in case they are out of date.

Getting back to the subject of golf swing instruction, you may find that by cutting back in these other areas that you can get enough money together to afford some. However, some options are more expensive than others. If you want teaching by a qualified professional then that is going to be more expensive than buying a course on DVD.

You may even find some free information online. It is important to decide what you want to get out of it and how much you want to spend and this will help you to focus your search in the appropriate direction and should help to stop you being distracted by things that you cannot afford or that are not going to suit you.

You still may find that there are quite a lot of different options available to you. In order to help you, try to look on the Internet or in golf magazines to find reviews of these products. Find out what other golfers think of them and whether, from what they say, you think that they will be suitable for you.

Also think carefully about the specific part of the swing that you want to work on and whether you think these products will help you with that. Lastly you need to consider how much time you have to commit to the product and whether you think you can make good use of it in the time that you have available.

Remember that whatever golf swing instruction you find, you will only get the full benefit if you can commit some time into applying the techniques to your game. 

How to get out of the deep rough

How to get out of the deep rough

The Trouble Shots DVD PurePoint GolfI believe there are three reasons why amateur golfers struggle out of deep rough. The number one reason is because professional golfers play golf from the golf ball to the green and amateur golfers play golf from the green back to the golf ball.

If you're looking for Free Golf Lessons Online to improve your golf swing, they are readily available, but I hope you continue to read this article and apply it to your golf game.

Professional golfers look at the lie, their stance, wind, yardage and a few other considerations. Amateur golfers look at the yardage, grab a club and swing away. The second reason amateurs struggle from deep rough is they are counting on a miracle recover shot. Unfortunately that is why they are in the deep rough in the first place.

Lastly is the technique that you have to use to get out of deep rough. If Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods attempted to hit a shot out of deep rough with their regular golf swing they could not advance the golf ball.
Making solid contact with a golf ball that is in deep rough takes a special swing.

Play Smart
Let’s start from the beginning. When I approach a golf ball in deep rough the first question I ask myself is “if I hit a perfect shot what can I expect the results to be”. Then I work backyards. Can I reach the green or not? If it hits the green is it going to stop? What are my chances of making great contact with this lie?

I think you are starting to get it. Let’s do our homework first before we pull out a 3 wood and try and advance the ball 235 yards down the fairway over a lake, on to the green and have it stop next to the hole.

Now with this thinking it eliminates the second problem which is the miracle shot. If you want to learn how to play out of deep rough, watch a couple of the Open Championships this summer and you wont believe how many times the players take out their wedges and pitch the ball back in play.

Now that I have you checking the lie and working from the ball to the hole, let’s spend some time on the technique of advancing the ball from deep rough.

The Secret
The Trouble Shots DVD PurePoint GolfOk now here is the secret. The main reason you struggle is because the hosel of the golf club (the part that connects the shaft with the head) gets hung up in the grass. If you, I or Jack Nicklaus swings the golf club on the same arc the length of the grass grabs the hosel and turns the toe before impact.

Sometimes you can make a great swing only to look up and see the golf ball 10 yards in front of you. You have to have a completely different swing so the hosel does not come in contact with the tall grass.

When you address the golf ball you have to make sure that you swing the golf club UP and DOWN not around. The best way to do this is to place 70% of your weight on your left foot at address. Now this is the secret once again, swing the arms up and down and make sure you do this without shifting any weight to the right foot.

Now there is one more thing you have to remember. DO NOT allow the golf club to swing UP after impact. Keep the clubhead low to the ground so the power is going down not out.