Here is information on the 2012 Masters golf tournament:

Dates: April 5-8, 2012
Location: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.

Augusta National Golf Club is one of the most famous golf courses in the world, home of The Masters. Its only rival for noteriety is The Old Course at St. Andrews (and perhaps Pebble Beach Golf Links). Augusta National Golf Club is located in Augusta, Ga., and includes an 18-hole course and a 9-hole par-3 course. Augusta National is a private club whose membership is small (around 300). You cannot apply to join Augusta National; you can only be invited to join. Only men are allowed to join the club (women are allowed to play the golf course).

Masters Recaps/Scores
Check out the list of past Masters winnersand you won’t just be able to view the names of the winners; you’ll also be able to click on the year of each tournament to read a recap and to see the full list of final scores.

Qualifying Criteria for the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament
There are multiple ways that golfers can qualify to receive an invitation to play in The Masters. In fact, there are 19 ways – 19 qualifying criteria. In addition, The Masters Committee can, at its discretion, invite international players who did not meet any of the 19 qualifying criteria below.

Who earns invitations to the 2012 Masters golf tournament? Players who meet these qualifications (note – subject to change prior to 2012 Masters):

• Former winners of The Masters
• Winners of the last five U.S. Opens
• Winners of the last five British Opens
• Winners of the last five PGA Championships
• Winners of the last three Players Championships
• Winner and runner-up from the last U.S. Amateur Championship
• Winner of the last British Amateur Championship
• Winner of the last Asian Amateur Championship
• Winner of the last U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship
• Winner of the last U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship
• The top 16 finishers (including ties) from last year’s Masters tournament
• The top 8 finishers (including ties), from last year’s U.S. Open
• The top 4 finishers (including ties) from last year’s British Open
• The top 4 finishers (including ties) from last year’s PGA Championship
• The top 30 finishers on last year’s PGA Tour money list
• Winners of PGA Tour events from the previous Masters through this year’s Masters, providing those tournaments award full FedEx Cup points (no opposite-field tournaments qualify)
• All players who qualified for last year’s Tour Championship
• The Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of the previous year
• The Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking published in the week prior to this year’s Masters

Related Video :

]]> http://icegolf.org/2012-masters-major-campionships.html/feed/ 0 http://icegolf.org/us-open-golf-tournament-2012.html/ http://icegolf.org/us-open-golf-tournament-2012.html/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:35:02 +0000 awGolfr http://icegolf.org/?p=99 The U.S. Open golf tournament is one of the four golf majors, and it is the one run by the United States Golf Association, one of golf’s two governing bodies. It is played every year in June, and is the second major on the golf calender, after The Masters and before the British Open. The U.S. Open has been played since 1895.

2012 U.S. Open Golf Tournament
• When: June 14-17
• Where: Olympic Club (Lake Course), San Francisco, California

The 18-hole “Lake” course at the The Olympic Club facility in Daly City, California features 6,842 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 71 . The course rating is 74.4 and it has a slope rating of 140 on Rye grass.  Designed by Wilfrid A. Reid/(R) Robert Trent Jones, ASGCA, the Lake golf course opened in 1924. Dennis Bouey manages the course as the General Manager.

The U.S. Open is the oldest golf championship of national prominence in America with most all the greats of the game winning at least one to justify their historic resumes.  It is also known as the second leg in the Grand Slam of Golf.

All the greats of the game have won this tournament except for Sam Snead who very well may be the greatest of all time.  The last six U.S. Open champions have been Graeme McDowell winning at Pebble Beach in 2010 and defending here at Congressional, Lucas Glover winning at Bethpage in ’09, Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines in ’08, (his last major to date), Angel Cabrera at Oakmont in ’07, and Geoff Ogilvy at Winged Foot in 06.

Rory McIlroy dominated the 2011 U.S. Open from start to finish, leading after each round and running away to an 8-stroke victory. McIlroy set a slew of tournament records along the way, and erased the memory of his final-round meltdown at The Masters just a couple months earlier. McIlroy did all this at age 22. The runner-up at Congressional Country Club was another golfer in his early 20s, Jason Day. Scores/Recap
Rory’s records

Final Leaders
Rory McIlroy, 268
Jason Day 276
Kevin Chappell 278
Robert Garrigus, 278
Lee Westwood, 278
Y.E. Yang, 278
Peter Hanson, 279
Sergio Garcia, 279
(view scores)

Previous U.S. Opens played at Congressional:
1997 U.S. Open
1964 U.S. Open

Related Video :

Best Golf Shots US Open Championship 2010

[See post to watch Flash video] ]]> http://icegolf.org/us-open-golf-tournament-2012.html/feed/ 0 http://icegolf.org/americas-10-toughest-golf-courses-2.html/ http://icegolf.org/americas-10-toughest-golf-courses-2.html/#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:55:35 +0000 awGolfr http://icegolf.org/?p=153 HOW WE DID IT

The last time Golf Digest ranked America’s Toughest Courses, in 2007, a group of editors got together and compiled the list based on their experiences. This year we took a scientific approach. We sent a survey to the Golf Digest Panelists, the roughly 1,100 avid golfers who create our 100 Greatest Courses rankings, and asked them to list the 15 courses that wear them out the most. The survey ballot included all 50 courses from our 2007 list, the 100 courses with the highest combined USGA Course Rating and Slope Rating scores, and the 100 courses that panelists rated highest in Resistance to Scoring—one of the seven criteria they use when evaluating 100 Greatest candidates. We also encouraged panelists to include write-ins. Courses earned points for appearing on panelists’ top-15 lists: five points for being first-, second- and third-toughest, four points for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-toughest, and so on. The courses appear in order of their point scores. —Peter Finch

1. The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, S.C.
Par 5, 16th hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“I think the 17th hole is the toughest par 3 in the world. If the wind blows, watch out.”
“The course is really, really challenging for all levels of player. When the wind is blowing, par on many of the holes is an excellent score.”
“If your idea of a good time is a fistfight, this is the place for you.”

2. Pine Valley (N.J.) G.C.
Par 4, 18th hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“Is there a better test mentally? Time after time, you have to trust your swing.”
“The target areas are wide and forgiving. But when you miss the target, the bunkers will eat you alive.”

3. Oakmont (Pa.) C.C.
Par 4, 18th hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“Every approach shot had a different challenge and a different objective. I’ve never been more punished by a golf course.”
“A course that demands excellent putting, pitching, and bunker play plus driving and approaches. There is a fine line between these greens being very demanding and unfair.”

4. Spyglass Hill G. Cse., Pebble Beach
Par 3, 12th hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“A strong test of golf with great ocean views and tight, tree-lined holes with difficult greens.”
“The most challenging course in Pebble Beach. Its green complexes are the toughest in the area.”
Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

5. Bethpage State Park (Black), Farmingdale, N.Y.
Par 4, 5th hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“Where is the finesse on the Black? The shortest par 4 is the 2nd hole at 392 yards and uphill, playing closer to 410 yards. It’s a big, brawny test.”
“Without a doubt the very hardest course I’ve ever played. It was not fun and I have no desire to play it again.”

6. Whistling Straits (Straits), Haven, Wis.
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“The most visually challenging course I have played.”
“Playing in a strong wind with the beauty of Lake Michigan is golf at its best. The vistas were amazing but so was the course: challenging but fair, demanding all shots in the bag and penalized bad shots. It’s a great test of golf.”

7. TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium), Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Par 5, 11th hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“A beast of a course that tests every part of one’s game, especially the part between your ears. ”
It’s even harder in person than it looks on TV. The greens were FAST.”

8. PGA West (TPC Stadium), La Quinta, Calif.
Par 4, 1st Hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“Well, the intent of this course is to drive good players batty and it succeeds mightily in that. Go in with the proper attitude and a fun time can be had. BUT … it is as severe as any golf course one will ever play.”
“I don’t believe the course is fair. Great shots are not always rewarded, sometimes not even playable. If this course were set up with thick rough and slick greens it could be almost unplayable.”

9. Winged Foot G.C. (West), Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Par 4, 17th hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“Hard, hard, hard. Tough rough, new longer tees, great Tillinghast green complexes. Certainly one of the best championship courses in the U.S.”
“Truly great test of golf with wonderful green sites. I’ve always viewed it as one of if not the toughest up and down course in the world.”

10. Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort (No. 2)
Par 3, 17th hole
Golf Digest Panelist Comments:
“Wide open fairways still require drives in the correct spot to open up the greens.”
“Possibly the most difficult course from 50 yards to the hole The greens are upside-down saucers: You shoot at a 6,000-square foot green, but actually your target is 4,000 square feet.”

In the 1980’s, huge improvements were made in golf club design and construction. Most of those improvements increased both forgiveness (the ability of the golf club to compensate for swing error — and the golf ball to go straighter) and distance (the ability of the golf club to hit harder — and the golf ball to go farther). The object of the game is to hit straighter and farther, so golf clubs designed to do that are called game improvement golf clubs. The primary characteristics of game improvement clubs are perimeter weighting, large sweet spot and low center of gravity design.

As we progressed into the 90’s and 2000’s, game improvement continued to expand with the advent of “ported” clubs. Taylor Made ushered in the era of weight ports enabling the average golfer to adjust the weight by location. Whether it was one port, two ports or four ports, the golfer could adjust with a “little weight here”, or “less weight there” to achieve a desired ball flight. Since Taylor Made used “weight ports”, do you think Nike or Callaway would follow? Of coursed not!! Since the two have research and development departments, they went in different directions. Both Nike and Callaway went more in the “square headed direction” claiming that shape created better ball flight and straighter shots. Remember, all of this was done with “game improvement in mind.”

Perimeter Weighting

Perimeter weighting means that the weight of the golf club head is positioned around the perimeter of the golf club instead of at the center. As we said above, if you always hit the ball dead center perfect, you would want a small sweet spot and no perimeter weighting so you could put as much physical mass directly behind the impact point of the ball. If you are one of these guys, you likely have a low single digit handicap, use forged irons and know all of this already!! This would make a very long shot, however, if you are off — even just a millimeter — your shot will go astray. We don’t make clubs that do that because the vast majority of golfers out there simply cannot benefit from those designs. By perimeter weighting our golf clubs, we maximize forgiveness. We do have designs with greater and lesser emphasis on perimeter weighting — but all of our golf clubs are perimeter weighted.

Large Sweet Spot

A large sweet spot is generally created by perimeter weighting design. The sweet spot is the optimum place to make contact with the ball. The larger the sweet spot, the greater room for swing error. But designing for the largest sweet spot can leave less room to correct other common swing errors. Perimeter weighting can be shifted to cure toe-miss-hits and to help get the ball up in the air.

For example, certain iron designs are heavily toe-weighted, meaning the weight of the club is heavier at the toe of the club head, to decrease club twisting from severe miss-hits off the toe of the golf club. Ping Golf is most famous for this in their designs, the “Ping Zing.” This idea cures one very important problem — toe hits and twisted shots, but may decrease the overall size of the sweet spot. Increased toe-weighting can stress the shaft and increase golf shaft breakage. There is a fine balance in club design between doing a good thing and doing too much of a good thing.

Another example of using perimeter weighting to solve a problem is the low center of gravity designs of Callaway Golf. Callaway Golf iron designs tend to shift weight to solve the problem of getting the ball up in the air, but may decrease the sweet spot size. However, take heart — we are talking about fractions of millimeters of sweet spot size here, not inches.

Low Center of Gravity

Recently, low center of gravity (LCG) has become a favored design concept. This means shifting weight to the bottom of the club to increase the ability to hit the ball up into the air. If you don’t have a problem getting the golf ball off the ground, then LCG should be less important to you. It you have a big problem in this area then LCG matter a lot. Golf clubs with tungsten inserts, or weight ports focus on LCG, because tungsten is heavier than steel and allows the club to have even more weight where it counts.

To conclude, our overall goal is to have a large sweet spot and also solve some other common swing problems. Certain designs of the famous name manufacturers may orient more towards solving one problem than another: weight ports, inserts, etc. Pinemeadow Golf aims to be a smart follower and take advantage of the best thinking out there in the golf world, and apply those concepts to our products. Remember, most existing designs in the market place today are simply changes from prior designs, all our designs focus on game improvement, we want you to hit the golf ball both straight and far.

Hybrids and More

Utility clubs: Let’s use that term because it really encompasses hybrids irons, hybrid woods and obscure clubs like “hybrid chippers”. Hybrid clubs are not really new. Do you remember the Ginty? Most average golfers have a really hard time hitting the 2, 3 and 4 iron. Lets face it, most of us only used the 2 iron to get out from under the trees!! It has to have been 15 years but Taylor Made came out with the “Rescue Club” many years ago. It was called a rescue club for a reason. It was for the average golfer and it replaced the 2 and 3 iron as a truly game improving club. This was a problem though since was focused on the “average guy” and not on the professional “Tour Player.” Because it was called a rescue club, looked different, and was aimed at the average guy it really never caught on … until, one day when we saw it in a Touring Pro’s bag and it was called a hybrid! The explosion was on and everyone made their version of a hybrid. Today, you can find companies (including ours) that not only make the 2,3 and 4 hybrids, but continue it all the way down to the pitching wedge.

The new advanced SensoGlove now offers a longer battery life and increased sensitivity for a more accurate pressure read to ensure a consistently smooth and powerful golf swing for greater distance and lower scores.  Just in time for the holidays, the new version of SensoGlove was created based on feedback from international PGA professionals.

Now Features Longer Battery Life & Increased Sensitivity – 

Improvements Based on Feedback from International PGA Professionals

Corrects “Death Grip” for Better, More Accurate & Powerful Golf Swing

Audio & Visual Feedback at 80 Times per Second 

SensoGlove features a small, sweat-proof 1.2-inch LED digital monitor that analyzes the pressure of the swing through highly responsive sensors placed throughout the glove.  Just swing the golf club to receive real-time audio and visual feedback at 80 times per second by the small sensors that warn you if you exceed your target level of grip pressure. The patented SensoGlove even shows you which fingers are gripping too tightly, so you can adjust your grip accordingly.

Made of the highest quality cabretta leather, SensoGlove is the perfect gift for golf lovers or those that want to learn golf or improve their game.  Everyone that has tried to learn golf knows how hard it is to achieve the perfect light grip necessary to swing the club correctly every time.  SensoGlove works as your own personal golf trainer, showing you the correct way to grip the club, thereby avoiding bad habits and injury.  With SensoGlove, all golfers (from beginner to advanced), can quickly learn how to hold the club, improving every part of their game, from backswing, downswing, impact, follow-through, to driving, putting, and chipping.

Right & Left Hand Gloves Available for Men and Women 

The new version of SensoGlove is available immediately online at www.sensoglove.com and through distributors, sales partners, and golf schools around the world for men and women in right or left hand configurations, sizes small to x-large, priced at $89 (replacement gloves are available for $22.48).   Made of cabretta leather, the built-in digital monitor can be removed to use SensoGlove as a regular golf glove.

ABOUT SENSOSOLUTIONS

Sensosolutions GmbH is a leading German-based company specializing in the development of highly innovative IT systems for sports analysis, motion, and performance measurement.  Sensosolutions is the creator of SensoGlove, the first and only golf glove with built-in sensors that constantly read the pressure of your grip.  SensoGlove teaches you the correct grip pressure for a smooth, consistent swing that delivers greater distance, enhanced precision and lower scores.

If you didn’t know who was hitting the ball, the distinctive swings of guys like Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Jim Furyk might give you pause before you realize you’re looking at a top-50 player. But when you see Masters champion Charl Schwartzel’s swing, there doesn’t seem to be any other possibility. “I remember five years ago watching him win the South African tour’s Order of Merit [he won it in 2005-'07 and 2010] and thinking, He has one of the best swings I’ve ever seen–classic and powerful,” says Chuck Cook, No. 6 on Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers in America. “Back then, I thought he could be the real deal, and we’d see him winning major championships soon.”

That prediction came true at Augusta National last spring, where Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to win by two shots over Adam Scott and Jason Day. Schwartzel, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, has won eight times in seven years playing the PGA and European Tours.

“I felt very much in control of my driving at the Masters,” Schwartzel says. “The work I had put into my golf swing really came together that week.”

Specifically, Schwartzel says he has been working to take the club back with a low, sweeping action to guard against snatching it up quickly and then having to recover.

“Sometimes I pick the club up too steeply,” he says. “When that happens, I drop it too far to the inside coming down, and the club gets stuck behind my body. Then I have to try to save the shot through impact with my hands. It’s hard to hit the ball on line that way.”

Cook says in recent play Schwartzel has done a good job correcting that problem–there seems to be a better symmetry between his arms and body. His advice to Schwartzel is to work on that connection and to keep his left wrist from cupping at the top of the swing. Those two issues, Cook says, force Schwartzel to make two compensations on the downswing: First, he has to reconnect his arm swing to his body before turning through the ball. Second, because his shoulders are closed at impact, that cupped left wrist means he has to flip the club with excessive hand action to square the face.

“When his timing is good, he’s fantastic,” Cook says. “But if he can correct those two issues, he’ll be able to fire through with his right side more consistently.”

That advice plays right into Schwartzel’s goal for 2012: “I don’t want to be one of those guys who plays great one week and then doesn’t the next. I want to have a swing that lets me play consistently every week.”

Related Video :

Charl Schwartzel an Analysis by Dan Whittaker

[See post to watch Flash video]

Golf clubs are the tools we use to strike the golf ball. A golf club has three components — the Head, the Shaft and the Grip. The rules of golf constrain golf club designs, but the goal of clubmakers is to create golf clubs, within those constraints that maximize the physics behind a golfer’s swing while allowing for some range of swing error to provide an accurate, long, and forgiving shot. The better your swing, the less forgiving club you require whereas the more your swing needs work, the better off you are with a more forgiving club design.

A modern set of golf clubs typically consists of three woods (the 1-driver, 3, and 5), at least 1 hybrid (3H) seven irons (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and PW), and a putter. This gives you a total of twelve clubs. The rules of golf allow you to carry fourteen clubs in your bag, so many golfers add another wedge or specialty hybrid. After all, the more tools we have in our toolbox, the more options you have to make doing your job easier!

Woods

Woods are used to hit long shots. If a golf hole is 450 yards from tee to green, most golfers use a wood to hit off the tee. A wood is a hollow-bodied large headed golf club. It’s customary to use your woods when you are 175 yards or more away from the green.

The driver (also called the 1 wood) has the lowest loft of any golf club. Loft is the angle of the club face that controls trajectory and affects distance. A driver has a loft between 7 and 12 degrees. Experienced golfers have traditionally favored lower lofted drivers (less than 10 degrees of loft), which require much more skill to hit than higher lofted drivers.

A dramatic development has occurred over the past several years — professional golfers are throwing out their low lofted drivers and opting for large-headed, higher-lofted 10 and 11 degree drivers. Their argument is that the longest drives are achieved by combining a high launch angle with lower spin. This change is a huge reversal from prior years. During the mid to late 1990’s, the average loft on the PGA Tour was around 7 degrees. However, those were difficult shots for the pros to make and the low loft resulted in lots of spin on the ball. The experts in ball flight analysis showed that the longest golf drives are achieved with a high launch angle combined with low spin. The new solid core golf balls provide that low spin which was not available in the golf balls of yesterday. A higher lofted club gives the golfer the higher launch angle.

Most PGA pros now carry drivers with lofts of 8.5 to 10 degrees or more. Non-pros should probably play drivers with lifts 10 degrees or higher. So, our recommendation is: follow the advice of the PGA pros and increase the loft of your driver.

Most golfers also carry 3 and 5 woods in their bag. A 3 wood has a loft between 15 and 18 degrees, and a 5 wood has a loft between 20 and 22 degrees. The higher the golf club number, the higher the loft. Also, the higher the golf club number, the shorter the club shaft length. The 3 wood and 5 wood are commonly referred to as fairway woods, because they are most often used during the second shot of play, when you are supposed to be in the fairway of the golf hole (as opposed to in the woods!). All higher lofted woods (7, 9, 11, and so on) are commonly referred to as utility woods. A 3 wood is generally ½” shorter than a driver and so on with each successive club. However, we build all our woods higher than a 5 wood the same length as the 5 wood. This is because shortening a club decreases the arc of the swing. The smaller the arc, the less speed the golf club will have when it strikes the ball — ergo the less distance the ball will travel. We believe that a 5 wood is short enough and while the 7 and 9 woods provide more forgiveness, we also want longer distance in our shots. Arghh, the physics of golf!

What about 2 and 4 woods? These woods actually exist and were popular 20 or more years ago, but they have fallen out of favor as newer technologies have improved the performance of woods. Today, most golfers prefer 7 and 9 woods in their bag (which can only have fourteen clubs) than a 2 or 4 wood. In fact, there is now a trend to include higher numbered woods and eliminate the traditional low numbered irons in your set of golf clubs. That will be discussed in greater detail when we talk about irons.

Why aren’t woods made of wood? They used to be, but since the 1980’s woods have been made of metal. Metal has many advantages over wood. For the beginning golfer, the most important features are perimeter weighting and low center of gravity (LCG) which can only be achieved through precisely molded metal. Both of these design technologies result in golf clubs that are much more forgiving than wooden woods. Perimeter weighting helps create a larger sweet spot — a larger area on the face of the club that will result in a good hit. Low center of gravity creates mass at the right place — increasing the height that the ball will launch off the club and reducing the likelihood of miss-hits into the ground.

Hybrids

What about hybrids? In the past 5 years a recent development that began over 10 years ago has really caught on with pros and non-pros alike. Hybrids are a combination of a fairway wood head design and a iron length shaft. The long irons have traditionally been the most difficult to hit. Evidence of this difficulty was best captured by Lee Trevino, who said, “if you are ever caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightning, hold up a 1-iron, not even God can hit a 1-iron.” The idea is to give the golfer a more forgiving option when compared to long irons, which are more difficult to hit. Hybrids are commonly touted as “the best of both worlds.” The popularity of hybrids has been so strong in recent years that many golfers have decided to replace many of their 3 and 4 irons with the hybrid clubs. An important factor is the distance that many hybrids offer when compared to a typical 3 or 4 iron shot. You will also see golfers opt out from using 5 woods and 7 woods, replacing those fairway woods with a #2 or #3 hybrid. It is important to remember that while most manufacturers match the hybrid number to the corresponding iron number, the best indicator of distance when looking at hybrids is the loft. Most 3 hybrids match up closely with a 3 iron in loft. Loft being equal, most hybrids will perform better with regards to distance and forgiveness.

Irons

Irons are generally used when you are less than 200 yards away from the green. The closer you are to the green, the higher the iron you will use. A standard set of irons consists of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 irons and the pitching wedge (PW). The 3 and 4 irons are harder to hit than the higher number irons. Many golfers, especially ladies, seniors and higher handicap golfers, are changing to a modified standard golf set that replaces the 3 and 4 iron with higher lofted woods like the 7 and 9 woods. We think this is a sensible trend and one that a beginning golfer should consider. Higher lofted woods, like the 7 and 9 wood are easier to hit than a 3 or 4 iron and result in comparable distances.

Wedges

Wedges are really just specialty irons. The first wedge is the pitching wedge (PW), which is usually about 46-48 degrees in loft. Wedges generally increase in increments of 4 degrees loft. So wedges commonly come in 48, 52, 56, 60 and 64 degree lofts. The PW is the highest lofted iron in a standard set and lowest loft of the wedges. Following the PW with higher lofts are the approach wedge (AW), sand wedge (SW), the lob wedge (LW), and the high-lob wedge. We also manufacture a very special wedge called the last wedge — which has a 68 degree loft.

Wedges are extremely useful to your game and most golfers have a few of them. Wedges are generally designed as “blade clubs” because you are close enough to the green that the game improvement design elements such as wide soles are less important. The need for increased shot control and shot shaping, which blade design encourages, becomes the more important technology for a good wedge design.

Putters

A putter is a golf club with a special purpose: getting the ball into the hole. After you have slammed your drive 250 yards right into the middle of the fairway, hit your second shot 175 yards into the sand trap, and then wedged out onto the green, it is time to “putt for dough.” The putter is used on the green and there are many styles of putters: short, belly, long, bent, center-hosel, heel-toe, mallet, and so on. At Pinemeadow Golf, we provide you a huge selection of putters and we have a good reason for it which will be explained later.

The Psychology of What You Carry in Your Golf Bag

After decades of experience in the golf club manufacturing business, building millions of clubs for huge numbers of happy customers, we have noticed one thing. Most golfers have as their minimum arsenal one set of irons, one or two hybrids, multiple wedges, several drivers and a variety of putters. This is because your foursome all gets together at the tee where you use your driver. The pressure is high to perform well. Hopefully you end up in the fairway, spread out all over the golf course. As you work your way through the hole using your fairway woods and irons — eventually, you all come back together again on the green.

So, where do you need the most weapons at your disposal? It is where the stakes are highest and the pressure to perform reaches its zenith. That is at the tee and the green — they don’t say “drive for show, putt for dough” casually. And that is why most golfers we know have multiple drivers and putters and one set of irons.

To start there’s only one rule to remember: You can’t carry more than 14 clubs in your bag at any one time.

• Determining your ability level
• The low-handicap golfer
• The mid-handicap golfer
• The high-handicap golfer
• Determining a basic set
• Buying a child’s club set

Determining your ability level

Before buying a set of clubs, first determine your ability level.

The low-handicap golfer

A low-handicap player has a single-digit handicap, meaning he or she generally scores less than 10 strokes over par, or an 82 or less on a par-72 course.

• Woods
• The low-handicap player should carry a driver and at least 1 fairway wood, most likely the 3-wood
• Irons
• The low-handicap player will benefit from lower irons in his bag, because the three or four-iron is a difficult club to hit but can be very useful if it can be controlled
• Wedges
• A minimum of 3 wedges–sand wedge, pitching wedge and either a lob wedge or approach wedge–in their bags, with a maximum 4-degree difference between each one

The mid-handicap golfer

The mid-handicap golfer plays “bogey golf,” meaning his or her score averages out to 1 over par on each hole, or somewhere in the 11-20 handicap range.

• Woods
• In addition to the driver and a 3-wood and a 5-wood, consider adding a 7-wood or even a 9-wood. These fairway woods give much better control and consistency than the harder to hit long irons.
• Irons
• Usually only a 3 through 9 are recommended, since the 2-iron is very difficult to hit consistently
• Wedges
• Three different wedges are recommended- pitching wedge, sandwedge, and either a lob wedge or approach wedge

The high-handicap golfer

The high-handicap golfer is either a beginner or has not had the time to hone his game to reach the mid-handicap level. The high-handicapper usually shoots close to or over 100.

• Woods
• You may not even want to have a driver in your bag. Instead, go with the 3-wood as your off-the-tee wood and add the easier-to-hit 7- and 9-wood.
• Wedges
• Up to 3 wedges – pitching wedge, sand wedge, and either a lob wedge or approach wedges – should be carried

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Determining a basic set

While there are variations, golfers buying a basic set of clubs should include the following:

2 or 3 woods

• Either a driver and 2 fairway woods (a 3- and 5-wood are common)
• Consider adding a 3.5-, and 7-wood

Eight irons

• A set traditionally includes a 3 through 9-iron plus a pitching wedge
• Many golfers are now not carrying the longer 3- and 4- irons for an additional fairway wood

Wedges

• Sand wedge (55-57 degree loft)
• Choose between a lob wedge (60-64 degree loft) or a gap wedge (50-53 degree loft)

Putter

• Putters are usually sold separately from full sets to allow the golfer to choose his or her own style

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Buying a child’s club set

Children just learning the game have certain requirements.

• Children should not learn on an adult-sized set of clubs
• Children should not use a cut-off set of adult clubs because the shafts will be too stiff

Starter sets offer child-specific designs

• Undersized grips
• Children have smaller hands and therefore need narrower grips
• Length
• Starter sets are usually sized for children under 10, for pre-teens and then for teenagers
• Weight
• Need to be light enough to be swung easily and balanced enough to simulate full-sized clubs
• Number of clubs
• Most children’s starter sets have a reduced number of clubs, decreasing the club decisions they have to make while learning the game, as well as decreasing the weight of the golf bag
• Irons/Woods
• The lowest iron is usually a 6-iron
• The driver is now being replaced in starter sets by the easier-to-hit 3-or 5-wood
• Putter
• Proper size is essential
• Measure from slightly above the child’s waist to the ground to determine an approximate size. This should give you the approximate proper length of a child’s putter

They have managed to create the Shotmiser Golf GPS Virtual Shotmiser, a replica of the handheld version which works online via the user’s computer. The Virtual unit depicts actual course maps with all actual yardages. Visitors to the Shotmiser website can select courses where they play and explore them, checking distances to hazards, checking carries to dog legs and lay ups from any part of the course, even if that happens to be from the wrong fairway, can also demo many of the other features available on the unit from the comfort of their living room chair.

This will be particularly useful for golfers that don’t yet have a GPS and are maybe thinking of investing in one and will help them decide whether to join the fastest growing part of the golf industry, which has around 30% of golfers now owning a distance measuring device of some kind.

“Even if you already have a measuring device the Virtual unit is free for all to use by visiting www.shotmiser.com – “see how it compares to your current device.” says Mike Lloyd the UK Sales Manager for Shotmiser.

“There is lots of interest from other websites to use the Virtual unit as it is being offered as a way to add value to the website visitor experience for free. Websites such as those that offer tee time booking and golf course reviews are looking to provide something different from their competitors. The virtual unit can easily be adapted for use on these websites. It gives visitors booking tee times a fun but useful opportunity to explore the course about to be played for its hazards, its distances and anything else that may help with course management and thus a successful low scoring round. It gives the website a useful, enjoyable and attractive feature that will attract new repeat customers”