Check Out Stacy's Golf Swing!

It's time for all of my readers and listeners to see the golf swing behind the blog.

It's early in the season and this is my first time at a driving range but I think it's worthy of a visual. All I can say is thank goodness for my impact bag. Isn't it amazing how much stuff we golfers collect around the house which we hardly use? The impact bag has long been one of my favorite training aids but has been sitting around lately gathering dust.

I personally think that my golf swing looks pretty good!

If you have a video camera it is always a good idea to bring it with you to the driving range.

Although you may not notice a flaw in your swing upon first inspection, I think that you will be able to compare it to other professional golf swings and notice a difference. It might also be in your best interest to take the video you create over to a professional golf instructor so he/she can evaluate it for you.

I'm taking my movie (and my golf swing) over to my swing coach, Bill Moro, for an evaluation. I have one lesson remaining in my group series before I have to purchase another set. If you are serious about the sport and want to take lessons it might also be a good idea to purchase a set of four or five of them. Not only does it come out cheaper but it may take a few lessons to ingrain that new, improved swing into your practice.

Your comments or questions are always welcome.
Email me at golfforbeginners@aol.com.

Tiger Woods in the 2008 Olympics?

Golf for beginners 02-05-06 episode thirteen asks the question,

"Should golf be an Olympic sport?"

People's Daily Online, a Chinese online periodical in English quotes Secretary General of the China Golf Association, Cui Zhiqiang as saying that the decision, "made sense as the game was becoming increasingly popular in China with about 200 courses and 200 more under construction."

Golf has been on the Olympic program twice, in 1900 and 1904. There were two golf events in 1900 - one for men and one for the ladies.

GolfToday.uk added, "They gave away gold medals for synchronized diving, beach volleyball, fencing and badminton at the Olympics in Athens. The world's best basketball players were there (minus several American defections), along with stars in softball and tennis. There were 28 sports involved, but no golf."

Previous Olympic sports have included Tug-of-War, Polo, Rugby, Lacrosse, Cricket, Croquet and water-skiing. I think it's about time that there were some form of amateur form of golf at the 2008 Olympics but it won't be feasible if professionals are allowed to play because the USA will undoubtedly win gold (who could possibly take a gold medal from Tiger Woods?).

This week's "Blogger Weekly" section focuses on yet another left-handed golfer, Gerry "Bubba" Watson. We are possibly looking at another John Daly. Bubba stated in http://www.golf.haabaa.com/blogs/?p=68, "If it ever comes down to where I need a lesson, I’m quitting. I’m never going to have a lesson. People say, ‘Quiet your hips,’ and I don’t have a clue what they mean. I just hit it."

Bubba's longest recent drive? Over 422 yards in 2004!

And finally, Barry and I discuss how using a video camera at the driving range could show you hidden flaws in your swing.

We took a camera to the range and taped my swing so look for my swing video in this week's blog.

For questions or comments please email us at: golfforbeginners@aol.com

Our Service Station Gets a Facelift!

While Barry plays golf our Amoco station rejuvenates.

Today is our anniversary. Fourteen years of marriage to the same guy. Has it really been that long?
It's also a holiday…Groundhog Day. I don't remember the last time Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow so prepare for six more weeks of winter!

In honor of this special day I'm making sure Barry plays a round of golf with his regular foursome.

I personally haven't had much luck getting out to play this winter sigh. It seems as if every time I feel the need to get out the weather fails to cooperate.

When I hear that one day of the week will be just right, I make sure my husband gets to play first. I think he needs it more than I do. I'm also being a bit selfish because I know that if I don't make a stink when he goes out, he can't berate me for something that I might want to do.

I harbor no ill will regarding Barry's right to play. He gets really dejected if he can't get out at least once during the week. If there is a snowstorm or the temperature dips too low (for Barry it's about 32 degrees) I make sure he gets to hit a bucket at the driving range. It's heated so all he requires is a sweater. (C'mon, what are wives for?)

I, on the other hand, require a warmer day. My time out requires near perfection. Nice weather and plenty of sunshine.

Barry was the person who helped me to learn the game that I now can't get out of my blood. I can honestly say that I had no interest in the sport until he told me that I didn't necessarily have to play at the crack of dawn. That was the decision-maker for me.

Another great thing that Barry made me do was to take lessons from the moment my first set of clubs were delivered to me. That actually made golf not only more enjoyable but also made me realize that I was a natural ahem at it.

This season marks my fifth anniversary of playing golf and I'm regularly in the 80's. My swing is compact yet flowing and as time progresses, it gets more powerful. My promise to videotape it still stands as soon as warmer weather hits and I come out of hybernation.

Of course my husband's play time means more stressful work time for moi. As many of you may know, Barry and I own and operate a service station. Not only is it our anniversary but tomorrow also marks the last day of our Amoco station and our changeover to Getty.

So next year will be "Happy Anniversary to us and to our service station"!

Signs will be coming down, new ones will be hoisted into place. Barry will miss all of this commotion because golf is much more important to him than watching a couple of new signs go up.

Am I happy with the changeover? Yes and no.

There were two main reasons why we were forced to make the switch.

For one thing, we're not a "mega" station. Amoco (now BP) wants only larger gas stations that can offer 100,000 gallons or more per month, every month.

Our "mom and pop" store can't do even half that amount.

The second reason is that they have added a surcharge to our delivery making the gasoline unaffordable to sell. We don't make much money on gasoline anyway but this was like taking every last cent out of our pockets. Not going to happen, ergo, we switched.

The good news is that we got to select the type of branding.

We were offered several different gasoline companies but Getty seemed to be the one that offered us lower prices with the quality of gas remaining unchanged. Getty is pretty good stuff and it comes from Russia. Okay, take your pick. The Saudi's or the Russians.

I'm going to post some of the pics here as soon as I can take them so everyone can see our "new and improved" gas station.

Phil Mickelson: The Man We Love to Hate

Golf for beginners 01-29-06 episode twelve continues with our hole-in-one series as we discuss golfblogger.com's recent 140 yard, par-3 drop-in. No one was there to see it, he was not keeping score and it happened in the off-season.

Does it count?

We also like to watch the Golf Channel's latest series of shows. The Daly Show is one of our favorites due to Big John's lovable and zany attitude about the world and his position in it. Big Break V: Hawaii has some pretty big shoes to fill. Big Break III was loaded with catfights and memorable moments thanks to Danielle Amiee and Pam Crikelair.

This week's "Blogger Weekly" section focuses on PGA fashion mavens Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik. It seems that the two have done a bit of a "flip-flop". I almost didn't recognize Parnevik today. He looked as if he was attending a funeral. Sergio's style is now more colorful. He's also losing that "little boy look" but I like the new Sergio.

Phil Mickelson and I have something in common. We're both lefties! The lefty movement is growing. No longer are we forced to switch sides. Now there are lots of options lefties like myself. And the prices are no different.

Not to pick on Phil but he really didn't have one of his greatest moments today at the Buick Invitational. Learn what Phil Mickelson's nickname really stands for…FIGJAM. Some type of jelly?

Men.Style.com gives us a list of the Ten Most Hated Athletes as asked of by their peers. Mickelson is #8 but who made the top five?

Congratulations to Tiger Woods on his 47th win at the Buick Invitational!

Congrats also to Olazabal and Green.

Did you know that once at the Australian Masters, Nathan Green had both a hole-in-one and won $500,000 dollars in the same day?

Review: TaylorMade R5 Driver

Hello golfers. My husband Barry went through a big selection process in order to find the driver of his dreams so I asked him how he finally selected the TaylorMade R5 Driver and if he would share it with our audience. It was harrowing, what with the huge selection of drivers, offsets, shafts and all the salespeople that are intent upon selling you golf clubs TODAY!

We hope this might help those of you who are a little intimidated by going shopping a few times and picking the brains of the sales staff at your local store but I promise, when you have done both your homework and tried out a few clubs (making sure you have tried the same golf club more than once), you will appreciate the time and information you spent just to get the right golf club or set of clubs.

And a tip for the ladies out there.

On one hand I wanted to go with Barry to make sure he would get just the driver that he wanted but it was a LONG process and a bit boring. I mean, how many hours can you play with the new putters on tour? At some point even watching golf at the store seems a bit cumbersome. But remember, it's all for your man. Barry really appreciated the fact that I helped him by questioning him and making sure that he wasn't lulling himself into a false sense of security at the store. They have these simulators which can really make you think you're hitting the golf club like a professional. The trouble starts when you get the golf club home and realize it isn't the stick but the golfer behind the stick. The good news is that some of these stores offer return policies. Make sure that you ask about your store's policies before you finalize your purchase.

At this point I'm turning our blog over to Barry. If any of our readers have any questions about how to properly select a golf club that will last you a few years, please feel free to contact us at golfforbeginners@aol.com.

Editorial by: Barry Solomon

Stacy misplaced my original blog on how I purchased my new TaylorMade R5 driver. When I first wrote the article I was very excited about my purchase. It was magic. I drove further and straighter than ever before. That was four months ago. So I guess I should start at the beginning.

I visited my local Golfsmith store because they have two great computerized hitting booths. You see I don't buy new clubs very often and I wanted to be as certain as I could that the club I chose would be best suited for me.

The booth is a great tool. It measures spin rate, ball speed, ball launch angle and much more. I would recommend anyone buying new clubs use a booth to make their purchase.

I spent three hours hitting many different drivers, I narrowed it down to three. The Cleveland Launcher, the TaylorMade R5 Type "N" and the Adams Redline RPM.

I compared all three with similar shafts and tip kick. It became a close race between the Cleveland Launcher and the TaylorMade R5. My final decision was based on the lower spin rate. I purchased the magical R5 with a standard shaft, stiff tip, no offset [neutral] and 9.5 degree of loft (and it's got a 450cc clubhead for that "substantial look that promotes confidence") but the specifications allow for any number of "tweakings" for a proper fit. You can even compare the new R7's to the R5's at TaylorMade's website.

TaylorMade offers a Type "D" (meaning draw) but I can make the ball draw on my own and am not trying to "cure" a slice.

I love my driver. I wow the people in my foursome with 275-300 yard playable drives. Even my bad hits are playable and 250 yards long. But the magic in the club is gone. It's all up me now, and I think I like it that way.

Network Television Dumps Golf!

Golf for Beginners Episode Eleven discusses everything from Barry's win against his playing partners to exercises that you can do during the week to be prepared for a Saturday round of golf.

Golf Blogger's Weekly discusses ABC Television's decision to pull out of hosting weekend golf. We also talk about the antics of Nick Faldo and Donald Trump's new golf course at Rancho Palo Verdes. This public course has it all from 25-foot waterfalls that have become a signature on his courses to hefty greens fees ranging from $145 to $300! Barry has a hard time swallowing that one!

Email has been pouring in from around the world thanks to our listeners!

Contact us at golfforbeginners@aol.com and let us know what's on your mind! We're always interested in hearing your stories. If we pick your email we'll feature it on our podcast and give you about twenty seconds of fame to boot!

It's our longest and funniest GFB ever and we're proud of it. We update weekly so please subscribe to our podcasts through iTunes, through Feedburner.com or visit here for the latest show!