Ten Golf Swing Tips for a Female Golf Beginner - Men You Too Can Benefit!

Golf blog courtesy of Melinda Bailey, 9 & Dine Women’s Golf Apparel.

Golf tips are easy to acquire. All you have to do is shank a few balls at the local driving range, and some overly tanned guy in bermuda shorts is going to come over with his unwanted tips. Hopefully, the following ten swing tips will keep the local heroes tending to their own problems while you're smacking the ball out of sight.

What Are You Looking At?

Hopefully, the ball. Do not let your head and eyes move up to watch the flight of the ball. You will have to wait until the end of your swing. Otherwise, the ball may stay well within your peripheral vision after your swing.

Forty Five Degrees Of Niceness

Many people rear their club straight back as though they are about hoe potatoes. Try bringing your club back at a 45-degree angle. This will help maximize the power you derive from your hips.  Many female golfers attempt to pull their golf clubs back further for more power, which often sacrifices accuracy and form.

Let's Not Do the Twist

Speaking of hips, on your approach, try turning your right toe in by about 20 degrees. This will help stop your hips from turning with your arms and shoulders on your backswing.

Slice, Slice, Baby

It's amazing how many people don't know where the face of the club should...face. You want the face to be pointed in the direction you want the ball to go. Then, grip the club accordingly so the face stays pointed in the intended direction through the entire swing.

What's Your Grip?

All of the power that your hips and shoulders generate during the golf swing will transfer through your hands when the club hits the ball. If your grip is compromised, you will lose a great deal of power in the transference. Your left hand should be especially tight. Have it turned so that at least two knuckles are visible.

The Clap

The number of people who do not know where to position their arms when they approach the ball is as incalculable as the 20% tip. Approach the golf ball with your club. Drop your club and let your arms hang natural in your stance. If you can clap your hands with comfort, that is the position your arms should maintain for your swing.

Left-Right

On your backswing, you want your left shoulder to swing or pivot so that it aligns with your right leg. As a female golfer you can practice this by holding a club across their chest and twisting their upper torso until the head of the club aligns with their right leg.

Try Easier

In golf, it seems the harder you try, the harder it is to play well. Don't try so hard. The harder you try to hit the ball, the worse your shot will be. Let go and let the club do the driving. You just provide the means.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Don't just stand there! The longer you stand still looking at that ball, the more your mind is going to yip up when you finally swing. Try to develop what is called a waggle. Use some sort of pre-swing body motion before you put the club in motion.

The Practice Swing

How many times have you wished for a Mulligan? The practice swing gives you just that. It helps you adjust your mechanics and swing away your yips before you actually swing upon the ball.  Not only does it prepare your body physically, but mentally as well.  Just a few practice strokes can get your blood moving, meaning better thinking and preparation for the mind to execute the swing.

These tips are not meant for you to try all at once. Adjust and tweak your golf swing accordingly.  Often, a beginning golfer will find just the right tip that their swing needs. There are a million voices in your head before you swing. Choose a couple of these golf swing tips, and it may help to silence some of that madness.  

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Melinda Bailey is an avid golfer and editor of the 9 & Dine Women’s Golf Apparel blog.  You can connect with Melinda via Twitter @9Dine.




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Waterproof Golf Clothing from FootJoy Delivers Style and Performance

Any golfer who has played on rain-soaked public golf courses dappled with muddy puddles (as I often do) knows the name FootJoy to be some of the driest shoes on the market. Now, Footjoy takes a step forward with men's and women's golf clothing that not only performs well but looks great too.

Did you know that FootJoy has been in the golf shoe business since 1857, that the company was once owned by General Mills and that, in 1927, FootJoy was the official shoe of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team captained by Walter Hagan? It is this history which has taken FootJoy to the level of achievement for which it is now famous.

Dedicated to comfort, performance and the highest level of innovation, great FootJoy waterproofs have validated their place in a burgeoning golf marketplace filled with challengers.

When you shop FootJoy clothing at Function 18, a specialist golf apparel website, the catalog of performance golf clothing makes it easy to determine your specific needs on the course, from the latest Hydrolite fabric, the lightest rainwear ever constructed by FJ, to Tour XP rain jackets.

The FootJoy Hydrolite Short Sleeve Rain Shirt is a great example of the convergence of both fashion and function. "Constructed from a lightweight 2.5 layer fabric that is stretchable and breathable", this garment is waterproof to 20,000mm so, when your opponents are soaked to the bone and not concentrating on their game, you will remain focused and dry.

For full range of motion on colder days on the golf course, FootJoy Golf DryJoys Tour XP Rain Jacket has you covered.

A three-layered bonded fabric, four-way stretch shell and breathable waterproof layer accomplishes the necessities of playing golf in dreadful conditions while the fashion-forward design makes you look tres chic!

For a spring shower, look no further than the FootJoy Golf DryJoys Light SS Rain Shirt with its 100% waterproof shell, short sleeves and ease of movement.

Golfers need to feel comfortable and look good while on the course. The importance of performance, style and function cannot be glossed over. With FootJoy waterproof golf clothing, you get a long-standing tradition of quality for the money.

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Disclosure: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Put Your Best Foot Forward: Top Five Picks for Women's Golf Shoes

Enjoy this informative guest golf blog post on selecting the right golf shoes for your walk along the fairway, written by Guest Golf Blog by Melinda Bailey, 9 & Dine Women’s Golf Apparel.

The days of "one-style-fits-all" golf shoes are long behind us. Today's women's golf shoes offer an unparalleled selection of designs to please even the most style-savvy fashionistas, with comfort technology that makes a five mile, 18-hole course feel like a walk in the park. Say goodbye to blisters and hello to bliss with our top five picks for women's golf shoes, all of which offer no sacrifice of style for substance. Your feet--and your stroke--will thank you.

Adidas adizero Tour Shoe

A longtime leader in the woman's golf footwear industry, Adidas's roster offers a competitive field of contenders. At the front of the pack is the Women's adizero Tour. Featuring all the great elements of the men's adizero Tour,  these have a distinctly feminine flair that is at once sporty and stylish. 

Cutting-edge technology like stability-enhancing internal SPRINTWEB and a six-spike configuration enhanced by THINTCH ensure optimal traction and stability. At only 9.2 ounces, the Women's adizero Tour is  Adidas's most lightweight cleated tour shoe yet, and is guaranteed to spare you foot fatigue in the home stretch.  Our favorite? The white/passion-fruit combination: this eye-catching pop of color will put just the right lift in your step. 

Nike Ace Golf Shoe 

The aptly named Women's Nike Ace Golf Shoes deliver groundbreaking innovation that supports the needs of players ranging from amateur to elite.  

Balance-enhancing and weight transfer technology are just a few of the ergonomic design elements that support walking comfort and foot health in this sporty shoe.  A little rain never hurt anyone, and it won't hurt the Nike Ace Golf Shoe, either, thanks to water-resistant features which will keep your feet dry in the greens. 

FootJoy LoPro Collection

FootJoy lives up to its name and more with the popular LoPro Collection golf shoes. Designed to contour to the natural shape of your foot, these shoes provide maximum comfort, breathability and durability under the most rigorous conditions. Advanced engineering features like PU Fit-Beds, Dri-Lex covers and Softspikes cleats--the industry leader and favorite of tour professionals--round out the reasons why these tough togs are a top pick. 

PUMAGolf Cat 2 Shoes

While "golf" and "cute" aren't typically words that go together, the Golf Cat 2 defies the odds, delivering an irresistibly appealing look with intelligent design features like traction-enhancing SmartQuill Technology rubber clusters. Lacking cleats, these fit like a sneaker, and do the work of one, as well.   For head-turning clubhouse-to-street style, look no further than the PUMA Golf Cat 2.

ECCO Golf Street Sport Shoe

Another choice that can take you from the course to whatever comes next, this European shoe not only promotes walking comfort, but also features environmentally friendly elements. 

The hybrid design ensures that you'll look and feel great--thanks to supersoft calfskin and innovative water-resisting Hydromax treatment--while promoting optimal traction and durability on all surfaces. This good-looking shoe transitions easily from the golf course to a variety of other walks of life. 

The right footwear can mean the difference between average and extraordinary when it comes to your golf game. By choosing a comfortable shoe, you guarantee optimal performance. By choosing a stylish shoe, you guarantee that you'll feel great along the way. Luckily, today's golf shoes for women offer both options--truly the best of both worlds!

Melinda Bailey is an avid golfer and the Executive Editor of 9 & Dine Women’s Golf Apparel blog.  You can connect with Melinda via Twitter @9Dine.

Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and Like Golf for Beginners on Facebook.

Golf Leagues Made Easy

By Billy Condon

One of the critical issues the game of golf is facing right now is growth. With the potential for rounds to take upwards of five to six hours, as well as the intimidation and uneasiness beginner golfers may face when trying to learn the game, golfers are spending less time at the course.

One solution to get new golfers engaged and to get existing players on the course more is through golf leagues.

Golf leagues are great for growing the game because they can be made up of golfers of all ages and abilities and can range from social weekday evening 9-hole leagues to ultra-competitive 18-hole leagues. Whether they’re played over 9 or 18 holes, Match Play or Stableford, leagues can be found at public courses, private country clubs, and gated communities around the world.

However, golf leagues face their own challenges; primarily, the amount of time a league manager or golf professional needs to dedicate to organizing the weekly draws, emailing and posting notices and calculating results, standings, payouts and more.

That’s where GolfLeagueGenius.com comes into play. GolfLeagueGenius minimizes the time it takes to complete these tasks with its automated pairings, robust tournament library, and other innovative web-based features.

Brenda Gagnier, the manager for the Kingsville Ladies 18 Hole league in Windsor, Ontario, has seen increased efficiency with GolfLeagueGenius. “Before GolfLeagueGenius, it took me two and a half hours to set up our league each week. I now only spend 15 to 20 minutes” says Gagnier.

Kingsville is one of the hundreds of amateur and professional leagues across North America that is using the software created by Golf Genius Software, to run their leagues and provide a first-class tournament atmosphere to their golfers. 

Amateur golf leagues aren’t the only groups reaping the benefits. GolfLeagueGenius.com was named the official scoring software of the PGA of Canada and has also been in use by First Tee chapters across the United States as well as the Golf Association of Philadelphia for the pilot year of the GAP League Play initiative.

GolfLeagueGenius features the broadest library of tournament formats in the industry. Leagues can play numerous tournaments within a single event as well as tournaments over multiple rounds. The pairings feature is designed to pair by custom parameters and season-long scheduling can be completed instantly.

PGA apprentice and assistant professional Lawrence Moses runs multiples golf leagues in the Baltimore area, and was looking for a product that would enable him the opportunity to grow and enhance his leagues. “GolfLeagueGenius allowed me the confidence to attempt the difficult formats of play. I added a new league [this season] that uses USGA handicaps, plays four different courses from four different tees, runs three different weekly games, and tracks ringers for each course played. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without GolfLeagueGenius.”

In addition, each league receives a custom website to display tee sheets, photos, message boards and more. Real-time scores can be entered using the free GolfLeagueGenius app for iPhone and Android, as well as via high-speed data entry on the GolfLeagueGenius web site and live scoring can be enjoyed on the TV display for on-site viewing, or the real-time leaderboard for personal viewing on PCs, iPads, iPhones and Androids.

“GolfLeagueGenius was a HUGE success at our event! It was a real game-changer to have a live leaderboard keeping track of the action. One guy had six birdies and it was awesome to know there was a guy sprinting out ahead that we needed to catch,” says League Manager Colin Callahan of the Front Range Golf Club that plays in Denver.

Golf leagues help grow the game through the game’s core values: fun and camaraderie...and also provide the opportunity to raise an occasional pint with friends!

For more information, visit www.GolfLeagueGenius.com.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GolfGeniusLLC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GolfGeniusSoftware

BIO: Billy Condon is the Director of Marketing for Golf Genius Software. Prior to joining GolfTripGenius.com, Condon was Associate Editor of The Met Golfer magazine and communications administrator at the Metropolitan Golf Association, one of the nation's largest regional golf associations.

Join the conversation on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend us on Facebook.

How to Walk Off the First Tee With Your Dignity

Guest Golf Blog by Colby Johannson, Founder of Quite The Chap: simple GolfInstruction by a simple man.

Sweaty palms. Racing heart. Light-headedness. Butterflies. We’ve all felt them, we’ve all succumbed to them, but we’ve also had our moments of overcoming them. How can you do it on a regular basis?

Teddy Greenstein wrote in the Chicago Tribune that Hale Irwin forced Lanny Wadkins to hit the opening drive off the first tee after they had already planned that Irwin would hit the shot. This didn’t happen just once but twice. Once at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and again at Kiawah Island in 1991, where Irwin told Wadkins…

 “Hey shut up, you gotta hit here.”

No one is immune to the first tee nerves, not even the pros, and with the Presidents Cup fast approaching it’s a hot topic for the likes of Jordan Spieth.

But how do you overcome angst and walk off golf’s first tee with a shred of dignity? 

Warm up and get specific.

The first tee is where most of the negative golf self-talk starts and so begins an avalanche of torment. “Don’t hit it in the trees, don’t duff it, oh god- so and so is watching” and on and on.

Before we’ve even teed off, we’ve convinced our mind and our body that this will potentially, probably, absolutely, be a terrible shot. 

And then it becomes our reality.

I’m going to give you two things, just two, that you can use to combat this debilitating problem.

Number One - Warm Up!

Whether or not you get to hit balls on the driving range, you should warm up in some form or fashion.

If you don’t have time to hit a warm-up bucket or there is no range at the golf course you’re playing:

 
-          Swing two clubs right handed and then left handed. This will loosen up your entire back and shoulders.
-          Touch your toes (or at least try to) to fully stretch your back.
-          Stretch side to side with your hands over head.
-          Lastly, make circles with your arms to warm up your shoulders.

If you do have time to hit balls, go through your regular routine on the range; warm up with your wedges and work your way up to your driver.

Now here’s where you need to pay special attention. Erik Horve, a Golf Channel Swingfix Instructor & Contributor wrote a great article on the necessary preparation for getting off the first tee.

Erik explains that at the end of your warm-up session you should take out the golf club that you are preparing to tee off with and hit two shots as if you are teeing off on the first hole.

I would take it a step further.

When you’re finished your warm-up session, take out the club you plan to tee off with. Stand behind the ball and visualize yourself hitting the ideal drive. 

See your perfect swing, see the flight of the ball, and see where it lands, all as if you are standing on the first tee.

Then stand up and hit it. Do this three times in total, visualizing the ideal shot before hitting your ball. 

Now not only are you physically warmed up, you are mentally prepared as well. To top it all off, you’ve hit six ideal drives (three in your mind) and hopefully another three on the range (physically).

Number Two - Get Specific!

You’ve warmed up in one-way or another, you’re mentally prepared, and now you’re standing on the first tee.

What do you do now?

You start by controlling your breathing. Deep breaths in and out will help calm you and it will also get some much-needed oxygen to your brain and muscles.

Visualize your tee shot again, just like you did on the range, seeing the flight of the ball and where it will land in the fairway.

Now is the time to get specific. Pick a spot, blade of grass, or divot 12 inches in front of your ball in line with the specific spot you want the ball to land in the fairway.

Line up to the spot twelve inches in front of you. It’s a lot easier than your target 200-300 yards away.

Now that you’ve visualized your swing, the flight path of your ball, where it’s going to land in the fairway, and you’re lined up properly, think of nothing else but where your golf ball is going to end up down the fairway.

If you focus on visualizing the shot and then on the specificity of the shot, you won’t have time to think about what could go wrong.

In summary, the best way to get off the first tee with your dignity is to prepare, mentally & physically, then get specific about what it is that you want to execute.

Read more informative golf tips by Colby Johannson on his Quite The Chap Blog.

You can follow him on Twitter @quitethechap or Facebook.

Photo Credit: Greg Cooper- USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: J.D. Cuban- Golf Digest

As always, Voice Your Opinions on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and LIKE US on Facebook.

How to Select The Best Golf Clubs for Women

Enjoy this informative guest blog post on how to select the best golf clubs for women, written by Melinda Bailey, 9 & Dine Women’s Golf Apparel.
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What Women Should Look For in Golf Clubs to Enhance Performance:
1. Lightweight Shaft
2. Large Sweet spot on Club face
3. Higher loft
4. Clubs made especially for women (not generic)
5. Hybrids instead of long irons
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You think men are better than women at golf? Psht, yeah right!

Well… okay. Men may have a little more power behind the golf swing but, contrary to conventional wisdom, the reason is not totally due to size.

In general, women tend to have a slower swing speed.  So how do you improve your swing to help you join the ranks of your male counterparts?

Start by choosing a fitting golf club to enhance women’s performance.

To begin, by using a lighter shaft a woman can increase her swing speed to great result. A graphite shaft, while more expensive, should be chosen over metal. A graphite shaft is lighter, and will quicken a women's speed of swing. However, a woman should not stop there. A ladies shaft should be specifically chosen. This is because these particular shafts will have more bend, thus launching the ball farther.

The heads on the woods are mostly metal or titanium these days. Sometimes, the two are combined. Again, metal is less expensive, but smaller and heavier. A titanium head, because it is lighter, is also larger. There is more head to hit the ball, and to hit it at a quicker speed.

Before looking at some of the better clubs for women, it should be noted that a driver does not have to be used for teeing off. Most golf drivers are used by excellent players who hit the ball a country mile. The drivers, therefore, have a lower loft. Women, as do many professionals, find teeing off less difficult and more rewarding by using something like a three-wood for the task.

Adjustable drivers are currently the hot new item in golf for men or women. 

Callaway makes a women's adjustable driver, the Razr Fit Xtreme, which has adjustable lofts from 8.5 all the way to 13. These drivers have an adjustable hosel. This is the part of the club head where the shaft is fitted. 

The player can adjust either the loft, the face angle, and even the lie of the club by making partial rotations of the shaft. One of the added benefits to these adjustable drivers is that it allows a player, as her game evolves, to keep her driver and make simple adjustments.

It should also be noted that long golf irons do not have to be used on the golf course either. A blend of iron and wood, hybrid golf clubs are easier to hit and you will make better contact with the golf ball.

Perhaps Ping leads the field in making excellent golf clubs for women. Long considered one of the best golf equipment manufacturers, Ping has their “Serene” line especially for women. These clubs are not only tailored to a woman's swing, but they offer a “Serene Lite” and a “Serene Ultra-Lite.” The women will love the swing rate per iron, which is a C4.

For women who are just starting to golf, Wilson makes an excellent starter set for ladies at an affordable price. The clubs may be a tad heavier than pricier women's clubs, but nobody should overspend on their first set of clubs, just in case they find the game too maddening. 

There is an amazing variety of quality women's golf clubs available on the market today, and a few of the better ones have been mentioned above. 

It is important for women who are particularly diminutive, perhaps 5'2 and under, to understand something about golf clubs. No woman should fall in love with a particular club designed for taller women, and then have it adjusted or resized to fit her own stature. Many times, this will harm the balance of the club. There is a golf club out there for every person, so every player should be sure to find the club that is right for them.

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Melinda Bailey is an avid golfer and the Executive Editor of 9 & Dine Women’s Golf Apparel blog.  You can connect with Melinda via Twitter @9Dine.




Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend on Facebook.