Kiwi Caddy

Can Mini Golf Help You on a Real Golf Course?

admin — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The answer to whether or not mini golf can help you on the real golf course is both yes and no. If you are looking to practice your driving skills, a mini golf course is certainly not the place to be. However, if your putting skills need work, a mini golf course can indeed help in this area.

Though most mini golf courses provide crazy twists and turns that make the game more fun, the basic putting principle remains in place. You must exercise control in order to send the ball where you want it to go, and at the speed you need it to travel. These two factors are exactly the same on a real golf course.

In addition to control and speed, playing for fun can also help you develop a better use of the putter. For beginning golfers, this is a great way to become familiar with the feel of holding a putter, as well as the feel of maneuvering it correctly.

Those that need putting practice should consider heading out to their local mini golf course. While it will not make you a golf pro overnight, there is certainly no harm in practicing your skills, and having lots of fun doing so.Related Article : Mini golf!

The Five Best Golf Courses in the US

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

America offers many beautiful golf courses for the professional as well as the amateur player. With many choices to choose from it is hard to define the best but below are most notably the top five golf courses in the US.

1.Augusta National G.C. was opened in 1933 by Alister Mackenzie & Bobby Jones and is located in Augusta, GA. This club hosts the Masters each year, the only tournament of the four majors that is held at one course.
2.Pine Valley GC in Pine Valley, NJ is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the country, but the beautiful setting and challenging course designed by George Crump in 1918 is by far one of the grandest courses in the country.
3.Shinnecock Hills GC in New York is the best links course in America. It brings an old style link course feel into American golf and meticulously kept course is a very unique experience.
4.Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont PA is one of the oldest courses in America. It offers a great history of golf as well as great players that have blessed its grounds.
5.The fifth course on our list will come as no surprise. Pebble Beach Golf Links is to most golfers the holy grail of courses. Set right upon the ocean it is one of the great experiences in golf to set foot upon this course.

Best Ways to Get Started Golfing on a Budget

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Golf is one of the greatest sports and if you choose to walk the course it will also provide you with exercise as well. Golf is also an expensive sport to play but here are some things that you can do to get started playing golf on a budget. The first thing that you can do is go online or to some garage sales and find an inexpensive set of golf clubs. Make sure that you get a good fit so that you will enjoy the game as much as possible. You will also need a golf bag, some balls, and tees. You can probably just walk around a local course and find enough golf balls in the woods to get you started. You can also buy used golf balls for a fraction of the price of new balls. Tees and the other accessories are not that expensive to buy. You should then find some open space somewhere that you can practice without paying. Purchase some practice balls so that you can practice without paying any extra driving range fees. Finally, find a local course that is inexpensive. The cost to play at most courses decreases later in the day.

Learning to Play Golf Fun for a Family

admin — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Golf is a simple sport that anyone can pick up. While there are competitive levels of play, recreational golf is open to everyone. With golf courses in all 50 states and around the world, golfers can find a course near them to begin playing.

Although there are dozens of club types on the market, beginning players can often start with only a driver, putter, and an iron or wedge. If they find that they enjoy the sport, they can buy more clubs. Refurbished golf balls can be bought by the bucketful for beginners. A golf bag is helpful, but players can carry their clubs if necessary.

Golf courses are often open seasonally. Some retailers may offer indoor driving ranges or short par holes. Golf prices can vary considerably, but people who golf at off-peak hours can find cheaper rates. Driving ranges typically sell a bucket of balls to hit for a few dollars.

Many resources are available to help players learn to play golf and improve their techniques. Popular websites, or television providers such as www.direct.tv have informative articles, tutorials, golfing shows, etc. Golf courses have professional lessons, and retailers offer specialty products and great advice. With all of the assistance available, anyone can learn how to play golf.

Around the Green Guide

www.kiwicaddy.com — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 21:22:54 +0000

There’s nothing worse than an immaculate drive, fantastic approach followed by a 4-putt for double bogey. The green continues to be a problem for otherwise solid all-around golfers, leaving balls frustrating outside of the cup despite repeated attempts to read greens. Here are a few course-correction problems to help you straighten out your short game.Read around the green The trajectory of your ball after leaving your putter may be more susceptible to high rising hills on either side, even if the surface itself seems flat to the naked eye. As a rule of thumb, the ball may subtly break away from the hill than one might anticipate. Similarly, if there is a large hill behind or in front of the green, the putt may be slightly slower or faster than the initial read would indicate.Use Your Ball as a Tool Notice how the word “Titleist,” “Top Flite,” or whatever your brand choice, is conveniently printed across the ball in a straight line. In addition to labeling the ball in an easy to read fashion, this marking can also help you to line your ball up and maintain a straight forward and back stroke with the putter. Using “Titleist” as an example, point the uppercase “T” towards the hole (or wherever youre aiming depending on the break) and try to keep your putter face perpendicular to the word hitting it smoothly at the lowercase “t.”Use Your Putter on and off the Green if you have a relatively flat approach but find yourself in the fringe or rough, don’t be afraid to bring out the putter a stroke earlier than most golfer’s might consider. Obviously, you will have to put a little more gusto on the stroke but the putter allows you more control over where your ball winds up that subjecting your shot to less consistent chip shot.

Aging Well on the Golf Course

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:39:47 +0000

“Shooting your age” is an almost mythical accomplishment on the links, arguably more impressive than even a hole in one. After all, the latter can be accomplished with one lucky swing of the club while shooting your age requires years of practice and 18 holes worth of well struck shots. To be clear, shooting your age occurs when a golfer’s 18 hole score total is equal to or lower than the cumulative sum of the years since one’s birth. Of course, the average golfer would need to stick around for several lifetimes to have realistic shot at the feat. Still, some well-conditioned older golfers manage to pull it off from time to time. While not everybody may not be able to record a round of 76 at age 76, it doesn’t mean your game necessarily has to fall of the deep end as you enter what would be your years on the Senior Tour. Here are a few tricks for the old dogs out there still willing to learn.

Shorten your swing Increased age leads to decreased flexibility. By intentionally shortening your swing you play within a controllable range of comfort. Shortened distance can be easily compensated through improved accuracy.
Use longer clubs To help offset slowing club speeds, a longer shaft will help to breed more power with less force. Not to mention, less bend in your knees and back will suit the aging body well. It may require some days at the range to adjust to your new clubs but in the long run it could prove worthwhile.
Stay hydrated As you get older, you might want to consider switching from beer to water or Gatorade, at least on the back nine. It’s increasingly important to stay hydrated with each passing year, to reduce any health risks if nothing else.

Top Golf Courses in the United States

www.kiwicaddy.com — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:04:44 +0000

Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, GA) Home to The Masters, arguably the most highly regarded golf tournament in the world, Augusta National’s greens and fairways are always in tip top shape no matter what the occasion. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts in 1933, the club has maintained the same stringent obedience to tradition and golf etiquette despite the changing world around it. Amen corner, stretching from the tail end of the 11^th hole and the tee shot of the 13^th, is the most feared section of any golf course in the world.
Pine Valley Golf Club (Pine Hill, NJ) Smaller than the contingent of country clubs that generally host the major tournaments, Pine Valley is less well known by casual golfers than some other elite courses, but is consistently ranked among the best in the world. With history dating back to 1913, The club prefers to stick to their own conventions, opting not expand or alter its aesthetic appeal and quaint charm in order to accommodate major PGA Events.
Cypress Point Club(Pebble Beach, CA) The closing stretch of holes at Cypress Hills constitutes one of the most picturesque backdrops in all of golf, breathtakingly positioned cross the crashing waves and rough terrain of the Pacific. Golfers lucky enough to actually play this exclusive private course will no doubt enjoy a memorable combination of scenic landscapes and ugly scorecards.
Pebble Beach Golf Links (Pebble Beach, CA) Pebble Beach , like Augusta, is one of the most recognizable courses on the planet. The “figure 8″ shaped links have been open since 1919, playing host to the US Open tournament once every decade or so since the 70s. Easily the most highly esteemed public course in the country, Pebble Beach also charges the highest green fees at 495 per round.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (Southhampton, NY) Founded in 1891, the oldest formalized golf club in the United States, home of the oldest clubhouse as well, is still among the country’s top courses. Like Pebble Beach, the historic private club hosts the US Open at 10 year intervals.

Choosing a Golf Ball

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:03:49 +0000

For high handicap golfers, losing an exorbitant amount of golf balls makes your already expensive hobby even pricier. After all, unless you have particularly deep pockets, even public courses charge an arm and leg to the casual golfer once you throw in the cart fees. Since a lot of beginners, heck, even a lot of experienced golfers, simply aren’t as good as they’d like to be, they tend to shell out cash on expensive golf balls that won’t last them longer than a week or two. A lot of golfers don’t even really know the difference between the types of balls available to them, instead opting for a high priced brand name that may or may not suit their individual needs.Golfers have a choice between two different basic golf ball compositions in today’s market: two-piece and multilayered (sometimes referred to as three-piece) balls. Two-piece balls often come at a cheaper price than their more complex counterparts, with a dozen starting at prices as cheap as 10 a dozen, but ranging as high as 30. The two-piece design offers less spin than the multilayered alternative, but for high handicappers this is not necessarily an issue. More golf balls are lost off the tee than at any other point on the course, with many amateur golfers using the occasional mulligan to make up for an OB shot. The lower spin rates will actually help to keep your ball straighter down the fairway, limiting both hook and slice. When you do lose a ball to the woods or drink, and it’s inevitable you will lose more than one, cheaper two-piece balls will also reduce the mental stress of your thinning wallet. There’s just little to no reason for a less-skilled golfer to spend money on a high-cost sleeve of golf balls, when they don’t have the necessary skill set to utilize the ball’s enhanced features. Once you’ve been playing for a while and can consistently hit greens and fairways, then and only then it might be time to upgrade your golf ball.

Top Golf Courses in the World (non-US)

www.kiwicaddy.com — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:03:10 +0000

Old Course at St. Andrews (Scotland) The Old Course at St. Andrews is believed to be the oldest golf course in the entire world and is still ranked by many as the best. It cannot be pinned down for certain exactly when people began playing golf at what is now the Old Course (then the New Course, one would imagine), but written documents prove the course’s existence dates back to at least the early 1500′s. Famously quirky double greens define the course, shared by 14 holes at 7 different locations. The Old Course at St. Andrews offers more than just a gorgeous game of golf; it carries with it a history lesson in one of the world’s favorite pastimes.
Royal Country Down Golf Club (Northern Ireland) Providing 2 separate but equally esteemed courses allows challengers of differing skill levels to pick their poison. The par 71 Championship Links are longer, covering 7204 yards , while the much shorter par 66 Annesley Links is equally difficult despite the reduced distance. The Royal County Down Golf Club is one of the few golf locales in the world with Augusta-esque maintenance and attention to detail, each and every green and fairway meticulously manicured.
Muirfield (Scotland) Built on ancient elevated land reclaimed from the sea, Muirfield features wind strewn grass and sea-shelled bunkers along the Scottish oceanfront offer an experience like none other. The location is home to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, the oldest organized golf club in the world (though some courses and the game itself obviously predate it).
New South Wales Golf Club (Australia) The list is of top courses in the world, not just the UK, so it would not be complete without a mention of at least one of the renowned courses down under. Located in Sydney, the breathtaking links are framed against the Pacific Ocean, serving as a “Pebble Beach South” with a particularly Aussie flair.
Carnoustie Golf Links (Scotland) Captured in time by Jean Van de Velde’s epic collapse on the final hole in the 1999 Open Championship, Carnoustie will prove to be a nearly impossible yet spectacular challenge for any golfer no matter how practiced.

Other Sports and Hobbies that Affect Your Game for the Worse

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:02:24 +0000

Unless you have a PGA Tour card, golf is most likely not your livelihood. While you might play every week and win a couple bets with buddies here and there, golf is just an amusement, not the end all be all of your everyday life. For most golf enthusiasts, 18 holes are not the only hobby, or even golf-related hobby, with which the week is filled. Here are some various activities and variations of the game we recommend avoiding if you want to keep that smooth swing and low handicap.Par 3 Golf Courses A lot of golfers go into a Par 3 course with the purest of intentions. At first glance it might seem like a wise endeavor, offering a chance to work on your short game and condensing the time it takes to play a full round, lessening the inevitable headache caused by the significant other at home. The similarities of Par 3 courses to a standard golf outing can actually have a negative effect. Teeing off on such short holes places you in situations often uncommon to the typical golf course. The mental effects a shortened course can have on your game are further plagued by a propensity for misleading yardage markers.Putt Putt Unless your regular Sunday foursome includes Jack Sparrow, Long John Silver and Captain Hook, the stereotypical putt-putt course has absolutely no similarity to either the front or back nine, even at tropically located courses. When you consider the cheap plastic putters and unrealistic speeds resulting from a cement and Astroturf combination, they should really call it putt-putt-putt to prepare you for the 3-putts in your future.Baseball/Softball Don’t go out and quit your company team if it’s going to anger your boss, but for amateurs, trying to double your success in two sports is quite a feat. Swinging a baseball bat and golf club are just similar enough to cause confusion and inconsistency for casual golfers. Sure, Ken Griffey Jr. may be able to crank it off the tee and out of the park, but bear in mind, he is supremely coordinated professional athlete… you’re probably not.