Golf Equipment: Selecting The Right Golf Putter For Your Golf Game.

Buying a golf putter that’s right for you isn’t easy. You need to do your homework to find one that fits both your golf budget and your golf game, which means learning the different types of golf putters and golf clubheads available and their advantages. But doing your homework is worth it because having a good golf putter, as I often say in my golf lessons, shaves strokes off your golf handicap.

The key considerations when looking for a golf putter are price, quality, type, golf clubhead, and alignment system. Face insert, loft, and hosel are additional considerations. I’ve talked about these considerations in my golf tips, but here’s some additional information about them.

Price/Quality

Prices for golf putters range from $30 to $250 or more. Usually, the higher the price, the better the quality. While buying quality is nice, you don’t have to overspend to find the right golf putter. Consider putters from all price ranges before investing, but look for one that feels right to you and fits your budget. That can take time, but if you look hard enough, you just might find a good but inexpensive golf putter that will work as well as an expensive one.

Type

Golf putter types include traditional, belly, and long. Most players use a traditional golf putter, which allows for the best blend of feel and mechanical precision. Traditional putters demand “quiet” wrists, a big hurdle for some. They also affect golfers with bad backs. Hence, the increased use of the belly and the long putters. Nevertheless, they’re easier to master than the belly or long putters, which is why I cover them in my golf lessons.

The belly golf putter provides a third point of contact - the abdomen— between the putter and the player, the other two being your hands. This golf putter adds stability and balance to your golf stroke. The belly putter enables a golfer to control his wrist action and assume a near perfect position for golf putting, but the club’s longer shaft and generally thicker grip inhibits feel and feed back. Distance control is also a problem.

Long golf putters provide a stroke with a true pendulum arc, are great for players with bad backs, and completely eliminate wrist action, but they inhibit feel, feed back, and distance control even more than belly putters. Many players consider them the “last refuge” for players with highly active wrists, but you’ll often see them used by pros on the tour who are having trouble with their golf putting.

Clubhead

Golf putters come with blade, cavity back, and mallet clubheads. A blade has the clubhead’s weight distributed to the heel or bottom of the putter, leaving a thin top line to view when addressing the ball. It is harder to control than a cavity back or a mallet. A cavity back features a hollow area in the middle of the club- the golf clubhead’s back, creating a larger sweet spot. A golf mallet putter is bigger than traditional putter’s clubhead but its shape varies widely. Also check out the face-balanced and the heel-toe-weighted mallets, which promote a straight stroke and minimize mishits.

Alignment System

Aligning the golf putter to the hole is critical to sinking the putt, as I emphasize in my golf lessons. If the putter isn’t lined up properly, the ball won’t go in regardless of how well it’s hit. Try finding a golf putter with a visual aid to help you line up the club with the hole, one that you feel comfortable and confident with. There’s no research showing that one alignment system is better than another, so choose one that feels right to you. But make sure you buy a golf putter that has one.

Additional Considerations

Face inserts are available in a variety of materials including metal, rubber, ceramic, plastic, glass, and wood. They provide more feel and feedback, better define a club’s sweet spot, and increase heel-toe weighting. They are nice but not necessary, which I’ve often mentioned in my golf tips.

Believe it or not, golf putters come with about 4 degrees of loft, which keeps the golf ball from bouncing when struck. Most golfers use a putter with standard loft because their hands are vertical to the ball at impact. Loft can be added or taken away depending on where your hands are when you hit the ball.

A golf putter with an offset shaft or hosel appeals to many recreational golfers. The offset helps them address the ball with their forward eye over the ball and a good line of sight to the hole. More importantly, the offset helps them keep their hands ahead of the ball when putting, increasing accuracy.

Golf instruction aside, a good golf putter is critical to improving your golf handicap. But choosing a putter is mostly a matter of feel, so look for one that feels comfortable. If you find a golf putter you think fits your game, try it before purchasing it. Some golf stores have small putting greens that allow you to test a putter. Others will let you take the putter home to test. By all means, do so. It’s the only way to really know.

Putting Secrets Revealed $37.00

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

Article Source: Adapted from http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Moorehouse

Golf Apparel: How to Choose Golf Apparel and Golf Shoes

Wearing the right golf apparel can have a large impact on how much you enjoy the game. Really, you should consider the golf clothing that you wear for each round as part of your golf equipment. It's just that important!

Acceptable golf apparel has changed radically over the years since golf's birth, as early golfers used to wear jackets and ties as they went around the course. In fact, many modern-day observers of the golf game feel that the kind of restrictive clothing that the early golfers wore had an adverse impact on their scores, simply because the apparel did not allow for much freedom of movement.

As golf continue to make progress and become more popular, the styles began to change and knickers became very popular golf apparel for a long time. In the 1960s and and 1970s a shift to more comfortable golf clothing was made by many of the top players, although some of the styles would be considered loud by today's standards.

Since that time, a lot of progress has been made in developing fabrics and materials for golf apparel that make the golf game more comfortable to play under most conditions. And so today, there is a wide range of style that is acceptable on most golf courses, as the emphasis has shifted more to comfort instead.

Many of the newer, more modern fabrics are very good at wicking moisture away from the skin as we perspire. This has a tendency to make the golfer feel much more comfortable as they complete their round. So when looking for golf apparel, try to look for some of these newer fabrics as they will most likely have a positive effect on your enjoyment of the game. And make sure to buy golf apparel that will allow for easy, freedom of movement throughout your swing.

Golf shoes are an important part of your ensemble, as they not only contribute toward your appearance but also can substantially help improve your game. The golf swing calls for a lot of torque and motion in your body as it rotates to build that the energy needed for the golf shot. And because of that rotation, it's very easy for your footing to slip out of place. Having a good set of golf shoes helps solve that problem by anchoring your feet to the ground instead.

These days, golf shoes come in all kinds of styles and designs so it's easy to find something that fits your personality. But the most important part of the golf shoe is what is underneath that holds you to the ground. In the past you could expect to see metal spikes on the bottom of almost every golf shoe made, but more modern golf shoes employ dimpled plastic spikes instead that still do a good job of giving you a solid foundation for your swing, and yet are easier on the golf course itself.

Another piece of golf apparel that should not be overlooked is a golf rain suit, as it's very easy to encounter rain in most parts of the country while you are playing a round of golf. If you happen to be far away from the clubhouse when the rain begins, having a good golf rain suit to put on can be really handy.

If you use the practical considerations that are listed above for golf apparel and golf shoes you should be able to make a good choice on the golf eqipment that you buy.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including golf. You can find ladies golf apparel and mens golf apparel by visiting our Golf Tips website.

Article Source: adapted from http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steadman_Issenburg

Golf Tips: Put Your Best Foot Forward To Improve Your Golf Game.

Golf shoes are an important part of golf for both the golf game and the golf player. On a Game Level, different golf shoes and their respective golf spikes cause daily damage to the course. The traditional metal golf spike was the major offender and has been banned from most golf courses. The introduction of golf softspikes in the early 1980s has helped reduce wear and tear on the fairways and greens. The most promising shoe is the new generation spikeless golf shoe which minimizes damage to all playing surfaces.

For the average player, golf course damage is key for a couple of reasons. First, the resulting maintenance adds to the golfers playing fees. Second, it affects the playing quality of the turf and respectively the golfer’s score for the money paid to play. Neither is a good thing.

USGA.COM reports that golf is one of the few games, perhaps the only one, where the player's own golf equipment [specifically] spiked shoes -- directly, undeniably, and significantly affects the most critical playing surface of the game - the putting green.

The growing market trend is to promote spikeless golf shoes and there are some very good reasons why. From a Player Level there is no residual maintenance fees for spikeless golf shoes. Additionally, the golf shoes offer the same if not better technology related to comfort and play. Finally, they are kind to the golf course.

GolfIllustrated.com reports that there are a few primary players that make up the market for spikeless golf shoes. That is good news [since} they are focused on bringing golfers the best golf equioment possible, including incredible technology, fantastic fashions, comfort never imagined possible just 10 years ago and [with ]game-enhancing designs.

While each golf manufacturer has done special research and testing to enhance their respective golf products all have tried to improve golf shoes in a number of key areas: outsoles durability and traction; insole comfort related to fit and feel AKA athletic last; and, materials related to endurance and flexibility. GolfDigest.com and the websites of the manufacturers highlight the following:

Adidas Golf Shoes: Adidas spikeless golf shoes are known for their unconventional coloring, styles and technologies. One of Adidas main features is the Clima Cool system that keeps the foot cool and dry through their waterproof technologies. They also feature Z-Traxion technology with lateral and linear design to maximize grip on surface areas. And, the manufacturer’s patented torsion system helps to control excess movement and maintain stability for the golfer through play.

Etonic Golf Shoes: Etonic offers a durable spikeless mens golf shoe that is innovative in providing comfort and traction. Its new G-SOK features a wide-platform outsole made from a high-abrasion Goodyear rubber that's 20 times more durable than conventional rubber. This makes the gripping nubs super strong, and since they don't require receptacles, the shoe is even more lightweight and flexible. Etonic also offers a spikeless womens golf shoe with the same quality features.

Footjoy Golf Shoes: The FootJoy offers spikeless mens golf shoes in a variety of styles and colors. Most are of leather construction with a durable rubber outsole. They feature of the EVA Fit-Bed®, a lightweight removable insole that does not set, so the cushioning will remain the same for the life of the shoe. FootJoy spikeless shoes also feature Slip Last Construction. a technique often used in running shoes. This technique offers more contour and flexibility for comfort in the shoe. FootJoy also offers spikeless womens golf shoes with the same quality features.

Nike Golf Shoes: Nike goes From Air to Zoom. Nike spikeless mens golf shoes combines a deep heel Air-Sole unit together with cushioned forefront Air unit to provide lightweight comfort with enhanced feel and performance through your weight shift. Their ultra-flexibleT@C4 (Traction at Contact) Spikeless outsole technology provides maximum traction, stability and flexibility. The Nike spikeless shoe has an athletic last built for well-rounded toe and fuller forefoot area for room to waggle and a standard instep. Nike also offers a spikeless womens golf shoe with the same quality features.

Whatever you choose to wear golf shoes are the most basic part of your golf equipment. Old or new, spiked or spikeless, expensive or inexpensive golf shoes will make the difference in how you play. If you are in pain, slipping, sliding and swearing through eighteen holes what good does it do? Visit HOT LINKS. to put your best foot forward to improve your golf game.