You may have noticed lately that at some golf courses the starter and will a point of asking, or sometimes even suggesting which tee box golfers will be using during their round. With the growing popularity of golf and more golfers on many Niagara courses, you should soon expect to be advised about hitting from the proper tee boxes, But there is more to this trend than accommodating the masses.

Because slow play has become a concern for course managers and players alike, it only makes sense to take practical steps to speed up play and shorten the time it takes for a round of golf. There are many proven ways to speed up play, but enforcing the use of the skills- appropriate tee boxes - be they red, white, blue, gold or black - mightverywell be the simplest and most effective.

Slow play is not the only reason that every golfer should play the course at a length in keeping with their own abilities. Shorter hitters teeing oft from markers too far back will necessarily take more shots, encounter more hazards, incur more penalties, lose more balls, spend more time searching for balls, and require more time to complete their rounds. How much fun can that be? Scores balloon, handicaps soar and sandbaggers are born.

Here’s the thing - many players automatically play the white tees, for example, without giving a thought to the length of the white course. That’s a mistake. Here in Niagara, for instance, the white yardages range from 6,494 yards at International (R&B nines) to 6,181 yards at the Links of Niagara at Willodell (about the Niagara average), and down to 5,312 yards at Water Park. A mid-handicapper might struggle with the length of one course off the whites but master a shorter course playing from the same set of tees.

Instead, each player should play from the tees that most closely correspond to their comfort zone. That may very well mean playing the whites at course A, the blues at course B, maybe even the blacks or reds at course C. Although it seems a good idea, there is no standardization of tee colours with corresponding course lengths. Course handicap and slope ratings are calculations intended to equalize courses based on their length, contours, hazards, greens, trees, etc. - on a scorecard or in a computer, not on the course!

Working at stretching your game a bit by playing somewhat longer, more challenging courses or from tees a bit further back should not come at the expense of golfers playing behind you. While real improvements can only come en the course, the place to practice is the driving range. Choose a golf course that is in, keeping with your handicap, length off the tee, and the pace at which you play. By doing so, the game will be more enloyable. more clubs and shots will come into play, course management skills will improve, a round of golf will take a little less time, and friendly competitions and handicap play can be more fairly conducted.

Bill Rivers is an accomplished writer on outdoor subjects such as golf and fishing. Bill has many articles and course profiles on his Golf Tourism website - http://www.teeingitup.com

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Wilson , Callaway, Titleist, Adams , King Cobra, Yonex, Ping , Taylor Made, Mizuno, and Spaulding are all excellent name brand golf clubs. As a beginning or even a professional golfer, trying to decide which set of golf clubs to purchase, however, may often feel like taking a shot in the dark. In a society that is increasing name brand conscious, many of us are tempted to simply buy what everyone else seems to be buying. Selecting the proper golf clubs, however, is something that you shouldn’t do without having a good idea of what types are available and what the specific use of each club is. Using the proper golf club can and will greatly improve your game. Other important things to consider are choosing the right lie and the right shaft flex. The flexibility of the shaft of the club is known as the bend or flex. If you’re a powerful swinger, you’ll have more control with less bend. Beginners and less powerful swingers are better off with more flexibility.

If you’re new to the game of golf, the first thing you need is a basic set of golf clubs. A basic set will include irons, putters, wedges and drivers, and even though most nongolfers don’t believe it, each type of club is designed to improve the speed of your swing and will help you correct faults in your game. Using the right type of golf club is essential and will make the learning process quicker and easier. The first thing to consider when choosing a set of golf clubs is your basic ability level. There are basically three ability levels including: low handicaps, mid handicaps and high handicaps.

If you’re a low-handicap golfer, you generally score less than ten strokes over par. Low-handicap golfers should carry at least one fairway wood and a driver as well as lower irons, and at least 3 wedges, a pitching wedge, sand wedge and either a lob wedge or approach wedge. A mid-handicap golfer in the 11-20 handicap range should add a 7-wood or even a 9-wood to their bag. The fairway woods will provide much better control and consistency than the long irons. Mid-handicap golfers should stick to the 3 and 9-irons and the same wedges recommended above. High-handicap golfers are either new to the game or just haven’t mastered the basics and usually shoots over 100. It’s highly suggested that high-handicap golfers use the 3-wood for the tee off and add in the 7 and 9-woods. The same wedges would apply that are suggested for the low and mid-handicap golfers.

Today, common concensus is that the most important club you can have in your golf bag is a hybrid. Many golfers have used this club to replace the three-iron. Tour players are even switching to this club. Hybrids to check out include the Taylormade Rescue Mid (which continues to dominate the market and is found in more bags on the tour than any other hybrid), the Nike CPR, and the Ben Hogan CFT. The hybrid is a club that favors the golfer who is generating good clubhead speed, but needs to add to long-iron trajectory. The lower center of gravity in this club produces higher shots while a short shaft will improve control and accuracy.

Drivers and woods are probably the most important clubs in the bag and everybody loves them. Mainly used for longer shots, drivers are usually the first club out of the bag on the tee. Some advanced golfers, however, may decide to use a driver off the fairway is they need a little extra distance. A fairway or metal wood is also used off the tee if you need a more accurate shot or you don’t need as much distance as you would get with a driver. This club is a utility club that can also be used in fairway bunkers and tight lies in the rough. The most popular drivers on the market today are the Taylormade r7quad, the Taylormade r5 dual and the Ping G2.

Fairway woods are usually considered the most reliable golf club and seem to be a favorite because they tend to make you look better than you really are. This is a club that is evolving slowly but should definitely have a place in your bag. A fairway wood usually improves a golfer’s accuracy and allows him to loft the ball higher. A few favorites include the Cobra SZ and the Calloway Big Bertha.

The iron is a club that is definitely riding on the edge of technology and suprisingly enough is getting less expensive. While this club isn’t perfect yet, it’s getting there, and most players should be using game improvement irons. These irons stress perimeter weighting, forgiveness and higher trajectory. The three irons that are getting the most attention today are the Ping G2, the Calloway Big Bertha and the Calloway Big Bertha Fusion. Often the most overlooked club in the bag is the wedge. This club, however, is a necessity in every golfer’s bag and definitely a trusted friend to every player who’s ever been on the tour. The Cleveland CG10, the Titleist Vokey, and the Cleveland 588 are three of the best. The popularity of the wedge is evident in that Cleveland and Titleist have over 112 combined wedge options.

Finally, the putter is a club that has certainly gone high tech and some of the newer Super Mallets look like they belong in Science Fiction movies. Thankfully, though the traditional putters are still performing well and remain favorites. The Super Mallet putters getting the most attention are the Odyssey 2-ball (White Steel), the Ping G2i Craz-E and the TaylorMade Rossa Monza/Mezza Monza. The old standbys of the traditional putters include the Ping G2i, the PING JAS, and the Yes! Golf C-Groove.

Once you have a general understanding of when and why you need to use a certain type of club, there are still many decisions to make before actually making a purchase. Many driving ranges have golf clubs for rent and it may be a good idea to try out a few different clubs before actually making your purchase. Golf clubs, especially the name brands like Titleist, Cleveland and Nike can be very expensive. If you’re new to the sport, consider starting out with second hand clubs. If you find a set that fits, you can usually get them for a steal.

Vincent Volder is running the website http://www.vicvol.com where he features the latest golf news from the various golf blogs on the web. Updated everyday with the hottest news from around the world.

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Golf is a delicate game of balance and skill and to be able to find this balance you need to have the right golf club in your hands. And each shot is different and to have the right golf club in your had each time you are going to need a whole set of clubs right? If you are new to the game of golf then you might not have realized just how important the right golf club is to your game but the sooner that you figure this out the better your game will be.

If you are a beginner golfer then you might do better with a golf club that has more flexibility to it. As you improve and your golf swing gets stronger and harder you can then think about switching to a golf club with less flexibility. This flexibility is appropriately called the shaft flex and it really does vary from golf club to golf club and it is very key to the amount of control you will have over the ball.

The golf club and really the entire golf club set that you choose will be influenced by how good a player you are so far. Different ability levels require different golf clubs, this is just a simple fact of the game. Having the right golf club will help you to learn as a much faster and more efficient, not to mention fun, rate.

Do you have a low handicap, a mid handicap or a high handicap? You need to find this out in order to get the right golf club for you and your game. If you are a low handicap player then you are looking at under ten strokes over par, a mid handicap player is 11-20 and high is well over 100. If you still don t know what I am talking about then you will want to talk to a pro at the golf course that you regularly go to. He or she should be able to help you find a good golf club for your game, any hey, you might even get some great pro tips at the same time. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

Choosing the right golf club for you and your game is important if you want to improve on your golf game. This is one game that is not entirely about practice, while you still need to practice having the right golf club can make these practices much more enjoyable for you and for those around you.

Jason Powers, a devoted golf fan, offers more golf tips on his personal website ===>http://www.golfsites.info

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