So, you think your little guy might be the next Tiger Woods? If you think your child has a propensity for golf, or if you have a love for the game that you want to share, how can you best teach your youngster the game? How can you tell that they are ready to learn? What age is best to start a child on learning golf if you want to develop a quality player?

Golf, a detailed and complex sport, can be tough to teach to kids. For this reason, get them started early and ensure that you build a firm foundation in their game play so that they learn to be confident in the sport and in their own abilities. This type of learned confidence can help them embrace the complexities of the game as a whole and will turn them into golfers that are ready to learn.

Once a child is walking well independently and able to hold a child-sized golf club, he or she is probably ready for the first introduction to the sport. This can happen when the child is as young as two or three years old. Preschool children will not be ready to play golf as a game, but they can be given small putters and practice swinging the club correctly.

Children at this age learn almost everything through imitation. The best way to teach them proper swinging and putting techniques is to demonstrate, and then have them imitate the motions. But use caution that you do not make this tedious for the child. These imitation sessions should be short and fun. Try having the child hit a small balloon. Not only will this be fun, but the child will also have success in hitting the balloon, which will keep the frustration at bay. To make it even more fun, try filling the balloons with water for added resistance! This is a great summer time activity for you and for your child!

Once the child has entered school and has a good handle on the swinging and putting techniques learned through observation, it is time to start teaching the game of golf. School aged children are accustomed to verbal instruction and can listen to explanations about the game better than their preschool counterparts. You need to keep in mind, however, that they are still children! They will thrive on encouragement, and all teaching sessions should be kept upbeat!

Start by taking your child to the driving range. Show your son or daughter how to hit the ball correctly, aiming for distance. The driving range is a good place to start since there is not a specific target they must reach, so the child is less likely to get frustrated. After the child demonstrates aptitude on the driving range, you can head to the course. By this point you should be able to tell whether or not your child is going to share your love for the game of golf.

Parents need to remember that no matter how hard they try, not all children have the same likes and dislikes that their parents have. If you have introduced your child to the game of golf, and he or she does not enjoy it, try not to push them. By pushing, you might find that you drive your child away from the game. All you can do is give them the experience at an early age, and they must come to a conclusion about the game on their own.

By: Nicholas Sy
Golf is a serious sport. If you would like to learn about some of the golf training aids that are available to help you improve your golf swing then you need to visit: http://www.PlayingWinningGolf.com.

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How’s your golf chip shot? You don’t need to be a golf theorist to know that the short game is the key (and often the downfall) of your golf score. This is especially true when it comes to putting, but also true when it comes to getting the ball on the green: chipping. Leaving a drive thirty feet shorter than your average on a drive can be made up for on the next shot. However, sending the ball skipping across the entire length of the green on a golf chip shot is definitely going to add an extra stroke to your score at the end of the day.

With chipping, unlike driving, the difficulty is in deciding how far you should hit it. Many amateur golfers just pull out the pitching wedge, aim for a few feet in front of the cup, and swing. You might as well be trying to make the ball land directly in the cup. When chipping, no more than half the distance the ball travels should be through the air. The rest should be on the ground, rolling. This is because the only part you can control is how far you hit the ball. The less distance you have to hit the ball, the fewer mistakes can be made.

“But how,” you ask “am I going to make the ball roll more than half the distance to the cup with my pitching wedge from 30 or 40 yards out?” The answer is that you probably can’t, but you can use different clubs. Just because you’re making a chip shot doesn’t mean you have to use your pitching wedge. You can use clubs as high as your 6-iron when you’re making a golf chip shot.

You should use your pitching wedge when you are very close to the green, either on the lip of the green or just a little bit back. In these cases, you should try to hit the ball halfway to the cup and let it roll the other half, taking into account factors like the incline of the green and whether it is playing fast or slow on the given day.

If you’re using your 6-iron, you should attempt to hit the ball one-quarter of the way to the cup and let it roll the other three quarters. Because you’re using a higher club, the ball will get less height and will travel on a trajectory closer to the ground. Therefore, it will roll further when it meets the ground. If you are using a club between the 6-iron and the pitching wedge, you should adjust accordingly. This is an important tip to execute the golf chip shot.

Remember, when it comes to chipping, the more roll you can get on the shot, the more control you have over the shot. Choosing the right club and then how far to hit the ball with that club is half the battle when it comes to your golf chip shot.

By: Patrick L. Jensen
Patrick L. Jensen is a golfing expert as well as a self-confessed golf addict. Visit Golf Chip Shot to get a unique set of golf tips that will have you Striking the ball with more consistency and power and enable you to hit greens at will. His Free E-Course and Breakthrough Golf System will decrease your golf handicap by 7-12 strokes in one week! Subscribe for Free by sending a blank email to: uniquegolftips@aweber.com

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Players who know how to shape their shots have a significant advantage scoring-wise over those who don't. Shaping your shots not only reduces scores and golf handicaps, it dramatically alters the way you play the game. So if you're serious about improving your game, you must learn how to shape your shots.

But where do you start when it comes to learning how to shape shots. Initially, you should focus on learning to hit three types of shots-how to curve the ball left to right, how to curve the ball right to left, and how to hit the low punch shot.

Golf Lesson #1: Hitting Left To Right
The fade follows a left to right path (for right-handers). To do that, you must build up air on the left side of the ball, pushing it right. Adopting an open stance at address plus having an open clubface at impact are the keys to hitting a fade.

Take your normal stance, move your front foot back a few inches, and open up your hips. You should be facing left of the target line. During the takeaway, swing the club parallel to the line of your foot. The out-to-in takeaway produces a top-of-the-swing position where the clubface points left of the target. If you follow your foot line with your swing, you'll hit the ball with an open clubface.

The keys to hitting a fade:

* Pull your front foot back slightly
* Open your stance
* Hinge wrists at about waist high
* Take a full shoulder turn
* Swing the club parallel to foot line
* Clear left hip (for right-handers)

Hitting a fade seems simple enough, but be careful, as I've warned in my golf tips. If you generate too much sidespin, you'll create a slice.

Golf Lesson #2: Hitting Right To Left
The secret to hitting a draw, like the secret to hitting a fade, is imparting sidespin. The draw follows an in-to-out path. So you must build up air on the right side of the ball, pushing it left. A closed stance and a closed clubface at impact produce the correct spin.

Take a normal square stance, then draw your back foot back a few inches, closing your stance and clubface. The clubface aims directly along the target line but it follows and in-to-out path, not the out-to-in path of a fade. Adopting a slightly stronger left-handed grip encourages a more active release of the hands.

Keys to hitting a draw:

* Adopt a closed stance
* Use a stronger left-hand grip
* Follow an inside track
* Aim right at the top of the swing
* Release the club through impact

The clubhead follows an inside track (inside the target line) on the takeaway and backswing. The club points to the right of the target at the top of the backswing. How far right depends on how much of a hook you want to play. Feel the toe of the club pass the heel, as you release your hands.

Golf Lesson #3: Hitting a Low Line Drive
To hit this shot, most players play the ball back in their stances, press their hands forward, lean left (for right-handers), and "punch" the ball with a three-quarter swing. If performed correctly, this approach drives the ball forward on a low trajectory and provides the distance you need.

But this approach carries hidden dangers. Moving the ball too far back in your stance forces you to point the clubface/shoulders right of target, opens up the possibility of hitting a shank, and causes you to lunge at the ball from the top of your swing. If you fail to punch the ball correctly, you risk increasing backspin and trajectory. Here's a safer approach.

Instead of moving the ball back, go down two clubs more than necessary and grip down on the club just above the shaft. If the situation requires a 9-iron but conditions are really windy or the pin is in a back position, drop down to a 7-iron and choke down on the club. Now take your normal set-up and swing.

The two adjustments give you distance without the loft. Choking down shortens the swing arc, reducing clubhead speed. If that trajectory is too low for the shot, drop down one club and slide your hands halfway down the grip. Then take your normal swing. Dropping down to an 8-iron lengthens your swing arc, boosts clubhead speed, and increases trajectory.

Understanding Swing Mechanics
As you can see, much of being able to work the ball comes down to understanding the impact of swing mechanics. In other words, you need to understand how and why the ball spins and how to change your mechanics to get the ball to react the way you want. Knowing how to shape the ball not only saves strokes, it also dictates strategy when playing. Remember, in golf strategy is all about controlling the ball and hitting your targets, whether you have a high golf handicap or a low one.

Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehous

By: Jack Moorehouse
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.

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I have been using this method of looking at the hole for "Putting" for the past 10 years and for me there is no better way!

I first started using this unique putting method after reading a book by Tim Gallwey called the Inner Game of Golf. Still my favourite book on "How to take your golf game to the course".

There are some significant benefits to this putting method of looking at the hole.....

1.Your head remains's still as your eyes are looking directly at your target.....there is no need to take a peep!!!

2.You have a clear sense of direction

3.Since you are not looking at the ball there are no mental blocks or fear of making a fluent stroke Golf is one of the few targeting type sports where you don't actually look at your target while perfoming the action to hit the target. Sports such as basketball, darts, baseball, and bowling or rely on you focussing on a target. Whatever you are focussing on your body will do it's best to perform the necessary action of hitting that particular target.

When I first tried this putting style I concentrated on using my hands and wrist's to make the stroke. If I were to be totally honest my putting during this transitional stage was as good as any golfer at my club. Most of my playing partners could not believe I could sink putts by looking at the hole. What astounded them was the amount of long distance putts I dropped.....they could understand how this technique would work for the short putts but NOT the long putts.

Some were even moved to say that it was cheating and the technique or method should be banned.....this only happened in "Match Play" when I would sink putt's to win the hole or the match. When you do something different that works people notice and I have to laugh when they say "I see it but I don't believe it".

Since becoming an accredited PuttingZone coach I have incorporated the use of the shoulder's and NOT the hands into my putting routine of looking at the hole. This one change has allowed me to make more birdies than I ever made before.

I did a bit of research on "putting while looking at the hole" and I was absolutely stunned to find that Golf Magazine had published an article by David Dusek (Deputy Editor,Golf.com) on this very subject. They actually published result's of a research study carried out by Eric Alpenfels(Golf Magazine top 100 teacher) and Dr Bob Christina. They tested 40 players with handicaps ranging from 8-36.

When asked to putt while looking at the hole to distances of 28-43 feet the average length of the putt's ended up 28 inches short.......when asked to putt normally the golfers left themselves short by 37 inches. That extra 9 inches can make the difference between 2 putt's and 3 putt's.

So what can I say......looking at the hole while putting is a very viable proposition for golfer's who have an open mind to making positive changes in their putting.

By: William Wetere
William Wetere is a PuttingZone coach based in Te Awamutu,New Zealand. I Putt looking at the hole and have done so with great results for the past 10 years. For free putting lesson's visit my website http://www.golfinstruction.co.nz.

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