These six factors must be taken into consideration so that you make an informed choice of putter type and to make sure that it feels as it should be.

1. The lie angle. It is an angle between the shaft and the ground. This factor determines if the putter head is sitting perfectly flat on the ground when you are putting. Get one that lets the head of the club rest squarely on the ground when you take your stance.

2. The length of the putter. The standard length for a putter is 35 inches. The right length for you depends on how you stand when you address the ball. A longer putter is better if you like to stand upright. A shorter putter is better if you prefer to bend over and be closer to the ground.

3. The total weight of the putter. Get one that does not feel too heavy. In general, use a lighter putter if you play on fast greens. A heavier putter may give you better results if you play on slow greens.

4. The size and shape of the head. A perimeter-weighted putter is the best. This type of putter has a recess in the middle of the head, with most of the weight distributed on the heel and toe. This will provide you with more solid putts on off-center hits.

5. The head material. This factor is often overlooked when choosing a good putter. Typically the cheaper putters will have heads made of PCS plastic, Aluminum or Zinc. Because the head material is light, you will be required to hit the ball harder to get it to go the same distance as you would if your club-head was made from a more expensive material. Generally, these putters cannot be adjusted for lie, loft angle or other variables.

On the other hand, the more expensive putters often use stainless steel, brass, titanium, wood or a mixture of these. You can find special displays of these putters with different lie angles and lengths already built in. These putters will feel more solid when you strike the ball, look much better at address and perform more consistently over time.

6. The grip type and size. Putters come with standard-size grips installed. This is not ideal for everyone. The larger your hands, the larger the width of the grip should be and, conversely, you should have a smaller diameter grip if your hands are small.

By: Alex Fir
Alex Fir shares a wealth of information on his website Free Golf Tips. To read more about golf putters visit Free Golf Tips today.

Featured by the Golf Directory from Lifestyle at Resourcesforattorneys.com, a legal and lifestyle resource.

For many years I would go to Phoenix Arizona between Christmas and New Years to visit some relatives and friends. Every year my friend Ray and I would play golf at least 3 times during my stay and every year it would be a contest to see who won the most games.

Over the years, I think we were about equally matched, we each had our good games and bad games, but over all I won more games then Ray did.

One year I won all three game of golf and I could tell that Ray was a little frustrated. The last night of our stay, we met back at Ray's house for supper and Ray said if he couldn't beat me at golf, he'll beat me at Chess. Well, I hadn't played Chess for years, but for some reason, I won all the games and Ray was even more frustrated, but we were still friends.

The following year, Ray called me at home right before I left for Phoenix. He told me our first golf game tee time was the number one spot, early the next morning. After driving to Phoenix, knowing I had to get up early, I made sure I had everything ready for the next morning.

The next morning I drove over to Ray's house and when I got there he was waiting for me and was real eager for us to get going to the golf course. He put his clubs in the car, got in the car and started putting on his golf shoes while I was driving. When we got to the course, he had me drop him off at the club house before I parked the car and said he would meet me at the driving range.

After parking my car I went to the club house, signed in, grabbed a cup of coffee, got my golf cart and drove to the driving range. By the time I got there, Ray had already gone through his worm up exercises and almost finished hitting most of his practice balls. He then told me to hurry up and put my golf shoes on and take a few practice shots that we had to get going. I ask him why he was in such a rush and he said he just wanted to get started playing.

Normally we would take our time, BS for awhile, joke around and just have fun. But this time was different, Ray was real anxious and focused on getting started and I couldn't help but wonder why. After taking about three practice shots and gulping down my coffee, we drove over to the first hole. Ray said he wanted to tee off first and I said okay because I still needed to stretch and wake up.

Well, I found out why Ray didn't say much and wanted to get started that morning. He teed up, took a couple of practice swings, stepped up to the ball, swung and hit the ball. I watched the ball take off and after it looked like it would level off, it kicked in the after burners and kept on going. It was one of the best shots I had ever seen, on or off television.

After Ray took his shot, I looked at him and ask, when did you learn how to do that. He looked at me with a big grin on his face and said, I have been taking lessons almost every day since you left last year. He said he was so frustrated at himself, that know matter how hard he tried to beat me, it just wasn't enough. So, he said he made himself a new years resolution, that know matter what it took, he was going to learn how to play golf better.

Needless to say, Ray was a lot better then he ever was and for me, well, Ray had to wait for me on almost every green until I got there. So, to answer the question, do golf lessons really help?

I had taken a few lessons, that's why I was able to beat Ray most of the time before.

By: Paul Bittle
Paul Bittle is the owner of Article Bits and Bits N Wits, free articles and information you can use.

Featured by the Golf Courses Directory from Resources For Attorneys, a legal and lifestyle resources directory.

Whether you are a professional or an amateur golfer, Drivers and Fairway woods are the words that you must have heard thousand times. In simple words drivers are the commonly known golf sticks especially designed for short shots.

You will find number of golf drivers in the market made up of Titanium, Copper, Carbon, Nickel and some other alloys. These alloys provides hardest look to the golf driver. Almost all golf drivers available in the market are built with an idea of compression golf ball at impact. Golf drivers with flexible face, designed to eliminate energy at impact, are considered better for improvement of game.

Golf Drivers are considered as the longest club. Presently golf drivers with 45 inches length are common. This length factor makes it difficult to control the swing. On the other side shorter clubs are known as fairway woods, generally referred to as fairway metals. Materials used for manufacturing both golf drivers and fairway woods are same. These fairway woods posses the proprietary of progressiveness like irons. There are different types of fairway woods like 3-wood, 4-wood, 5-wood, 7-wood and 9-wood. One may rarely find a 2-wood. These fairways woods may decide the distance the golf club go after hit.

Usually fairway woods have smaller heads comparing to golf drivers. This aspect makes fairway woods easier than drivers when it comes to controlling the swing. It is advisable for beginners to opt for fairway woods instead of trying to use a driver. You can use the fairway to hit the driver if you are a skilled golfer. Greater lofts and smaller heads of fairway woods help in hitting the ball high into the air. Fairway woods are convenient to handle than long drivers and are used basically by amateur golfers and beginners. The main purpose of both drivers and fairway woods is to strike the club. In simple words drivers are used to hit the ball on the upswing and fairway wood is used to hit the club at swing bottom.

Fairway woods consists of large heads, bulging clubface, flattened soles sliding over the ground and are spherical in shape. In the past club-heads were made from persimmon and maple wood. Club heads in the present era are made from metal alloys and hence are termed as metal-woods. Senior players and ladies prefer fairway woods that are higher lofted. It is so because fairway woods give them easier hit to the club while hitting the club high in the air at lower speed.

Shaft length of fairway wood may differ from 40 inches to 45 inches.

The longest version of club is termed as driver. Drivers have bigger club-head. Drivers are mainly used for hit off the tee. Skilled golfers can hit drivers from the turf. The standard length of driver is 45 inches.

You may choose a driver or a fairway wood according to your skills and style. Some skilled golfers prefer shorter shafts which facilitates them to use it easily despite the fact that shorter shafts are likely to reduce the distance. Usually fairway woods are fitted with graphite shafts considering their light weight. This light weight enables golfers to accelerate higher club-head speed and achieve longer distance. The USGA approved length of the shaft is 47 inches. However, you may find some fairway woods with shaft length of up-to 50 inches. These longer shaft woods are used for long drive tournaments but are illegal.

It is evident that success and improvement of your game depends upon the right club may it be drivers or fairway woods.

By: Gordon Petten
Drivers and Fairway Woods.

Featured by the Golfing Directory from the Lifestyle section at Resources For Attorneys.

More and more people every year get bitten by the golf bug. Golf's popularity continues to rise year after year. With more and more people becoming interested in golf, more and more people are taking their first steps in wanting to learn how to play the game.

And the great thing is - it is people of all age groups, genders, race and social strata. I have really been enjoying working with every type of golfer.

The first aspect of the game of golf that I talk with about a person or group of people that are just beginning to take up the game is that learning to play golf is going to take some time and much patience. In fact, the patience part never goes away in this great game!

The second aspect (or at least real close to it) that I speak with beginning golfers about is practice; and the amount you spend with quality practice time will get you to the point in your game you want to be.

Everyone has different ambitions and expectations as to how far they want to take their game. Whether it's just a spouse who wants to learn enough of the game and the golf swing to enjoy an afternoon with their significant other, or someone who one day wishes to play competitively, the game of golf can accommodate. But, it's fundamentals and practice that will get you to your goal.

At its core of the game of golf is the golf swing. Your golf swing. How you start out learning the mechanics of the golf swing is crucial. Don't skip the basics! Learn some fundamentals before you even begin to tackle the swing.

The grip, the stance, the setup to the ball, and your posture, is the foundation from which you must learn the golf swing. If you don't spend the time early on ingraining these aspects into your physical psyche, you'll not (if ever) consistently strike the golf ball. So, make sure when you are working with your instructor, you don't just start whacking at balls. Make sure you build the proper foundation with the aforementioned elements.

When you do progress to actually swinging the club, I like to have people start with middle iron (usually a 6 or 7 iron). In my opinion, the middle iron is the best club to begin learning the golf swing. With a six iron, for example, the ball placement is in the middle of your stance. This means that as you progress to higher and lower irons you will have a benchmark to work from. Also down the road, if you swing begins to trouble you, I usually suggest that you get back to your basic neutral position club of the six iron and get your rhythm and timing back.

If you are just beginning, you must understand that the longer the shaft on the club, the longer it is going to take you to consistently and accurately hit the golf ball. It's just the physics. I see way too many beginners want to rush to justice and hit the driver and they never learn the proper swing. Always learn, tune, and groove your swing with a middle iron. Then work to keep that mindset as you climb the ladder of your clubs.

From you middle iron placement your longer shafted clubs will find your ball placement more toward your front foot's instep; while your shorter irons will have the ball work more toward the back foot's instep.

But before you do any of this, make sure you start with your foundation. Make sure that when you speak with your teaching professional you let them know that you want to spend time with and make sure you understand the concepts of the grip, stance, alignment, and posture. This will ensure that you don’t build a house of cards with your golf swing that will always be tumbling apart.

Once you get past your first couple of lessons of working on the foundations, don’t forget them. Always, always, always, be cognizant of your grip, stance, alignment, and posture even as you begin developing your golf swing. Be sure to incorporate a quick check of these before you engage your swing.

And finally, we come full circle. Be patient with yourself and spend time practicing. If you do, you’ll realize the wonderful rewards that the game of golf returns in a much sooner fashion.

By Jeff O'Brien
Jeff O'Brien offers instruction and insight on golf that will get your golf swing and golf game on track or off to a good start by establishing a good foundation on which you will build your golf swing and game. Be sure to visit http://www.golf-ology.com for more of Jeff's golf tips, articles, and online golf lessons.

Featured by the Golfing directory from the lifestyle section of Resources For Attorneys, a legal and lifestyle resource.