Golf Club Sets – How To Select The Best Golf Clubs For A Novice Golfer

When you are just trying to learn the basics of golf, you will want to have a golf set that is geared more towards your skill level than anything else. if you decide that you are really enjoying golf and you want to spend thousands of dollars on the most sought after clubs available, you are likely to encounter nothing but frustration. the loftier priced clubs are meant to be played wit by the experts, so your lower skill level is just going to clash with their design, and you will be left with a bunch of clubs that you utterly despise, and paid a huge amount of money for. therefore any amateur golfer should carefully choose the clubs that they buy based on a few different things, rather than just the reviews and price tag. if you consider these things, you will be a more satisfied golfer in the long run, and you will most likely be able to increase your skill level at a much higher rate.

The ideal thing you want to look for in golf clubs is flexibility. We’re not talking about the kind of flexibility that determines how much your golf club bends when you swing it. We’re talking about the kinds of golf clubs that are very forgiving to those who don’t have as much of an idea as to what they are doing. the better choice of flexible golf club is the one that is adjustable. Rather than deciding on set measurements and details, you can spend a little bit extra and get golf clubs that are able to change at the flick of the wrist. Since you are a novice and your game play habits have not fully developed (or perhaps have not even begun to develop), it’s best to play it safe until you can have a better idea as to what you personally need in order to succeed.

Some other good advice is to not spend too much money on your clubs. It’s tempting to buy the best clubs in hopes that they will immediately rocket you to golfing success, but it is usually a waste of money. Determine what you are willing to spend, and then do not stray from this amount. those working at the pro shop or golf store should be able to point you in the right direction for clubs that are within your range, and hopefully have some of the features that you are looking for. if you are feeling really adventurous, then you might check somewhere more obscure for your golf clubs. Auctions and pawn shops usually tend to have at least a few options. As long as you can look at the clubs and decide for yourself if they have what you are looking for, it might just be an excellent deal.

While you are still in the market, you should certainly try out as many golf clubs as you can until you find the ones that you are most comfortable with. whether this means simply borrowing a friend’s club for a stroke or two stroke or going to a golf store every day to try out a few different clubs, you will eventually find that the more you try the better you will be able to make your final choice. if you have hands-on experience with every material, length, and head style, you will know what combination will suit you best. trying out a bunch of different golf clubs will rarely present a problem, since most golfers are happy to show off their nice and expensive golf clubs and stores mostly have some sort of policy regarding the testing of equipment.

If you try some of the techniques discussed here, you will almost certainly have a more enjoyable experience when buying golf clubs. your goal is not to buy the most expensive or the cheapest clubs, but rather to buy the ones that will help you improve your golf game.

Golf Club Sets – How To Select The Best Golf Clubs For A Novice Golfer

Chris Paisley looks every inch a future star

NOBODY will ever mistake Chris Paisley for Al Pacino. Even after beefing up in the gym last winter, a player moving tantalisingly closer to a place on the European Tour stands 5ft 8in and weighs 10st 8lb.

However, in golf, as in acting, it is the size of the heart that matters and a former Northumberland captain once used Pacino’s famous motivational clip from the film any given Sunday during a county coaching weekend at Matfen Hall.

It was all American football coach-speak: “You find out that life is a game of inches . . . the inches we need are everywhere around us . . . we fight for that inch . . . we claw with our finger nails for that inch . . . because we know when we add up all those inches that is going to make the difference between winning and losing . . .”

In truth it came across as a tad cheesy and melodramatic in a county golf setting, but in essence it remained the truth.

It sprung to mind while sitting opposite Paisley in the cafe at the Close House Academy, ten minutes’ drive from his home in Mickley, and listening to him talking with determination and focus about his future.

He is the closest you will find off the main tour to Luke Donald as an expert exponent of dazzling approach shots with his irons rather than ripping it up like Bubba Watson off the tee.

Paisley can put a golf ball on a spot the way a Peter Beardsley pass used to open up a packed international defence.

When Paisley is not playing on the European Challenge Tour, Close House is where you will find him practicing four days a week, if he is not in the gym or travelling to the southern reaches of County Durham to see his coach or to Aberdeen to catch up with his physio.

At 26, he has gone from boy golfer at the Stocksfield club to one of only two pairs of brothers to have won the Northumberland Amateur Championship to a successful US college career with the University of Tennessee to Walker Cup player to a personal best last weekend.

He made his first European Tour cut in his second start and was the model of consistent scoring in Portugal during the Madeira Islands Open. He was under par in each of the four rounds with three scores of 69 and a 70 to finish 11 under in a tournament when most of the European Tour regulars were either playing in America or taking the week off.

The next step is the one which will see Paisley, in Pacino’s words, clawing with his fingernails for that every extra inch. To make it on to the European Tour he will need to finish in the top 20 on the Challenge Tour -– his current ranking is 32nd – or scramble his way through the six-round madhouse which is Q School at the end of the season.

In 20 months as a professional he has winnings of a shade under £65,000. His finances have been an inch-by-inch process as well because that has all been wiped out by travelling expenses.

Apart from the Challenge Tour and the lesser Alps Tour in Europe, Paisley has scrapped in semi-unofficial shoot-outs in Florida, where the pros throw their own dollars into the pot to create their own prize fund, the Hooters Tour in the US and the Hi5 Tour in Spain.

As a person, Paisley is quietly spoken and more considerate than many modern professional sportsmen and like most young men he likes his football – especially Newcastle United and Alan Shearer. Musically his favourite relaxation on the road is singer-songwriter and rapper Maverick Sabre, although his iPod has everything from Queen and The Beatles to Kings of Leon and Ed Sheeran.

You understand why he needs his wind-down time as much as any of us when you listen to what he was expecting from his three-hour session the following day at Wynyard with his David Leadbetter Academy coach Andrew Nicholson, when he received an additional three hours of physical conditioning. Paisley said: “I shall give Andrew ten pages of A4 paper containing my stats from Portugal and flag up to him where they do not quite tell the whole story.

“That will help us talk through a plan for the session – my wedges were not quite right in Portugal – and the beauty of Andrew is not only does he know my swing inside out, but also if he spots something he can put it right quickly to give me the confidence to work it in.

“we will talk for around half an hour to an hour, and then I shall hit balls for two hours or so and do skills tests.

“for the last half hour we will review what we have done on the videos and work out for a plan for next week, where I will have to deal with a tight tree lined course in Belgium with the emphasis on accurate driving.

“If I am not at Close House or Wynyard or seeing my physio Karen Young in Scotland – I go to her because she is the best – then I will be in the gym.”

We talk about how extensive work-outs enabled Paisley to put on 8lb last winter, all in muscles in his backside – his glutes – in his shoulder blades and in the middle of his back. as we discuss this Jonathan Lupton, The Journal’s Dr Jonathan, is passing our table in the cafe and compliments Paisley on the part of the conversation he has just overheard.

No super heavyweight himself, Lupton said: “I know from my own experience it is just about the hardest job in golf for a slight guy to muscle up in the right way to generate extra power.”

Paisley has made himself five yards longer with his drives – he can now carry it an average of 270 yards off the tee – and he can get two yards more out of long irons.

He said: “The extra distance is how much further I can hit it accurately. If I come to the last hole of the last tournament of the season, or the last hole of the six rounds of Q School, then it might enable me to squeeze out that last inch I need somewhere to make it on to the European Tour.” Fighting tooth and nail for that inch . . . where have we heard that before?

Chris Paisley looks every inch a future star

Forest City trail attracting users as development expands

FOREST CITY – For avid skiier Jim French, taking part in afavorite winter hobby used to involve traveling elsewhere totrails.

Now French, who has lived in Forest City since 1970 and has beenskiing for 30 of those years, visits the town’s newly establishedand groomed trails regularly.

“It’s amazing and greatly appreciated,” French said. “The trailsare equal to what you can get somewhere else.”

After experimenting with cross country skiing trails and providingintermittent grooming from borrowed equipment last year, ForestCity Outdoor Recreation Committee volunteer Jeff Hovinga has helpedto establish the town’s own skiing reputation with the purchase ofa snowmobile, groomer and roller.

“The trails are official this year,” Hovinga said. “We have beensurprised by how many people like skiing.”

The committee was given a Hanson Family Foundation Grant in thesummer of 2011 to help purchase the equipment.

The rest has been, “good, old, small-town cooperation,” Hovingasaid.

Forest City’s Bear Creek Golf course, the Lodge Resort Hotel andRestaurant, Krysilis, the WIT (Winnebago-Itasca Travelers) rallygrounds and East Woods Park allow skiiers to pass through theirproperty on the trail, which totals almost 5 kilometers. the Lodge,East Woods Park and Bear Creek also have access points to thetrail.

The committee features all volunteers to groom, maintain andadvocate for the trail, Hovinga said.

“This shows outdoor recreation is important to us as a community,”he said.

Hovinga was named as one major contributing volunteer to theproject.

“I know Jeff put in a lot of time. It’s through his efforts,”French said. “People should appreciate what we have now.”

Residents of Forest City have taken advantage of the trails, but sohave out-of-towners, Hovinga said.

“It’s a way to not only grow the community, but also bring otherpeople in,” he said. “One person from Omaha, Neb., came to ForestCity last winter when he heard there was a new trail and he stayedovernight.”

The trails are groomed to allow both classic cross country skiingand skate skiing, which is a faster method and looks likerollerblading. the trails are open at all times and are free to thepublic.

The committee updates their website,forestcityski.blogspot.com, regularly to inform skiiers of snowconditions and when the trails are groomed. the website also has amap of the trail.

Hovinga said the trails are appropriate for skiiers of all ages andability levels.

“I like them (the trails,” French said. “For me, it’s not aschallenging but it’s a great place to learn, great place to ski anda great place to train.”

Forest City trail attracting users as development expands

Bonita, An Upscale Hidden Community in the San Diego South Bay

Bonita is an unincorporated area in the county of San Diego nestled between the cities of Chula Vista, National City and San Diego. This upscale community is the home to many residents who love living just on the outskirts of the big city. Most of the homes are spacious, in well-groomed neighborhoods and very affordable.

The Bonita zip code is 91902. Bonita is surrounded by Chula Vista to the West and South, Spring Valley to the East and Paradise Hills to the North. some of the more popular subdivisions are:

1. Bonita Verde Estates

6. Bonita Long Canyon

The Westfield Plaza Bonita Shopping Center is located off Sweetwater Road and has hundreds of stores and various restaurants for your shopping and dining pleasure; there is also an AMC Movie Complex with 14 different theatres showing movies in their stadium seating auditoriums. AMC also has an IMAX for all the latest in 3-D films.

Sweetwater Regional Park’s Summit Campground and Eastview Park located on Summit Mountain Road, has undergone dramatic transformations. They now have a community room with fireplaces and a deck which overlooks the Sweetwater Reservoir. This room is now open for events, meetings and camp programs.

This park also has a playground with a children’s climbing wall, a camp amphitheatre, a 63-spot Summit Campground with full RV hookups, fire rings and picnic tables. Eastview Park, the day park on the grounds, features a large splash park with colorful water features, and a dry playground to keep kids active and busy.

Another big attraction to living in Bonita is the walking trail which loops the Chula Vista Municipal Golf course. every day of the year, you will see hundreds of people walking, running or horseback riding along this trail. It’s become a very popular way of life in this community. and you don’t have to be a resident of Bonita to enjoy this fantastic trail.

If you are a die-hard equestrian, then Bonita is just the city for you. Horseback riding is a huge part of the Bonita community with many trails throughout the lower Sweetwater Valley. the Bonita Valley Trails organization monitors and supports the network of trails throughout the valley. also, there are many homes with stables, so if you want a place to board your horse, Bonita is the perfect neighborhood.

Bonita, it seems to have something for everyone

Bonita, An Upscale Hidden Community in the San Diego South Bay

Woosnam eyes maiden Major at Walton Heath – Senior Tour

Having won numerous titles and the Order of Merit on both the European and Senior Tour, Ian Woosnam will go in search of the one prize missing from his glittering CV at the Senior Open Championship, played from July 21-24.

Woosnam won 29 times on the European Tour – with his most memorable triumph coming at the 1991 Masters Tournament – and has added a further four titles since joining the Senior ranks, but victory in a Senior Major has thus far eluded him.

However, the diminutive Welshman is hopeful of building on his tied eighth finish at last year’s Senior Open Championship, which marked his first top ten finish in a Senior Major.

He said: “Other than the Masters, the Senior Open Championship is the biggest tournament I’ll play in this year, so it goes without saying that I’d love to win it. It’s a Senior Major and at this stage of my life it’s probably the only realistic chance I have of winning another Major tournament, because I’m not likely to be slipping on the Green Jacket again any time soon. so I hope I can give it a good go.”

Having recently broken a two-year drought with his victory at the Berenberg Bank Masters in Cologne, Woosnam is heading to the historic Walton Heath Golf Club in Epsom, Surrey, with his confidence fully restored.   

He said: “I’m feeling much better about my game now than I was before the win, that’s for sure. I didn’t play particularly well in Holland the week after my win, mainly because my driving was a bit wayward. so back in Jersey over the past few days, I’ve been trying to find a driver which suits me. but my irons have been very good and I’ve been putting well, so if I can sort my driving out I’ll fancy my chances.

“If the course is firm and the ball’s running a long way, I might be able to get away with using a long iron off the tee. the secret at Walton Heath is to find the fairways, because if you find the rough you can end up in all sorts of trouble. so it may be that I go with a one iron and sacrifice some length for more accuracy. Unless we get a lot more rain in the next few weeks, it’ll play like a sea links course for the tournament. 

“I’ve played the course a few times, but it’s been a fair while now since I’ve been there. the last time would’ve been the European Open way back in the late 1980s or early 1990s, so I’ll get there on the Monday of the tournament week to play a couple of practice rounds and familiarise myself with the place. Hopefully then it’ll come back to me, and I’ll start recognizing the holes a little more.”

Woosnam managed a pair of top five finishes at Walton Heath Golf Club, in the 1987 and 1989 European Opens.

But the player he fears most at the 25th edition of the Senior Open Championship is the man who has already sampled success over the old Course at Walton Heath Golf Club – American Tom Kite.  

Kite won the European Open in 1980, before returning to Epsom the following year to play his part in America’s victory over their European counterparts in the 1981 Ryder Cup. twenty years on, the multiple Major winner’s competitive edge remains razor sharp.

Woosnam said: “Tom still plays beautiful golf, so he’ll be very tough to beat. With the course running the way it is, he’s going to be a real contender. the likes of mark O’Meara and Nicky Price are both also wonderful golfers still, so any number of people could win it.

“As for the Europeans, Bernhard [Langer] has only just come back from injury recently, so I don’t know how fit he’ll be. but he’s such a competitor, you wouldn’t rule him out if he was only 50% fit. He missed three months so he might still be a little rusty, but I’ve got no doubt he’ll give a very good account of himself, like he always does.”

The Senior Open Championship is owned by the R&A and the European Tour and is co- sanctioned as a Senior Major by the European Senior Tour and the US Champions Tour. the first Senior Open Championship was played at Turnberry in 1987, when Neil Coles of England took the title.

Tickets are now on sale to see the returning 1981 Ryder Cup players at the historic Walton Heath Golf Club as part of the 25th edition of the Senior Open Championship. Tickets are available by visiting here, or alternatively by calling +44 (0) 800 0232557.

Fans of golf, horse racing and live music also have an opportunity to indulge their passions through the ‘Three for One’ promotion run jointly by the Senior Open Championship and Epsom Downs Racecourse. For just £40, customers can enjoy a day watching Senior Tour stars in action at the the Senior Open Championship, and gain admission to any one of the five ‘Epsom Live!’ events held at the nearby racecourse throughout July. the ‘Epsom Live!’ experience combines top quality horse racing over the Derby course with concerts from world famous bands such as Scouting for Girls (July 14), the Wanted (July 21) and Blondie (July 28). Tickets are available now by visiting here, or calling 0844 579 3004.

Woosnam eyes maiden Major at Walton Heath – Senior Tour