Hickory golf is enjoying a revival in some parts of the world with players re-living the challenge of playing with wooden shafted clubs. These clubs were widely used up to the 1930’s when club makers started using more modern materials. However, despite their lesser performance, the attraction of dressing up in old-fashioned golfing garb and hacking around 18 holes with mashies, niblicks and cleeks — the evocative names given to the clubs used by Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Henry Cotton — has endured. The format has a huge following in the U.S. where devotees gather at historic courses to play an “authentic” round of golf. There’s a saying about modern golf clubs that you can buy any shot out of the shop but playing with hickory makes people think more about their swing and be clever about their shots. Read more about hickory golf and see the superb photos.
Injury rates for recreational golfers are at an astounding rate of more than 50% – and even higher for golfers over age of 50. Recreational golfers have typically skipped warming up before play and practice because of the misconception that golf is not a strenuous activity or because of time constraints. Its easy to arrive at the club and being anxious to get out on the golf course we end up skipping the warm up. But skipping the warm up may mean that it takes us four or five holes before we loosen up and gain our form and by that time, our score may already be ruined. If we had only spent a few minutes warming up before the first tee, we could not only avoid those big numbers on our scorecard for the first few holes, but also prevent injury……read more

Now that GPS devices are allowed in competition play on most golf courses you may be looking for an application for your phone. FreeCaddie works on all popular phones such as Blackberry, Iphone and Windows mobile and the free version gives distances to the front, centre and back of the green. Upgrade to the Pro version and get extra features such as shot measurement, distance to hazards and scoring with stats. All the UK courses are available for download. For more details go to Freecaddie
Ever wondered why there are times when golf seems so simple, so easy, then periods when you are sure it is next to impossible. The hole size seems to change depending upon the importance of the putt. Your ball disappears when everyone thought it looked perfectly safe. After warming up your putting stroke on the practice green you find that it is either twice as fast or twice as slow as the greens actually are on the course. Then there’s the advice from people who seldom break 100 and yet think they can tell you what’s wrong with your swing. Golf can become a love-hate relationship but in the end analysis it remains a only a game. Here’s more wisdom on the subject from past Masters winner Larry Mize
Cleveland Golf’s new range of wedges the CG15’s are now available. The main feature of these wedges is the bigger grooves, achieved through their breakthrough milling technology. Another new feature of note is the laser precision milled face which increases spin by improved surface roughness and optimizing ball-to-face friction. The wedges also have wider soles and heels to improve bunker recovery performance. The CG15s come in an wide range of lofts, bounce options and finishes. There are four bounce options: low, standard, high and the Dynamic Sole Grind (super-low bounce). The lofts are at 2° intervals from 46° to 64°. Three finishes are available Black Pearl, Satin Chrome and Oil Quench. Get more information on these wedges at Cleveland Golf
Golf can be tough playing in cold conditions, so just imagine what it would be like to play on a golf course made of ice at temperatures well below minus 12 degrees. At the World Ice Golf championship in Greenland they play with orange balls as they are easier to find, the greens are actually white, and the holes are twice the size of a normal golf hole. Its all part of the fun, but they are serious. Trolleys are not permitted and a ball may dropped within 15cm of where it landed, without a penalty. Gigantic icebergs form a key part of the 9 hole course layout and players are known locally as icegolfers. Golfers with a handicap of up to 36 may take part, so to get your participation form and learn more about this spectacular championship read on……more
Learn the short game basics with this pitching lesson

Need some quick tips to give your game a boost. Here are some short instruction sequences from top PGA tour players, courtesy of Golf Digest.
Justin Timberlake is so crazy about golf he has even had a mini course installed in his house. The multi millionaire American singer has spent over £500,00 transforming a large room into a mini golf course. Justin admitted: “I am a golf fanatic. My handicap is six and I play 18 holes a couple of times a week. I own a golf course near Memphis and I converted one of the bigger rooms in my house into a miniature green.” Let’s just hope his windows are made of reinforced glass…more
The most powerful shot in golf, presented by Purepoint Golf