Aim and Alignment

With good aim and alignment, our directions is established before you swing and your swing is dedicated to producing the proper distance. In golf, aim and alignment are two words that are often confused. When this happens, you'll have difficulty not only with your direction but also your golf swing. In poor alignment, you'll be left with no other choice but to over-manipulate your swing to get the ball to your target. Place the leading edge of your club perpendicular to your target line to aim your club face correctly. Align your body parallel left of your target.

Yell Fore, or Cover Up When You Hear It

There will surely come times when you hit your drive farther than you expected, or a hook or slice comes out of nowhere and takes your ball toward an adjoining fairway. Or when you play your stroke believing the fairway ahead is clear ... only to notice players up ahead who had been obscured by a hill or trees.

You know what to do: Yell "Fore!" as loud as you can. That is the international word of warning in golf. It lets golfers playing near you know that an errant golf ball might be heading their way, and they need to take cover.

And what should you do when you hear "fore!" being yelled in your direction? For goodness sakes, do not stand up, crane your neck, and try to spot the ball! You're just making yourself a bigger target.

Instead, cover up. Crouch behind your golf bag, get behind a tree, hide behind the cart, cover your head with your arms. Make yourself a smaller target, and protect your head.

Keep It Safe

• Do not swing your club until you know that others in your group are at a safe distance. Likewise, keep your distance when others are swinging. Be aware to steer clear of trouble.
• When practicing your swing, never swing in the direction of another player. There may be pebbles or twigs or other matter in the grass that could fly up and injure a playing partner.
• Do not hit the ball until you are certain that the group ahead of you is out of range.
• If your ball appears headed toward another player or another group, give them a warning by yelling out, "Fore!" (an internationally recognized alert)
• Observe the safety suggestions posted in golf carts and drive carefully. Golf etiquette requires keeping your cart off the grass as much as possible.
• Never throw clubs in anger. In addition to being rude and childish, it could also be dangerous.

Golf Game - Pink Ball

To play Pink Ball, use teams of four. Each foursome has a bright pink ball that rotates among players. (Of course, the ball can be any color.) Player 1 uses it on the first hole, player 2 on the second, and so on. Take the best two net scores on each hole and add them. Whoever has the pink ball on a given hole must contribute on of the two scores. One variation: The golfer with the pink ball is automatically disqualified if he loses it. This is perhaps too harsh, so I don't recommend it. Another variation: Keep the overall net score for the pink ball separately, and give a prize to the team with the best pink ball score. If a team loses the pink ball, it's out. This makes for a considerable camaraderie (and tension) if you're playing on a course with a lot of water.

Golf Game - Walk Walk

In this game any player can challenge another player who is about to putt that they will three-putt the green. If the player sinks the putt for a one putt then the challenger loses the bet. If the player takes two putts to hole out then there is no winner - the bet is a push. If, however, the player three-putts the green then the player loses the bet. If you play this game so that you are playing for five dollars or ten dollars or even higher stakes, don't be surprised by players having their sphincter muscles really tighten up! Good players suddenly lose their putting touch and one learns what pressure is and realizes to a certain extent how a pro feels when faced with a three-foot putt to win top prize money.

Ball Position

As with the width of your stance, where you position the ball between your feet varies depending on the club you use. With your medium to short irons (6 through PW), position the ball slightly forward of the center of your stance. Since ball position can be distorted by the flare of your feet, it's good to have an upper body reference to make sure you've got the position correct. The corresponding position in reference to your upper body is that the ball is off you left cheek. For the long irons and fairway woods, you should move the ball one ball width forward of off the left side of your chest, where the logo on your shirt usually appears. Your driver and all teed woods, move the ball one more ball width forward, opposite your left heel and your left underarm.

Stance Width

Your stance width will vary according to the length of the club that you are using. For medium to short irons (5-PW), your feet should be no further than hip distance apart. But be careful, the width of your feet should be measured from your heels rather than your toes. If you flare your feet outward and use you toes as a guide you may miss the fact that your heels are only a few inches apart - too narrow a platform to support the movement of your body through out your golf swing. For longer irons, fairway woods and driver, your stance should be shoulder width to accommodate the wider swing arc that the shaft length of these clubs demands.