West Lancashire Golf Club

To improve your golf game, it's vital that you take golf lessons. Golf is a sport that is almost impossible to learn without some sort of guidance. Luckily, there are golf experts around the country whose job it is to teach golf. By taking golf lessons, you can drastically improve your game in a relatively short amount of time.

Taking golf lessons can be an expensive, time-consuming effort. And like any good or service that will cost money and require time, you should be careful before you buy. Golf can be a really costly game to play and it is reasonable to assume that you have invested a fair amount of money in your equipment - golf clubs, golf bag, golf balls, golf clothing, golf cart etc; - therefore doesn’t it make common sense for you to learn how to use them to their advantage and improve your skills and capabilities?

Founded in 1873, WEST LANCASHIRE is the oldest golf club surviving in the county of Lancashire and is among the top ten oldest golf clubs in England.The club was founded by members of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club and some became members of both clubs.WEST LANCASHIRE is twinned with Royal Montreal Golf Club, Canada's oldest golf club, also founded in 1873.In 1885 the Royal Liverpool Golf Club organised a Grand Tournament for amateurs which became, in 1886, The Amateur Championship. WEST LANCASHIRE was one of twenty four clubs that contributed to the cost of the trophy which bears their names. The first winner was ALAN MACFIE who was also a member of WEST LANCASHIRE.

There's good news and bad news regarding the balance of a putterhead. The good news is that the more a putterhead is "heel-toe" balanced - more of its weight is placed toward the ends of the head - the less it twists when mis-hit. (In scientific terms such a putter is said to have a higher moment of inertia.) In general this is good and explains why heel-toe-balanced putters have sold well over the years: Putts hit away from the sweetspot roll a little closer to their intended speed and line. Of course no putter can make putts hit away from the sweetspot roll perfectly but the greater the heel-toe weight distribution the more forgiving the putter is on mis-hits.

Now the bad news. The less a putter twists when mis-hit the better it feels. That sounds good right? Well think about it. Using a putter that feels good even on mis-hits lets golfers get sloppy with their impact patterns which leads to long-term degradation of putting performance. I 've seen many Tour players initially putt well with a heel-toe-balanced putter but then later begin to putt poorly and not know why. They were mis-hitting but didn't realize it because the putter masked the feel of a mis-hit. When this begins they usually switch to a non-heeltoe-weighted putter until their stroke mechanics and results improve.

If they ask me what to do I offer slightly different advice. I think the advantages of heel-toe-weighted putters are significant and shouldn't be given up. But I don 't want the pros developing a sloppy stroke so I suggest that they continue using a heel-toe-weighted putter on the course and when they practice use a device called the "Teacher Clip " which trains your stroke to sweetspot contact (Figure 11.6.8). This combination helps keep impact patterns tight (more on this in section 12.3) while still being somewhat forgiving on the course.

As much as I like heel-toe weighting I won't use a putter no matter how forgiving if it means sacrificing easy and accurate alignment (more about alignment in section 11.7). In the long run good putting means consistently striking putts on the sweetspot. Do that and you won't have any problems with head balance or putter twisting. And that's why you see as many Tour pros putting with non-heeltoe-balanced putters as putting with strongly heel-toe-balanced putters. Hit putts on the sweetspot and there is no difference.

But there's yet another problem with forearm rotation: it feels natural. Even Tour professionals don't realize they're doing it and when I tell them to stop they usually say "What do you mean I'm not rotating my arms! " But of course they are. And like the pros most golfers don' t mean to do it and if you ask them don't think they are. But they are and you probably are too. Which is too bad because forearm rotation makes putting more difficult more inconsistent and less effective.

You'll have to wait until Chapter 13 to learn how to stop rotating your forearms. For now however make a mental note that you will stop making this destructive motion. It will be one of your challenges in improving your putting and a crucial one.

In the previous chapter I talked about body putting something rarely seen among the pros because it's a bad thing to do. Your body is large and the big muscles of the chest back and legs are strong particularly when compared to the small amounts of power needed to roll a ball on the fast surface of a putting green. Still many golfers put too much of their body into the stroke rotating the lower body sliding the lower body toward the hole or moving the upper body away from the hole (Figure 4.5.2). All these motions are unintentional (at least I hope so) but they still produce unwanted power and directional instability.

For example I estimate that for every inch the body moves toward the target during the putting stroke the ball moves an additional foot on the green. And rotating the lower body not only adds power it also causes the putterface to rotate from open to closed.

Putting is a game in which delicate feel and touch create exactly the right speed and break of your putts. When you're trying to be precise body power causes nothing but trouble.

School students turn (top) slide (middle) and reverse (bottom) their bodies during their putting stroke motions.

Golf Swing Tips

This is a different view of the complete follow through. Your forearms are crossed, and that is the sign that you have completed the follow-through correctly Keep your head perfectly still during the entire swing This is the last crucial step that you must master. It's by far the easiest step, but ironically it will produce the most results. The biggest problem is that you don't always know when you are moving your head. You may find that swinging easier helps keep the head still, but other than that it is just something that you will have to really concentrate on.

Golf Lessons

Golf Lessons at West Lancashire Golf Club

West Lancashire Golf Club

Dave Pelz's Putting Bible - golf's least understood skill.

The Long Drive Bible: How You Can Hit the Ball Longer, Straighter, and More Consistently

Golf Swing Tips

The "Simple Golf" Swing: "Golf for the Rest of Us"