mario

Here is an alternative method you can use to get out of heavy rough. This is especially useful if you have a tree in the way and you have to hit a low running golf shot. It is also a useful way to get distance from the rough where a low running shot will do the job.

If you consider you need a six iron to fly the golf ball to the green, take your four iron from the bag and use this. Place the ball well back in your stance, say just inside your right foot.

Now, you hit steeply down on the ball and hit it hard using a punch type shot. The ball will come out low and you will get lots of run. It doesnt look great, but you will be well pleased with the distance you get.

You will quite often be in a situation where the ball is below or above your feet. Even on the fairway that slopes from one side to the other.

If you hit a normal shot with the ball below your feet, you will find that the ball fades to the right. If the ball is above your feet, the opposite will happen and the ball will draw or even hook.

Set up in your stance to compensate for the movement of the ball.

Soif the ball is below your feet, with the danger or likelihood of a fade, allow for this in your set up. Aim to the left a bit. Do the opposite for the ball above your feet aim to the right a bit.

Always remember, if the ball is really below your feet, say about a foot, bend your knees, and hit down on the ball in exaggerated fashion. Keep your head still, watch the ball and dont bother about follow through.

Now you are in a divot hole that some caring person has failed to repair. You have just hit a good drive too, and you just cant believe it when you see where your ball has stopped. Yeah, in a divot!

Well, if you know how to play your ball from here, the divot should not make too much difference.

The first method you can use is a punch shot. This will cause your ball to run onto the green. If the way is clear to the flag, use this method.

You do it by having the ball well back in your stance, say, a couple of inches inside your right foot.

Hands must be ahead of the ball and they must stay ahead during the complete golf shot. They must be ahead of the ball at impact.

So important! Take your club back to complete a three quarters swing, and hit the ball firmly. You must keep your head still. You should practice this shot so that you have a good idea how far the ball will travel. If, however, there is a bunker or some other obstacle in your way to the flag, and you have to fly the ball, here is what to do. Move the ball forward in your stance, and open the club face. This will make the ball fly high and it will not go as far. So, you have to allow for this.

Here is another example of throwing the club head beneath the ball.

Make your swing and hit hard with your right hand. Take the right hand towards the target and keep the club face on line with the target for as long as you can after you have hit the ball. Do not let your right hand and arm roll over the left until well after you have hit the ball.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru. He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12. He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game should they want his help. To receive a valuable weekly golf tip go to his web site http://www.onlinegolfershandbook.com and subscribe to his free Hole In One News Letter. You will be so glad that you did.

Author of On Line Golfers' Hand Book. An e-Book that takes you step by step to being the best golfer that you can possibly be. The basics in great detail. To learn about his tips and simple techniques and order his book, visit his web site

http://www.onlinegolfershandbook.com

Sign up for his free news letter and receive a wealth of great tips every time. He really tries to tell you everything and leaves nothing out as so often happens.

When you sign up, receive his free chapter from his book on bunker play.

# posted by 27164 : 10:52 AM  0 comments

The growing propensity for British and other North European golfers to seek golf properties in sunnier climes has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of golf courses and associated real estate developments being constructed around the Mediterranean and in Portugal.

Most famous amongst these are probably the superb Vale do Lobo complex near Faro in Portugal and La Manga, just south of Alicante in Spain.

But whilst there can be no denying that these two resorts, along with the opulent Sun City in South Africa, represent the cream of golf resorts in the sun, real estate in and around these venues has experienced a simply phenomenal growth in values and does come with a rather hefty price-tag attached.

These days of course, golf properties of any description represent a healthy investment potential due to the exclusive nature and scenic surroundings of most golf resorts. And so, most prospective buyers looking for a golfing investment in the sun are trooping to Spain and Portugal in search of the perfect property, when other locations still offer far better value for money, as well as a much greater potential returns on invested capital.

One such location is the Republic of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

With only four fully-fledged courses currently operating on the island, the sport is still very much in its infancy in Cyprus. However, having recognised the growing demand for golf properties, the Cypriot government, in association with the CTO (Cyprus Tourism Organisation) have given the green light for the construction of a further eleven to fourteen golf courses alongside the already existing facilities in an effort to firmly establish Cyprus place on the international golfing circuit.

Whilst this construction programme of new courses is spread right across the whole Republic, its crowning glory must surely be the Secret Valley Golf Course and Country Club near the fabled Rock of Aphrodite on the islands west coast.

First opened in 1996, two years after the Tsada Golf Course north of Paphos, Secret Valley has been a favourite part of the Cypriot golfing scene for many years. In light of the forthcoming expansion plans for golf in the Republic of Cyprus however, the Secret Valley resort has become the subject of a huge expansion programme which, once complete, even the likes of Vale do Lobo and La Manga will struggle to compete with.

Aside from the complete remodelling of the existing course, Secret Valley will see the construction of a further two 18-hole courses, as well as a par-3 pitch & putt course, golf academy, practice greens, multiple driving ranges, football & tennis academies and a host of other associated amenities.

Accompanying Secret Valleys ambitious course expansion programme is the construction of many exclusive golf properties, ranging from hilltop villas overlooking one or more of the splendid courses to apartments set on the hillsides above the newly remodelled clubhouse.

property prices in the resort do of course reflect its exclusive nature, but they are - as yet - far lower than their equivalents in Spain, Portugal and South Africa. Most experts and analysts do however predict that real estate in and around the Secret Valley golf resort is amongst the finest property investments currently to be found in the Republic of Cyprus.

As you can see, when it comes to golf properties in the Med, it does not necessarily have to be Spain or Portugal. In fact, the smart money is in Cyprus.

Brian Rettendon has lived and worked in the Republic of Cyprus since 2001. As a senior investment consultant for Aphrodite property Sales Ltd, he benefits from an intimate knowledge of the Cypriot property market and its current and future trends. Visit the Aphrodite web site for more information about golf in Cyprus and investment hotspots in the Republic.

# posted by 27164 : 8:39 AM  0 comments