If you bought new Pings today, it would be the G-20 series. Go out to your local course and ask the pro what he would recommend. Also, different club manufacturers will come to your course once a year so players can try out their clubs.

Golf Tournament Results – 20 to 26th October 2008

Frys.com Open – PGA Tour

Cameron Beckman has won the Frys.com Open at Grayhawk Golf Club after a final round 63 led him into a playoff situation – which he won on the second hole – finishing on 18-under 262. Beckman played the following Callaway golf clubs at Grayhawk including: Callaway Hyper X Tour driver with FT-i Squareway 3-wood and a Callaway 3H FT hybrid (17-degrees) in addition to Callaway X-Forged (3-PW) with a pair of Callaway X-Forged wedges (54 and 60-degrees). Beckman finished with an Odyssey White Hot XG 330 Mallet putter.

Grand China Air – LPGA Tour

Helen Alfredsson finished three shots ahead of second place Yani Tseng at Haikou West Golf Club to win the Grand China Air tournament in China. Alfredsson closed the final day on 65 – finishing 7-under 204 to collect first prize winnings of $270,000; Helen Alfredsson finished three shots ahead of Yani Tseng to win the tournament. Alfredsson used TaylorMade golf clubs including: TaylorMade Tour Burner driver with a TaylorMade r7 3-wood and Burner 5-Wood and a TaylorMade Dual hybrid rescue wood (22-degrees). Alfredsson also played TaylorMade rac wedges (54 and 58-degrees) and finished with an Scotty Cameron Circa 62 putter.

AT&T Championship – Champions Tour

John Cook won the AT&T Championship for a second time at Oak Hills Country Club, posting 6-under 65 to beat second place Keith Fergus by three strokes. Cook finished 16-under 197 at Oak Hills and collected total prize-winnings of $247,500 – increasing his earnings for this season to over $1.8million. Cook played the following Nike and TaylorMade golf clubs at Oak Hills: Nike SQ Tour driver with a TaylorMade Burner 3-wood and TaylorMade Rescue TP hybrid rescue club (17-degrees) in addition to Nike VR irons (3-PW) and Nike SV wedges (53 and 59-degrees). Cook finished with a Rife Cayman putter.

Miccosukee Championship – Nationwide Tour

Darren Andrew (D.A.) Points experienced one of the most exciting finishes on the Nationwide Tour tying with Matt Bettencourt on 12-under 272 for a sudden-death play-off at Miccosukee Golf & Country Club, Florida. Points used a predominant selection of Ping Golf Clubs in addition to an Adams Golf fairway wood – his complete set of golf clubs included: Ping Rapture V2 driver with an Adams Redline RPM 3-wood and Ping G10 hybrids (18 and 21-degrees), in addition to Ping i5 irons (4-PW) and Ping MB wedges (52 and 60-degrees). D.A. Points finished with a Ping Redwood prototype putter.

Castello Masters – European Tour

Spain’s Sergio Garcia has won the Castello Masters at the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo in his country, Spain with a final round 66 to finish three shots ahead of Sweden’s Peter Hedblom on 20-under par 264 and is now ranked third in the world rankings. The Spaniard collected winnings of over €330,000. Garcia is endorsed by TaylorMade and is currently using the following set of golf clubs: TaylorMade r7 Limited driver with a TaylorMade Burner 3-wood and TaylorMade Tour Preferred irons (3-PW), in addition to TaylorMade Z TP wedges (54, 58 and 60-degrees) whilst finishing with a Rossa Daytona putter.

The Sports HQ

Taylor Made Golf Clubs are into leading the combined driver, iron counts and fairway wood at PGA tournaments. The advancement of the metal wood technology employed by Taylor Made golf clubs make it possible to each player to have a his own club. This metalwood technology created famous clubs in the form of Pittsburgh Persimmon, Tour Preferred, Burner, and Burner Bubble, each is considered a high performance piece of device. With titanium clubheads, Taylor Made clubs are very strong but extremely light to use.

Taylor Made’s metalwood golf clubs boast of the following models with features that surely makes each golf club a hit to golfers:

R7 Fairway Woods is the Taylor Made golf club, which is with Taylor Made Launch Control (TLC) Port. TLC cartridges can be installed and removed to permit users in changing the CG location to vary the degrees of draws and fades that will consequently promote more accuracy and distance.

R5 Titanium Fairway is another Taylor Made golf club that has a titanium clubhead that is very easy to hit. It has permanent TLC cartridges that facilitate the launching of the ball high, long and straight for the players who would rather not change cartridges.

V Steel Fairway Woods claims its having the ultimate combination of power, accuracy and versatility. It is the Taylor Made golf club that attributes its excellence to its V-shaped sole that improves the force of how the sole interacts with the turf at impact.

Rescue Dual is a Taylor Made club that has double TLC ports that are widely spaced for increased forgiveness on incurring mis-hits. It has a new T-shaped sole that is responsible for the increased clubhead stability and decreased drag at impact that in turn promotes better accuracy and distance. With its low center of gravity (CG), it’s a lot easier to launch than a long-iron and this makes shots higher and longer.

Rescue Dual TP, with dual TLC port and Taylor Made’s movable weight technology,is best known to promote the variation of degrees of draw and fade. Further off, it makes for greater forgiveness. The difference between Rescue Dual and Rescue Dual TP is that TP has a higher center of gravity (CG) position that allows a lower, piercing ball flight that many experienced golf players find easier to manipulate.

Rescue Mid is said to be Taylor Made’s breakthrough utility club that is engineered to be easier to use than a long-iron while displaying prowess in providing better distance. This golf club’s excellent performance is from its way of uniting a high flash of inertia with a lower, deeper center of gravity. This creates maximum forgiveness on mishits, high launch angle and high spin for high, long shots that quickly stops.

Rescue Fairway is the Taylor Made golf club that indulges in its having a low profile that is responsible for its low and deep center of gravity (CG). It is made to smooth the progress of hitting the ball high, long and straight. This golf club is crafted with double sole that improves playability from a variety of lies. Taylor Made engineered it to launch a high angle with high spin for long-carrying shots that surely impress each player.

Nicholas Tan
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/taylor-made-golf-club-the-metalwoods-phenomenon-139460.html

Golf equipment – what you need to get started

Like any sport golf requires you to possess the correct equipment to play from golf clubs to accessories.

There are many brands and types of golf clubs including drivers, fairway woods, rescue clubs, irons and putters. Each type of golf club has a relevant purpose on the golf course; the driver for example is used from the tee for long distance shots, the irons are used for short approach shots – approaching the green and naturally the putter is used for finishing. Which golf club you choose and at which stage of the game is a combination of personal preference and experience.

A golf bag is used to transport and protect your clubs to and from the golf course and throughout the game. There are four main types of Golf Bag including carry, stand, trolley and light editions – which bag you select is usually down to both personal preference and requirements e.g. number of golf clubs or how you intend to transport the bag and clubs around the golf course. If you prefer to not use a golf trolley then a stand or carry bag is suitable. A number of golf bags offer protection for graphite shafts – whilst individual dividers prevent clubs from smashing into each other. All golf bags supply a number of storage pockets for the safe keeping of golfing accessories including golf balls, towels and valuables.

A head-cover is another item of golf equipment which can offer an excellent degree of protection for golf club heads including drivers, woods, hybrids and irons.

Golf shoes are a compulsory addition to any golfing outfit and are needed to provide additional grip when performing a shot. A high quality pair of golf shoes will offer breathability and waterproofing for optimal comfort in most playing conditions. Manufacturers have replaced metal spikes with plastic ones in recent times to prevent unnecessary damage to the course – the spikes also facilitate a Golf Swing, preventing a player from slipping when delivering a shot. When selecting a pair of golf shoes be sure to select a durable pair which can deliver maximum comfort when walking the full length of a golf course. If you do not feel comfortable with your golf shoes you are likely to lose concentration more quickly – which is non-conducive for inspiring confidence.

Golf tees are another necessary addition to a golfing outfit. Two types of tees are available to players either plastic or wooden ones. A golf ball is balanced on top of the tee to allow players to strike the ball from off the ground – typically used for a tee-shot.

A golf glove is another addition to a players golf outfit and is traditionally worn on the opposite hand – if you’re right-handed for example a glove is worn on the left-hand. During a swing a golf glove prevents the club from slipping through the hand by offering an additional level of grip. There are many different types of golf glove – each designed to worn snugly to the hand as though it was second layer of skin.

A golf trolley allows a player to push, pull or transport a set of golf clubs and bag across a golf course – eliminating the strain of carrying a heavy set of Golf Clubs and therefore maintaining the energy of the player for stronger, most accurate golf swings. An electric golf trolley allows a player to transport their golf clubs by aid of an electronic motor which is powered by a long-life battery.

A golf trolley allows a player to push, pull or transport a set of golf clubs and bag across a golf course – eliminating the strain of carrying a heavy set of golf clubs and therefore maintaining the energy of the player for stronger, most accurate golf swings. An electric golf trolley allows a player to transport their golf clubs by aid of an electronic motor which is powered by a long-life battery.

These are fundamental items of equipment for playing golf which can be purchased from various online retailers including The Sports HQ. Historically, golf equipment was expensive to purchase before online retailers like The Sports HQ offered savings of up to 85% on factory direct golf equipment.

The Sports HQ

The "off the rack" clubs only fit 10% of the male golfing population. I’m willing to bet "women-specific" off the rack clubs would have a worse percentage. Studies have shown that some "L" flexes have CPM’d (stiffness measurement) anywhere from softer than "L" to even "X"… in the same set! It’s a disservice: they make them too long, with (generally) too little loft, with no attention to detail. (sarcasm alert) But, you get a pretty foo-foo houndstooth paintscheme on the heads and shafts, so that makes it worth it. (sarcasm over)

Do yourself a favor and see a clubfitter. S/He’ll measure you, have you hit test and do all the things necessary to get you into the best possible clubs/set makeup for your needs. They’ll make sure the length, loft, lie, shaft flex, grip size (another variable that’s never considered), total weight and swing weight (how heavy the head feels) are matched perfectly to your body type and swing mechanics. Go that route, and you won’t regret it.

Before you start learning to play golf, let’s look at how the game began. This first set of tips will give you the history of golf and some fun facts.

The first reference to Golf that we know of was mentioned in 1297 in the Netherlands. The Dutch played the game with a stick and a leather ball. Whoever hit the ball the least number of times to get it into the target, won.

In Scotland, King James II banned the game of golf (along with soccer). Apparently, the sports were keeping his subjects from their archery practice. The ban stayed in place through the next three kings, until 1502.

King James IV of Scotland lifted the ban on golf, because he took up the game himself. King James also bought the first set of golf clubs, engineered by a local bow maker.

Mary, Queen of Scots (daughter of James IV) loved playing golf. In fact, in 1467 she was chastised for playing golf just a day or two after her husband was murdered.

In 1744, the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers in Scotland (the first official golf society) drew up 13 rules of golf. They also announced that GOLF stood for, Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden.

THE GOLF CLUB

Today’s standard golf club has three parts: the head, the shaft, and the grip. This next set of tips will explain each of these and tell you why they’re important.

Head

The head of your club is the very end part that makes contact with the golf ball. Heads today are primarily made from Zinc and Aluminum alloys. Heads have several shapes and weights that make up the standard twelve club set.

Shaft

The shaft is the long part of the club that connects the head and the grip. You can get your shafts made from two different components: graphite or steel. Graphite is best for beginners. You can also have your shaft custom made to fit your height.

Grip

The grip on your club is on top, and it’s what you hold when you swing it. It’s important that you change your grips often because they can harden, oxidize, get slick and lose their grip. A good rule of thumb is to change your grip every six months.

TYPES OF Golf Clubs

There are basically three (sometimes four) types of golf clubs. This next set of tips will describe them and what they’re used for.

Woods

Woods are big-headed, hollow-bodied clubs. They are used to hit long shots (more than 175 yards away from the green). They all are assigned a different number called loft, which tells you how angled the head is. A standard set of clubs has three woods. These usually consist of:

1 wood (also called the driver)
3 wood
5 wood

Irons

Irons are primarily used for shots less than 200 yards away from the green. A standard set of clubs has eight irons: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 irons and the Pitching Wedge (which we will discuss next). The closer you are to the green, the higher the iron you will use.

Wedges

Wedges are really just specialty irons. (REWORD) Wedges increase in 4 degree loft amounts, so they come in 48-, 52-, 56-, 60-, and 64-degree lofts, and they are as follows:

Pitching Wedge: 48 degrees
Approach Wedge: 52 degrees
Sand Wedge: 56 degrees
Lob Wedge: 60 degrees
High-Lob Wedge: 64 degrees

Putters

A golf set includes just one putter. This putter has only one job: to get your ball into the hole. When you finally get on the green and close to the hole, use your putter to putt your ball gently into the hole.

Allan Wilson
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/a-brief-history-of-golf-and-different-types-of-golf-clubs-95429.html