To improve iron play fast - and chop strokes off your golf handicap - look to your hands. It's hard to hit quality shots if you don't use your hands correctly. As a serious golfer looking to improve, you must learn what role your hands play in hitting iron shots. If you do, you'll boost your game to a new level and you'll whittle strokes from your golf handicap as well.

Many weekend golfers learn to hold a club either by taking golf lessons or reading golf tips in magazines or books. What they may not learn from this golf instruction is that the way you hold the club impacts on how you cock your wrists at the top of the swing. That in turn determines clubface position at impact. If your clubface isn't square at impact, you'll slice or pull your irons.

Weak Grip/Flat Wrist

If you're right-handed, a weak grip encourages a cocking mechanism that produces a flat left wrist at the top of the swing. A weak grip for a right-handed golfer features the back of the left-hand pointing to the target and the "V" formed by your thumb and forefinger pointing toward your left ear. With a weak grip, you must keep your left wrist from cupping to maintain the clubface on line during the swing.

If your left wrist cups, you're asking for trouble. You'll rotate the clubface too far open on the backswing and throw the clubface off the correct delivery path. Only players blessed with ultra-fast hand speed, like Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson can square up the clubface at impact from this position. Making adjustments like this for usually spells trouble for players of all golf handicaps.

Strong Grip/Cupped Wrist

If you're a right-handed player, a stronger grip accommodates more of a left wrist cup at the top. A stronger grip for a right handed golfer is one in which the back of the left hand for a right handed player points more toward the sky, and the target and the "V" formed by the thumb and forefinger points toward your shoulder. With this grip you must avoid flattening the left wrist too much as you hinge the iron to the top.

A stronger grip plus a flat left wrist at the top usually results in a laying off of the club or swinging too far inside. Either way, you must make adjustments to get the club back on plane and on the correct delivery path. If you don't, your clubface won't be square at impact. Again, making adjustments during your swing spells trouble for players of all golf handicaps, unless you have super fast hands.

Golf Instructors Favor Stronger Grip

Many golf instructors favor a stronger grip for weekend golfers. It's a little harder to learn to control, but when paired with a slight left wrist cup, it provides for better overall club control and allows for more hinge. That in turn creates more lag in the backswing to downswing transition, generating more clubhead speed and increasing power.

For even more power, grip the club with a slightly stronger grip. To do that, make the "V" created by the left thumb and foreigner point toward the right shoulder, with the palm of the right hand facing the target. Be careful though. Too strong a grip results in a hook.

Your grip is personal. You should adopt one that feels comfortable to you. There have been as many great players with weak grips as there have been with strong grips. The key is to match the right grip with the correct type of wrist cocking mechanism, making it easier to return the clubface to the ball square. Do that and you'll not only hit more solid irons, you'll do it more consistently and you'll chop strokes off your golf handicap.

Bobby Eldridge is the author of the best-selling book Golf Swing Book . He is golf pro, that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. Free weekly newsletter available with the latest golf tips, lessons and instructions.

A student at a recent golf instruction session asked about swingweight. He had read one of my golf tips in which I mentioned it and it sparked his interest. Never having heard the term he wanted to know what it was and how it affected his game. Those are good questions because swingweight is among the most misunderstood concepts in golf. It can have an impact on your game and your golf handicap without you even knowing.

Swingweight is a non-technical term. Clubmakers use it a lot. The easiest way to think of it is as a measurement of club feel. The higher the percentage of clubhead weight to the club's total weight, the higher the swingweight. As Ralph Maltby, the famed clubmaker, defined it: "Swingweight is a balance measurement and is the degree to which the club balances toward the clubhead." Swingweight is not the total weight of the club but only a percentage of it.

Expressing Swingweight.

Swingweight is expressed by a letter (A, B, C, D) and a number (0 to 10). Measurements range from A0, the lightest, to G10, the heaviest. A club with a swingweight that measures D5, for example, will feel heavier when swung than a club with a swingweight that measures C7, even though their actual weights may be identical. Each club manufactured is weighed and labeled.

Two clubs weighing the same can feel distinctly different depending on how the weight is apportioned in each club. If you played golf with only one club, swingweight would not matter much. However, you don't. Swingweight is important because you want every club in your bag to have a similar feel. Otherwise, you would have to get used to the feel of each club. Plus, you might play better with one swingweight than another.

Altering your clubs has an impact on swingweight. Let's say, for example, you decide to lengthen all your clubs by one-half inch. You would change the weight of the club without changing the weight of the clubhead by raising the swingweight three points, say from D0 to D3. This holds true whether your club possess standard weight or lightweight shafts. Conversely, take the same club and shorten it by one-half inch and the swingweight drops from D10 to D7.

Adjusting Swingweight

Swingweight is adjustable post-production by adding lead tape or changing out the components, like using a larger clubhead, a different shaft or grip, or trimming the shaft. Clubmakers also adjust swingweight in some cases by adding different types of fill material inside shafts at different points or inside the clubhead,

Take a 3-iron. Imagine adding lead tape to the 3-iron. No matter where you put the tape, the actual weight of the club will be identical. That is, if the lead tape is on the club head, at the middle of the shaft, or on the grip, the actual weight will be the same-the original weight of the club plus the weight of the lead tape.

Now imagine swinging the 3-iron with the lead tape first on the clubhead, then on the middle of the shaft, and then on the grip. The weight you feel when swinging the club will be different depending on where the lead tape has been added-even though the total weight of the club is identical in all three instances. That's swingweight.

Importance of Swingweight

Everyone has a swingweight at which they play their best. For example, research indicates that lighter swingweights are better for the average golfer. Less weight produces longer, more accurate shots for golfers with high and middle golf handicaps. Players with low golf handicaps and professionals have high swingweight speed, more control over the movements of the club, and a more acute sense of feel for the clubhead. The clubs best suited for them feature heavier swingweights.

Swingweight is used to match clubs in a set. A misunderstood concept, it's better for clubs to all match in swingweight. If you're happy with the performance of your clubs and aren't anxious to make any changes, then swingweight is incidental. But if you're looking to buy a new set of clubs or are thinking about altering your present equipment, be aware that each adjustment you make will impact the balance, feel, and swingweight of your clubs. The change may also affect your scores and your golf handicap.

Bobby Eldridge is the author of the best-selling book Golf Swing Book. He is golf pro, that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. Free weekly newsletter available with the latest golf tips, lessons and instructions.

As a golfer, you already know that every now and then, and for some of us it is more often than not, your game will hit a hurdle. There are times in every golfer's life when they can no longer swing the driver. Someone who once hit a ball 200 yards will no longer be able to make contact with the ball. Someone who could hit a chip to within a foot of the cup every time will suddenly be forced to make long putts from off the green. Finding help with golf when your game goes like this is vitally important to both your mind and the people who have to put up with you!

Most golfers look for help with golf at the golf course. Sometimes that isn't the best thing to do. Yes, your local golf professional is a qualified guy or girl, but a "lesson" at a time when you are facing total golf destruction can be even more devastating. When your game has left you, it might not be the time to reconstruct your swing - and that is what many golf professionals will try to do.

An overenthusiastic young golf pro will take all of his book knowledge and few years of experience to mold you into a cloned model of himself. Quite frankly, it will be an expensive and frustrating series of lessons.

If you are really looking for help with golf, look no further than your own home. You probably already own all the popular golf magazines. Read them cover to cover and try out what you see. Experiment! Watch the Golf Channel, watch the golf tournaments each weekend, and do your research online. There is plenty of interesting and informative golf lessons to be found online, too!

Rob Jeffries runs the popular website MyGolfGameNow.Com as an online resource for those who need help with golf, want to lower their handicap, or simply have fun on the range. Check out the site today if you need help with golf and more!

Of late, every time some brand new product is released claiming to cure a slice, golf newbies cough up anywhere from fifty to a hundred bucks to grab it. The aim of this article is provide you with 2 effective and easily executable tips every beginner could look into to improve your game.

While the pros can slice the ball at will, beginners can find it rather frustrating. By definition, a slice occurs when a right-hander golfer hits a ball that flies first to the left and then curls to the right of the intended target. From a birds eye view, the flight path of the golf ball resemble the shape if a banana and hence the term "banana ball". The ball moves in such a direction because the club face is open or facing outwards relative to the swing path.

Get a grip on your grip - Take a moment to examine how you grip the club. The more you grip the club in your fingers, the faster your golf swing and the quicker the club face will turn inwards or close.

Conversely, if you grip the club closer to the center of your palm, your swing will be slower and the longer it takes for the club face to close. To cure a slice, golf enthusiasts need simply to grip the club more in your fingers.

Time to get hip - If your hips are opened (turned to face the direction the ball is going to go) at the setup position (i.e. your golf stance before the swing), the club face will be opened at impact and you'll slice the ball.

If your hips are instead closed i.e twisted away from the intended direction of the ball, the club face will close too soon, and you'll hook the ball instead. To cure a slice, golf newbies need to position the hips parallel to the intended flight path of the ball. Don't allow frustration to get the better of you and give up golf entirely. Golf is a beautiful game of grace and skill once mastered. For more beginners golf tips and quite possibly the only resource you'll ever need, go to http://www.beginners-golf-tips.com/. This world renowned comprehensive program save my golf game and I'm sure it'll save yours too.

In golf, the slow pace of the game provides time to worry, to interfere with the smooth automatic processing of your swing, to think about what you don't want to happen, rather than what you are meant to be doing. And the most basic, most essential thing in this game is to keep your mind focused on what you want to happen, not on what you don't. Whatever you focus on will happen. The most essential thing in golf is your mental game.

"The psychology of golf goes a step further than course management. It entails mental toughness, self confidence, intimidation, gamesmanship, conquering inner demons, instant recall of past successes and being able to quickly purge failures. It is the game within the game". TIGER WOODS

Golf is a game, and should be fun. No-one plays golf perfectly, not even Tiger Woods or Ernie Els or whoever else is, or has been, at the top of the game. It's a game where mistakes are made, frequently...and no wonder...when you think about the size of the ball, length of club, and the distance the ball travels...just a whisker of a change in club face application can create a massive difference in where and how the ball travels. So this game is also a game of accepting mistakes and errors. And a mistake is only a mistake if you see it that way. It could alternatively be seen as an opportunity to learn.

"Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you" ALDOUS HUXLEY

All golfers may have beliefs about whether they are good or not at sport, or golf, or good or not at learning - but these are just beliefs, nothing more. There is no need to be held back by limiting beliefs. You can choose to change beliefs no matter how deep rooted they are. Everyone has a body and a mind that has a similar physiology and neurology to the best golfers in the world. Athletic literature is full of examples of athletes who have excelled because of their internal desire, rather than the physical attributes such as size, strength, power or speed. There are tall golfers and short golfers, male and female golfers, young and old golfers. It is not age or body shape that prescribes ability. It is your mind that makes the difference.

"Your thoughts create your actions. You create your thoughts" RICHARD WILKINS

Everybody has the ability to play golf well. How good they get will depend on their commitment. When one scrutinizes the training and preparation habits of great golfers, and all great athletes, it is clear that what is required is a combination of physical ability and a desire to be the very best. It all depends on personal choice - each person can be as good as they want to be.

"Our life is what our thoughts make it" MARCUS AURELIUS

How many times have you heard it said that good golf is 90% in the mind? How many times have you described a golfing problem as a "mental block"? If you yourself recognize it as a mental block then the first step is to learn how to think about your problem in a different way. Remember thoughts create emotions, which in turn direct your actions.

Everything in life depends on how you think about it, not just your golf. You can learn to choose your thoughts, and therefore control the outcome of them. It just takes a little time and practice - but the results will be truly AMAZING.

"All the difference will not make the way you think; yet the way you think will make all the difference" RICHARD WILKINS

Why not spend a little bit of time in working upon the 90% instead of the 10%? You can learn how to relax in an instant and to overcome your mental blocks with the help of hypnosis downloads. Why do you think the professionals use golf hypnosis? They use golf hypnosis because it works; hypnosis downloads can be used to get you to focus clearly, to stay in the now, to overcome obstacles and play great golf. With hypnosis downloads you can learn to control your mind and that is the quickest and easiest way in which you will knock shots off your handicap..

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis mp3 downloads.

With a degree in psychology and qualifications in hypnotherapy, NLP and sports psychology, and a great passion for golf, Roseanna Leaton is one of the leading golf psychologists. You can get a free hypnosis download from http://www.roseannaleaton.com/ and view the GolferWithin golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis downloads.

The popularity of golf is gradually increasing day by day. The sport which originated in Scotland has now been played in almost all nations of the world. Beautiful golf courses are now prepared on the lush green firms, coastal areas, plains and even in sandy regions.

The game has always been known for its class and taste. The players of the game generally belong to the elite class. Though the game was known to be a popular pastime for the rich but now days it has become a driving sporting event for many golf enthusiasts. Especially due to the contribution made by stalwarts like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson the game has earned its popularity among young affluent men.

The game requires high level of concentration and consistency. Though the format of the game might apparently seen to be quite simple but the techniques of playing it with perfection is quite challenging. The standards attained by Woods are regarded as unreachable. There are many other famous golfers who have achieved a great level of perfection in the game and inspire millions of youngsters for playing the game. Phil Mickelson with his 18 years of experience is often ranked number 2 while other golfers like Danny Lee and Ryo Ishikawa has contributed to the popularity of golf among the youths to a great extent.

In America about 500 new golf courses are opened every year due to the youth's increasing interest in the game. The game is primarily a spectator game and its aura attracts people who even do not know how to play the game. The unique terms and conditions of the game, its quality accessories and above all the sprawling green golf course add to the elegance of the game.

You will find mesmerizing green golf courses across the world. The Royal County Down located in Northern Ireland is placed on a peak near the Irish Sea. The St Andrews of Scotland established in 1754 is a golf course worth to be visited at least for once.

Since the game is mainly popular among rich, statistical estimation done in 1998 by the National Golf Foundation showed that golf is played by individuals having $68,209 as their average annual income whereas $51,855 as the average income generated by a US household.

The game requires the player to be composed and patient. Honorable men strive to develop their sporting skills while playing and the gentleness of the game has ensured no interference of referee unlike in other sports.

Bobby Eldridge is an expert golf player. He is quite inclined towards the game and often writes web based articles dealing with the game of golf. You may look for a good golf guide in the internet to know about the game of golf.