Golf is a magnificent game of skill and concentration. Many men, women and children play golf regularly in the UK making it one of the most popular sports and pastimes. Whilst many tend to play for fun there are many amateur tournaments at the weekend that many more serious golfers compete in. Any golfer will tell you that the sport can be expensive with some clubs costing hundreds of pounds each.

Golf clubs have a lot of small design features that can all help you hit the ball cleanly and in the correct direction (or at least that’s the theory). Not caring for your clubs and allowing them to get bent or covered in dirt will have a significant effect on your shots. Simply having dirt in the grooves on the face of the club; the sweet spot that you want to hit the ball with will be significantly smaller and so harder to hit perfectly. Make sure you have the right golf insurance policy to cover you when playing, most clubs have made obligatory now too.

If you have golf clubs that are getting caked in dirt or sand then washing the heads in warm soapy water will help loosen the dirt but in order to give your clubs a thoroughly good clean you’ll need to invest in a wire brush and a nylon brush. These should be able to remove all traces of dirt from your clubs to leave them in perfect condition for striking the ball straight up the fairway.

To prevent any knocks or scrapes it si best to get a proper golf bag for all your clubs, with a rain hood being your basic level of protection. Your driver and woods will be much more delicate than your irons and wedges so it is wise to get some head covers for your woods. Some golfers even go as far as getting head covers for all of their clubs.

Another aspect of your clubs that will need care and attention is the grips. Over time grips can split or come loose, sometimes this is due to age but mainly it is down to water damaging the grips. If you encounter rain when out on the course you should use a rain hood to prevent water getting into your golf bag. Your grips will normally be at the bottom of the bag and so could be exposed to any water. If you are well practised at golf why not become a coach, you will need golf instructor cover to do so and you can pass on your knowledge to others.

For all you golfers out there, you understand that it is not always easy to golf on the best courses. This is because it is not cheap; in fact golf is probably one of the most expensive hobbies because of the equipment that you purchase. One thing that you can save money on is green fees; these are the fees that you are required to pay at golf courses if you are not a member.

However there are now 2 for 1 golf vouchers that allow you to play on some of the best and most challenging courses in the UK including the next years Ryder Cup venue, Celtic Manor in Wales. This is a fantastic test of your golfing skills and you can compare yourself to the professionals when the Ryder Cup tees off later in the year. The Celtic Manor is a fantastic venue with plenty to enjoy when you have finished your round of golf including a luxury spa.

Wales has many stunning courses to enjoy including the Marriot St. Pierre which has played host to the Master series 8 times which shows the high regard the golfing associations holds for the St. Pierre. Like the Celtic Manor there are a variety of challenging holes that are sure to test even the most experienced golfers. Some of the most famous golfers have graced this course including golfing legend Greg Norman and former Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam.

Fairmont St. Andrews is another popular UK course that has played host to many important tournaments and is one that the majority of the top players in the world have played on. One thing that makes this course so impressive to play on is its location as it spans across the Scottish. Due to its location there are a few hazards for golfers to overcome so your skills are sure to be tested. Like other picturesque courses St. Andrews has other attractions to enjoy including a top class conference room.

These courses are just a few that you can enjoy with the 2 for 1 golf vouchers available. They are great value for money and make a great gift as you can save up to £170 from a voucher that can cost as little as £3. You can buy these online and if you fancy a change from playing at your local club and want to test your skills on some challenging courses then you should make the most of these vouchers. Wherever you choose to play make sure your golf insurance policy is up to date and provides you with all the necessary cover when out playing a round of golf.

A miss-hit shot can happen to almost any golfer, whether it’s a novice who hasn’t found the right swing yet or a professional who’s temporarily lost their composure, the result is often the same: a ball going wildly to the left or the right or going only a few paces in front of us. It is frustrating when the ball doesn’t go where you wanted to put it and can cause some less disciplined golfers to lose all hope and concentration.

The key to rectifying these errors and the crazy shots is to understand what you are doing wrong and learning how to correct yourself. It’s often the case with people starting out in golf that they will tend to miss hit the ball a lot and almost always in the same way (such as hooking to the left or topping the ball getting little to no height), this is perfectly normal as we aren’t all perfect and hit the ball perfectly on our first attempt. It is during our opening few months where golf club cover is useful as we can easily chip or scratch our clubs.

You can usually tell from the flight path of your errant shots what you are doing wrong. If the ball is hooking (going behind you after hitting) then you could be twisting the club toward the ball, meaning if you’re right handed that you are twisting your hands to the left. Likewise if the ball is fading away from you then you are probably twisting the club the other way. Getting on to the driving range and practicing whilst trying to keep your hands still will help you get a feel for hitting the ball straight.

Ideally you want to be holding the club firmly but also not too firmly as this could affect your shot too. When practicing your swing try and stop at the point where you would hit the ball, you should see then what angle you are likely to hit the ball at. If you see that you have twisted your wrists then you may need to hold your club differently, experiment with different grips to see what works for you.

With situations where you are grounding the ball (not getting much height or very short distance) then you could be stood too far back from the ball or you’re swing is too high. A good way to correct this is to use a taller tee for your tee shot but for shots on the fairway and rough you should bend your knees slightly and stand closer to the ball.

It is important to note that mistakes can happen when you are starting out so make sure you have a good golf insurance policy to back you when teeing off. If you can stand with the club face just under the ball and your arms are both straight then that is the right height you should be stood at for hitting the ball decently.

Golf is meant to be a relaxing sport; it can also be a frustrating one if you don’t hit your shots correctly. A lot of golfers may become disillusioned with the sport if they are not getting any better, even with tuition. Golf can be incredibly rewarding and if you soldier on through your round you may even start to get a lower score without doing anything different. The main point to remember is to have the right mindset when playing as if you are stressed it is only going to carry through to your game.

A lot of golfers play at the weekend and after a hard week of work you may need the fresh air and pleasant surroundings of a golf course to unwind. This is good as you don’t want to be playing golf with lots of work related matters running through your head, ideally you should be focused on each hole individually.

By focusing on each hole you aren’t going to be pre-occupied with the poor performance you put in on the last hole. Obviously take heed of anything you did wrong on the previous hole such as putting too much power into your approach shot or taking your eye off the ball mid swing. Learn from previous mistakes but don’t dwell on them, professional golfers will not be worrying about whether they are below or over par, they are concentrating on how to approach the next hole and planning which shots to take. Golf tuition videos are a great way of improving your overall game and all widely available.

Before taking a swing you should take a practice swing to gauge how accurate you are, use a leaf or a tee in the ground to visualize the ball. If you are not anywhere near touching the marker or ground your club then you may be leaning too far forward or back. If you find your swing doesn’t have much consistency then tuition from a professional could help you develop the habits and technique that you’ll need in order to hit the ball cleanly every time. We can’t all be like Tiger Woods and we will occasionally make a wayward shot, to protect ourselves from any potential damage make sure you have adequate golf insurance.

Occasionally you may hit a bunker shot or fire the ball into the deep rough; this shouldn’t be a disaster some people treat it as. With practice these shots can actually be very simple to recover from and for pros all it means is getting on to the green a little later than planned. The important thing to remember is to not be afraid of playing the ball back on to the fairway to the side or backwards, some shots forward may not be possible with tall grass, trees and other objects blocking your shot. This can mean the difference between an extra shot and five or six spent hacking away at the undergrowth.

Aside from the full swing and the putt there are not normally dedicated areas at a golf course for practicing other shot types. You’ll perfect your drive by going to the driving range and most courses have a putting surface to practice all manner of short and long putts too. Some of the more important shots though are the ones that get you on to the green.

Chipping or pitching on to the green can be tricky as you’ll likely be trying to land the ball as close to the flag stick as possible but with little knowledge of the speed of the green and any curvature which could roll your ball into an awkward spot. The chip shot is arguably the shot that once mastered will shave significant numbers off your handicap as you should be landing the ball nearer to the hole and needing less putts to hit par or below.

The stance and grip for a chip shot are slightly different to that of a tee shot as you will typically not need to have such a wide stance and more of a vertical swing to get the required loft, distance and stopping power once the ball lands. You also don’t need to necessarily hold the club the same way, many golfers hold the club further down the grip nearer to the club’s head. This way you are able to gain much more control of the ball’s movement.

Your stance will figure heavily into the ball’s trajectory as it will determine how far through your swing you strike the ball. For chipping you need to be stood slightly back from the ball, this means you are going to strike the ball once you’ve completed your down swing and are now into your upswing.

This means the angle of the club head is increased achieving more loft but also minimizes top spin on the ball. With chip shots you want little top spin as this is what causes your ball to roll past your target when trying to get close to the pin.

Taking time to practice chip shots near the putting green (if your course allows this) or even at home can help you develop a natural instinct for how much power and angle is needed to get a perfect chip shot that stops on a dime when you aim for the green. Practice from differing surfaces (rough, fairway, even sand) and distances to help build your skills.

A golfer’s worst nightmare is not just getting in to the bunker, but it’s not being able to get out once you do. Many amateurs will look more like they’re digging at the beach than getting their ball out of the sand trap which can quickly frustrate the player and cause their focus to slip.

With golf a good portion of your performance will be down to your mental conditioning so knowing how to deal with the occasional sand shot is important so you keep your flow and your cool to recover and hopefully get on the green sooner rather than later.

First of all knowing your position in the bunker is important. Most bunkers have a shallow front approach with a high back wall, intended to roll your ball back down if you hit it but there are times your ball can stop on the back wall demanding a more difficult escape shot from the bunker. The closer you are to the back wall the more loft you will need to achieve in order to clear the bunker and land back on the fairway or on to the putting surface.

You’re typically going to be using the sand wedge as this club gives you the greatest loft, although if you feel that you don’t have to knock the ball as high but want the ball to travel some distance from a fairway bunker you can use other clubs such as the pitching wedge. Players who struggle to achieve loft on their shots should stick with the sand wedge though, remember to open the club face to get more loft and less distance when on the green surrounding bunkers.

Knowing where to strike the ball is one of the most important aspects to a successful bunker recovery; hit the ball in the wrong place and you could end up right where you started. The best sand shots are the ones that cause the sand to splash up and carry the ball like a wave does to a surf board. You want to get under the ball to get the height to your shot but also need to strike behind the ball correctly too.

The correct place to strike is actually the inch before the ball. You need to hit with a controlled amount of power much like a pitch shot. You need to have enough power to push through the sand and lift the ball up and forward, flicking up a lot of sand if you do it right. If you hit the ball with no sand going up then there’s a chance your ball will stick in the sand and roll a few inches at best.

The bunker shot is one of the toughest in golf and so it is well worth practicing or getting tuition to get a fuller understanding of what constitutes a great hazard recovery from the sand.

Be careful with your clubs when in the sand, consider golf club insurance or golf holiday insurance if you play a lot of golf, considering how expensive it could be to lose or damage your clubs it makes sense to take precautions

A good quarter of your shots when playing a round of golf are putts, they’re also some of the more stressful shots with games won and lost on nail-biting finishes on the putting green. When watching professional golfers on TV you will often see them miss putts that many armchair spectators will claim they could have made but the putt can be one of the tougher shot varieties to get right.

Fortunately there are plenty of ways to improve your putting skills from reading the green to judging the weight of the putt needed to reach the cup. Firstly you need to get your stance and grip right, the putt is a shot that can be very unorthodox and many golfers claim their method is the best. Some hold the club in a way that it hangs like a pendulum whereas other golfers will have their rear hand acting like a piston pushing the club forward.

Whilst there are lots of theories there are some common rules that all golfers acknowledge such as making sure your palms are both facing each other when holding your putter. This should help alleviate any wobbling or shifting of the club head when putting. Another important factor is the tenseness of your grip, if your hands are too tense or holding the grip too tightly this will affect your putt, usually adding too much power.

You should have a fair level of grip with your forefingers and thumbs but you should be fairly loose when putting too. You shouldn’t be swinging when putting either; you should have more of a side sweeping, pushing motion. It looks like this because you are pushing the ball towards the hole; if you swing like a normal club then you could hit the ball with the bottom edge of the putter which can take a fair bit of travel out of the ball’s rolling motion.

Make sure when you practice to start far enough away to simulate the putt you’d take after a chip or approaching shot. You should aim to get to the hole but aiming for an imaginary circle one foot around the hole should leave you in good stead for getting the ball in the hole on your second putt.

Practicing on a putting green or on uneven surfaces will help you develop a sense of where to aim when on a slope which can help you shave off unnecessary putts too.

Learning and practicing techniques like this should help you lower your official handicap. When playing a lot of golf you should consider some form of golf insurance such as golf club cover or golf travel insurance to make sure you and your clubs are safe out on the course.

If you are a keen golfer and you like to test yourself on some of the best golf courses in Europe then you want to make sure that you and your golf clubs are fully protected against all eventualities. After all, you never think it is going to happen to you but when you least expect it something bad happens and you could be left with a hefty bill to pay.

Specialist golf travel insurance sites have specially designed policies for golfers playing abroad. They understand that it is vitally important to have adequate protection for your golf clubs as well as the standard cover you get from the usual travel insurance policy.

Golfing holidays take a little more organising than the average holiday and as a result insurance is even more important as you can be affected in a greater way. Green fees and tuition fees may have already been paid upon completion of your booking so if your holiday has to be cancelled due to illness, course closure or accident if you have a comprehensive policy, you will be reimbursed.

If you have your own clubs and they are stolen, damaged or delayed on arrival then your policy should cover you for this too depending on the level of policy you choose. The same applies for any equipment you have to hire during your trip as a result of your own clubs not turning up for any reason.

You can choose between a single trip or annual policy. If you are planning to make a few trips during a 12 month period then an annual policy would probably work out better financially and will save you the time and hassle of having to book separate policies each time you are due to go abroad.

There are some fantastic courses in Europe and playing golf in the sun in Spain or France probably sounds like the perfect holiday for all golfers. However, the perfect holiday can quickly turn into a nightmare if you are involved in an accident or your clubs are damaged, delayed or stolen and you are without insurance.

Make sure this does not happen to you and that you are fully covered with golf holiday insurance against all eventualities including cancellation of flight, loss baggage and for golfers, damage, loss or theft of clubs as well as any other fees you may have had to pay, save a big expense by getting golf insurance.

Golf is a magnificent game of concentration and skill, you need both to be working in harmony with each other in order to succeed and hit the ball exactly where you want it to go. There are times though that even the most seasoned pro golfer can hit a poor shot and it can go wildly out of control into the rough, or worse.

Sometimes a miss-hit shot can cause damage to other people’s property such as a car parked in the club car park or the old favourite; a neighbouring greenhouse. It’s no laughing matter though as many golfers can hit the ball high and long which gives the ball plenty of momentum to cause serious damage.

Another possibility is that you hit another golfer out on the course. All golfers know the convention of waiting for the player/s on the hole in front of you to finish and vacate the green before you take your shot. Unfortunately though with some courses doubling back on themselves and many holes packed into a small space you could hit or be hit by another golfer’s ball if you, or they, aren’t careful.

It used to be the case that you could warn others of a miss-hit shot by yelling the word “fore!” it isn’t a legal responsibility to warn other players but many players subscribe to the thought that it should be and so you will often hear players doing each other the common courtesy of yelling “fore” when hitting a poor shot.

If you are unlucky enough to strike a fellow golfer with your ball there’s a good chance they will require medical attention and perhaps even a spell in hospital. Medical bills will need paying by whoever was at fault. In order to make sure that you are not left out of pocket as a result of this a specialist golf insurance policy may be the answer.

Golf Insurance may sound odd but you’d be surprised how expensive golfing could be without it. Your clubs for instance can be costly to replace especially if you are an experienced golfer and have invested in some cases over £300 on a single club alone.

Golf Insurance can cover the medical costs that could happen as a result of a miss-hit golf ball, as well as any damage to homes and property if you’ve hit a bad shot. There are many other instances where golf insurance can be useful as some policies cover golf buggies as well as cover for your golf clubs if they are stolen.

If you’re a golfer and you value your clubs and being able to be free of worries whilst you play golf then golf insurance is for you. You’ll be able to forget about any distracting thoughts and worries and concentrate on hitting the ball straight and true. Check out any 2 for 1 golf offers to save even more money too.

Many people in the UK play golf whether on the weekend, occasionally with friends or perhaps in tournaments at their local golf course. Golf has seen a massive surge in popularity over the past decade, partially due to the influx of younger, exciting professional golfers such as Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy.

Whether it is just the occasional game or you are taking your golf skills seriously, playing on a variety of courses and experiencing different surfaces and conditions is key to increasing your overall ability. An ideal way to accomplish this is by going on a golfing holiday with friends. Not only do you get to experience new courses that test your mettle but you get to enjoy (hopefully) the better weather abroad.

There are some things you need to be aware of when playing golf abroad though. Firstly you will likely be flying and so you’ll need a decent golf bag to protect your clubs in transit but also to carry them when you arrive. There are specialist golf travel bags that protect all of your clubs, including a hard top to protect your club heads.

A good case will serve you well but that won’t always protect your precious – and no doubt expensive – clubs. Baggage handlers are notorious for being less than careful when loading luggage on to the plane. This means that you could end up getting your clubs at the other end but find that they are damaged in some way or lost. Claiming compensation is obviously the first thing to do but can take many weeks to resolve. There is a way though that you can prepare for the worst and be covered for this kind of incident.

Golf Travel Insurance is just like having any other insurance; it protects you and your clubs whilst on holiday. This specialist policy will make sure that if your clubs are damaged or lost then they can be replaced instantly, saving your holiday from total failure. There are other expenses that can end up costing a lot of money or time, such as personal injury.

There are plenty of times on a golf course that you could get injured whether it’s a muscle sprain or getting hit by an errant golf ball. Knowing you are covered for medical costs if you become seriously injured is a reassuring feature of golf travel insurance. Likewise if you cause harm to another person or their property then you are covered for this too.

So if you’re contemplating a golfing holiday then getting golf travel insurance or golf club insurance is a good way to take the worry out of your holiday and lets you concentrate on playing the game of golf.