Strengthening Exercises for Golf: Your Core

There's a reason that the word "core" has both a physical and metaphorical meaning! In bodily terms, your core is made up of your back muscles, inner abdominal muscles and pelvic muscles. In metaphorical terms, something that is at the core lies at the center of everything, and affects everything. This is especially true for your core muscles, and your golf game! If you’re going on a golf vacation, the time to start strengthening your core is now. We'll show you how.

Ab Cruches

If you have never been shown how to do a sit-up properly, you should either watch an instructional DVD, or go to the gym and ask one of the attendants for help before you embark on a full on program of ab crunches. If they aren’t done correctly, you have the potential to ruin your back or your neck … which certainly won’t make your golf holiday worth going on!

Get some professional advice on how to do ab crunches and how many you should do, and then get going on your program!

Lateral pulldowns

You'll need to be at the gym for these, but they are an awesome exercise. You sit on the machine, grasp a long weighted bar above your head, and pull it down behind your head til it touches your shoulders. Great for your shoulders, your back, and your core strength. This exercise is an easy one to team one with pelvic floor lifts - essential for female golfers.

Supermans

Once you hear how to do this exercise, the strange name makes sense! Lie on the floor on your stomach with your arms out in front of you, and lift your feet and hands each around 6-12 inches off the ground. If you use your imagination, you'll look like Superman flying through the air! Concentrate on the contraction of your lower back muscles, and you'll have less chance of injury on your golf vacation.

Long Weekend Golf Holiday Planner: 3 Nights and Days in Miami

Beautiful Miami - the humidity of the city lays like a blanket over you, shielding you from the horrible temperature fluctuations of the arid areas of the country. Gorgeous beaches, friendly people, and great golf! If you're looking for a quick golf vacation, Miami has plenty to offer. We help you plan a long weekend full of golf and entertainment in the beachside city.

Day 1: Bonaventure West

The West course of Bonaventure was designed by Charles Mahannah, and includes six par three holes - a nice easy way to warm up to your golf vacation! It has a gentle slope of only 118, and though it is only three-star rated, is reasonable all-round.

Afternoon 1: Thriller Miami

Yes, you'll have Michael Jackson playing in your head for the whole tour - but it is worth it! These water tours of Miami are said to be very funny, and great value at only $30 each.

Day 2: Inverarry East

Miami seems to love golf courses with an East and West component, designed in very different styles. Both of the courses here were designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr, and have been the site of PGA and LPGA events. The East course is a little longer, and also a bit tighter than the West course and requires good accuracy.

Afternoon 2: Uhma Spa

After two days of intensive golfing, you probably just want to crash at your hotel! Crash at Uhma Spa today instead - this fully organic, green day spa in South Beach comes highly recommended. Enjoy an organic scrub with the latest beauty technology … great, even for the boys!

Day 3: Heron Bay Golf Club

Give yourself some wonderful memories to take home from your golf holiday- make Heron Bay Golf Club your last long weekend course. The course recently ranked in Golf Magazine's top ten places to play, and is a pro favorite.

Afternoon 3: Miami Seaquarium

The Miami Seaquarium is one of the foremost collections of sea life available anywhere in the US! They have killer whales and dolphins, asa well as the usual sharks, fish and seahorses. You can also interact with the dolphins if you want - amazing!

Long Weekend Golf Holiday Planner: 3 Nights and Days in Pebble Beach

Jack Nicklaus has said that if he had only one more round of golf left to play, he would do it at Pebble Beach Golf Links, such is his love of the course. This location is one of the few in America with three five-star courses -- one of the only catches is that you must be a guest at one of the Pebble Beach Resorts to play at many of them. At least you won’t be stuck for choice in the accommodation arena! Pebble Beach is mostly known as a golf mecca, but there are plenty of things to do after you've had your fill of chasing a ball around a paddock! We check out the best courses and after golf activities in Pebble Beach for golf vacations.

Day 1: Pasatiempo Golf Course

You are probably itching to get to Pebble Beach Golf Links, Nicklaus's absolute favorite course … but hang onto your hats! Let yourself warm up at Pasatiempo, a four star rated course with a 136 slope. There are certain tee times for public play -- Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones and Ken Venturi have all been known to play here.

Afternoon 1: Monterey Bay Aquarium

Seahorses, jellyfish, ebra sharks and even acorn barnacles can be found here -- get out of the heat and the wind, and enjoy the coolness of undersea life.

Day 2: Spyglass Hill golf course

This Robert Trent Jones Sr golf course is a five star course with a slope of 148. It incorporates two distinctly different sorts of terrain -- a good way to get extra value out of your golf vacation, feeling that you’re playing on two different courses! Strategy is the name of the game here.

Afternoon 2: Big Sur Tours

Travel the local California coast in a luxury car, taking advantage of your host's local knowledge. You get to personalize your own tour, but have all the benefits of a guide.

Day 3: Pebble Beach Golf Links

If you've managed to contain your excitement and save the best for last, you'll be left with a lasting positive impression of Pebble Beach golf holidays from this course. This course regularly plays host to the world's biggest golf events, and is known for both its beauty and challenge. It opened in 1919.

Afternoon 3: Hearst Castle

From the world's best golf course to the world's most expensive house -- marvel at the excesses of William Randolph Hearst in person, touring what was once his castle. And then try to go back to your five star resort without resentment!

Long Weekend Golf Holiday Planner: 3 Nights and Days in Phoenix

Phoenix was recently named ''America's Best Place to Live for Golfers" in the Robb Report … and with the sunny days, fine weather and lack of wind around, we can understand why! It is also a great place to go to check out what the rest of America has to offer. Today we give you a suggested vacation plan for golf holidays to Phoenix, with a day-by-day guide.

Day 1: Dinosaur Mountain at Gold Canyon Golf Course

Unpack those bags quickly, and get out to Arizona's number one rated public golf course -- just relax long enough to be sure you can take in the beauty at holes 4 and 5! This is a course with gorgeous views and steep elevation changes, a slope of 143 and rating of 4 stars.

Afternoon 1: Phoenix Zoo

The Phoenix Zoo is open every day and costs just a few dollars to get in -- it is home to more than 1,400 animals ffrom around the world. You'll want to brush up on the various species of birds and other wildlife you might see on the course!

Day 2: Kierland Golf Course

Rather than trying to transport a well-behaved tropical course into the unruly desert, this Scott Miller course appreciates the beauty of the desert, and thrives on its colors and flora. The hospitality is fantastic, and if you have chosen to stay in the Scottsdale resort corridor, it is only a short trip away.

Afternoon 2: Phoenix Art Museum

This is home to around 17,000 artworks from around the world, including artists in Asia, Europe,and Laitn America. There is an interactive gallery for children … but even the biggest, oldest and meanest kids have been known to enjoy it!

Day 3: Grayhawk -- Talons Course

Enjoyable and challenging are the keywords for the Grayhawk Talon course, designed by David Graham and Gary Panks. This was in Golf Magazine's 'Top 10 you can play', and has breathtaking views of the McDowell Mountains and Sonoran Desert. Slope of 141, and rating of 4.5 stars.

Afternoon 3: Turf Paradise

If your golf holiday to Phoenix is during the traditional golf season, it is probably also during Turf Paradise's horse racing season. Nothing better than a sprt where you can dress up and not be active for a while … and drink a little champagne. This is a golf vacation, after all!

Golf Trip Tips for Beginners: Your Swing

It is just about the only action in a game of golf that you make -- and therefore the only part you can improve on! Your swing will be the focus of many sunny, relaxed days if you are a beginner golfer -- but before you can improve it, you need to understand it. If you are going on a golf trip or golf vacation, it's the perfect time to brush up on your technique -- we get you started.

A good golf swing is…

There are several criteria to make a good golf swing -- in general, not singularly. The main criteria of success is how close to the hole you get, obviously! Your golf swing should also:

• Be comfortable -- you shouldn't make any movements that might injure you
• Be strong -- you should slowly learn how to hit the ball further and further
• Be consistent -- you should have a system for ensuring that your swing is the same every time, when you are in the same situation
• Be flexible -- if you are in a different situation, you need to be able to adjust your swing accordingly

Practice time

Experts recommend that you hit at least 50 balls twice a week, or two buckets of 50 once a week. If you are going on a golf trip, you'll obviously get much more intensive practice in a shorter amount of time.

The basics of a good swing

• If you golf right handed (which can be different to being right-handed in general life), stand with your left shoulder facing the ball. Other way round for a left-handed golfer.
• Your shoulder should be parallel to where you are aiming
• Feet should be shoulder-width apart, and you should bend your knees slightly to help your body rotate
• Grip-wise, your left hand should be ¼ inch from the top of the club, with your thumb going down its length. The little finger of your right hand should be between your middle and forefinger of your left hand, and the other fingers slotted in between. Right thumb should go down the shaft also.
• Hold the club firmly but not tightly -- firm handshake tightness will be fine
• Keep your arms loose on the backswing, with your weight on the right side
• The apex of your swing should be shoulder height
• Watch the center of the ball on the way down
• Rotate your hips left (if you are right handed)
• Your hips should clear the hitting zone before your hands
• Snap your right wrist on impact to get the best distance

Keeping these tips in mind should ensure that your golf trip is a time for improvement, not frustration!

Hybrid Clubs - Should You Bring Them on Your Next Golf Trip?

Golf is a very simple game -- there really isn’t much room for innovation and improvement in the game itself, only the players within it. There has been one major innovation in recent times, though -- hybrid golf clubs. They are often used in place of the long irons in your set -- the flatter that iron is, the more it is likely to defeat you! Hybrid clubs are used to replace the three and four irons most usually, and some players are even using them in place of the five and six irons. Should you bring them on your next golfing vacation? We explore the ups and downs of hybrid clubs.

What are hybrid clubs?

They combine the features of both wood and iron clubs, hence the name! Basically their design helps ensure that recreational golfers can get the ball in the air more easily, make mishits fewer and farther between, and not quite so dramatic as they might have otherwise been.

Hybrid have a squarer face at the point of impact -- or at least, players are better able to keep them square at impact. One of the downfalls of long irons is that they simply don’t get much practice time, so incorporating the features of a wood (which we are more used to using) in a club used in long iron situations immediately helps improve your game.

However it isn’t only amateurs that can benefit by using hybrid clubs; and using hybrids certainly doesn’t mean that you'll be limiting your game in any way for later on. A significant proportion of golfing professionals touring the world now use hybrid clubs. You can do exactly the same thing by taking hybrids on your next golf vacation!

Improvement on shots hit out of the rough is the biggest benefit of hybrid clubs -- if you're a beginner or intermediate golfer, this will help ensure that several bad games on unfamiliar courses don’t ruin your entire golf holiday. When you use a long iron to hit out of the rough, it takes a lot of skill to overcome the issue of the grass grabbing the face and hosel, meaning that many out-of-the-rough shots are low and short. And generally disappointing! Hybrid clubs are not cheating -- they are simply the way the game is evolving.

I would recommend that you look into bringing hybrid clubs on your next golf trip. Rent a set first and check out the benefits -- you won’t want to go back!

Top Four Beachside Courses for Golf Vacations

Beachside golf courses are actually quite common -- aside from the bothersome wind factor for your swing, beachside locations lend themselves well to golf course building. The sea breeze helps cool down bodies that are out in the sun all day, there is usually quite a bit of rain to keep the grounds nice without irrigation, and views are superb. Best of all, there are several great beachside courses for golf vacationslocated right in the US. Today we are checking out 4 of our favourites from across the country.

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club

This course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was built upon a working rice plantation site. In its inaugural year, it was ranked 5th Best New Public Course in America by Golf Digest, and has been ranked 30th in Golf Magazine's Top 100, and 31st among the best 'Upscale Courses in America'. It is pricier than some other beachside courses, but well worth it. There are centuries old live oak trees and a slope of 132v on this 4 ½ star rated course.

Legends - Heritage Club

Still in Myrtle Beach, the Legends (Heritage Club) is at the other end of the price scale from Caledonia, but not so distant in playability, scenery or service. This was also built on an historic plantation, and has 600 acres of beautifully scented giant magnolias ... divine! Just don’t hit your ball into them too many times. It has a slope rating of 137, and an overall 4 and a half stars.

LPGA International - Legends

Make your way over to Daytona Beach, Florida, and you can enjoy sun, surf and plenty of golf at the LPGA International Legends course. It was designed by Arthur Mills, and just like in South Carolina, giant magnolias and pine trees abound. The clubhouse is Mediterranean style, and there is a gorgeous banquet room after you've worked up an appetite on your golf vacation with all that sea air!

Poppy Hills

This is one of the nicest Pebble Beach, CA courses on which you can play if you aren’t staying at one of the affiliated Pebble Beach resorts. It was designed by Robert Trent Jones, and was the first US course to be owned and operated by an amateur golf association. It isn’t easy on the wallet, nor is it easy on the legs ... but the challenge is extremely rewarding! Make your way from the tree lined greens to the white-sand lined shores in your spare golf vacation time.