7th July 2011

All Year Round Golfing in Spain: The Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca

A Guide to some of the best golf courses on the Costa del Sol. Review of full accommodation and golf booking services at Sunset Beach Club hotel in Benalmadena. 4 star accommodation in apartments, fantastic beach side location, Bar with TV Sports screen and Happy Hour, Onsite restaurant with full buffet english breakfast, Gymnasium, pools, near to bars and restaurants

Golfing holidays in Spain are popular year round in many areas. The Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca have favourable weather even in winter for golfing. For this reason, most of the resorts are located along the Mediterranean coast. New courses are being built all the time in these areas to keep up with the demand.

Golf Holidays in Spain, Courses and Instruction

You can find information on courses through a travel agent or online. There is information on course conditions, locations, maps and pictures of the courses. You will also find information on upcoming events and other news from the resort.

Many websites have reviews written by both amateur and professional golfers. Read some that were written by people who have stayed at the resort and played the courses. This will give you valuable information about the resort from the point of view of past guests.

Many golf resorts have an onsite golf school. Professional golfers offer instruction to guests of the resort. Lessons can be done in small groups or privately with the instructor. Small group lessons are less expensive. Some also have golf school for kids. Between lessons, practice your new skills on the practice range.

Most resorts have a golf shop located at the resort. These shops sell equipment and apparel. You can buy anything you forgot to pack at the shop. Some also rent clubs, bags and balls. This is a good option if you don’t want to carry everything with you from home. You can rent what you need at the resort and have less to pack.

A club house at the resort is a nice convenience for guests. This will give you a place to change and shower after your game. Some have a sauna and food service as well as facilities for changing and showering.

Consider the size of the course. Most have either a nine or eighteen hole golf course. Whether you are playing nine or eighteen holes, keep good etiquette in mind. Politeness is part of Spanish culture, so don’t be rude to other groups on the course. Consideration is especially important during the busier seasons.

A common complaint among golfers is slow play by other groups. There is a lot you can do to avoid this. Be ready when it’s your turn to play a shot. Stay just behind the game in front of you to avoid longer waits for the group behind. Play your shot and move on. Mark your card at the next tee. Courtesy to other groups goes a long way toward everyone having a great time.

Other Activities on Golf Holidays in Spain

Consider other activities offered at golf resorts. Entertainment can be found at both hotel resorts and golf property rentals. One thing you will probably want is a pool, especially if you are traveling in the summer. A hotel will have a community pool. A private rental can have either a private or community pool. A private rental will have other conveniences such as an oven and washing machine.

For the non golfers there are other Entertainment at Resorts:

o Tennis
o Swimming
o Mini golf
o Spa
o Gym
o Activities for kids
o Day nursery for kids

Another consideration is how close the resort is to other amenities. You may want a resort that is close to shopping and restaurants. If you aren’t planning to rent a car, you will want some of these things in walking distance, or be near to public transportation. If you plan to take part in the night life, you’ll want something near to bars or clubs.

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31st May 2011

The Golf Challenge That Keeps You Coming Back

Golf exercise is among the best exercises that you can get.   Around ten years ago I taught a retired carpenter how to play golf.  He had recently undergone heart bypass surgery, and his doctor told him to walk for exercise.   So he asked me to teach him how to play golf.

Think about it for a second. There is 1760 yards in a mile. The average golf course is anywhere from 5000 yards to 6500 yards on some of the bigger courses, depending on which tee box you are playing from. They say the shortest distance between two points is in a straight line. Can you imagine the amount of walking you can do on any given course, if you’re not a straight hitter? Some golf courses make you take a golf cart because of the steep terrain. Golfing can keep you’re heart pumping at a good pace depending on the golf terrain. So if you have not walked a country mile. Take up golf and you will have you’re fair share of walking a country mile.

The Challenge

A lot of people would ask the same question over and over again, and probably still do today. Why would anybody want to chase a little golf ball around? I use to think and ask myself the same question until that very first liftoff from a fairway lie. Oh yes! It is a great feeling when you finally lift it off the fairway and watch the ball fly towards the green and watch it land and roll towards the flagstick, especially if you are a long distance from the green and hitting the green in regulation. The feeling of success is amazing and the challenge to do it again brings you back time and time again. Once you catch that feeling, the challenge to come back and repeat the same golf shot makes you a better golfer in the long run. The challenge you have now sticks with you the more you play. The frustration of not being able to do it over and over again, and then finally once again there goes that beautiful golf shot again, makes you come back for more. Golfing has more than one challenge. The challenge within yourself to play better golf, and the challenge to play better than you’re competitor. A lot of times the challenge to beat your own game can be a real uphill battle. Go ahead and try the challenge.

The Scenery

Golf courses truly have some of the best breathtaking scenery, depending on where you reside. A lot of the golf courses have rolling fairways and trees of all colors that stretch out on both sides of the fairway, creeks that split fairways in half. Lot of golf courses have greens that are surrounded by huge trees, rock formations, and rolling mounds, and many other natural beauties. Most golf courses surround their greens with water and sand traps. The tee boxes on some courses are perched up on a hillside overlooking a valley, or body of water. Flowers and plants, and or more trees surround a lot of tee boxes. Sometimes the tee boxes and greens are in the wilderness, and or near cliffs. There is a lot of great scenery on golf courses that will want you to say. This is amazing scenery!

The Peace and Tranquility

The best part of golf is the relaxation you get out it, depending on how you’re game is going of course. Just imagine yourself nestled on a tee box first thing in the morning, and all you hear is the chirping of the birds and the sound of the trees blowing around you. Another good feeling is standing in the middle of the fairway with the sun beating down on you with a cool misty breeze coming from a nearby body of water. I like the late afternoon just before the sun goes down and the trees are swaying a bit more. Sometimes all you hear is a plane going by overhead and the crack of another golf ball going off a tee box. A lot of the golf courses take you away from the clubhouse and land you out in the country, and or fairly wooded areas where the peace and tranquility of mother nature truly makes you sit up and take hold of it’s natural beauty it has to offer.

We Play Golf – The Halfbreeds

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10th May 2011

A Great Game of Golf: A Winning and Positive Attitude is Everything in this Game

Have you ever wished you could talk to Tiger Woods while you’re making bogies? Well, even Tiger needs advice sometimes, and when he does, he goes straight to our source: The PGA tour doctor.

Check out his top 7 tips for a par game.

Although great deal of interest has been recently directed to the amazing game of golf, as in all things in life, golf does maintain a fair part of its own mystery and does indeed entail change and progress. For example, the origin of golf is still open to debate among Chinese, French, Dutch and Scottish, while the golf course has not always had eighteen holes. Whether people will one day agree on who invented golf first or decide to add more holes on the golf’s playground is a matter of time and interest. But, what golf professionals, fans, and spectators in general, undoubtedly attest is golf is an excellent game to exercise the human body and mind.

In fact, the most crucial aspects of the golf swing and the game, in general, all revolve around the building of a strong and solid foundation fro the body, the mind and the basics of an athletic swing. Specifically, the most important concepts that play a critical role in our understanding of what creates a great round of golf, as well as to what contributes to a lifetime of enjoyment of the game, are stamina, stability, strength, flexibility, spirit, sequence and skill.

Although many golfers tend to ignore the cardiovascular element of golf, the great American golf championship Tiger Woods has stated that fatigue can affect one’s focus and cause the player to make a bad decision. If one considers in addition to this comment that golf walkers cover approximately a distance of 4-5 mile in each round, staying in shape is as important as knowing how to golf.

Then, a golfer has to think about stability. Developing strength from the core region of the body outwards, allows forces to be transferred successfully from one’s feet to his arms and thus to his ball swing. Finding and practicing on keeping a specific posture, stabilize one’s trunk and joints, can separate the good from the great golf player. More specifically, strength comes in many forms with regard to the golf swing. Exercising and developing strong back muscles allow the golfer to exercise greater forces on a swing. In fact, experts support that combined muscle strength produces balance and coordination.

Of course, flexibility is perhaps the most crucial physical characteristic a golfer must possess, as it directly influences a golf swing. Maintaining a tight body might result in a restricted swing motion and produce less that optimal results. Keeping a flexible body posture, while being firm and confident is a goal few golf players in the history of golf have managed to attain. Directly affected by the flexibility factor, a true understanding of proper body motion at each sequence will ensure consistency in one’s swing. Essentially, it is the goal of every golfer to manage to develop and maintain a fluid, but repeatable golf swing. But apart from the necessary golf practice, developing good swing mechanics requires the presence of skill. Considered as an absolute necessity, in every sport, skill cannot be underestimated.

Finally, a golfer should keep in mind that a winning and positive attitude is everything in this game. As in every competitive game, what one thinks, says or how one selects to act can contribute positively or negatively to the game’s outcome. Keeping a positive and hopeful spirit when playing golf can be one of those things that will lead you to victory.

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