List of Extreme Sports

The list of extreme sports is pretty long and there are many other sports in the 'extreme' category than the bungee jumping and skydiving. Check out the article below to get 'extreme' about these sports!

The adrenalin rush which comes with jumping in mid air from a plane and staying in that position is unbeatable. That is something which gives you an instant high and you feel nothing else than a big 'WOW' ! I did it! Jumping in mid air from a plane is a part of sports called extreme sports.

Extreme sports are those which involve a high level of imminent danger and are counter-cultural. These are generally interspersed with immense physical exertion and highly specialized gear and dare devil stunts. In case you are game for some adrenalin pumping action, here we go! Coming up is a list of extreme sports!

Extreme Sports Games

Bungee Jumping
This is one of the most popular extreme sports the world over. Bungee jumping is an activity which involves jumping from a tall structure, wherein the person is tied to a large elastic chord. A crane, a building or a bridge can be that structure. What happens is when the person jumps, the cord which is tied stretches and the jumper flies upwards again and the cord snaps back. This leads the jumper to oscillate up and down till the energy is dissipated.

Base Jumping
It refers to jumping with a parachute from stationary objects. Written as BASE sometimes, it is a short form of B-buildings, A-antennas, S-spans (bridge) and E-earth - alluding to cliffs.

Ski Jumping
This is a sport where the skiers travel down an in run using a take of ramp (the jump) in an attempt to fly as far as possible. It is predominantly a winter sport.

Sky Diving
Sky diving , as the words suggests, refers to jumping from a plane and then performing breathtaking acrobatics in mid air or free fall, before the parachute is popped open. Again, this falls into the category of most widely known extreme sports.

Sky flying
It has a person wearing a wing suit, shaping the human body into an airfoil, that can create a lift.

Gliding
An aircraft which is not powered, called as glider is used for this activity by pilots. These gliders use rising air for gaining altitude. A variations of this is hang gliding and paragliding, where the basic technique which leads to the flight is the same. In the history of extreme sports, gliding has a very prominent place.

That was the list of extreme sports to be done mid air, or are air sports. The 'extremities' do not stop here! There is more to come, so hang on! We still have to conquer the land and water! Following are the extreme sports which are water oriented.

Scuba Diving
Scuba was originally an acronym for self contained underwater breathing apparatus. Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving where a scuba set is used by the diver for commercial, industrial or even for recreational purpose. Read more on scuba diving accessories.

Snorkeling
Swim fins and a diving mask is used to do snorkeling. Again, this is a very well known activity where the diver goes underwater to observe marine life.

Wake Boarding
Riding a wake board on the water is called wake boarding. The rider is towed behind a motorboat, having a speed between 18 and 25 miles per hour. It is a mix of water skiing, surfing techniques and snowboarding.

Surfing
One of the most popular water sports, surfing is one of the prominent members of the list of water sports. Person surfs or moves along the face of a breaking ocean wave. It is sort of skateboarding on waves.

Barefoot water Skiing
It is a nothing but water skiing, but the only difference is that the person behind the motor boat does not have skis. The person is barefooted here, which makes it necessary for the skier to travel faster than the speed involved in regular water skiing. Read more on top ten extreme sports.

Open Water Swimming
This sport simply refers to swimming in outdoor and natural water bodies like oceans, rivers, lakes and bays.

The last and final category in the list of extreme sports is the land sports. Coming up!

Mountain Biking
A very common amongst extreme sports, mountain biking means riding cycles off the road, with the help of specially adapted mountain bikes. It mostly has cyclists riding mostly on rough terrain.

Skateboarding
It is a major sport when it comes to extreme sports. Skateboarding is a sport where the skateboarder performs tricks with the help of a skateboard.

Speed Skiing
Skiing downhill in a straight axis as fast as one can is in short what is speed skiing. Interestingly, one of the fastest non-motorized sports on land is speed skiing. Read on snow skiing as well.

Adventure Racing
Things get really tough and exhilarating here. Adventure racing is a combination of a couple or more disciplines of endurance. This includes orienteering and navigation or either of the 2, cross country running, mountain biking, paddling, climbing and other similar activities.

Parkour
It is basically the art of running or moving along a route in an attempt to negotiate with the obstacles in the way. This has to be in the most efficient way possible, however, they should be as if the person is in an emergency. The objects and structures around you and your body is the only resource you have to move from a spot to another. It is a latest addition to the list of extreme sports and a great one at that!

Indoor Climbing
Indoor climbing is fast gaining reputation as an indoor cousin of rock climbing. However, the environment here is more controlled than original rock climbing.

Extreme Motocross
It is done using a motorcycle or an all terrain vehicle, on enclosed off road circuits. It is a form of racing, primarily. The word motocross is derived from French.

The list of extreme sports does not stop here. Apart from these there is speed biking, ice skating, extreme skiing, high wire, kayaking, whitewater or river rafting, windsurfing, aggressive in line speed skating, snowboarding, street luge and few others.

Now before this article goes to an extreme, as far as words are concerned, I end my treatise here! This is where I sign off!
By Medha Godbole
Published: 1/18/2010

5 Golden Rules of Betting on Football (Soccer)

Football betting rule number one.

Find the best value odds for the bet. Online bookmakers are in fierce competition with one another for attracting business. Each type of betting market is priced differently. Imagine departments within a supermarket, the cat food may be cheaper in one but the bananas cheaper in another. Some bookmaker will price goal bets more keenly than a bookmaker who tries to attract business to a straight win market.

A high street bookmaker will charge a margin of roughly 10% on a typical football match. The best odds can be found in what are called the subline markets; corner betting, goal betting, and bookings points betting. Fierce competition for online bookmakers have reduced these margins significantly for those wishing to compare odds.

Asian handicap betting is another route to getting better odds. Although more complicated, Asian Handicap betting eliminates betting on a draw result. So there are only two outcomes to bet on. This type of betting is better for straight win or lose markets.

Football betting rule number 2

After identifying a bet, and finding the best odds it is important to stake correctly. If a bet is a long shot but the odds offer really good value a relatively small stake is advised, compare this to a bet with a more certain outcome. A larger stake might be more appropriate as the chance of winning is greater. What do we mean by value? Imagine an experiment. A coin is tossed a thousand times. Heads should 'come in' the same number of times as tails; a 50/50 chance. The true price (chance) of getting a head or tail would be 1/1 (fractional odds in the UK) or 2 (decimal odds in Europe). A value bet would result if the bookmaker priced a bet where they pay back anything more than what is staked if you win.

Where value is consistently found in the choice of bets and the best odds are found each time, profits should be made. Any staking plan, however, should allow for one of life's facts: that bets will lose. If the loses are limited by correct staking this will not deter from successful bets.

Football betting rule number 3

Use multiple bets because they are fun, but, don't bother with massive accumulators. However, the chance of winning big money from small stakes can be very exciting. A bit like the pools in that respect. For multiple betting stick with doubles only to ensure long term profits. The more selections chosen on a multiple bet the lower the chance of winning so it's not worth consistently placing large accumulators.

Football betting rule number 4

Learn a little about the team and the event. Is the team playing home or away. The effect of the home team advantage is well documented. Home team advantage can have effect on corners won, goals scored or conceded, and bookings points. Is that match a local derby. These can produce lots of bookings points and high corner numbers. Check injury news to see if key players are in place. A injured striker or captain suspended can have a big effect on the odds. However, this effect is less with top flight football teams due the breadth and depth of talent in the squad. This can also produce opportunities. If a big team usually has a strong squad but multiple key players are out or the second choice is not performing well then value can be found.

Football betting rule number 5

Rule number 5 is a bit of a cheat as there are two rules in one here. First, select the betting market carefully. It was mentioned earlier that the best markets are smaller subline markets. Perhaps the ones that are not as popular producing odds that attract more people to the bet. Be weary of halftime/fulltime, correct score and first goal scorer markets as they tend to have higher profit margins.

Secondly bend the rules in your favour. After following rule 1, which is to find the best odds, for new accounts bookmakers will offer a sign up bonus. For example, a no lose first bet or free first bets. Many offer ongoing free bets to existing customers as well, which can boost results.

Lastly, not so much a rule but just an idea, betting as early as possible can produce great results. Bet on the football team to win the tournament or to get relegated. A team who's fortunes are changing where the odds don't yet suggest they have a chance. Tell tail signs of a team that could make a come back are a new manager, coach or the signing of a star striker. To increase chance of winning consider using an each way bet that will pay out if the team comes first or second. In fact, the team doesn't even need to stand a chance of actually winning the tournament. To profit from this kind of bet the football team's chance of coming higher in the league must increase. This as the effect of shortening the odds. A corresponding lay bet can be placed on a betting exchange so as to guarantee a profit no matter the outcome.

To round up, football provides lots of interesting betting markets offered by bookmakers. It's a great sport to bet on because the sports itself is so rewarding. By following this set of rules football betting can also be more rewarding. The key is to compare betting odds when choosing which football bet to place, finding value, by knowing the sport and choosing the best betting markets. If betting for a hobby don't forget to choose a good staking plan.

Pain and the Sports Enthusiast—How to Get Back in the Game

Love the sport, but hate the pain? For pain and the sports enthusiast, you are not alone. According to the National Institute of Health, in a two year period adults age 25 and over sustained nearly 2.3 million sports and recreational injuries. Here are some ways you can get back in the game following a sports injury.Love the sport, but hate the pain?

For pain and the sports enthusiast, you are not alone. According to the National Institute of Health, in a two year period adults age 25 and over sustained nearly 2.3 million sports and recreational injuries – including 370,000 in recreational sports; 331,000 by exercising; 276,000 by playing basketball; 231,000 by bike riding and another 205,000 by playing baseball/softball. Add the sports of tennis, squash/handball, golf, gymnastics, boating, climbing/extreme sports, football, soccer, boxing, running, weight training, skiing, even polo, and you’ll understand the concern.

What are these injuries?

Knee injuries are by far the most common sports injury. Severe knee injuries can be to the meniscus cartilage that absorbs the shock between the thigh (femur) and lower leg bones (tibia and fibula) or to the cartilage that allows bones to smoothly glide. Injuries to the four ligaments that support the knee include the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), the medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL).

Herniated discs cause pain, numbness, weakness or tingling in the low back (lumbar region), neck (cervical region), or mid spine (thoracic region). Pain is caused when the inner core of a disk bulges or ruptures and extrudes back into the spinal canal, putting pressure on the underlying nerve root.

Shin splints, often seen in runners, cause pain along the large bone in the front of the leg (tibia), and may radiate pain to either side of the leg and down to the foot and ankle.

Achilles Tendon Injuries are painful and debilitating tears or rupture of the tendon that connects the calf muscle to the back of the heel, and can be caused by a chronic weakening of the tendon (tendonitis).

Shoulder injuries include the rotator cuff, muscles that govern the rotation of the shoulder, commonly occurring in racket sports.

Elbow injuries, sometimes referred to as tennis or golf elbow, can be caused by hyperextension of a joint, entrapment of nerves, inflammation of a tendon, or ligament sprains.

While we commonly think of fractures as sudden damage, stress fractures are caused by continual stress over time, such as with repetitive impact sports such as running, jumping or gymnastics.

What are the symptoms of a sports injury?

Symptoms of a sports injury include tenderness and swelling, inability to move through a range of motion, pain or pain that amplifies with weight bearing, muscle spasms, loss of strength, tender or painful places or joints, instability or inability to move the joint with accompanying swelling, bruising or inflammation.

Here are some ways you can get back in the game following a sports injury.

Get a complete diagnosis. Undiagnosed ailments and untreated inflammation can lead to chronic pain.

Visit a pain specialist. Board Certified Pain Management Anesthesiologists diagnose the causes of pain and through specific injection procedures provide minimally invasive non-narcotic treatment.

Epiduroscopy is the insertion of a fiber optic filament through a needle connected to a television monitor to visualize the inside of the spinal canal, spinal cord and spinal nerves. This procedure provides accurate diagnosis, accomplishing precise injections, cutting of epidural adhesions and scar tissue and the removal of toxins liberated by injured discs.

Injured or painful facet joints can be injected with steroids and patients can be treated with Radiofrequency rhyzotomies. These Radiofrequency procedures numb the facet joints and eliminate the patient's pain for approximately one year.

Injured and herniated discs can be treated with an IDET (Intradiscal Electrothermal Treatment) procedure and a Percutaneous discectomy. A special wire electrode is inserted through a needle into a disc and directed to the affected area of the disc herniation. Once in place, the electrode is heated with Radiofrequency or designed to create an electromagnetic or plasma field. This causes cauterization and vaporization of the disc, proliferation and tightening of the protein matrix of the disc, shrinking of small herniations and disc denervation or numbing. The final effect of this process is the relief of pain and the creation of more support collagen within the disc.

Get back in the game following a sports injury. Board Certified Pain Management physicians diagnose the sources of pain and provide pain relief through minimally invasive techniques.

Want more information about pain management and what to expect in your first pain management visit? http://www.helpain.com

At Palm Beach Spine & Pain Institute, Board-Certified physicians are dedicated to stopping pain. They specialize in performing innovative, minimally invasive techniques and procedures that eliminate pain at its source. The goal is to allow patients to return to a normal activity level — minus the pain.

Palm Beach Spine & Pain Institute is located at 2290 10th Avenue North, Suite 600, Lake Worth, FL 33461, centrally located near Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Boca Raton and Ft. Lauderdale, FL Founders are Board Certified Specialists in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Management, Lawrence Gorfine, M.D. and Douglas MacLear, D.O.

Leslie McKerns, McKerns Development writes for professionals, including about issues in the medical profession. http://www.freewebs.com/mckernsdevelopment/

Keywords: sports related injury, sports injury doctor, pain management clinic, sports injury therapy, injury in sports, sports injury clinic, sports knee injury, assessment injury, sports injury treatment, common sports injury, examination imaging injury, sports injury ankle, back injury sports, sports injury relief, sports injury report, injury physician sports, pain management, sports pain treatment, herniated disc, knee injury treatment
By Leslie McKerns

Incite Motivation and Watch Your Team Soar To New Heights

Tired of watching your team members start a training program, only to beg out after a few weeks? Find out how to get that special spark that gets your team fired up and race-ready for the long-haul.There she goes again. Your neighbor who sneezes out 10Ks in her sleep is training for her third marathon at 5am on a Sunday morning. What drives her? And why can't you get your team members to embrace fitness with the same tenacity and focus? Possibly, what motivates your marathon-mom-next-door is quite different from what motivates your team members. That is normal. The key to keeping your troop on track is in helping them discover what intrinsically motivates them, then leveraging that to your advantage, and theirs.

Intrinsic Motivation in a Nutshell

What is intrinsic motivation? Psychologically speaking, "motivation" is something that happens within a person, not something done to a person. It refers to the internal dynamics of behavior – not the external stimuli. As fitness professionals/instructors, we can arouse motivation, but we can’t motivate – only the individual can motivate from within.

Intrinsic Motivation = Success

I’ll use fictional member Sally to explain. Sally decided to join a training club to train for a half-marathon. She has very little experience with exercise and admits to being an inconsistent exerciser. When asked what motivates her, she responds, "My husband said my jeans looked two sizes too small." Ouch.

Sally is reacting from an external stimulus (her husband). Getting her to stick with the training program for 10 or 12 weeks is going to be challenging because she joined for reasons other than her own desire – a desire from within. As a result, her motivation will be difficult to sustain.

Imaginary member Tina, on the other hand, represents the reverse scenario. Tina was active before kids, but since having children she is less consistent and hopes joining a training team will get her back on track. When asked what motivated her to join, she says, "My father had a heart attack at age 45 and I’m afraid I will suffer the same fate unless I take action now." She also wants to set a healthy example for her two small children. She knows regular exercise is the answer.

A-ha! Tina has chosen to participate for intrinsic (internal) reasons. Tina has a significant advantage over Sally because her internal belief system supports her goals and actions, constantly reinforcing her reasons for exercising (long-term health, to be a role-model).

IM or EM: Three Steps to Finding Out

1. At the beginning of the season, ask your members to write all of their reasons for joining your team. Whether you choose to do this the old fashioned way with paper, or via email, the point is to get them thinking about why they want to exercise. Some common examples include: wanting to lose weight, improve long-term health, the need for a challenge, to look better, increased energy, and to gain confidence in one’s own abilities.

2. Next, ask them to write any negative feelings they associate with exercising (anxiety, fear, guilt, frustration).

3. Finally, help them make associations between their motivation, feelings, and subsequent behavior. For example, Sally’s motivation is her husband’s comment (external motivation); her feeling will likely be anxiety and/or frustration, possibly even anger; her subsequent behavior may be to quit. Use the steps outlined below to help her find an alternate form of motivation that will lead to lasting changes.

7 Tips for Igniting Intrinsic Motivation

1. Set meaningful goals in the present, personal-tense that are time-sensitive and realistic. Provide feedback during the course of the season and/or offer small rewards, such as certificates of achievement or trophies.

2. Stimulate cognitive curiosity by relaying the benefits of physical activity. Tell them what happens to their bodies when they are training and provide informative materials about the many benefits of exercise.

3. Make clear cause-and-effect relationships between what they are doing and what happens in real life. For example: within weeks of beginning and maintaining an exercise program, physiological changes begin to take place, such as a decrease in resting heart rate, improvement in delivery of nutrients to working muscles, and reduced feelings of anxiety and stress.

4. Enable members to believe that their work will lead to profound changes. Success stories and testimonials can be powerful motivators.

5. Make learning a game. Send members on a scavenger-hunt for information about a particular topic, such as cardiovascular endurance, basal metabolic rate, or glycogen depletion.

6.Teach them how to imagine success. Visualization is a powerful tool for those with low self-efficacy. Repeatedly imagining crossing the finish line will go a long way toward building confidence.

7. Start the season with a simple and safe field test, such as the Cooper 12-minute walk/run test, then retest at the end of the season. Comparing results to prior performances and/or showing them how they compare to other women in their age group can motivate members who have a competitive spirit.

As a coach and a leader, you have a tremendous opportunity to help your team members remove limitations, learn, and achieve their goals. Uncovering what drives them (or doesn’t) will go a long way toward helping them make a life-long habit of physical activity. By Diane Raymond

Soccer Warm Up Drills

Soccer players have soccer warm up drills as a part of their training regime. These are important for the players to get into the groove. Pitch in to know more.Warming up your body, before any intense physical activity - be it a sport or a gym workout is imperative. Doing the warm up helps loosen the stiff muscles and joints. It also imparts a certain flexibility to the limbs which prevents injuries. In short, it gets a player into the playing mode. Nevertheless, talking of warm ups, warm up drills are an essential part of players playing contact sports, especially, like soccer, American football, hockey and so on. In the text to come though there would be an elucidation about soccer warm up drills. So, just hang in there! Read more on soccer training.

Good Soccer Warm Up Drills

Drill #1
This is a very easy one, which can be included in professional as well as youth soccer warm up drills. In this drill, all the players get hold of a ball and then they hold it slightly away from their bodies. At the same time, they make an attempt to hit the ball with their knees and not their feet. This is done by them for around 30 seconds and they are expected to use alternate knees. Fantastic for quads, these are chiefly responsible for imparting power to the knee lifts of the players. Moreover, the hamstring muscles and the groin area too would be given a good stretch with this warm up drill.

Drill #2
The players here are asked by the coach to form a circle of around 20 yards and a cone will be placed in the circle. Each player then has to ensure that he is arm's width away from the players on his either sides. The coach then asks the players to jog in together upto the cone and then jog backwards till the outer edge of the circle. The coach can vary the runs to the center and back in the form of high knees, sidestepping, heel flicks hopping, lunges and so on. Read more on soccer exercises.

Drill #3
Okay, this can be tough and can also prove to be those fun soccer warm up drills. How? Let us check it out. Akin to tennis, the aim of this drill is to play the ball between 2 teams, which can have players from 1 to 4 per team. A barrier will be set to act as the net wherein the ball would be played back and forth between the 2 sides. The catch is not to let the ball touch the ground, hence the players can juggle, pass or do anything as far as the ball crosses the net. Touch control, passing in the air are improved by this drill.

Drill #4
Okay, this is for the future Maradonas and Gerrards! You can consider this amongst soccer warm up drills for kids. First the square sections have to be marked out using cones, measuring 10 meter by 10 meter. The players or rather the children are then divided in teams of 6 players where 3 are attackers and 3 are defenders. The job of the attackers is to concentrate on the ball and keep the possession and the defenders have to intercept the ball. After 2 minutes, the coach will whistle and the roles will be exchanged. The drill will continue for 8 minutes. This is one of the best soccer warm up drills for kids. Read more on soccer conditioning drills and workout.

Drill #5
A combination of multiple exercises and soccer moves again makes for a fantastic soccer warm up. It is more suited when you talk about soccer warm up drills for youth. A coach for this particular drill can have a makeshift obstacle course. That will involve setting up various stations which need the players to inculcate and develop skills in a good, structured routine. For instance, juggling for some time, dribbling through cones, sprinting, jumping for headers, push ups, etc. A relay race can also be done in the same manner and to add fun to it, 2 teams can compete with each other.

Last but not the least, the coach can even have indoor soccer warm up drills, which might include spot jogging, spot ball juggling or practicing headers and so on. Read more on indoor soccer drills.

All in all, these soccer warm up drills give a certain agility and improve skills of the players. It also makes them mentally prepared and focused on the practice session at hand. Therefore, now we know why are these so crucial!

This is where I go off the pitch and blow the whistle!
By Medha Godbole
Published: 4/27/2010

Golf Swing Mechanics

Golf swing mechanics are a tricky thing to understand. Check out the article below to know about the mechanics of a golf swing.The swing of the golf club decides the fate of the likes of Phil Mickelson and others of the same fraternity on the golf course. If the swing and the whole mechanism of the swing goes wrong, it could spell doom for the golfer. Thus, it is essential for a wanna be golfer to be clear about the complicated yet necessary golf swing mechanics. In case you are in that league, you wouldn't want to miss this stuff about golf swing!

Mechanics of a Golf Swing

Setting the Swing Up
To begin with, if a player's spine is rotated or tilted from the target at the point of address, the player needs to have his weight uniformly balanced between his right and left foot specifically with middle and long irons. In addition to that the weight has to be felt as evenly balanced between the player's heels and toes. That comes to roughly the balls of the player's feet.

Backswing Top
Now this is a very important aspect of basic golf swing mechanics. Moving ahead further though, while the player pivots on top of the back swing, the weight is shifted in the inner part of the back foot. A player will feel roughly 75% percent of his weight on the back foot and 25% on front foot. The trick is that the weight should never shift from the outside of back foot. Read more on golf swing tips.

Making the Impact
With regards to golf swing mechanics, at the time a player is ready for the proper impact, roughly, 75% of his weight has to be shifted on the front foot. The head of the player has to be ideally behind the ball and his hips have to shift ahead around 4 inches beyond the starting position. This leads to increasing the spine tilt twice as much.

The End
When the follow through is coming to an end, the player's maximum weight, almost 90% of it has to be on the outer part of the front foot. Read more on improve your golf swing.

When it comes to proper golf swing mechanics, the above steps are really crucial. These apart, here are a few principles which are the fundamental to golf swing mechanics.

Fundamental Pointers

Point #1
Alignment is absolutely invariable if you want to hit the target bang on. The ball should be hit dead at the center making the alignment even more important.

Point #2
The stance is very very important for getting those golf swing mechanics right. It should be as comfortable as which will allow a player to turn his body in the most effortless way. A player has to find the center of gravity by pushing his backside out. For that, visualizing one's spine as an axis and finding the center of gravity is really helpful. Read more on golf swing basics.

Point #3
A player always has to keep his eyes on the target, needless to say. Even though this is common sense, this factor is sometimes sidelined by the players.

Point #4
Finally, a player has to be patient and calm and not let his nerves take charge of him. Being patient is imperative in golf and focusing on your target is even more important. The player has to be in the moment and not think about what went wrong in the last swing. The emphasis has to be on the present and how can the golf swing at hand would be done in the best possible way. Read more on golf swing speed.

Point #5
Associating the words 'sweep' with woods and 'pinch' for irons can also prove to be helpful to improve golf swing mechanics. This is not exactly irrelevant as irons are used to pinch the ball of the ground and woods are used for swinging the ball off the tee.

Eventually, keeping it simple and focusing on hitting the ball well with a good swing is what matters, initially. That is because then the deeper you go into golf swing mechanics, the complicated it would get. That will help a player concentrate on the details which cannot be compromised, without a player being really stressed out. Read more on proper golf swing.

This is where I tee off and say Adios! All the best!
By Medha Godbole
Published: 5/18/2010

Two Gored to Death in Spanish Bull-run

Two Spanish men were gored to death by fighting bulls yesterday during the bull-run at the local fiestas in Ampuero, a town 30 miles east of the northern port city of Santander. Eleven other people were injured in the traditional Ampuero bull-run - similar to the San Fermin festivals of...Two Spanish men were gored to death by fighting bulls yesterday during the bull-run at the local fiestas in Ampuero, a town 30 miles east of the northern port city of Santander.

Eleven other people were injured in the traditional Ampuero bull-run - similar to the San Fermin festivals of Pamplona - as the bulls rampaged up and down streets closed for the event.

Four of the injured remained in a serious condition in hospital yesterday as the practice of running before bulls, which has spread to towns across Spain, came under the spotlight.

Ampuero's mayor ordered the fiestas closed after the death of Raimundo Rabre Hernando, 48, and Daniel Torres Santiesteban, 47.

The older man bled to death on the way to hospital after a bull's horn pierced his jugular vein, medical sources said. The other died a few hours later in the operating theatre of the local hospital.

The run through the town's streets to the bullring is meant to take a few minutes, but lasted for 25 minutes after the bulls split up, turned around and created havoc among the local runners and visitors.

At least one of those killed was a spectator, who was dragged off the barriers marking the course when a bull caught him by the trouser leg.

"One of the bulls went along the barriers, going for everything he could see," a resident told the Tele 5 television channel.

Pools of blood on the tarmac of Ampuero's streets marked the spots where the bulls found their victims.

Fermin Mier Laguillo, a spokesman for the regional government, blamed the deaths on the introduction of fully grown, half-tonne bulls to the fiestas.

"Normally, this run is done with young bulls, but on this occasion fully grown bulls were used, with this unfortunate effect," Mr Laguillo told the Associated Press news agency.
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 9/12/2004

Golf Grip Tips

Having a proper grip in golf goes a long way in striking the ball cleanly. Read the article and learn some vital golf grip tips to help you with the same.In golf, holding the club in the correct way is the most crucial aspect of hitting the right stroke. You may choose any type of grip, but fundamentals remain the same. While striking a ball, both hands should work together as a single unit.

Also, you should apply moderate pressure on the golf club when you strike the ball. Holding the club tight can lead to a slice shot which everyone despises. A lighter grip will improve your wrist hinge and also increase the quantity of club face rotation. Thus, you will be able to hit a powerful stroke with a squared club face during impact. Before moving on to various golf grip tips to improve your swings, let us look at the different types of golf grips.

Types Of Golf Grips

Overlapping Grip
This grip is also known as the Vardon overlap and is the most preferred grip among great players. It was Harry Vardon who made this grip famous somewhere in the late 1990s. Most golf instructors choose to teach this grip to youngsters. For this grip, you will have to place your little finger of the hand below, between the middle and index finger of the hand above. The thumb of the above hand should be placed in the lifeline of the hand below.

Interlocking Grip
This is another common grip use by famous golfers including Tiger Woods. The name comes from the fact that your hands interlock when you hold the stick this way. Golfers with small hands or weak forearms prefer the interlocking grip. Chances of the stick handle slipping onto the palms are high with this grip. To hold this grip, the little finger of your hand below should be intertwined with the index finger of the hand above. The thumb of the hand above should be placed in the lifeline of the bottom hand.

Baseball Grip
Of all the three grips, the baseball or ten finger grip is the least preferred among golf instructors. There are though some advantages of the baseball grip as well. This grip is used by people having joint pains or small hands. Beginners are often taught this grip, as it is easier to learn compared to the other two. For this grip, hold the stick in the proper lead hand grip position and then position the little finger of the bottom hand near the index finger of the hand above. The thumb of the top hand should be covered with the lifeline of the hand below.

Read more on:
How to Hit a Golf Ball
Step By Step Golf Swing
Golf Terminology
Important Golf Grip Tips

These tips given below are for a player whose leading hand is his right hand. However, players looking for left hand golf grip tips can simply substitute their left hand for the leading hand in the tips discussed below and follow them.

Tip #1
The grip plays a very important role when it comes to fixing a slice. To ensure you have the correct one, look down the handle and you should be able to view the first two knuckles of the lead hand. Also, a 'V' should be formed on the lead hand between the index finger and thumb and pointing in the direction of your right shoulder. The right hand 'V' should be pointing in the direction of your chin.

Tip #2
A basic golf grip tip, which most beginners ignore is alignment of hands along the club head. The grip needs to be aligned with the club face before you swing. In case the shaft rotates from this position, the club face moves away from its position, resulting in a bad shot. Spend some time on this basic aspect so that you do not face problems later on.

Tip #3
When you grip your right hand tightly on the stick, unwanted tension is created. This causes the swing to go awry as the stick cuts across the ball. To avoid this, try relaxing your arm, shoulder and wrist muscles before you swing. Apply moderate pressure on the stick with your right hand as well.

Tip #4
This is one of the more important putting grip tips. The wrists need to work together while putting. If you are having problems in coordinating your wrists, try switching hands on your grip. Place your right hand where your left hand normally is and your left hand takes position of the right hand. It may be difficult to adjust to this grip at first, but your wrists do work together and help you while putting.

Tip #5
To ensure a successful golfing stint, it is vital to have strong forehand and wrists. The wrist on the leading hand often breaks down from the pressure of the trailing hand, resulting in the shot being a miss-hit. A good way to strengthen your forearms is to hold the club suing last three fingers of your leading hand in a straight position in front. Now with help of your wrists, move the club up and down about 15 times. Do three sets of this drill and your muscle memory will get the correct movement while swinging.

Tip #6
The ball's flight is directly affected by your hand movement. To get this right, take your normal grip and let the index finger of your trailing hand lie pointed down towards the ball along the stick. While swinging, the finger should be pointing down on the target line at the time of follow through.

Read more on:
How to Fix a Golf Slice
Improve Golf Swing Speed
Golf Tips
These golf grip tips should definitely help in improving the way you strike the ball. With this I will end my article, leaving you with one final tip - Hold the club like you are holding a baby bird in your hands, and you should be good.
By Suketu Mehta
Published: 3/30/2010

Golf Training Aid

There are a lot of golf training aids on the market from golf training dust to grips and clubs. I have found the best and want to bring them to you.
Enlarge ImageThe sport of golf has grown so much over the past few years that it is hard to point out a golfer without seeing them play. Years ago the only people that played golf were the old me with the funny pants and bad fashion sense. I am not sure of the reason but the game of golf has taken off dramatically, and successfully brought the younger generations into the game. I am very happy about this because the game of golf needed a facelift.

Now we have a whole new group of people that are learning what many of us already knew and that is that golf is a wonderful game that can teach patience, hard work and dedication. These are qualities that all humans should possess and at the same time the youngsters are learning those traits they are having fun. The thing is that golf is an easy game to learn the rules of and get out and try but a very difficult game to get good at. It is for this reason that the golf training aid market has boomed even more than it ever had before.

There are hundred of golf training aids to choose from and a lot of them are really good and many of them are useless and a total waste of money. I have tried a ton of the golf training aids available and have a few that I am thoroughly impressed with and would recommend to everyone.

The first type of golf training aid that I think is excellent is golf dust training. For those of you that are not familiar with the terms golf dust training I can put it in a nutshell for you. Remember the term impact tape? Most people know what impact tape is and what it does. Impact tape allows the golfer to see what spot exactly the golf club hit the golf ball.

The goal every swing is to hit the golf ball with the golf club in just the right spot allowing the club to do what it is intended to do. The tape was frankly a pain in the butt to use and set up. Golf dust training employs similar concepts but is an easy to use spray can of powder. The golfer simply pulls out a small spray can of golf dust and sprays it on the club face of the golf club. The golf dust training material goes on easily and allows you to get hundreds of swings off of one inexpensive can. Anyway, the golf dust allows you to easily see where the golf club hit the golf ball and lets you make the determination of what to change.

If you alter something and swing the golf club again the golf dust training aid will let you see where the club hit the ball and you can determine by the hit whether the change you made was good or not and if it was good and is something you want to continue it gives you a representation of what to replicate.

I have tried so many golf training aids and have spent a lot of money on training aids of all sorts and it happens that the cheapest and most effective thing I have purchased is the golf dust training materials. Give it a shot and you will not be disappointed. Golf Training Aid
Find out which work the best.
By Jason M

Learn to Play Golf

Read on for a few basic tips if you want to learn how to play golf…I will not guarantee that you will start playing golf like Tiger Woods at the end of this article, but I will try to ensure that you understand the basics of the game and are able to discuss the game intelligently.

Let us first start with the basics of the game. The game of golf is played in a huge area that is covered with grass and is known as the ‘golf course’. The course contains either nine holes or eighteen holes.

The equipment required to play the game consists of playing clubs, shoes, tees and a golf bag to carry it all around. The main aim of the game is hit the ball into the successive holes that are located all over the course using the club which of made of either wood or iron.

Scoring

The game starts off in the teeing area. The player places a tee straight into the ground and places the golf ball on top of it. Using the club, the player hits the ball. The aim of the game is to get the ball into the first hole present on the course. After the first player hits the ball, the remaining players follow and repeat all the steps. The player who has the lowest score when all the players have completed one hole starts playing the next hole first. Like every game, golf has its own scoring system. The score of a player is the number of strokes he takes to hit the ball into every hole. The player who uses the least number of strokes wins the game.

Various difficulties are placed along the golf course like water bodies, trees, shrubs and sand filled traps that make the entire task of hitting small white balls into small sunken holes very difficult. When a ball is in the ‘hazard’ the club should not touch the ground while the player is hitting the ball. The player has the option of not playing the ball. A penalty stroke is added to the score of the player and the ball is moved back to the original spot from where it was hit. Another common cause of worry in the game is not being able to find the ball after it has been hit. A ball is considered to be lost if it is not found within 5 minutes after it has been hit. In such cases the ball is considered as lost, a penalty stroke is added to the player’s score and the player has to replay the shot.

Stance

The most common variation in the game is the stance of the player while hitting the gold ball. The usual stance is where a player stands with his feet slightly apart and the knees slightly bent. The player holds the club very firmly in his hands, one hand above the other. The body is turned slightly at the waist along the hips. The player swings back the golf club and then swings it forward with a controlled force, continuing the swing out to the other side of the body. A shot is considered to be successful if it travels a great distance. A low shot is used if the golf ball is relatively close to the hole.

Golf Clubs

As you are just beginning with the game, it would make more sense to either buy used clubs or hire clubs. Brand new ‘branded’ clubs can be an expensive affair and you should ensure that you have actually developed a deep passion for the game before making such an investment. If you are planning on renting out the clubs, then the shortest iron (nine iron) or wedge is the best club that you will need to start out. However, if you do decide that you need to own your own set of clubs, then get a half set. This consists of five irons along with two wood clubs and a putter. And, if you do decide to go all the way, make sure that you go to a good store to get authentic branded clubs and are not cheated.

As with any other game, only practice will make you perfect. Tune into the PGA/LPGA competitions regularly and you will further be able to pick up tips from the best players in the world. Develop a stroke that works for you along with a little patience and may be, one day you will have confidence to challenge Tiger Woods in a game of Golf!
By Ranjan Shandilya

How to Play Golf for Beginners

How to play golf for beginners is intimidating to start off. But as you get the hang of the sport, you can get it, provided you are really interested and have a passion for it. Read on to know more about how to prepare a foundation towards being Tiger Woods!The par beckons and so does the iron and the putt. Yes, these are the words which golf enthusiasts and golf aspirants dream of and these are things which can wake them up even in the middle of the night.

Learning golf, however, is not a cake walk. This is not to scare those who want to learn to play golf, but to put across the reality. But working hard for a thing you are passionate about is worth it, right? Therefore this article about how to play golf for beginners is dedicated to all those who look up to Phil Mickelson or Jyoti Randhawa as their golf idols! Here we golf!

Golf for Beginners

The Arsenal
Oh no do not be scared, I am surely not alluding to missiles or any kind of weaponry! I am making a reference to golf equipment. Mind you, this is an expensive sport and so be prepared that the equipment is going to affect your pockets. But like I said, if you want it, you will get it! Nevertheless, the first thing you do is to get golf clubs. As a beginner, it is best to be thrifty. There are good brands which have reasonably priced golf clubs. Or, a fantastic option would be garage or yard sales. Who knows you might get your hands on a really good golf club used by pros and you can get a real steal of a deal. Invest in a considerably good club, it will help in the long run. Read more on golf clubs for beginners.

Basics of Golf
While you play golf, there are 3 important things which have to be included in golf tips, for beginners. These 3 aspects have to be mastered if you want to excel in this sport. These are;

Stance: For a correct golf swing, a correct stance is inevitable. To achieve that, you need to be stable as well as flexible. To illustrate, if you have long clubs, your ideal stance should be shoulder width. If it is the opposite, that is, the clubs are short, then hips stance works just perfect. This is crucial for a stable base and a good swing.

Aim: Once you get a correct stance, half of your job is done. You should have a clear focus on your aim or target. A perfect swing leading to a right stroke can go all wrong if the swing does not have a proper alignment. That will prevent the ball from going into the hole as the direction of the ball would be incorrect. Thus, alignment of knees, feet, hips and shoulders is extremely crucial for an impeccable aim. Read more on golf swing basics.

Position of the Ball: This refers to the position or placement of the ball in connection with the position of your feet. To get a great shot, placing the golf ball accurately in your stance is essential. Hence, when it comes to how to play golf for beginners, they should know where is the ball in relation to their feet and how far is it from their feet. To give an example, when you have a longer club, the ideal ball position would be 2 balls in the direction of the target and the foot in that direction from the center.
In addition to these, you also need to be acquainted with basic rules of golf. Once you master these things you can even learn how to play golf in the rain! Read more on how to hit a golf ball.

Where to Play and Practice
You have to of course practice on a driving range and practice with a host of balls. The good part is that these driving ranges also have putting greens meant for practice. Or, practice just the swing in your backyard (I am sure you are not thinking of hitting golf balls in your backyard!). Or if all these do not appeal to you, ask a pro, if you know one as to which is the best place to practice. Par 3 courses are generally good for beginners. Executive courses can also be taken a shot at, as they are shorter than full sized 18-hole courses. If you are not comfortable doing this on your own, you can join a golf training and learn from a pro golfer as well. Read more on
Golf Instructions for Beginners
Golf Tips - Beginners Guide to Golf
Ultimately, when it comes to playing golf, you need to know not just the written golf playing rules, but also the etiquette of the sport, on and off the golf course. Like, you should never ever walk through a golfer's putting line. After all golf is a gentleman's game and if you want to learn how to play golf for beginners especially, these small things too, matter a lot.

This is where I say par and putt off ! All the best for your golfing spree!
By Medha Godbole

'World's Best Golf Course' Approved - Complete With 23-acre Eyesore

Donald Trump wins permission to build development on ecologically sensitive stretch of Scottish dunesThe billionaire property developer Donald Trump has won permission to build "the world's greatest golf course", complete with high-rise timeshare flats and eight-story hotel, on a rare and ecologically sensitive stretch of dunes overlooking the North Sea.

The New York-based businessman said he was "greatly honored" after Scottish ministers in Edinburgh confirmed that his dream of creating one of golf's most northerly resorts had been approved, despite vociferous opposition from environmentalists and many local residents.

His most famous opponent, Michael Forbes, the fisherman and quarry worker who earned abuse from Trump last year after refusing repeatedly to sell his home, which is on the land, still intends to stay put. "They reckon the construction will last 10 years, but I'll never ever sell to that loudmouth bully," Forbes said last night.

The £1bn coastal resort north of Aberdeen, which covers 2,000 acres (809 hectares), is to have two 18-hole championship courses, four blocks of 950 timeshare flats, 500 "exclusive" homes, 36 villas, a golf academy, and housing for 400 staff. There will also be a coast road, named Trump Boulevard.

Yesterday's outline planning approval legally binds Trump to agree to environmental checks and controls giving Aberdeenshire council and the Scottish government's environment agency, Scottish Natural Heritage, oversight to ensure the remaining wildlife is protected.

Trump will be also required to build a 225-pupil primary school, shops, 98 low-cost houses and 50 starter homes (on land provided free by the council) in return for the 500-home estate, chalets and timeshares that will fund the development.

The decision was welcomed by the local constituency MSP, the first minister and leader of the Scottish National party, Alex Salmond, and numerous business and tourism groups which regard it as a boost to the regional economy.

Salmond, whose party faces a crucial by election on Thursday in Glenrothes, Fife, said he had not influenced the decision. "In tough economic times, substantial investment of this kind is at a premium - 6,000 jobs, including 1,400 which will be local and permanent, is a powerful argument. It is entirely right and proper that the resources of the country are harnessed to boost one of our great industries, and tourism is a great Scottish industry."

Trump said: "It will be a tremendous asset and source of pride for both Aberdeenshire and Scotland for many generations ... because of the quality of the land we are given to work with, we will build the greatest golf course in the world."

Conservationists were furious when ministers agreed to override legal protection for part of the Foveran links, a legally protected system of naturally shifting sand dunes. It is designated a site of special scientific interest under EU legislation - but it is also central to Trump's vision. The plan is for the "back nine" holes of the main 18-hole course to be built over about a 10th of the dunes, despite the protests from Trump's own ecologists and Scottish Natural Heritage that this is unnecessarily destructive. Trump has refused to move that section of the course, and overruled his own environmental experts, telling the planning inquiry in June that he didn't do "half-assed" - it had to be all or nothing, he told the inspectors. The inspectors ruled that the damage to the dunes was outweighed by the resort's substantial value to the economy.

This judgment was challenged by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. "It appears that the desires of one high-profile overseas developer, who refused to compromise one inch, have been allowed to override the legal protection of this important site," said Aedan Smith, RSPB Scotland's head of planning.

Martin Ford, the Liberal Democrat councilor whose casting vote against the development forced Scottish ministers to call in the plans, said: "This is a very, very, bad precedent indeed and sends out a bad message about the protection in Scotland of our natural heritage sites. It appears to me to be a vanity project. I don't think we can claim this is a nationally important development, and it certainly did not need to be built on this site."

Critics of Trump's proposals, which also breach Aberdeenshire's local development plan with house construction on the green belt, believe ministers have been overawed by the tycoon's reputation.

Trump, owner of the Miss World beauty pageants, has been told he can only begin building the high-rise timeshare blocks - dubbed "the Benidorms" by angry residents - in stages, after some of the affordable homes are finished. He must also ensure, under Scotland's strict right to roam laws - rules he was unaware of until questioned by the Ramblers Association at the planning inquiry - that visitors still have unimpeded access to the dunes.

'I'll never, ever sell to him'

It is the ramshackle eyesore standing in the way of Donald Trump's great dream: a 23-acre spread of rambling farm buildings and rusting tractors sitting beside the future site of the world's greatest golf course. But despite offers as high as £450,000 from Trump for their home at Mill of Menie, and now the threat of living in a £1bn construction site, Michael Forbes and his wife Sheila are refusing to sell.

"They reckon the construction will last 10 years, but I'll never, ever sell to that loudmouth bully," Forbes said last night.

"As I said before, I would rather give my land away to traveling people than sell to Trump, if it comes to that."

Yesterday's decision by Scottish ministers to approve Trump's resort made him feel "sick", he added. Once a Scottish National party voter, he would never be one again. "I used to be proud to be a Scotsman, but I'm going to take both of my kilts out and burn them after this," he said.

Forbes, a salmon fisherman and quarryman, shot to global fame last October - echoing the film Local Hero, in which an elderly beachcomber blocks Burt Lancaster's planned refinery - after Trump branded his land "disgusting".

Trump claimed Forbes's land was in "total disrepair ... Rusty tractors, rusty oil cans - I actually asked him, 'Are you doing this on purpose to try and make it look bad, so I have to pay some more money?'"

Forbes said Trump would just have to build around him now. "His biggest mistake was having a rant about me and calling me names on the TV," he said.
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 11/3/2008

Artificial Putting Greens

Artificial Putting Greens
Want toknow more about artificial putting greens? Read on…
Enlarge ImageIntroduction

In the game of Golf, the ball is struck by a club causing it to roll towards the cup. This process is called ‘Putting’. A putting green is the ground on which the game of golf is played. The grass on this putting green is cut quite short. This facilitates the rolling of the golf ball.

Most golf grounds grow the grass and keep it cut very short so that the ground is perfect for a game of golf. However, with the advent of new technologies, artificial turf has begun to take the place of real grass.

History

The invention of artificial turf is credited to David Chaney and his team of RTP researchers in 1960. Since then, this artificial turf has been used in all kinds of sporting grounds where grass played a major role. Initially, the artificial grass was not very popular with players and fans alike due to its unforgiving surface which made the players more prone to injuries. It was subsequently banned by many football leagues.

New technological research has come up to resolve these issues. Now the playing surfaces are made with sand or rubber filling. This makes the surface of these artificial greens more natural and easy to play on. Nowadays, artificial turf has begun to regain its importance and role in professional sport.

Advantages

These artificial putting greens have quite a few benefits compared to real grass. They are:


The synthetic putting greens have the look and feel of natural grass.
No maintenance is required for the artificial putting surfaces. This includes no mowing, no watering and no chemicals.
The artificial greens do not fade easily.
Artificial grass allows for heavy usage without losing out on its shape and form.
This artificial grass is environmentally friendly and very safe to use.
Artificial or Synthetic Turf is available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to suit the requirement of the client or the project.


Uses

These benefits of artificial putting greens have aided its expansion into home use. People are using small and large pieces of artificial turf to make lawns and sit outs in their backyards and gardens.

Artificial greens and turf are now used for landscaping, home lawns, and even for indoor putting greens and practice greens.

These indoor practice greens are used by learners of golf and in arcades. People also install home putting greens or backyard putting green surfaces inside their homes or in their backyards if they are interested in keeping up with their practice of golf.

This artificial turf is also used in parks and schools for making green spaces for playgrounds.

By Madhavi Ghare

Stuck in a Golf Club Fantasy

Blair has to constantly confirm the prejudices that guide him. Optimism is an essential ingredient of socialism. So last week I spent an afternoon in Edinburgh attempting - without much success - to persuade a group of old friends that after the next election a Labour government, even under Tony Blair, would take a few faltering steps towards a more equal society.Optimism is an essential ingredient of socialism. So last week I spent an afternoon in Edinburgh attempting - without much success - to persuade a group of old friends that after the next election a Labour government, even under Tony Blair, would take a few faltering steps towards a more equal society. I urged them to look on the bright side of political life. At least the prime minister has neither invited Silvio Berlusconi to address the party conference nor been on holiday with Conrad Black.

The discussion - during which I exhibited piety and loyalty in equally nauseating measure - concerned whether it is right and reasonable to judge a politician by his friends and lifestyle. I stubbornly insisted that how Tony Blair spent his summer was none of our business.

Judge him, I said, by the policies he sets out. I now realise that I did the prime minister no favours. For last Wednesday, he entertained a gathering of the faithful with a selection of his extensive repertoire of meaningless cliches. Principal among them was the assurance that he would liberate the Labour party from its "ideological hang-ups".

Twenty years ago, when he worked for me, I attempted to convince Tony Blair that the rejection of ideology is an ideology in itself and that contempt for political philosophy is the political philosophy of the jungle in which life remains solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. However, it must be admitted that, though Thomas Hobbes has passed the prime minister by, John Maynard Keynes has him bang to rights. "Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist."

Tony Blair, whether he knows it or not, is a disciple of Professor Milton Friedman. He imagines that the market is a guarantee of economic efficiency. My friends in Edinburgh would insist that such a belief is incompatible with the leadership of the Labour party. That is at the least an arguable contention. What is beyond dispute is the fact that while the market is right and necessary in some sectors of the economy, in others it is wrong and damaging.

Twenty years ago, when I quoted RH Tawney - arguing that "resounding affirmations of the virtues of free enterprise and socialisation" should be replaced by an examination of "the facts of the case" - I was denounced as an apologist for capitalism. Now, because I still hold that view, I am regarded as a quasi-communist who wants the state to manage decrepit monopolies.

I have never regarded public ownership as the best way to manage manufacturing industry. That is why I opposed the nationalisation of shipbuilding and aerospace - measures brilliantly assisted through the Commons by Sir Gerald Kaufman, now the Grand Old Man of New Labour. But the economic rules that apply to heavy industry do not govern the public sector, which is supposed to provide services, not sell commodities.

The literature explaining the distinction is easily available. Somebody should precis it for the prime minister.

The assumption behind that helpful suggestion is that Tony Blair believes what he says about the virtues of the private sector and that, once presented with the facts, he is capable of coming to terms with reality. The first of those propositions I accept without question. About the second, I am more dubious. Under that famous sweat-stained shirt is a heart that beats in time with country-club opinion. Every speech he makes confirms the prejudices that guide him.

Last Wednesday's address contained a perfect example of his instinctive attitude. He promised to extend "opportunity and security to all hard-working families". There are two possible interpretations of that undertaking. The first is the sentimental implication that the British are, without exception, industrious. The second is that, impelled by the middle-class morality to which Alfred Doolittle took such exception, Blair was making clear that there would be no help for the undeserving poor. My guess is that it was a subconscious expression of his feelings about "scroungers", who play so prominent a part in golf club fantasies. The ideology, which he professes not to possess, is instinctive.

Of course, he represents and articulates the most decent version of the prejudices that guide him. He wants the world to be a better place. That is why, for the sake of his conscience, he has to believe that a system that makes the few increasingly rich will automatically benefit the many who are poor. My friends in Edinburgh would call it the "trickle-down effect". It is the sort of attitude that convinces them that his lifestyle and philosophy cannot be separated. I still disagree. The prime minister's problem is not that he holidays with millionaires but that he pursues policies that benefit them.
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 9/5/2004

Learn How to Improve Your Golf Game

I was out on the golf course this past week and happen to speak to a man that I see every week and who has a great game. I asked him his secret and you will not believe what he said.
Enlarge ImageMany of us desire to have a better golf game which is why we all spend an arm and a leg on products and services that are supposed to do just that. The thing is that though many of these items and services work very well there are a lot of things that we can do to improve our game for no money at all. That sounds impossible but according to a very good golfer that I speak to regularly it is not only possible but pretty easy to do.

As I said, I was on the course this past week and sat down and spoke to a fellow golfer that I see often and who has a great game. I decided not to beat around the bush and just directly ask him what in the world his secret is to his great game. What he told me amazed me and I am sure that it will amaze you too. He said the secret to a great game is physical fitness. I bet you are asking yourself how in the world that is possible, well I will tell you what he said.

He began by explaining something that is obvious but nobody ever thinks about. The professional golfers do not just get out of their car on tournament days and grab their clubs and wander onto the course. These men and women spend countless hours honing their craft and a big portion of their regimen is physical fitness. The reasoning is simple, the more fit and flexible your muscles are the more likely they will be able to bend into the appropriate positions and once in those positions they will be able to exert a huge amount of energy to the ball.

The game of golf is a physically demanding sport. Though a large amount of people do not realize that since they show up to the course with a case of beer and bags of chips, the game does take strength and flexibility to achieve greatness. This is not to say that large or strong muscles are all you need to be a good player but it is one more weapon in your arsenal. The other detail to remember when getting into the right shape for golfing is that the right muscles need to be trained. Motion specific muscles should be trained in order to maximize your ability to hit the ball strong and accurately. There are a number of ways to go about this but before starting any sort of physical fitness or training regimen be sure to consult a physician so that you get a good idea of where to begin and how intense to train.

Take a lesson from the professional golfers and the talented amateur ones too and get into better shape. You will shortly see that your game will improve leaps and bounds beyond where you ever thought possible. There is absolutely no substitute for golf training accuracy but strength and technique will take you far.
By Jason M

Ads by Google

Golf – The Greatest Sport on Earth

The game of golf is gaining popularity daily. Learn what all the buzz is about and pick up a club and try it. Learn how here.
Enlarge ImageThe sport of golf is perhaps the fastest growing sport there is with regard to popularity. The sport has been around for as long as all of us have and as far back as I can remember it was game that only old men with bad fashion sense played. In the recent past the game has caught on strongly with people of all ages. Men and women from young to old and from all walks of life love the game and strive to get better at it.

Golf is a game that is easy to learn how to play but very hard to get good at. I can speak of personal experience. You can swing the golf club all day long and hit a million balls and still not get any better. The reason is that the game is based off of technique. Massive amounts of muscle are no real help when it comes to hitting the ball well. You can take a huge muscles man that has bad technique and a small woman with a fraction of the muscle but a lot more techniques and the woman will drive the ball further and faster than the man. That is great news for everyone because it means that absolutely anyone that wants to excel in golf can do so regardless of gender, size or strength. The key is learning the game by understanding how the clubs work to help you get the ball where you want it to go.

Golf instruction is a great way to improve your game though it is a bit expensive. A person that is skilled in identifying a bad swing can do wonders for your game. If you have a fault in your swing and continue to practice with the same swing you will not get better. If you slice every time and continue to practice hitting longer shots then you will eventually achieve a very long slice.

Learnt he ins and outs of the game and you will find that you will not only get better but you will have more fun. Golf
Learn the Game Now

The Game of Golf

In the Netherlands, the game had been known as 'Kolf', which means Club. This name, on reaching Scotland, got transformed by the Scots accent into 'Gowf'. Later on this became Golf.Noone is quite sure where or when exactly the sport of Golf evolved, or who invented it. Games involving sticks and balls have been prevalent the world over since ancient times. The Romans played with wooden clubs and balls stuffed with feathers, and a Golf-like game has also been depicted in various early Dutch and Flemish paintings. Variations of the game were also played in France, Germany, and Belgium. But the game of Golf, as we know it today, really evolved in Scotland.

In the Netherlands, the game had been known as 'Kolf', which means Club. This name, on reaching Scotland, got transformed by the Scots accent into 'Gowf'. Later on this got transformed into Golf.

The rolling sandy dunes of the East Coast of Scotland were extremely well-suited for playing Golf, and the world's first and oldest Golf course was opened in the early sixteenth century at St. Andrews. Golf soon became a great favorite with the local population. So much so that during the Scottish Parliament Meets of 1457-1491, Golf – and Soccer – had to be famously prohibited as its growing popularity had begun to threaten the previously popular sport of Archery. There didn't seem to be any point to Golf – Archery, on the other hand, came useful when it came to defending the country against the marauding English. The ban against Golf was reinterated by James III in 1470 and James IV in 1491, and was seconded by the Church as there were fanatics who would rather play Golf than sit through a Sunday Sermon. However, despite the strong disapproval of both Government and Church – or perhaps because of it? - the passion for Golf prevailed, and finally received official cognizance with the Treaty of Glasgow in 1502 when the King himself took up the sport.

With the ascension of James VI of Scotland as James I of England, Golf came to England, and became as popular over there. Charles I was a keen Golfer and often played on the Leith Golf course near Edinburgh. The equally doomed Mary, Queen of the Scots, was another avid Golfer, and is said to have introduced the modern version of the game in France. She was accompanied of the French Courses by French Military Cadets, and this is where the term 'Caddie' comes from.

Now that the game was generally accepted, it needed to have a standard set of rules. These were formed in 1744 in Muirfield by the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, who later renamed themselves the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and established a Club house in 1768. In 1754, the Golfing rules were adopted by the Society of St. Andrews Golfers. This Society, in 1834 and with the approval of the then King Willian IV, officially changed its name to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and became responsible for overlooking the development and organization of the Golf Tournaments. They built a Club house in 1854 and allowed Women Golfers into the fold in 1895.

The first British Open was played in 1860 in Prestwick, Scotland. Golf balls used on this occasion were made of Gutta-Percha or Gutty. They had earlier on replaced the hand-crafted, feather-filled balls that been in use for centuries before. The principal ball-makers in Scotland were the famous Robertson Family, who had been in the business since 1750 and also produced high quality Golf clubs. With the Industrial Age, the previously hand-crafted and therefore expensive Golf equipment became easily available to anyone wanting to take up the game, and the game spread across all social classes.

As more and more people took up golfing, various Amateur Golf organizations sprung into being in the British Isles and overseas to maintain the same game standard everywhere – the Royal Blackheath Club (1766), the Banglore Golf Club (1820), the Royal Calcutta Club (1829), the Royal Bombay Club (1842), the Prestwick Golf Club (1851), the Royal Curragh Club (1856), the French Pau Golf Club (1856), the Adelaide Golf Club (1870), the Royal Montreal Club (1873), the Cape Town Golf club (1885), the St. Andrews Club at Yonkers, New York (1888), the Royal Hon Kong Club (1889), the Golfing Union of Ireland (1891), the Chicago Golf Club (1893), the United States Golf Association (1894), the Welsh Golfing Union (1895), the Scottish Golf Union (1920), the English Golf Union (1924).

The Professional Golfers' Association (P.G.A.) was established in 1901 – the American version in 1916 - and, in 1927, Samuel Ryder began the Ryder Cup Competition, which takes place between Professional Golfers from England and the U.S.A.

The first international golf tournament was held in 1893 and was called the Amateur Golf Championship of India and the East.

The US Open and US Ladies Amateur Open Competitions were started in 1895.

The world's first Golfing Magazine was published in 1897 in the USA. It was called, Golf, and was issued every month.

In 1900, Golf became an Olympic Sport.

The First US Masters Championship was played in Augusta in 1934.

In 1951, the Women's Professional Golf Association was replaced by the newly-formed Ladies PGA – Europe followed suit only in 1988.

The first Women's Open was held in 1946, and the equivalent of the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup, was began in 1990.

Some famous Golfers were -

Willie Park, who won the first British Open in 1860.

Old Tom Morris, who won the British Open in 1862, 1864, and 1867.

Young Tom Morris, who won the British Open in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872.

J.H. Taylor, who won the British Open in 1894

Harry Vardon, who won the British Open in 1896 and gave his name to one of the better known Golfing terms, the Vardon Grip.

Bobby Jones, who, in 1931, won the US and British Amateurs and the US and British Opens.

Sir Henry Cotton, who, from 1934 to 1936, was the British Open winner.

Walter Hagen, a flamboyant character, who won four British Opens.

The 1960s and 1970s were dominated by the triumvirate of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who, between them, won all the prestigious Golfing events.

After de-segregation in the 1960s, Charlie Sifford and Lee Elder became the first black golfers to participate in professional Golfing tournaments, paving the way for the eventual domination of Tiger Woods.

Amongst the Ladies, there were -

Joyce Wethered, who won the English Ladies Championship five times in a row in the 1920s.

Glenna Collett Vare, who won her sixth US Women's Amateur in 1935.

Patty Berg, who won the first Women's Open in 1946.

And the best known of all them, Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias, who not only the US Women's Amateur (1946), the Women's British Amateur (1947) and the US Women's Open (1948, 1950 and 1954), but also won excelled in several other sports at the Olympic level as well.

And last but not the least, there is Alan Shephard – who, in 1971, became the first Golfer in Space, on the Moon more specifically – his achievement has yet to be eclipsed. As you read this, there are three golf balls lying somewhere on the Moon.
By Sonal Panse