Back in the old days, your choice of golf balls was simple; high-level professionals would use a three piece golf ball, which had a high spin, and covered with balata. Your every day, normal golf players would opt for the two piece golf ball which was covered with surlyn and was rock solid.

Today, however, there is an enormous amount of golf balls to choose from. For the beginner, making this choice may not be easy, so let's simplify things a bit and take a look at a few details of today's golf ball varieties.

The easiest way to look at the types of golf balls that are available today is to view them from a two-sided menu. On one side you have the type of balls that professionals use, which are soft, high spin, very expensive, and three-piece.

On the other side, you have standard two-piece golf balls that are low spin, inexpensive, and are the average choice for beginner and amateur golfers.

Then you have the middle - in between the two general ball types where you will find many kinds of multipurpose golf balls which provide plenty of distance when hit from the tee, yet gives enough control to the player.

Making The Right Choice

You can use the above simplified explanation of golf ball types to make the right choice for your needs. If you are a beginner then you would obviously want to go with the two piece, low spin golf balls. While you have less control, the fact that your swing should have the ball going straight as possible will alleviate potential bad shots, thereby reducing penalties.

As you improve your golfing skills, you can then start to move towards the middle choice of multipurpose golf balls which will start to give you a bit more control over the flight of the ball. Soon enough you will be at the skill level to actually steer the ball in different directions to make more successful shots.

Good golfers want as much control as possible so that they can steer the ball to the left or to the right, depending on their intended direction. Beginners should only be concerned about driving every last yard they can from their shots, and in a straight direction.

There is also 2 more last minute tips:

1. Keep your golf balls warm: Did you know that a ball will suffer the loss of distance if it is too cold? If you are playing during a cold day, hold on to a few balls inside of your coat pocket and handle them here and there to keep the balls warmed up. You can then alternate balls at each new tee so that you can start one that is warm.

2. Golf balls do not last forever: Golf balls have a shelf life. After approximately 1 year, you will lose distance with the same ball. It is best to keep track of how long you have had your golf balls to avoid using them stale. And remember, three-piece balls tend to lose their quality sooner than two-piece golf balls.

When it's time to hit your approach shot onto the green, your main goal and objective is to make the ball stick, so to speak. With enough practice, keeping your ball on the green will become second nature.

There are often situations where you will have to take into consideration of the golf course's terrain. Many greens may be more difficult when making your approach shot, such the following:

1. Greens that are considered fast due to extremely short-cut grass. This type of terrain tends to send the ball rolling into the fringe.

2. Greens that are hard, from maintenance work or lack of rain. This may cause the ball to land and bounce over.

3. Greens that have severe moguls or undulations. This terrain can be tough to hold the ball because of all the angles that it encounters when it lands on the slopes and rolls forward.

4. Greens that are crowned, which have slopes on each side and from every angle. This can make it very difficult to hold the ball in the area.

Let's talk a little bit about your basic golf club grip descriptions. There are essentially three common types: Overlapping, Interlocking, and the Baseball Grip.

And of course, each are simply variations of one another other. Whichever you choose will depend on the size of your hands, finger thickness, and hand strength.

Overlapping Grip

Made popular by an old-time famous golf instructor, Harry Vardon, the overlapping grip is when you grip the club with your left hand, which will be the top. The club tip will rest near the area where the edge of your palm meets with the base of your pinky finger. The shaft will cross close to where your ring and middle fingers connect, and then across the middle of your index finger.

Now curl the fingers from your left hand around the club. Your right pinky finger should be snugly placed into the groove between the index finger and the middle finger of your left hand. The shaft should be resting naturally inside the channel that you created by curling the fingers from your right hand around the grip.

Your right-hand thumb should be practically on top of the shaft, and pointing straight down towards the club head. The left thumb should be resting right next to the right thumb, which is also pointing down towards the shaft.

Interlocking Grip

The interlocking grip is another version of the overlapping grip. Basically, you utilize the same steps as you would for the overlapping grip, except that with this grip you will rest the right pinky in the groove between your left index finger and middle finger.

Next you interlock the right pinky in the left index finger. The interlocking grip seems to suit people who have smaller hands and short fingers. Young players and many women tend to find this grip perfect when starting out.

Baseball Grip

The baseball group is less conventional than the overlapping or interlocking grip. Another name for it is the "10 fingered grip" because all 10 fingers should be holding the club. Simply grab the club with the left hand close to the body, then insert the right-hand to the grip. The hands will be touching and all eight knuckles will be lined up on the under portion of the shaft.

The baseball grip is excellent for those men and women who do not have strong hands. It is a little easier to hold the club with and makes it less troublesome to move your wrists around when making a shot.

Facing long putt shots are challenges in golf that be quite rewarding. And there is one thing that all golfers who are great putters have in common: they have a natural sense of feel for the speed and distance needed when making a long putt shot.

This feel is not something that you can learn from a golf "how to" booklet. It must be learned by instinct and then practiced over and over again.

Proper Speed Is Essential For Putts Longer Than 8 Feet Or More

As a beginner, you may be tempted to make your ball into the hole when facing a long putt shot of 8 feet or longer. However, this should not be your goal. Great golfers realize that it's best to lag the ball so that it gets as close to the hole as possible, thereby leaving themselves a very easy shot with only 2 - 3 feet of distance.

Of course knocking the ball into the hole from a long putt shot is definitely a good thing. But the truth of the matter is that the last thing you want to do is mess up your shot to the point where you have to make the ball in the hole with the dreaded 3-Putt shot.

So many beginner players and amateur golfers go through such an experience. They have a ball sitting 15 to 20 feet away from the hole and they put too much speed and distance on it. The next thing they realize, they have taken 5-6 shots in order to finish a par-3 hole.

How To Master The Art Of Long Putting

Your job is to become a master the art of getting a perfect lag on a ball when shooting a long-distance putt. This is so you can create a situation where the ball will always land safely near the hole, regardless of whether it breaks too early or too soon. You will know that wherever the ball lands, it should be a simple hit to finish the hole on the next swing.

A Simple Practice Exercise

As with any maneuver, practice makes perfect when learning to determine the feel for speed and distance on the green. A simple exercise that you can practice in order to become a better long-putt shooter is to place four to five balls approximately 10 feet apart from each other, evenly distributed to the hole.

Basically, you will have a line of balls, evenly spaced between each other, all leading to the hole, starting at about 40 to 50 feet out. Now start the exercise by making your swing with the ball closest to the hole. Simply work your way back to the farthest ball. In order for this exercise to work, you must mentally place yourself in a real playing scenario.

The funny thing about such practice techniques is that because you know it's not a real game, you are more loosened up and are not really stressed about making the lag shot work.

Can you guess what happens? You play well! That is the ironic part about golf. When you are in the middle of a good game, worry and doubt tend to tense your muscles up, thereby causing poor shots to be made. The real key is to take your practice mindset with you when playing a real golf game.