Some golfer’s idea of a golf training club is using their usual set of clubs to hit balls on the course the whole day.

This sort of thinking is borrowed from other sports where the most effective way of improving a person’s game and level of fitness in it is to play the said game as much as possible.

Sadly this golf exercise technique of training using an ordinary golf club will just not work in golf. One of the reasons is the fact the golf swing hardly lasts a second and for this reason the muscles involved hardly get any exercise or conditioning when you play the game. They mostly get strained and injured if you do not exercise.

This where a special golf training club comes in. I have found the weighted club to be very effective as a golf training club. This special club allows a golfer to go through the motions of the golf swing, only with a heaver weight than usual and is very effective in strengthening and conditioning golf specific muscles involved.

Many golfers tend to be sceptical about golf training equipment or gadgets aimed at improving a persons’ game. This is hardly surprising because many golfers will point you to their garages full of golf equipment that the salesperson at the shop promised would do miracles to their game.

Instead, in some cases they find that the golf aid actually made their game worse.

This is really why it helps to seek expert advice when purchasing any sort of golf aid equipment or gadget.

It also helps to know what particular weakness you have in your game.

Still the weighted golf club works wonders as a golf training club and I would usually have no hesitation in recommending it as one of the most effective golf training clubs.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds at his golf fitness site - Perform Better Golf.

Class Is In Session…. Baitfish 101

Okay.

So you would think that in this information age we fishermen and fisherwomen would have all the knowledge of baitfishing at our fingertips.

Evidently, some of us have been slow to enter this information age, so as a public service I am going to pass along some rather “common sense” information that apparently isn’t being absorbed by the fishing world.

This information is being sent, with the hope that if 200 people read this article and then they tell 200 people and so on and so forth,maybe, just maybe enough people will get the message.

I have enlisted Professor R. O. Tenone, the famous expert on natural fish carnage, to explain the use of “live baitfish” and it’s effect on lakes and rivers. We join the professor midstream on his lecture…..

…….”Zo class, as you can zee ze Goldfish, why making a very nice pet for ze vindowzil and bringing zmiles to zee faces of zee many kids, makes a very poor choice when uzing it azz bait for catching zee big one!”

“Vy you ask?”

“Vell, if zee Goldfish zhould ezcape zee clutches of zee hook–zen der iz good chance he vill zurvive to dezzimate zee fishery he haz been released into!”

“Are zer any qvestions?”

“Yez–you zer vit zee plaid hat.”

“Professor, why are we talking about Goldfish? Are you actually telling us that people are using Goldfish as bait to catch fish?”

“Abzolutely. Goldfish, Chubbs,and Zquawfish are all ze prime examples of live baitfish that have turned vhat vas once prime trout vaters into vatery vastelands devoid of any vorthvhile fish.”

“That’s a lot of ‘V’s’ professor.

“Zat’s not zee point.”

“Zee point izz, ruining zee fishing of an entire lake just zo one individual can “hang zee big von” zeems a little zelfish–NOOO?”

“No–I mean yes–I mean is this a real problem?”

“Vell, I did not become zee expert on fish carnage vithout having first hand knowledge.”

“Oh, yeah–your the guy that has to use that natural “toxic to fish” poison that kills off all the fish in a lake so they can re-plant fish, so fishermen can fish for trout or something other than trashfish.”

“In zee matter of zpeaking.”

“I don’t conzider any fish trash, but I don’t zink it is natural to have zee giant Koi pond out in zee vild either.”

“Vhat–I mean What can we do?”

“Vell, first ve must educate zee fisherman zat zees fish are no good to use azz bait. Zpread zee vord in all zee fishing circles you know, vorms are o.k.,Rapalas vork vell,and of course zee flys, but no Goldfish!”

“I don’t know professor, seems like a pretty daunting task.”

“Fine, azz long azz you feel comfortable looking at zee grown men ztanding on zee cover of zee magazine holding zee mighty Goldfish–zen it iz o.k. vit me.”

“I guess that isn’t very impressive.”

“In zee conclusion, I am going to give zee link to zee story I read zat made me give zis class”

“Remember class, if zey have to call me–zen it is too late, and you know who pays ven Professor R.O. Tenone has to show up?”

“Uhhh, …let me see…. uhhh… the taxpayers?”

“Class dizmizzed.”

the link to the story on Goldfish: http://www.mailtribune.com/outdoor/

A.J. Klott
Author, writer of fishing humor,and “fly tack” peddler.A.J. writes about the people,characters and modern day events that surround the fishing world. His first book is due out in December of 2005.
If you need a laugh or a fun gift, visit his website at:
http://www.twoguyswithflys.com

No golfer can afford to ignore golf exercise and fitness programs which have become part and parcel of the modern golf game.

There are actually several reasons why it is good idea to pay attention to golf exercise and fitness.

The era of golf exercise and fitness, as well as golf-specific conditioning programs was probably ushered in by golfers like the legendary Tiger Woods.

Never before had the world witnessed such physically fit professional golfers who were involved in regular exercise programs and who played the game while in tip-top physical condition.

Admittedly this new breed of golfers went against the grain. For years the game of golf has been viewed as a luxurious leisure sport where correct golf technique was much more important than exercises and muscle conditioning.

This image has changed literally overnight in golf courses around the world because of the tremendous and awesome impact the new breed of golfers like Woods brought into the game.

The truth of the matter is that more and more golfers are involved in golf exercise and fitness work outs. These programs are usually golf-specific so that even when lifting of weights is done, it is for the purpose of building strength rather than muscle size.

Actually these Golf exercise and fitness programs tend to improve the quality of golf of the participants rather dramatically.

This in turn makes it very difficult for golfers who are not doing any exercises to compete with those who are.

This latter group usually quickly lands into some sort of trouble. To start with, as pressure mounts on them during competition on the course, the risk of injury increases dramatically.

Common injures in golfers like the golfer elbow, which incidentally is very similar to tennis elbow, can be avoided by golfers who are serious about their golf exercise and fitness program.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Visit his new golf fitness site at Perform Better Golf.

To select a truly unique golf gift for somebody, it will help a great deal if you know their golf game intimately.

There are numerous golf products in the market these days and many of them have been promoted very cleverly and aggressively in the market. The result is that many golfers will show you garages that are full of products that did not work for them. Sadly these products have hardly improved their games. In some cases some aspects of their golf game even get worse.

To select a unique golf gift that will help the recipient and end up being the sort of unique golf gift that they never forget, you may need some help from a golf conditioning and exercise expert.

In selecting your unique golf gift, you will need to be very specific about the particular area of the person’s game that needs to be improved.

The golf swing alone has at least three different segments that each need to be developed separately to impact on the quality of the person’s game. The three segments are the backswing, the downswing and finally the impact and follow-through. To get a unique golf gift for a person, you will need to focus on the particular segment where they are weakest. Only then can you concentrate your efforts on finding the golf improvement product or equipment that will work best in developing and correcting that particular weakness.

Getting the unique golf gift may not be enough and you may need some expert advice on how to best use the equipment to correct the particular weakness in the game that you have focused on. For example hand weights should not be lifted to build muscle, which will usually involve heavier weights being lifted fewer times and for a longer period. This is in sharp contrast to using weights to increase strength which will usually involve lighter weights being lifted more times and the exercise should take only a few minutes every day.

If you focus on the correct golf weakness and get the right product with the right expert advice, then chances are very high that it will end up being the unique golf gift that will not be quickly forgotten.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Check out his new golf fitness - golf training site at Perform Better Golf.

It should be rather clear to everybody that the gift a golfer will ordinarily appreciate the most, is the one that improves their game. Most golfers are constantly looking for ways to improve on their game. It usually dominates their every thought when they are on the course and many times when they are off it.

Before selecting a gift for a golfer, it is useful to ask yourself the following 3 questions and to get adequate answers for them. Remember that this is a task that is much more complicated than it may seem at first sight.

A) What is their particular golf weakness?

What is the particular weakness of the golfer who you are seeking a gift for? The fact that they have a problem with their golf swing is not goof enough. What particular aspect of the swing? Do they tend to slice the ball or does their swing weakness have to do with a nagging back problem that doctors do not seem able to deal with? This is very important information that you should have long before you even start considering the gift options for a golfer.

B) What are they using currently?

Chances are that the golfer has already taken some action to deal with their weakness. It is important to know what they have done so far because you do not want to get a gift for the golfer that they already have.

C) What do the experts think?

Expert advice always makes a difference. We have golf exercise experts who can be of great help when you are selecting a gift for as golfer. They will be able to advice you on the best way and therefore the best equipment to correct the particular golfer who you purchasing a gift for.

You will be much better off with them than with the shop assistant or store salesperson whose job is to sell as much merchandise as possible. Their golf knowledge is also bound to be limited and even if it is not, it cannot be compared to that of the golf exercise experts. It will certainly help if you seek expert advice before settling on your gift for the golfer you have in mind.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Visit his new golf fitness site at Perform Better Golf.

Why should you learn wilderness survival skills just for backpacking? They may save your life someday, and for ultralight enthusiasts like myself, skills replace gear, and therefore weight. The best reason, however, may be that it’s just a good feeling to know you can deal with whatever comes up. It makes you feel more at home.

To survive means to stay warm and dry, hydrated, uninjured, and to find your way out of the survival situation. Eating is nice too, but not crucial if the situation is for a few days. Below are some more or less random survival tips, just to get you interested.

Wilderness Survival Tips

1. Warmth: Sleep with your head slightly downhill to stay warmer. This may take some getting used to, but it works.

2. Food: In North America, there is no berry that looks like a blueberry, strawberry, or rasberry, that can hurt you from one taste. Just spit it out if it doesn’t taste right. If it looks and tastes like a blueberry - it is.

3. Fire starter: If you put dried moss or milkweed fuzz in your pocket as you walk, you’ll have dry tinder to start a fire, just in case it’s raining later. Experiment with different materials.

4. Direction-finding: Mark the tip of the shadow of a stick, and mark it again fifteen minutes later. The line between the the first and second marks points east. A few techniques like this can save you when your compass is lost.

5. Weather: In the Rocky Mountains you can see the clouds forming just before the afternoon storms. Being able to read the sky can keep you out of trouble. Lightning kills hikers in Colorado regularly.

6. Staying dry: Hypothermia is the biggest wilderness killer, and getting wet is the biggest cause. Watch for ledges or large fir trees to stand under if you see the rain coming.

7. Shelter: A pile of dry leaves and dead grass can keep you very warm in an emergency.

8. Hydration: Fill water bottles every chance you get, and you won’t have such a hard time with any long dry stretches of trail.

9. Injury: Pop a “blister” on the trunk of a small spruce or fir tree, and you can use the sap that oozes out as an good antiseptic dressing for small cuts.

10. Fire starter: White birch bark will usually light even when wet.

These are just a few of the wilderness survival tips and techniques you can easily learn. Why not practice one or two on your next backpacking trip?

Steve Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and advocate of lightweight backpacking. His advice and stories can be found at http://www.TheUltralightBackpackingSite.com

It is the dream and deep desire of every golfer to be able to consistently execute a professional golf swing every time they play almost at will.

Indeed many spend a lot of time practicing hours on end to perfect their professional golf swing. Still, success remains elusive despite the hours spent in practice and maybe even in coaching sessions as well.

Yet there is no doubt that a professional golf swing is at the heart of the game and it is not possible to expect to play a reasonably good game of golf if one is not able to produce a consistent and good professional golf swing.

Golfers like Tiger Woods have been the subject of studies that show that their professional golf swing not only produces much longer drives but is consistent. When Tiger Woods entered professional golf for the first time, he was at the tender of age of 20 and he played a major role in ushering in the modern exercise=program golfer.

The research on the Likes of Tiger Woods has confirmed beyond any doubt that the high level of performance by these golfers can be traced back to their exercise training programs.

Golf strength training and golf stretch exercise programs are at the heart of a consistent professional golf swing in the modern game. This is the reason why virtually every professional today is involved in some serious exercise program and many have personal trainers. This is a thing that was unheard of in golf only a few short years ago but is today widespread.

Despite all the tips and practice you have put in to improve your game chances are that a professional golf swing will remain elusive for you if you do not pay attention to your golf fitness and golf exercises to build up your golf strength and endurance.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds at his golf fitness site - Perform Better Golf.

Golf exercise program - with the exploding number of so-called golf fitness experts these days, it becomes very confusing. It’s easy for a golfer to be misled and end up in a program that will hardly have the desired objective of improving their game.

In fact the wrong golf exercise program can end up making a golfer’s game deteriorate rather than improve.

It is therefore very useful to know what constitutes a complete golf exercise program

A complete golf exercise program will tend to have the following attributes;

A) Golf specific stretch exercises Stretch exercises are a very important part of any genuine golf workout program. Stretches help improve the golf swing and correct many common mistakes and weaknesses in this area. They sometime help alleviate or even eliminate nagging back problems in some golfers. Many stretch exercises can be done in the comfort of the office or home.

B) Golf specific strength training Strength training is also a key area in any good golf workout program. Strength training usually has a dramatic effect on the quality of the game of any golfer. Dumbbells are usually used and the program for building strength for golf is usually very different from a body building program because the idea here is not to build muscles.

C) Should be able to focus on certain common player weaknesses A good golf exercise program should also be able to focus on certain common weaknesses amongst most amateur golfers with the aim of helping to improve and deal with those weaknesses. This at times may involve the use of certain golf aid equipment. However it should be very clear what particular aspects of the game are being developed by what golfing aids.

A complete golf exercise program should help any golfer improve their game dramatically and feel much more confident every time they set foot on the course.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds at his golf fitness site - Perform Better Golf.

Any golfer who has made any effort to improve their golf game will have already heard the often-repeated expression that golf is all in the mind and that the game starts there.

But what many golfers do not know is that they fail to improve their golf game because their minds are not prepared for what they must do to make significant progress.

Mention the word ‘exercise’ to most amateur golfers and rather than getting enthusiastic about using it to improve their golf game, they will start seeing images of heavy sweating from rigorous exercises. The sort of rigorous exercises that super athletes in the NFL or NBA have to do regularly in some gym.

Their minds are tightly shut to the idea of exercises such that they can never get to the point where they can examine the subject deeper to find out what sort of exercises professional golfers do to improve their golf game and maintain the quality of their performances as much as possible.

These golfers will not have heard that senior citizens, some of them in the advanced age category of 80 years old, have successfully undertaken golf-specific exercises. The result has been that their golf games have improved tremendously. Surely an 80 year olds’ physical condition will not take the sort of exercises many amateur golfers fear and want to avoid. So these golf exercises are not what most amateur golfers think.

Unless a golfer is prepared to approach the subject with an open mind, it will be very difficult for them to improve their golf game. While the mind is a very powerful tool, having a body that is physically prepared will produce the best results from a golf mind set on winning. To really improve your golf game you need to start with an open mind.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Check out his new golf fitness - golf training site at Perform Better Golf.

It’s no secret that a golf exercise program can put you heads and tails above your playing partners and competitors. Why do you think all the Pro’s are doing it?

Golf is no longer just the leisure game it used to be. It is now recognized as an athletic sport. As with all other athletic sports, your body’s strength plays a crucial part in how well you play the game.

FACT: A stronger body plays better golf. Most strength-building workouts can be beneficial to some degree, but a golf exercise program will enable you to hit longer — and straighter — drives with less effort and hit more accurate shots, which will consequently lower your scores.

GOLF TIP: Strengthen Your Back and Prevent Low Back Pain — so that you can play 18 holes without fatigue

Did you know that doing even just one exercise will greatly improve the strength of your back so that you will be able to play 18 holes, or hit balls all day without any pain?

I call this powerful little exercise the “Lying Superman.” You won’t believe the amazing difference this exercise can make in your strength until you actually do it — so go for it! All you have to do is lie on your stomach on the floor with your hands at your sides. Raise both your upper body (chest), arms and legs as high as you can. Hold it for a count of 10. And that’s it! Just do this simple exercise for 2 sets every day and you can say goodbye to low back pain!

Playing golf at an optimum level requires muscular strength, power, and endurance. Contrary to what most people think, long practice sessions and hitting hundreds of balls will not improve these components. In fact, they will only result in physical injuries (from overuse) and a great deal of frustration.

Participating in a golf exercise program is the answer!

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Visit his new golf exercise site at Perform Better Golf.