Golf in the Wild

by: AVEL ON LINE

Costa Rica is a fantasy land for nature lovers -- and golfers, too

Hawaii...Cabo San Lucas...Pebble Beach...Myrtle Beach... Imagine a golf vacation at these popular golf destinations before they were discovered by the golf traveler. This will give you an idea of the golf vacation that awaits you in Costa Rica. You will re-discover "no-hassle" tee times and the enjoyment of playing unhurried rounds of golf on courses designed by well known golf architects George Fazio, Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Ted Robinson, Jr., Mike Young and Tracy May. Here you will find all the ingredients for a great golf vacation and the added bonus of experiencing the scenic beauty and natural attractions of Costa Rica.

The BIG question? Where do you we play next? Our guess is that like all golfers you have a hard time choosing the destination for your upcoming golf adventure. There are dozens of great golf destinations and picking the right one is never an easy decision. While many destinations have much to offer, I believe few can match Costa Rica for overall quality, cost, and safety. The Costa Rica experience combines great golf, new and exciting non-golfing adventures, and the chance to meet and interact with the warm and friendly people of this charming country. What is truly remarkable is that all of this is set in one of the world's most beautiful and ecologically diverse locations.

Recipe for a golfer's paradise: Start with volcanoes, rain forests, waterfalls and miles of perfect beaches. Add exotic animals, spice with adventures like surfing, fishing and white-water rafting, then top off with five fine golf courses, including Arnold Palmer's stunning, new Peninsula Papagayo. Thousands of years in the making, your feast is now ready; it's time for the first course.

Most trips to Costa Rica start in the Central American nation's capital, San Jose. Perched at 4,000 feet, the city boasts wonderfully cool weather year-round and is a surprisingly easy three-hour flight from Houston or Miami. Five minutes from the airport you'll find the Melia Cariari Conference Center & Golf Resort, whose course was designed by George Fazio and built in 1974 by his now-famous nephew, Tom Cariari is a 6,590-yard alpine track with tight fairways lined by towering pines. The downhill, downwind 149-yard 4th hole over water is testy -- a little local knowledge helps, so hire a caddie.

Golf is a relatively new endeavor in Costa Rica, where eco-tourism has reigned supreme for years. If you want to play the course where it all began almost 29 years ago, head to Meli Cariari in San Jos and tee it up at the George Fazio-designed Melia Cariari Country Club.

Melia Cariari Country Club is a par 71 layout, and was the first 18-hole facility to open in this bucolic country. The course is sits on an old coffee plantation, and is a shot-makers delight with its tight, tree-lined fairways. The course, built on hilly terrain, plays to just over 6,500 yards from the tips, but is still well respected as one of Costa Rica's most challenging tracts.

By law, Costa Rica is required to set aside one quarter of its land mass for nature preserves and National Parks - American environmentalists drool as the prospect. As you can imagine, the country's beautiful, sometimes rugged coastline is a target of a great deal of this legislation. Robert Trent Jones Jr., known for his ability to craft memorable courses within the context of strict environmental laws, was hired by the Spanish hotel chain Meli to build a 650-acre seaside resort and golf course along the Pacific Coast in Guanacaste Providence.

Melia Playa Conchal Beach & Golf Resort was the project that emerged from the commission, and it may be the only golf course in the world that can claim monkeys in play. That's right, monkeys. Jones was not permitted to hack down any of the properties Banyan trees, which are, incidentally, home to the indigenous Howler Monkey. If you think sinking a 10-foot putt to win a skin in front of three playing partners is nerve-racking, try draining a long roll in from of Cocoa the monkey.

The course was built over a period of four years and according to many writers and players, is well positioned to become the best layout in the country. At just over 6,500 yards from the blue tees, Melia Playa is not particularly long, but the humidity of Costa Rica keeps distance in check by taking five to ten yards off each club.

If you want to shape shots and carve out doglegs, then Melia Cariari Country Club is your bag. If you enjoy a wide-open golf course that is as receptive to a driver as the locals are to "touristas," then Melia Playa will be more to your liking.

Far be it from golf course architect Ron Garl to be left out of the Costa Rica golf fray. Garl, born and raised in Florida, is no stranger to warm weather and big game fishing, and Costa Rica has the best of both worlds. Garl put his stamp on the Costa Rica golf scene with his design at Royal Pacific. The front nine at Royal Pacific is relatively flat and quite scoreable. A number of the holes on the walk out follow a river that borders the western edge of the course.

If you didn't get enough of the Howler Monkeys at Melia Playa Conchal Beach & Golf Resort, you'll get your fill here. The back nine plays through steeper geography and overall, is significantly tighter than the front. Ted Robinson Jr. doesn't get the hype of a RTJ Jr. in the golf course design world, but the guy can flat out build a golf course. Robinson designed Shiloe, site of the 1998 PGA Championship, and with Los Suenos (the dreams), he has given Costa Rica yet another new track it can be quite proud of. Los Suenos is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on one side and rainforest on the other. If you can honestly keep you mind on scoring, more power to you. The course is also endowed with a number of old, majestic trees that are not afraid to come into play. Los Suenos is one of the few courses you'll find that offers forecaddies - guides that help you manage you golf game based on their knowledge of the course. In typical Costa Rican fashion, they are paid according to their helpfulness on the course.

About The Author

Aventuras Elegantes, AVEL, S.A. We are an american and costa rican group. Aventuras Elegantes, AVEL, S.A., started operation in 1995 as a receptive tourism agency specialized in promoting Costa Rica as a tourist destination worldwide.

www.mytraveltocostarica.com
info@mytraveltocostarica.com

Kids Basics For Golf

When introducing kids to golf, you need to keep FUN as the main goal. If you throw in all of the rules and all of the golf talk, then you will make it boring and they will not enjoy it. If you allow a child to enjoy playing golf, then they will grow to love it forever!

Making a child practice for hours and hours will quickly overwhelm a child. Let them practice for small amounts of time, such as 30 minutes, at first. This will help them stay motivated to practice.

Let them hit the ball hard at first. This will make it fun for them. Don?t stress about the correct grip when they are just beginning. Just show them how to keep the right hand under the left hand and let them swing away!

Also, encourage them to keep their feet on the ground during their follow through.

If you want to purchase a child?s set of golf clubs, that is okay, but a used set of women?s clubs will work just as well. They are light and will work great for kids. You only need a woman?s 6 iron, 9 iron, 3 wood, and a putter to start.

Let your child start by playing games chipping and putting. This will allow them to get the feel of the club and the ball. Kids will enjoy bouncing the ball off the wedge to try to hit leaves or twigs.

To keep them motivated, you might want to try some fun contests and games. You will want to avoid pressuring them too early. Allowing your child to enjoy the game will make them want to play instead getting frustrated and quitting.

Encourage your child and they will enjoy playing with you. If you start demanding them to win or overemphasizing competition, then will lose their interest in golf very fast.

Children will progress when they are ready to. If you will let them do this at their own pace, you can help prevent burnout. Don?t force a child to play golf. Playing golf should be fun and full of enjoyment. Have fun with them and playing golf!

If your child really seems to be interested in golf, then you may want to consider golf lessons or a golf camp especially for children. If you want a private instructor, make sure that you watch them teach children first. You want someone that will encourage your child and that is good at teaching children.

If is very important to teach your child golf etiquette. Teach them that it is not acceptable to talk when someone else is swinging. Stand still. Don?t walk in front of someone swinging. Don?t walk in front of someone?s line or through their line.

Don?t criticize them. Praise the shots and swings that they make. Encourage them in the correct methods, but don?t dwell on their incorrect shots.

If you completely focus on the important parts of golf ? enjoying it and learning the basics ? then you may have a child that can compete with you on the golf course and who enjoys golf for the rest of their life.

About the Author: Jay Morganson, for http://www.you-found.com/golf

Golf Tips Presents: How To Putt

Putting: Back to Basics

We're back to putting again. We feel that strongly about it. The average golfer could easily make up 10 strokes a ROUND by putting properly. And it is much easier to practice putting then driving or fairway shots in your house or yard!

The game of golf should be learned from the green back to the tee. That means putting, chipping, fairway shots, and THEN drives. Remember, most shots in a round are from around the green!!!!

The average golfer's tendency, when putting, is to use too much of their wrists and arms, thus breaking down their wrists through the putt. No! No!! NO!!!! DO NOT BREAK YOUR WRISTS!! First it hurts (ok, couldn't resist), second, you LOSE CONTROL!!!

To become a great putter, the perfect combination of shoulders and arms should be used throughout the putt. Any wrist action involved is through the motion of the weight of the putter.

During your putt, concentrate on your shoulders really the putting stroke. On the backswing, your left shoulder moves down and your right shoulder moves up, focusing on your shoulders becoming synchronized. Your left wrist should stay nice and firm throughout.

In order to set up the putting grip, first place the grip in the palm of your left hand, and your entire hand around the grip. Place your right hand underneath your left, in a similar palm grip. Overlap your right hand with your left index finger.

Your palms should be opposite to one another, for a nice locked-in feeling. When setting up to address the ball, make sure your eyes are over the ball, specifically your left eye (if you are a right hand golfer).

Bend your knees slightly, and hang your arms over the ball.

Shift your weight slightly forward on your left foot, favoring the left side of your body. Your hands should also be slightly forward in your stance.

Before making your stroke, make sure your arms, shoulders, knees and feet are all parallel with your target line.

Keep all these elements in tact, and you should see improved putting in no time. .

Standard rule of thumb. Five foot putt, bring (sweep) your putter back five inches, follow through five inches.

Why do most putts miss? Because the stance and the putter head are NOT square to the target line (for such cool people playing this game, isn't the word square used a lot?).

Put this in your muscle and visual memory bank:

Use a square tile floor. Place the putter head along one of the squares, and align your feet using the square pattern of the floor to be, well, square to the target.

Now, take a little peek down the target line. MEMORIZE that look. That is a square look, and that's cool!

Where Should Your Miss Land??

One of the major differences between the Tour pros and the weekend player is that the Tour pro focuses on where he wants his "misses" to land. For example, if the green is sloped back-to-front, the Tour pro will choose a club that will make sure that he leaves his approach below the hole so that he has an easier, uphill putt for birdie.

You should do the same thing. Instead of just walking off the yardage and choosing the appropriate club for the yardage, take a second to study the green to see how it's sloped. If it is sloped severely back-to-front, take one less club or choke down on the club a bit.

Or, if it is sloped hard right-to-left, aim well left of the hole (assuming the hole isn't cut tight to the left side of the green near trouble). By leaving your approach shots on the proper side of the hole, you'll find yourself three-putting or four-putting a lot less.

What are the three worst words in golf?

Wedge, Putter, Wedge (OK, if you don't get it, email me, and I'll explain..)

About The Author

Michael Hamilton is an accomplished golfer, and editor of Golf Tips Weekly Newsletter. His most recent book can be found at:
http://www.free-golf-tip.com/golfebook.htm
His sites include:
http://www.free-golf-tip.com
http://www.breaking90.com

Advice On Golf Training Aid Products

There are many different types of golf swing faults and golf training aids can go a long way in helping any golfer deal with their specific problem area.

The golf swing is the essence of the golf game and therefore it would not be a bad idea to get even two golf training aids that are specific to your swing fault.

The golf training aid that I have found to be very effective is the weighted club. This is a very golf-specific golf training aid as you go through the exact same motions you do with an ordinary club but with more weight. This greatly helps in strengthening and conditioning all the relevant muscles.

The inside approach is another great golf training aid to help improve any golf swing. This particular device is extremely useful for slicers and helps deal with this problem fairly quickly.

Another golf training aid is exercise tubing, which is very affordable and yet very effective. The strength of this device is in its ability to break down the golf swing into as many different phases as you would like to focus on for the sake of improvements. It offers specific resistance training for each phase.

A stability ball is a golf training aid than any golfer with a bad back should have. There are almost countless different stretch exercises that you can with it. And what makes this golf training aid even more attractive is the fact that you can do your exercises in the office or at home when you have a moment.

A simple pair of dumbbells can be a golf training aid that is very useful to any golfer. They are usually very portable and there are many exercises that can be done with hand weights.

Use of a golf training aids all boils down to the golfer knowing exactly what they are doing when using it.


About the author:
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 site at http://www.performbettergolf.com