Need some advice on swing correction or putting? The answer these days is a lot closer than it used to be.
Over the past couple weeks we've examined some of the resources available online in both tee-time reservations and in purchasing golf equipment.
Now it's time to examine some of the good old-fashioned freebies out there on the World Wide Web.
It seems that everyone is an expert-turned-millionaire these days. The beauty of the Web is that it gives people a place to share their opinions and advice, and the majority of it is usually for free.
Oh sure, you'll see some sites up there strictly to hock their latest golf instruction video, but few sites give you nothing for visiting. Part of the difficulty in e-business is building credibility on an unknown landscape, so sites will often offer at least free tidbits to show the quality of their material.
The golf directory on Yahoo! (dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Sports/Golf) is pretty complete, and in the subcategories you can sift through the sites and find what you're looking for.
The Virtual Golfer (www.golfball.com) offers a variety of different golf information, including "the practice tee," which offers advice for players of varying levels. There aren't a whole lot of tips on the site, but it's a good starting point.
A better site is The Amateur Golf Advisor (www.shootforpar.com), which has a bunch of different links on various topics, including the swing plane, grip and course strategy.
This site is better than Virtual Golfer for lots of reasons, including the fact that it just looks nicer. But the tips are much longer and more thoroughly explained, and there are pictures to go with their advice that helps you understand the material better.
Last week we examined buying clubs online, and TAGA offers advice on buying clubs. For example, this is what they say about putters:
"Pick a putter that works for you. The putter doesn't have to be consistent with the rest of your set. "
That's something you may or may not hear from a sales rep, so this site offers the kind of objectivity you can appreciate.
One of the problems with gathering information online is that you never know who to trust. Everyone's an expert, as we've already established.
Obviously if you've been around golf for a while, you can probably see for yourself which sites aren't trustworthy, but if you're completely new to the game, you want to make sure you're getting good advice.
That's what makes World Golf (www.worldgolf.com) so attractive. If you click on "Golf Tips" in the menu bar at the left, you can pick the "Tips from the Pro" section.
This feature has golf tips from pros around the country, from teachers that run golf schools to head professionals at golf courses nationwide. The tips are short and to the point, but they are packed with good information.
World Golf also has a Q&A section in its golf tips menu. Pat Dolan, a former pro at several courses throughout the country, answers one question each week. You can either read the tip there or ask a question of your own. Either way, it's informative.
A couple other links there include a directory of golf schools and advice for the mental side of the game, written by golfers who play psychologists in real life. It's all there at Golf World, and it appears that this is one of those sites on the Web made by the golfer, for the golfer.
Maybe discussion is your thing.
Golf Limited (chat.yahoo.com) has discussion boards where you can go on and post questions for other golfers in a real-time chat. Just click on "complete room list" link and choose the room called golf.
A sample of Wednesday's discussion ranged from a guy asking help on scoring to someone seeking help on what type of ball to use. It's all there, and since it's a golf forum, it's likelier to be more polite than most.
Jeremy Littau is the Nevada Appeal sports editor. Write to him at jjleditor@yahoo.com
Golf Digest Online
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Golf Limited
www.golfltd.com
USGA Rules Information
www.usga.org/rules
Golf 101
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