Drive, Chip, Putt - Everything About Golf

Beachview Golf Club is a beautiful golf course on Sanibel Island, Florida. The scenery is beautiful and the course is very well maintained. The greens fees are somewhat steep but worth the price for a round or two. Have a look at our Google map to walk through each hole.

If you have Google Earth installed, you can also click on the following link to view a more detailed course map. This map will let you view the course and each hole from any angle that you would like - View in Google Earth

Hole Descriptions

1. The course starts off with a 295 yard par 4. A long drive will place you in the trees about 100 yards from the green so you are best off playing smart and taking an iron off the first tee.

2. Hole 2 is a 369 yard par 4 that dog legs severely to the right. Aim for the left side of the fairway off the tee but avoid the small bunker to give yourself a reasonable second shot.

3. The third hole is a 336 yard par 4. This hole is relatively straight and water does not really come into play. Hitting the ball straight down the middle of the fairway will serve you well on this hole.

4. This par 3 is 146 yards off the tee. If you miss the green off the tee on this hole, try to avoid missing to the left because you will likely end up in the large bunker in front of the green.

5. Hole 5 is a slight dog leg left that is a 347 yard par 4. When teeing off, try to avoid missing the fairway along the left side because there is a large bunker that will reduce your chances of landing on the green in two strokes.

6. The first par 5 of the course is 460 yards from the white tees. Be careful to hit the fairway with your drive because most misses to the right will end up in the water. Also beware of the bunkers to the left and right of the green to avoid adding strokes to your score.

7. Hole 7 is a 162 yard par 3 that has water all along the right hand side. There is also a large sand trap along the left side of the green that is best to be avoided.

8. 380 yard hole 9 is a relatively straight par 4. Although there is water along the right hand side of the hole, only severe misses should reach this area.

9. The front 9 finishes with a 438 yard par 5. If you can avoid the water on both the left and right sides of the fairway, you will have ample chance at a birdie.

10. Hole 10 is a straight 400 yard par 4. There is water to the left of the green, but you should be able to avoid this area of the hole.

11. Hole 11 is a 390 yard par 4 with a 90-degree dog leg left. To place yourself in a decent position for your second shot, you should aim for the sand trap straight ahead off the tee while being sure to avoid landing in it.

12. This 145 yard par 3 has water along the left hand side of the hole as well as a small sand trap near the left hand side of the green.

13. This par 4 is 365 yards long and water comes into play all along the hole. Water is in play all along the left hand side and water interferes near the right hand side of the green.

14. Hole 14 is a 354 yard par 4. Avoid the sand trap along the right had side of the fairway with your drive to put yourself in reasonable position to putt for birdie.

15. This par 3 is 147 yards and surrounded by water. If you don’t hit the green off the tee, the chances are pretty good that you will be in the water.

16. This short par 4 is 277 yards long but it has a very thin fairway and it is easy to end up out of bounds off the tee. Some players may be tempted to drive the green but there is a large pond in front of the green that will happily take short drives.

17. Hole 17 is a 325 yard par 3 that has water all along the right side of the fairway. Avoid slicing the ball off the tee and a birdie is reasonable on this hole.

18. The course finishes with a 510 yard par 5 with a slight dog leg right. Try to avoid the sand and water to the right of this hole to finish your round well.

Golf Course Ranking Scale (1 - 10):
Cost: 3
Maintenance: 8
Difficulty: 7
Scenery: 9
Originality: 6
Overall: 9

For official information visit http://www.beachviewgolfclub.com.

World Golf Tour is the newest online game addiction. This is a great golf game that you can play from any web browser without downloading any software (which means you can play it from your office without having to worry about corporate firewalls!) for free! Currently, there is a 9 hole closest to the pin demo but soon they will be releasing a version that lets you play a full course.

I’ve never played an online golf game with such great digital graphics (that is an actual screen shot!) and intuitive controls. The website is www.worldgolftour.com and if you have the time, be sure to check it out. Even if you don’t have the time, you should still visit the site. Be warned though, once you start playing, you may not be able to stop!

Leave us a comment if you’re playing and let us know your best score is over the 9 holes in the demo version. Have fun playing and if you sign up be sure to add us as your friend! (search for drivechipputt)

You may see that next to our golf club reviews we provide an easy link for buying the club on eBay. We have bought clubs on eBay ourselves and it has worked very well for us. You can usually find whatever golf equipment you are looking for on eBay and they have used and new clubs. The new clubs that they sell are much more affordable than they are in the stores.

Here are a few tips that will help you if you do decide to purchase golf equipment from eBay:

• If you decide that you want to buy a new club and you see it on eBay for affordable price, go try it out at your local pro shop first. If you like the way the club works for you at the pro shop, don’t hesitate to leave the club there and try to buy it on eBay instead. Last year I bought a brand new Nike Ignite putter on eBay. Even though the putter arrived in great shape and it was much cheaper than it was in the stores, it just wasn’t the club for me. If I tried the club out before I bought it I would have realized that it wasn’t the club I wanted.
• Make sure that you make your purchases from a seller that has received positive feedback. I’ve never had a negative experience using eBay and I always make sure to buy from a seller with a great reputation. Other people have lost money using eBay so make sure to do your research on a seller first. Also, if the seller has an official eBay store front, it is a good sign that it is a seller you can trust.
• If you are looking to get brand new golf clubs, beware of knock offs and clones. Occasionally you will see clubs in your search results that look almost exactly like the club that you are searching for but it is much cheaper. It often seems like a deal that is too good to be true and it usually is too good to be true. If you want the official club, make sure that the club description does not contain the word ‘clone’. These sellers can be sneaky and try to hide the fact that the club is a clone so be careful if this is not what you want.

So, if you use the tips we’ve given you, your golf shopping experience on eBay should be great. Leave a comment if you have any other eBay buying tips or if you’ve found any really good deals on golf clubs through eBay. Below, we’ve included a widget with some of the latest golf items for sale on eBay. Happy shopping!

The Cleveland Launcher Ti460 is a 460cc driver that is one of the best all around drivers we have ever used. Although the club is not brand new to the market (almost 3 years old now) it is still a great club for golfers of all levels.

One of the great things about this club being a bit older is that its price has dropped significantly in the last year. This club is very forgiving on mishits and amazing on great swings. The large 460cc club head is also useful in reducing the likelihood of mishits. With this club you can definitely expect to add a few extra yards to your drive. This club is available in 7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 11.5 degree lofts and comes with a Cleveland Launcher Silver Graphite shaft standard. If any of our readers have used this club, please let us know what you think in the comments.

Glen Oak Golf Course is one of the most well maintained golf courses in the Western New York region. For the quality of the course, the fees are very reasonable for the casual golfer. Have a look at our detailed Google map to walk through each hole.

If you have Google Earth installed, you can also click on the following link to view a more detailed course map. This map will let you view the course and each hole from any angle that you would like - View in Google Earth

Hole Descriptions
1. You start off with a straight par 5 that has some bunkers placed on both sides of the fairway and around the green. If you can hit the ball straight you should be in good shape after the first hole.

2. On this par 3, there is a pond in front of the green and a small creek runs on all sides of the green except the left. Have a look at the Satellite map to see this in better detail. Make sure you choose the right club to avoid the water. If you do miss hit your shot, it is better to go left since there is no water there.

3. A big drive can go right through the fairway and into the water so you should consider a fairway wood or long iron off the tee. Trying to cut the corner is not recommended with a fairway bunker and out of bounds on the left. This hole has a large green that is well protected with bunkers all around it.

4. The entire left side of this hole is out of bounds. If you land in someone’s backyard, be prepared to take a stroke penalty. This green is very deep so make sure you know the pin placement before hitting onto the green. If you can play your shots straight, you will be in good shape on this hole.

5. This long par 5 will require 3 shots to get on the green so don’t be greedy and try to reach it in 2 shots. Water on both sides comes into play on the second and third shots so be careful as you try to reach the green.

6. Stay to the left of the fairway bunker and you will have a decent approach shot to the green. Long drivers can try to fly the fairway bunker off the tee which would set up a wedge to the green. The green is two-tiered and large, so pay attention to pin placement.

7. The wise tee shot is an iron off the tee aimed straight at the fairway bunker. A tee shot placed in the middle of the fairway leaves a short iron shot to the green. Some players can take the risky tee shot of driving over the pond but you can get into a lot more trouble this way. The green is huge and a pin on the right side of the green is a much longer approach shot than to a pin on the left side of the green.

8. This par 3 has a huge pond between the tee and the green. Hitting to the back of the green is the safe play here to avoid bringing the water and front left bunker into play.

9. On this par 4, the water on the right may likely come into play off the tee. The green is very narrow in the front and surrounded by bunkers. If you can aim for the back of the green, you will be in good shape.

10. Off the tee, you should aim to the right of the fairway bunkers. This will set up a short to mid iron to the green. This hole has a three tiered green that can lead to many 3 putts.

11. If you can find the fairway with your tee shot, you give yourself the chance of reaching the green in 2 to setup for an eagle putt. The right rough slopes down to the creek, where many drives end up in the water.

12. This is a tough par 3. The green is angled to slope into the water in the front and bunkers are behind the green. If you can land on the front right corner of the green, you will be in the best shape.

13. There is trouble to both the left and right sides of the fairway off the tee on this hole. A ball hit either way will unlikely be found in the tall grass or woods. Make sure to take enough club for the approach shot which is uphill.

14. On this dogleg left, a straight drive can set up a birdie chance on this short par 4. However, hooked tee shots can easily find the out of bounds and sliced tee shots will land in the water to the right.

15. This par 3 usually plays longer than it looks, so be sure to choose the right club off the tee. Don’t go directly for the pin if it is behind the bunkers or you will most likely be attempting a second shot out of the sand. Be happy with a par on this hole!

16. Aim for the right side of the fairway off the tee and only try to cut the corner over the edge of the fairway bunker if you are a long and straight driver. Be careful because if your approach shot is long, you can land in the woods behind the green.

17. This is a short par 4 where water may come into play. To the left, you can reach water with your drive. If you can land in the fairway with your driver or fairway wood, you will have a short approach shot to the green. Avoid going over the green since it slopes down to a creek on the right.

18. This hole has the most character of any on the course. This is another par 5 that will take you 3 shots to reach the green. Hit a fairway wood or long iron off the tee, which will put you over the first creek to the middle of the fairway. A long iron second shot over the second creek can put you in the middle of the second part of the fairway short of the pond, leaving a short or mid iron over the pond to a receptive green. If you try to play this hole any other way, be prepared to lose you ball in the water than runs all throughout this hole.

Golf Course Ranking Scale (1 - 10):
Cost: 5
Maintenance: 7
Difficulty: 6
Scenery: 7
Originality: 6
Overall: 7

For official information visit www.glenoak.com.

So, you’ve fixed your slice after checking out our article here and now you’ve developed a hook! Check out this video for tips to solve your new hook issues.

How To Avoid Hooking The Ball

It’s happened to the best of us - and often at the worst of times! You seem to develop a slice out of nowhere and you don’t know what you’re doing differently that’s causing this. Have a look at the video below for tips on fixing your slice and getting your golf game back on track.

Golf: Avoid Slicing

If you’re looking to buy new clubs this year, we have some great advice on where to find great deals. Pretty much anywhere! If you’re not a professional golfer and you play the game just to have a great time and enjoy the game, don’t fall for the hype and purchase the latest and greatest models.

I was in the market for a new driver this year and I really enjoyed the Cleveland Hibore XL (which we reviewed here) but I also decided to try the Cleveland Launcher 460 Driver as well. I found that I hit the Launcher Driver almost as well as I hit the Hibore XL. With the Hibore XL I did get a few more yards out of my drives but I feel that I can make up those yards by hitting a well placed iron shot after my drive. Not only was the quality of the launcher similar to the Hibore XL but the Launcher was half price since it was last year’s model.

Many people will find the newest models of clubs (and the extra 10 yards or whatever other technical breakthrough is promised by the manufacturer) very useful and this advice is not for them. But, if you just enjoy the game of golf and need some new equipment, try out last year’s models and find yourself a great deal.

After trying very hard to get out and play yesterday, today was finally the day. After getting rained out yesterday, my friend and I decided that we would try today. Since it is still very early in the season up here in Buffalo we were able to get out on a great course for next to nothing, and we pretty much had the course to ourselves which was very nice. Being that this was the first time out since last year I didn’t quite know what to expect out of my game. It’s going to take a few more rounds to shake all the rust off but I was very please with how I played. If anyone in the Buffalo area wants to try to get out and play I suggest going to Glen Oak. I was very impressed with the shape of the course. Can’t wait to get out again soon. Also, come back soon for our detailed full course review of Glen Oak.

Disaster is another golf variation that I have really enjoyed playing with my golf friends. It is a scoring game where the winner is the player with the fewest points at the end of the round. Points are awarded for bad shots - hit your ball in the bunker and you get a point.

You can change the points system to whatever you want to use but this is the points system I’ve used:
• Water ball - 1 point
• Out of bounds - 2 points
• Hitting into a bunker - 1 point
• Hitting from one bunker into another - 3 points
• Failing to get ball out of bunker - 2 points
• Chipping over the green - 1 point
• 3-putt - 2 point
• Every other putt after 3 - 1 point

Another betting option that you can add to this game is to have all of the losing players pay a dollar per point to the winner at the end of the game - this certainly ups the stakes a little bit!