Understanding The Basic Rules Of Golf

All the golf greats started out by learning the basics. In fact that is
what separates Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo et al from less
successful golfers; they mastered the basics.

Of course you need to know the rules before you start on techniques, and
that's what this article is about.

Understanding The Basic Rules Of Golf
Copyright (c) 2006 Ewen Chia

There are many people who embark on playing golf but do not
really try to understand the rules or the golfing terms
used. It's good to at least understand the basic rules
before a game of golf.

Golf is played by striking a ball using a club on an area
called "teeing ground." Once the ball is hit, it typically
travels fairways across and onto a next prepared area. A
hole could be found in this area that is called a "putting
green."

The objective of the game of golf is that one should be
able to complete a hole by means of hitting a ball from a
teeing ground and place it inside the hole of the putting
green in as few strokes as possible. What is usually
referred to as a round of golf generally consists of 18
holes to be played in.

In golf, there are mainly two kinds of play to pick from.
The winner in one kind of play is determined by the holes
that are lost and won, this is referred to as a match play.
The other kind of play is determined by the number of
strokes one has taken to complete a round. This is called
a stroke play.

When playing golf, there are two relevant rules to
remember: as you find the course, go play it. As the ball
lies, it should also be played as such.

If you find it hard to follow the above rule, at least try
your very best to do what is reasonable. How do you know
what is fair? Below are the summarized rules to give you a
good idea of how to play a good game of golf.

The Intro: Basic golf courtesy

1. Avoid moving, chatting or standing too close to a golfer
who is about to make a stroke.

2. Play with a minimum amount of delay. As quickly as the
players in the group that you are in have left, it is just
as best that you do the same. Try your best not to play
until the group is already out of the way.

3. As much as possible, try to replace the divots. Also,
remember to smooth any footprints found in the bunkers.

4. It is greatly inadvisable to drop your clubs on the
putting green, so don't!

The Rules of Playing

1. Before playing that all important round of golf, the
first thing you should do is to read the local rules stated
on the score card you are holding.

2. After which do not forget to place an identifying mark
on the ball you are going to use. Some golfers use the
same type and brand of golf ball, if in case your ball is
placed among these bunch, you will have difficulty finding
which is which.

3. Make sure that you get to count your clubs before actual
play. You should have a maximum of fourteen clubs.

4. When beginning actual play, it is best that you tee off
in front of the tee markers. When you tee outside this
specified area and you are playing a match play, your
opponent may have to ask you to repeat the stroke you just
did. The good thing when one does this in a match play,
you get to incur no penalty. However, if in a stroke play,
you then are given a penalty of two-stroke. 5. If while
you are playing and your golf ball happens to lie in a
bunker or a water hazard, you should not in any way touch
the ground of the bunker or the water before you do your
down swing.

6. The ball must as much as possible be struck fairly and
should neither be spooned or pushed. 7. It is alright for
you to mark the ball that you are using. You could take
your ball, clean it and place it on the exact place where
it was.

8. When dropping a ball, it is best that you stand upright
and then hold the ball at the length of your shoulder, and
then you may drop it. If by dropping the ball it happens
to strike your partner, you or your caddie, the ball must
then be dropped again with no penalty.

9. It is also fine for you to lift your ball if by doing so
you are able to assist another player. Or you also may
lift any other ball as long as that ball interferes with
your playing or interferes another player.

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Using Yoga and Meditation To Discover Your Hidden Talents

Using Yoga and Meditation To Discover Your Hidden Talents
============================================
Do you feel as though there is something missing from your
life?

How about the nagging feeling that you have been just
floating through life so far, yet to make the sort of
difference you envisioned as a child?

It's common to have the "gut" feeling that we are capable
of much greater things in our lives, but to lack clarity on
how we can realize such accomplishments.

Now is the time to change all of that by using yoga and
meditation to become directed by inner strength and passion
rather that external influences.

Face it, the vast majority of decisions in our lives are
directed by others. You would be correct in arguing that
we don't have someone else telling us what to do every
single hour of each and every day, but through leaving our
lives to chance and by following a short-term, tactically
driven lifestyle, we really control very little about the
direction of our life.

No wonder that as each year passes we seem to drift further
and further away from the key characteristics of someone in
control of their life: happiness, health, meaningful
relationships and a fulfillment that can only be achieved
through alignment with your inner passions.

LOOKING WITHIN TO FIND OUR GREATNESS

As we move through life we become better and better at
"tactical living". We get better at making short-term
decisions related to short-term goals, fooling ourselves
into thinking we are making giant leaps of progress when in
fact, we are moving further away from inner-directed
greatness.

We chase job after job, business after business with the
hope of gaining more money - but for what?

We deal with health problems with an ever-growing list of
substances from alcohol and drugs to painkillers and
sleeping pills, yet we fail to recognize the underlying
cause of such ailments.

Relationship seeking becomes an essential part of our life,
each subsequent relationship is designed to overcome the
limitations of the first and satisfy our ego giving us that
short-term fix that eventually leads to the very thing we
hope to prevent - loneliness, unhappiness and unfulfilling
relationships.

Through all of this "tactical living", we become lost,
adopting outward beliefs, impressions and values to help
make the many decisions we must make each day.

What if we could harness the power of strength, passion and
inner spirit that exists today, deep inside of us?

With yoga and meditation you can open up your inner
resources to work in your favor, overcome the conflict that
often exists between your decisions and your inner values.

I first started yoga and meditation to relax, to simply
re-capture a portion of the day for myself and I have to
admit, the insight gained into my own strengths and
passions is a powerful effect I had not earlier planned.

After just a few months of practicing yoga and meditation,
two important things happened:

1. It became easier to relax and let my sub-conscious
thoughts make their way to the surface. We all have a
powerful sub-conscious that is capable of directing your
life, the key is to understand what the messages are.

2. Through the process, many people soon begin to
experience new feelings of self-respect, a like for
themselves achieved through greater understanding and
self-awareness. Quite simply, you can't like someone you
don't know, and most of us go through life not really
knowing who we really are. In fact, this lack of knowing
what is deep inside us scares us enough to cover it up
entirely.

Success in relationships, health, social situations,
career, finances are all embedded within us, by choosing to
understand and leverage our internal strengths and talents,
we can live the lives and impact society as we secretly
know is possible.

Adopting just 15-20-minutes of yoga and meditation each day
will open your conscious mind to your sub-conscious
strengths and talents making you virtually unstoppable.

----------------------------------------------------
Join The World's Top Achievers Reach Inner Strength,
Happiness, Fulfillment and Live Their True Potential by
Discovering The Secrets of Yoga and Meditation. Visit
http://www.yogasuccess.com
And Learn To Improve Your Life Now.

Fairy Tale Fitness

Fairy Tale Fitness
Copyright (c) 2006 Ainsley Laing

At University, many years ago, I took a class in marketing.
One of the lessons of this class was about the "Cinderella
Theme" in marketing and merchandising. Have you ever heard
of it? Even if you don't know it by its technical name, I
am quite sure you would recognize this method or philosophy.

Guys, how many of you have wanted a car just because that
particular car has the image of being a "Babe Magnet"? Be
honest with yourself now – 99% of you, right? This is how
the professionals on Madison Avenue make their living.

Ladies, how much make-up do you have in your make-up bag
that you bought because the model looked good, the guy in
the ad looked good…..only to get the cosmetic home and find
it make you feel like a clown?

Those folks on Madison Avenue are good…I personally keep
buying lipsticks that when I buy them I just know this is
the magic one that will change my looks and hence my life
forever - only to find I look the same with different
colored lips. Ah well.

After many years helping fitness clients, I feel that some
clients also begin a fitness program with a "Cinderella"
mentality. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone
say "If only I could lose 10 pounds, I would be so much
happier", I would be pretty rich by now.

Just imagine how much money is made appealing to this
thinking with quick fixes such as diet pills, weight loss
suits, diet foods, etc. The list is exhausting.

It really doesn't matter with respect to fitness how or why
a person decides to get fit and change their body
composition – the end result is the same. What gets them
to the decision, be it vanity, peer pressure, health or
Madison Avenue doesn't make any difference….so long as the
commitment is made.

The equation is the same: commit the time, do the work and
you will lose fat, gain muscle and get fit.

But, here's where the fairy tale ends. A great many people
will commit and follow through only long enough to reach a
goal. I feel that this is the Cinderella theme aspect of
all this. Many clients I have seen see "weight loss", or
"getting into a size 7" as a goal and use fitness programs
and/or diets as a means to get there. Again, a good reason
to start; but just losing a few pounds does not make a fit,
strong body and heart nor does the weight stay off
permanently.

Slim people are not necessarily fit….fit people are not
necessarily slim. I recently read some scary statistics
somewhere that concluded that many women were smoking
cigarettes because they believed this would keep them slim.
Since smoking is counterproductive to fitness, I would
guess that these slim people are not as fit as they could
be! But, I digress.

Fitness takes time, is hard work and needs to continue for
some time for a person to really transform into "the
princess" or "prince". I generally tell clients that,
although it takes about 6 months to start to feel "the
magic" of getting fit by following a good fitness and
nutrition plan, it takes much more time to get real,
lasting changes in both body composition and health profile.

It is true that the practicalities of getting fit, staying
fit and making healthy lifestyle choices don't seem
romantic. They involve sweat, tears and just plain old
time - a lifetime in fact.

It's about the process, small increments over a long time
period. Through the process, a self romance can grow: a
sense of pride of accomplishment and a strong beautiful
body. THE PROCESS is the "happily ever after"…

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About the Author:
Ainsley Laing, MSc. has been a Fitness Trainer for 25 years
and writes exclusively Body for Mind eZine. She holds
certifications in Group Exercise, Sports Nutrition and
Person Fitness Training. Read other articles by Ainsley at
http://www.bodyformind.com .

Isagenix Body Cleansing: Help Get Your Body in Top Condition With Isogenics

Isagenix Body Cleansing: Help Get Your Body in Top Condition With Isogenics
When it comes to body cleansing, many people actually get
this confused with another term-fasting. The fact is body
cleansing is not fasting. It is simply a process that will
help you to get unwanted toxins out of your body and there
are many aspects of body cleansing.

First of all, body cleansing is a process made up of
different parts. For example, in order to rid your body of
toxins that may have built up in your system, you may want
to begin by cleansing one part of your body first-the
colon. Doing a colon cleanse first will allow the rest of
your body to function more smoothly which will allow other
organs to work better and thereby, cleanse themselves
better. The next step may be a kidney, gall bladder, or
liver cleanse.

To do body cleansing, however, you do not need to stop
eating. It's simply a matter of knowing the right foods to
eat and making sure you are getting the proper amount of
water that your body needs. Many will go on a strict diet
of raw organic foods and juice to make certain they are
still filling their body's requirement of calories and
nourishment and to make sure their body is functioning to
its maximum ability. Once they have cleansed, they will
start adding more foods to their diet, making certain they
are eating healthy and as few processed foods as they can.

The fact is that only eating certain foods can certainly
help you to cleanse your body, but you need to make certain
your body is getting nourishment during this time, as
well. If you were to go on a fast for three days, your
body would be able to clean itself out and you'd find it
would help to rid your body of some of the built up toxins.
However, if you are starving and not getting the
nourishment you need, you'll find that you will not be
functioning at your top performance level.

The time in which it takes to do a body cleansing varies.
You can do a body cleanse in one day or ten days, if you
prefer. Obviously, along with the varying time, the
benefits will vary, as well. For example, if you are
extremely toxic and you do a cleanse for three days, you
may not be able to get all the built up toxins out of your
body. However, a ten day cleanse may allow you to release
all of the built up waste and toxins that were at one time,
taking all of your energy. The results will be more
noticeable when you get rid of more toxins in your body.

Before you begin any body cleansing regiment, you may want
to speak to your physician regarding any of the symptoms
you've been experiencing. You will want to make certain
that you consume healthy, non-processed food that will help
your body to put its energy into digesting the good and
eliminate wastes that may have built up in your body. Once
the toxins have been released, you'll notice a major
difference in your energy level and you'll want to make
certain you do a body cleanse regularly to make sure your
body is always in top working condition.

----------------------------------------------------
Stacey S. Zimmerman is the author of many comprehensive
articles on Isagenix body cleansing, detoxification, weight
loss and nutrition. He is an independent Isagenix associate
http://freeinfo.isagenix.com/cleanse.dhtml , who runs many
websites on the internet. Be sure to check out his
Isogenics website http://www.isogenics.us/isogenics.html
for more information on healthy weight loss through
Isogenics body cleansing.

Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Successful Diet Plan

Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Successful Diet Plan
Copyright (c) 2006 Debbie Fontana

Going on a new diet usually ranks about as high as going to
the dentist.

You know you need to do it. But you procrastinate because
your past experiences have been so unpleasant. Even
torturous.

But there's one big difference between going to a dentist
and going on a diet. The results from the dentist usually
last.

So why don't the results of a diet usually last?

Because you have to eat several times every day. So if the
only way to keep the weight off is a diet that seems as
torturous as a trip to the dentist, is it any surprise most
of us fail repeatedly?

I believe you'll have a greater chance for long-term
success if you enjoy your weight loss program.

So here are my top 10 tips for choosing a successful diet
plan:

1. You Have to Be Able to Live With Your Diet And Have a
Life With It.

This is absolutely the most important tip.

If your diet seems like torture, if the food gives you no
pleasure, if you're making yourself and everyone around you
miserable, then you'll have trouble losing all the weight
you want and keeping it off.

You have to make long-term changes in your eating habits to
succeed with weight loss. So whatever you do to lose weight
initially should be similar to how you keep it off.

That means you have to eat foods you enjoy. You have to be
able to socialize at food-based events. You have to be able
to enjoy life.

2. You Should Lose No More Than 2 Pounds a Week.

Sometimes, you may lose a little more at the beginning. But
week-to-week, 2 pounds is enough. Anything more is
unhealthy.

3. Your Diet Shouldn't Be Extreme in Any Way.

Unless your doctor advises you otherwise, it's unhealthy to
eliminate entire food groups. A balanced diet provides
vitamins and minerals to keep you strong.

So skip the diets with low-carb, all grapefruit, or
whatever the latest fad is. Extreme diets usually don't
work. At least not for very long.

4. You Should Have Minimal or No Hunger.

If you're losing only 1 or 2 pounds a week, you shouldn't
experience tremendous hunger. Not if you plan your meals
and snacks correctly.

5. You Should Have Lots of Food Choices.

There's no reason to restrict the kinds of food you eat
week to week. I've never understood plans that say in Week
1, you can only eat these 10 foods. In Week 2, you can add
another 5 foods. But if you gain weight, go back to Week 1.

If your diet doesn't work with every food from Day One,
it's probably not going to work. Period.

6. You Should Be Able to Enjoy the Holidays.

If your diet doesn't build in holiday eating, you're going
to do it anyway. You'll just ruin your diet.

That's why so many people start diets in January - after
the holidays. Trouble is, the holidays always roll around
later in the year. So you need to have a way to handle them.

7. Your Diet Has to Allow for Moments of Weakness.

Perfect diets are for perfect people. But there are no
perfect people. So a perfect diet is destined to fail.

8. You Shouldn't Have to Exercise with the Diet To Lose
Weight.

I'm not saying you shouldn't exercise. We all know exercise
is healthy and it makes you feel good.

But the benefits of exercise should be a bonus. Not a
necessary part of a diet plan.

After all, what if you become unable to exercise for some
reason?

Or suppose you stop losing weight on your diet plan and you
haven't reached a reasonable target weight. If the only way
to start losing again is to exercise more, then the diet's
not working.

9. You Should Get All the Information You Need When You
Start the Diet.

If someone sells you a diet and you have to go back week
after week to get more information, they're just trying to
make money off of you. There's no reason why Week 1 should
be substantially different from Week 9.

And when you pay your money, you should know what the
entire diet system is about. How else can you evaluate if
it's going to work for you?

10. You Should Control the Diet.

The diet shouldn't control you. By this, I mean that your
diet should meet your needs and wants.

Strict rules just increase your chance of failure.

For example, if you like to snack in the evening, but your
diet eliminates eating after 7PM, how are you most likely
to fail on your diet?

That's right. By snacking in the evening.

But everyone has different needs and wants. So you have to
be able to customize a diet to meet yours. Then you're more
likely to succeed.

And of course, before starting any weight loss program, you
should see your doctor to make sure your diet is right for
you.

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Debbie Fontana is a full-time author and business owner who
writes about health, weight loss, looking great, and
feeling fantastic. She created the delicious I Love to
Cheat lifestyle diet and the companion I Love to Cheat
Rewards Newsletter. She encourages her subscribers to
submit their weight loss problems, questions, and concerns.
Visit her at http://www.ILoveToCheatDiet.com