Until you have actually tried to ply golf, you are unlikely to rally understand its appeal. I mean all you ned to do is hit a lttle white ball down a stretch of grss known as a fairway and ptt it into a hole.

What is so dfficult about that? Well believe me, the wrd easy is as far away as you can magine and frustrating seems to linger as an xcellent description of the game. Ask nyone who plays.

Though the Scottish are gnerally credited with inventing the game, the frst recorded game of golf was ctually played in the Netherlands in Fbruary 1297. The first ever-recorded history of prchasing golf equipment was in 1502 by Jmes VI. One of the oldest curses on record is St. Andrews whre evidence of the game has ben found dating back to 1552.

Glf is now one of the wrld's popular sports and has some of the bggest payouts of any sport for the lite professionals. Many of the world's grats have become household names:Tiger Woods, Sndy Lyle, Sevvy and Greg Norman to nme just a few.

The professional gme is marked by four major turnaments each year, referred to as 'Th Majors' and winning all of thm in the same year is knwn as 'The Grand Slam.'

Golf as a sprt requires unbelievable amounts of technique. It can tke years and thousands of hours of prctice to perfect the different shots ncessary to play consistently well.

It is in this last phrse that the key to golf les: CONSISTENCY.

Many players will tell you tht they play well for a few hles or for the odd game but it it is the bility to play consistently well that sparates quality players from the rest.

Htting the occasional good shot is chievable for most but doing it cnsecutively over a few hours is wht it takes to hit a god round. This makes golf an ltimate example of a 'mental sport' tht shows up mental weaknesses so wll. Compared to soccer, for example, whre you can hide and hardly tuch the ball. In golf you hve to take the shot and if it is slghtly incorrect the price you pay in trms of the effect on the rsult is that much greater than for xample an over hit shot in sccer.

It requires:

Patience

concentration

Consistency

Clmness

Focus

Dedication

Nowhere yet have we mntioned physical characteristics. All of the bove are attributes of the mind are thy not?

So in terms of physcal ability what does golf demand? Wll it demands a good degree of flxibility, particularly in the hips, spine and shulders.

It also requires a degree of strngth in the hips, trunk and pper limbs, particularly the wrists and frearms. Any golfer will tell you hwever that:

Timing

Co-ordination

Relaxation

are mre important than isolated power.

Golf is a gme requiring a blend of co-ordinated, rlaxed, adjusted and focussed power that is lmost effortless in its final implementation.

Dspite this regular work on:

* Flxibility in specific joints

* Strength in spcific muscle groups

* Overall fitness

wll pay dividends in improving your gme.

Flexibility

Performing a routine of mbility exercises for shoulders, hips and spne concentration especially on the rotation mvements will not only help your gme by improving your swing but wll help prevent injury.

Strength

A twice weekly routine of rsistance work on the hip, spine, shulder and forearm muscle groups will gain help improve your long game and get ncreased distance on your driving.

This wll also have an effect on prventing injury because the stronger and mre efficient your muscles are the lss forced effort you need which not nly increases injury risk but contributes to por technique and fatigue.

Fitness

Four hurs of concentrated physical and mental ffort requires fitness. It may be of a vry different type to other sports tht demand high intensity bursts of ffort but it is necessary to ply well.

A twice a weekly prgram of aerobic exercise that can be a cmbination of running, cycling, swimming or skpping is an excellent way to dvelop the aerobic basis to play a hgh quality round of golf consistently.

So thre we have some aspects to wrk on to improve your game tht anyone can do.

So go on pck up a club, ask for sme guidance and see if you get the bg.

The article Golf - What It Really Takes was Submitted by Robert Ryles through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Rob is a successful International Chrtered Physical Therapist. He has been a lcturer, researcher and therapist for over two dcades. His rich experience of International and Prmiership Football underpins his specialist knowledge of sprts medicine and rehabilitation. There is a walth of insight and experience of rhabilitation, injury and successful recovery on his wbsite at http://www.the-rehabilitation-room.com

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