Timex Watches

I suppose there’s a time in every golfer’s life when he feels something in his game “just ain’t right”. Yet, try as he may, he just can’t put his finger on it. Well, there’s a quick way to get through that messy period.

One of the very best ways to see what you doing wrong is to watch yourself. That’s right, watch yourself. Do this by videotaping yourself and then reveiwing the tape. In fact, one of the best things you can do for your overall game is to videotape yourself hitting a few balls with each of your clubs in various situations.

This is a great excercise for the off season, by the way.

The easiest way to do this is to have a buddy do the camera work and then you return the favor and film him or her. However, if you can’t find a buddy to brave the cold with you or if you just hate the idea of someone watching you through a veiwfinder, you can try this.

If you have a golf cart, you can turn the cart so that it faces where you will be hitting from. Hang the camera from a bungee cord or something similar–windsheilds usually have a protrustion of some sort that you can use for this. Check the focus and hit Record. Walk away from the cart and forget the thing is running.

If your drives are suddenly looking like chip shots, go ahead and drive a few balls. Hit them the way you normally hit them.

Go back and stop the camera.

I don’t suggest that you try to review the tape on the course. Instead, I’d recommend that you review it at home.

I mentioned drives in this example, but you can do this with any shot, including putting. The whole trick is to get the camera facing you. Once that part is done, the rest is a snap.

From my own experience I can tell you that you’re going to see many things on your review tape that you wish you hadn’t seen. Be nice to yourself. Focus your attention in on one thing at a time. You might want to critique your stance, or check for head wobble, or look at your backswing. The idea here is try not to look at yourself overall until you’ve had time to inspect all the components first.

Reading about how to do something or having someone else critique you is helpful, but nothing drives the message home as well as seeing yourself in action.

Try it. This works.

Robert Partain has been an avid golfer for over 40 years. He publishes a golf blog that is updated 4 times a week with tips, techniques, and golf secrets.

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Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch is a manual using the omega 1861 caliber which is of Lemania 1874 base, which is finished and polished by hand. The functions include hour, minute, small seconds, and has a chronograph with three counters.

The stainless steel case comprises of three pieces, has a diameter of 42mm and a thickness of 14.5mm. This polished and brush finished case comes with domed hexalite glass. The bezel comes with a black ring and a tachometer scale, accompanied by recessed crown and pushers. On the screw back, there is an embossed medallion signifying a dragon with a horse head and writing stating the NASA appointment. It is water resistant to 30m.

On the screw back, there is an embossed medallion signifying a dragon with a horse head and writing stating the NASA appointment. It is water resistant to 30m.

The black dial comes with luminescent baton markers along with white enameled baton hands. The bracelet comes in brushed steel with polished central links and fold over safety clasp. Other versions include in leather strap or stainless steel with a sapphire caseback 1863 caliber. The bracelet may be in yellow gold with sapphire caseback.

Indications include minute counter at 3 with hour counter at 6. The small seconds sit at 9 accompanied with center second, and minute track with divisions of 1/5 second.

It is based on many NASA tests to consider this watch to be reliable and suitable for space flights. It also encompass antimagnetic, waterproof, shockproof and perfectly tight at low temperatures properties that withstands resistance to strong accelerations.

More Resources: Omega Watches

Copyright 2006, Leroy Fong and Mens-Watches-Guide.com

Reprinting this article is allowed provided all references and acknowledgement to the author, the website, and the URL remain intact.

Leroy Fong
Mens Watches Guide | Wrist Watches for Men | Mens Dress Watches

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San Francisco Giants are one of the main and most popular League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California. Giants play in the West Division of the National League. Giants were in early days originally known as Gothams, they started as a second baseball club by John B. Day and Jim Mutrie. Giants were Day and Mutrie’s real entry to the National League, although their other clubs, the Metropolitans (known as original Mets) were playing in the American Association. Initially Metropolitans were more successful club but then Day and Mutrie moved top players to the Gothams, which lead the team to win its first National League pennant in 1888. After this splendid fulfilling victory, Mutrie (who was also the team’s manager) came in the dressing room and out of his pleasure and excitement shouted, “My big fellows! My giants!” And from there onwards, the club was called as the Giants. They saw high time as a team in the beginning and also bring out some remarkable top class players but on the whole they didn’t come off with flying colors, they struggled a lot, but couldn’t prove their best.

San Francisco Giants history.

In Contrary to the times in New York, Giants in San Francisco have diverse fortune. However lately Giants has enjoyed comparatively persistent triumph, there have been stretched times of unevenness, especially they were threatened when the club’s ownership periled to move the club out of San Francisco. The most unfortunate part of the story is that Giants managed to have a huge fan base since they arrive in the city, but Giants couldn’t so far thrive for a World Series title for San Francisco.

When there was a break in Seals Stadium, Giants shifted to Candlestick Park, which was also known as “The Stick” but unfortunately that very stadium proved to be one of the most hostile stadiums in the sports history. It was sealed in 1961. Giants stopped playing in that stadium which was later on named as 3Com Park and then Monster Park. Giants never won a World Series after moving to San Francisco, but they were always close, playing in three of them.

Giants couldn’t make any other World Series until 1989, but still Giants of the ’60s sustained to be pennant contenders and the gratitude goes to several future hall-of-famers, like Gaylord Perry, who pitched in 1968 a no-hitter for the Giants; Juan Marichal, another pitcher with a unforgettable high-kicking delivery; McCovey, the National League MVP award winner in 1969, and Mays, who have the all-time franchise record for most home runs, he also hit his 600th career home run in 1969.

The post-season appearance of the Giants was in 1971. Giants were effortlessly defeated in the League Championship Series by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Roberto Clemente after winning their division. 1970s also proved to be a despairing decade for Giants. Bob Lurie bought the team, to save it from being moved to Toronto in 1976.

The decade of 1980’s also couldn’t bring any success for the giants. Giants hired a black manager Frank Robinson 1981, though Robinson’s tenure only lasted for 4 years. 1985 was the worst year in the history of San Francisco Giants. They lost 100 games (the most number of failures since moving to San Francisco). The owner then hired Al Rosen as general manager. In his management Giants gifted rookies like Will Clark, Robby Thompson, and gained players as Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, Candy Maldonado, and Rick Reuschel.

Roger Craig remained Giants’ new manager from 1985 to 1992. Giants never faced a losing record in Craig’s first five full seasons. That was a splendid change for team’s future. Having an exceptional motto, “Humm Baby” during Roger Craig’s leadership, Giants stood victorious in 83 games in 1986 and also win the National League Western Division title in 1987. Giants also won the National League pennant in 1989. 1989 proved even a better year for the Giants. After a long awaited period of 27 years, the San Francisco Giants finally were the champions of the National League. After defeating the Cubs, they confronted the Oakland Athletics in “Bay Bridge Series”. That series was perhaps the best cherished due to the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989 interrupted the intended Game 3 of the series at Candlestick Park. Oakland completed up its sweep of San Francisco, after a ten-day delay in the series.

Later on the Barry Bonds started a new dawn with a blast. Bonds created numbers for the third MVP of his career: 46 homers, 129 runs, 123 RBI, .336/. 458/. 677/1.135. Giants get a smashing record of 103-59 in Dusty Baker’s first year as manager. Which also benefited Baker as he got the “Manager of the Year award”. Once again the period form 1994 to 1996 was not a rewarding time.

Due to these dreadful times, Giants were led to name Brian Sabean as new general manager, replacing Bob Quinn. Prior to being named GM, Brian Sabean was already whispered to have masterminded the agreement to dig up Kirk Rueter from the Montreal Expos. His first trade as GM, stunned Giants fans throughout the world when he traded Matt Williams for apparently a handful of spare parts, and the criticism was grand enough for him to have to openly explain: “I didn’t get to this point by being an idiot… I’m sitting here telling you there is a plan.”

And for sure Sabean’s plan worked out, because the players he got in the Williams trade - Jeff Kent, Jose Vizcaino, Julian Tavarez, and Joe Roa (also the 1 million dollar cash enabled them to sign Darryl Hamilton) - in addition his trade for J.T. Snow made the Giants to win their first NL West division title of the 1990s in 1997. Unluckily, the Florida Marlins ended the Giants’ season by defeating them by a 3-0. And Marlins moved on their way to first World Series championship.

40 years later in 2000 at Candlestick, Giants opened their own privately financed ballpark, naming Pacific Bell Park. The team shocked everyone by having the best record in the National League. It was actually 2002 when the Giants again became the center of attention. Giants beaten Atlanta Braves in the NLDS three games to two and later on defeated the St. Louis Cardinals four games to one. Giant’s performance was out class in the World Series and they were about to win when The Angels made a come back and win the championship, which really dishearten the Giant’s fans. After this agonizing failure they once more recorded 100 victories for the seventh time in franchise history and for the third time in San Francisco. Year 2004 as well dramatically changed the whole scene, when the Dodgers rise above the Giants in a late season game, winning on a Steve Finley. Next year, 2005 was the most depressing season of 2000s for the Giants.

Giants celebrated in honor of Baseball Hall of Famer Juan Marichal On May 25, 2005. On July 14, 2005, Giants won their 10,000th contest beating their competitors, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3, becoming the first professional sports franchise to have five digits in their winning total. Unfortunately Giants were formally eliminated from the NL West race when they lose to the 2005 champion San Diego Padres. San Francisco Giants finished the season in third place, with a record of 75-87, which was their worst season - and first losing record - since 1996.

In 2006 Slugger Barry Bonds’ return alone should mean a better offense. Fans anticipate the Giants to do better then their 75-87 records in 2005. Finley is an appealing surprise. Finley hit 36 home runs, which were a career high in 2004. The Giants have great expectations from Finley, it is expected that he can have a bounce back year and possibly can hit 30 or more home runs hitting along side Bonds and Alou. Sweeney is allowed to hit regularly so that he may astonish the fans. Niekro also should bloom with better hitters around him. There is a much-polished lineup with a vigorous Bonds returning.

If Schmidt and Matt Morris could also manage a similar performance as he did last year (14 wins) then the starting rotation will be solid as well. Lowry and Hennessey also have to groom themselves in 2006 with more innings under their belts. The Giants are also looking forward to a full season from closer Armando Benitez, which should also help the bullpen. Giants should perform much better in 2006 and will chase the Padres for the NL West title. Giants always have their unique style of having a smashing come back. And their fans don’t expect anything less then this from their all time favorite Giants.

For more details visit http://www.ticketnest.com/sports-tickets/San-Francisco-Giants/index.php

Ron Arthur is a Search Engine Marketer working for Carlsbad, CA based web-metrics company Sofizar. He is a member of the team developing a click fraud detection software, ZarTective. While not writing expose’s on the darker side of the web, he plays with his cat “Mano” and watches “Rocky Horror Picture Show” for the 17th time. Or maybe 117th.

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The name Rolex is a very popular name in the wristwatch scene. Rolex is known pretty well for its good quality. Rolex became popular during wartimes, and continues to be to this day. The company was not always known as The Rolex Watch Company, Ltd., but was named this later.

Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the company, made much advancement in the wristwatch scene. Even others still did not believe in their accuracy, he continued to try and make them more accurate and durable. He is also credited with sending the first wristwatch to Switzerland for accuracy testing. With the success of his watches passing the tests overseas, Wilsdorf decided to keep going on his quest for a better watch.

When the soldiers came home from battle the wristwatch gained even more popularity. The watch was no longer seen as feminine since all these brave men were wearing them. With its popularity came more improvements. Some of the first improvements were to make the watches more water and dust resistant. Although Rolex did not begin this trend they did improve the design and make the first truly waterproof watch.

Other advancements were also being made to improve the durability of the wristwatch. The faces were replace with ones made of synthetic plastic. This made them much more durable and resistant to breaking and cracking. Another advancement was in the dials. The dials were now being made out of metal.

Another advancement in the wristwatch was the self winding watch. Rolex introduced their self winding wrist watch in 1931. The design must have been good, because it is still being used in wristwatches today.

The wristwatch continued to see more and more improvements over the years. Watchmakers began making more and more models over the years for people to choose from. The wristwatch was made out of necessity, but has come a long way since then.

The Rolex Company received their first award for their watches in 1910, this was a great accomplishment. They continue to receive rewards to this day. In fact, they receive more rewards for their watches than any other companies combined.

The Rolex Company has definitely done a lot for the wristwatch industry. They made much advancement in the design of the wristwatch that helped us get to what we have today. If you are looking for a great watch, look into a Rolex. They are definitely known for their great wristwatches, and they have been around for quite some time and know what they are doing.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as fine wrist watches at http://www.finewristwatchesonline.com

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Sometimes, knowing what not to do is easier to understand than knowing what to do. When it comes to power hitting, to putting some distance on that ball, there are certainly a few things that we do not want to do.

Here are a few tips that can help improve your distance:

Do not tee up your ball too low. A lot of players will do this and it hurts their distance before they even hit the ball. When a ball is teed too low, the driver will not be able to sweep under it. Instead, it tends to force a steeper downward hit from the driver. Newer drivers have a larger sweet spot and the sweet spot is higher up the face than it was several years ago. What you want to do is tee the golf ball up with at least half the ball above the top of the driver head.

Check your stance width. Often, too narrow a stance will hinder a player’s balance. If your balance is off your power will decrease. If you are driving, your feet should be about shoulder width apart.

Here’s one that I had to learn myself–the hard way. Check your hands. If you keep your hands too close to your body you’ll create a narrow arc on the backswing. This will certainly hinder your distance. If you discover you have this problem, take some time on the practice range and move your hands out (away from your body). This will feel awkward at first, but stick with it, and your distance will improve greatly. This same problem can happen if you keep the club too close to your body on the take away. The best way to know if you’re doing this or not is to ask a buddy to watch you and report back what he sees.

Ball position is very important. If your ball is about centered in your driving stance, it’s too far back. You need to be playing that ball off your left heel.

Do not flip your hands at impact. Some golfers do this routinely and it decreases their power and their distance. Keep those hands cocked.

Do not ’sway’ during your downswing. Swaying your hips decreases the amount of energy that you can deliver to the ball at impact. To keep the power, move the hip slightly in a lateral movement, and start the club down, with the right arm tighter into the body. This, too, takes some practice, but it is well worth the time and effort.

And lastly, do not do the reverse pivot jig. A reverse pivot is when the weight tends to go towards the front leg on the backswing, rather than to the back leg. Having your weight go forward will all but cripple your ability to power through the ball and get that extra distance.

These are just some of the things we should not do, but it’s enough for now.

Robert Partain has been an avid golfer for over 40 years. He publishes a golf blog that is updated 4 times a week with golf resources, techniques, and information.

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It is 2AM and you are blankly staring at a rerun of “Columbo”. You meant to go to bed hours ago, but the time has somehow managed to slip through your fingers. Your hand reaches for the remote.

It’s Saturday afternoon and your best friend since kindergarten calls and asks to meet with you over coffee. She has some exciting news, and she can’t wait to share it. “Wait until “Friends” is over,” you reply.

Sound familiar? If so, you may be addicted to your TV. TV has some funny effects on the brain. Most people are not aware of these effects. However, the effects of TV on the brain are similar to the effects of addictive drugs. The good news is, once you become aware of these effects, you can begin to reduce TV’s addictive hold.

TV = Relaxation

Everyone knows TV can be very relaxing. TV has the ability to completely shut out the rest of our crazy world. All the world’s problems vanish as you are wrapped in a cozy TV Neverland. The relaxation is almost instantaneous. The quickness of the relaxation conditions you to associate TV with relaxation. As long as you are watching TV, you feel relaxed.

Unfortunately, this sense of relaxation ends as soon as the TV is turned off. The cozy little Neverland disappears. You don’t even get the benefit of a gradual withdrawal. Poof! Neverland is gone.

With drugs, the faster a drug leaves the body, the more addictive it is. The Scientific American researchers, Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi, who explored TV’s addictive qualities, explain:

“A tranquilizer that leaves the body rapidly is much more likely to cause dependence than one that leaves the body slowly, precisely because the user is more aware that the drug’s effects are wearing off. Similarly, viewers’ vague learned sense that they will feel less relaxed if they stop viewing may be a significant factor in not turning the set off.”

After the set is turned off you will feel either worse or the same as you did before watching TV. If you were trying to avoid painful feelings, those feelings will surge back when you reenter the real world. Worse, if you have acclimated to TV’s forced relaxation by watching too much, you may become dependent on the TV to relax.

TV “Grabs” and “Holds” your attention

TV shows use cinematic tricks to “grab” and “hold” your attention. Humans brains are hard-wired to turn their attention to things that suddenly change in the environment. This is an evolutionary benefit for noticing potential threats. The body relaxes while the brain gathers information. The technical term is the “orienting response”.

Sudden changes is volume, cuts, zooms, scene changes, or sudden movements on the TV cause you to look at the TV. Repeated changes have the effect of “holding” your attention. Commercials, action movies, and music videos are notorious for containing large numbers of these sudden changes that “grab” and “hold” your attention.

Test it for yourself

Watch your own responses the next time you watch TV. For a fun experiment, turn on a TV in a room full of people to watch how the orienting response works. It is pretty amazing to watch, if you can keep from getting sucked in. The next time the TV is playing see how many cuts, zooms, loud noises, and scene changes you can count.

What are the major symptoms of TV addiction?

*You want to watch less, but find it difficult to turn off the TV.
*You tried in the past to limit your TV watching–but failed.
*You feel anxious when the TV is not on.
*You think about TV when you are not watching it.
*TV replaces other meaningful activities, like spending time with family and friends.

Television has become so common in our society that it may be difficult to recognize a TV addiction. When everyone at the office is discussing the latest episode of “Desperate Wives”, it may be difficult to see that an unhealthy addiction is at work.

The Media *Addicted* Generation

The latest study by Kaiser foundation indicates that the next generation is already addicted to TV. The study found that kids, age 8-18, still watch about 4 hours of TV per day. On top of TV, they spend a couple hours playing with video games and computers. The grand total for kids was 6 hours 20 minutes per day. The study avoids the “A” word, but how else would you describe a generation who watches so much TV, videos, and games that they are labeled the “M” (Media) Generation?

Sources:
Television
Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor by Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds Kaiser Family Foundation Report

Katherine Westphal is the founder of a daring new website,
http://TrashYourTV.com, that makes it fun and easy for people to get
control of their TV set. Are you addicted to TV? Take our TV Addiction Quiz
and find out!

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I think we have all been there. You are staring down a long par 4 from the tee box. The fairway is lined with trees on both sides. The landing area is “tight” and hitting 3 wood or iron is not an option, the hole is too long.

You pull out driver and tee up the ball, knowing to win the skin with your buddy you have to land this tee shot in the fairway. You take a few practice swings, address the ball, look down the fairway (it looks a little tighter than before), begin your backswing, and bang!

Your body tightens up. You hold onto the club and hook it into the tress. You think to yourself that bogey will now be a good score. You are upset at yourself and watch as your playing partner swings a smooth driver that lands the ball on the left side of the fairway.

You begin to grudgingly walk towards your ball, hoping you will find it, saying a few things under your breath, and questioning your swing mechanics.

What just happened? A situation that most of us have encountered at some time in our golfing career. We take some smooth practice swings, but when the ball is before us and we have to execute the shot we “tighten up” and hit a chunky, thin, or fat shot. We have allowed tension to seep into our golf swing. We all know that the swing is a free-flowing movement that requires your body to be loose.

Dean Reinmuth, one of Golf Digest’s top instructors, speaks extensively about this term in his book. He discusses how a swing needs to be free and flowing. This allows for the club to travel on the correct swing path and develop club head speed. Muscle tension will impede and ruin your swing.

If your muscles are tight, how will you be able to swing a club in a free-flowing manner? You will not be able to do so. If you are gripping the club with a Hulk Hogan “sleeper hold,” how are you going to swing the club freely? You can’t. If you are unable to “feel” the club head, how are you going to swing the club freely? Again, the answer is you will be unable to do so.

If you have your doubts, give it a try. Head out to the range, purchase a bucket of balls and go at it! Warm up with a few wedges and then grab your 7-iron. Hit a few half shots and let’s begin the experiment. First off, take the club and grip it as hard as you can. Now, attempt to hit the ball. What happened? I am guessing not a good outcome. One more time with our experiment, grab the 7-iron and address the ball. Now, when hitting the ball your thought should be: “I am going to hit this ball as hard as I possibly can.” Go ahead, try to hit the ball. What happened? Again, I am guessing the outcome was not good. What happened in both of these situations? You developed “tension” in your swing, and it impeded your hitting the ball solidly.

Next question: how do you develop a smooth, free-flowing swing that is tension-free? Quite a few aspects are part of this equation. Developing proper swing mechanics is part of the answer. The swing is an intricate movement that is the “blending” of a series of movements into one free-flowing movement. In order to develop a “tension-free swing” you must develop your swing. This is a process that takes time, proper instruction, and practice.

Additionally, you must develop the proper mental confidence in your game. The example in the beginning of this article is a prime example. If you are not mentally confident in your swing, what do you think is going to happen on the tee box? Your body reacts to your mind and “tightens up,” resulting in a poor swing.

How do you develop the mental side of the game? This is again done through the development of your swing, practice, and playing. As your game develops, confidence in your swing will develop. It is a give and take, so to speak. As your golf swing improves, so will the mental aspect of your game.

Finally, we must discuss the body. Yes, the body has an effect on a “tension-free” swing as well. Follow the logic, for muscles to be loose and free-flowing, they must be flexible. Being “tight” and not flexible puts you in a state of tension even before you get to the first tee! If you do not believe me, go to the gym and do 10 sets of heavy bench presses and then go to the range. See how well or poorly you hit that bucket of balls!

If your body is not flexible, you will not be able to perform the free-flowing movements of the swing. The body needs to be flexible for a tension-free swing. If you are inflexible, the ability to even develop your swing mechanics to a point where they are free-flowing will be impossible.

Bottom line is you need to develop your flexibility around your swing.

How do you go about doing this? The implementation of golf-specific flexibility exercises into a training program will do the trick.

The swing and the mind work together to develop a tension-free swing. You cannot develop one without the other. A comprehensive approach is required when developing a tension-free swing. Working only on your swing mechanics will not work if your body is inflexible. Doing only flexibility exercises will not do the trick if your swing mechanics are incorrect. And focusing only on the mental side of the game will not work if your swing is a mess, and your body is as well.

A tension-free swing allows for great shots from all over the course. Developing this type of swing takes time and effort. You must train the body, the swing, and the mind. This is the ticket to your “tension-free swing”.

About the Author
Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2005 PGA & 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques available to amateur golfers on the website http://www.bioforcegolf.com. To contact Sean, you can email him at support@bioforcegolf.com.

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This is the first installment in what I hope is a long series of articles.

Lowering your golf score.

That’s what it’s all about isn’t it? How can I hit that little golf ball around a hundred
acres, and do it in less than 80 strokes, or at least real close to 80. And hopefully not lose my sanity
or get hurt or hurt someone else in the process.
How many thousands of us attempt to do this every week, or least every chance
we get, and spend a small fortune doing it.

Sometimes we swear we will never play golf again, but the next week we are right back on the number one tee. Often with a new driver or the latest golf ball we read about that guarantees
us an extra 25 yards on our drive.

And if we play good we will be back next week too. Or even if we don’t we will still be back. After all we have to win, and that little golf ball isn’t going to stop us.

We have all been there haven’t we,
some of us more than others, but some of us took the time to improve our golf game.

Why?, Because we decided to learn from our mistakes, and take some golf lessons, or at least watch a few videos to try and correct our swing, our stance, or whatever it takes to break eighty.
If you are ready to take the plunge and learn how to hit the ball long and straight then you are on the right path. You will be breaking eighty before you can say FORE!

Paul Webb-Paul is an avid golfer who manages to break eighty every now and then, but really just loves the game and reads as much as he can about it. You can visit his website at http://breakeighty.com

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Multitudes of companies exist in the market today providing different types of birthday gifts for all. We can choose between pre-designed and customized products available in the market.

Real flowers, clothes, games, toys, stuffed animals, books, gift baskets, electronic goods, leather goods, cheese cakes, chocolates, cookies, spa products, gardening products, cookery, home decorators, scented candles, jewelry, musical boxes, paintings, scented candles, customized plaque inscriptions, and much more can all serve as beautiful birthday gifts.

Personalized birthday gifts can be found in plenty at companies such as Red Envelope, Things Remembered, Connection Channel, Bears in Chairs, Last Laugh Gifts, Books Unique, Nostalgia Baskets, Design-it-Yourself Gift Baskets, Book Baskets, A Gift of Poetry, and Cyber Gift Center besides others.

Breathtakingly beautiful gifts like a personalized chess set made up of white onyx and black marble with names engraved on the board; a personalized birthday pen holder; and much more are available at Cyber Gift Center make excellent gifts too. Re-recordable stuffed toys with sound units inside them can truly unique also. They can be found at Connection Channel. Engraved pens, clocks, and wrist watches from brands like Cross, Aurora, and Sheaffer are all offered at Things Remembered.

Patagonia Gifts also offers gifts like letter openers, cross cufflinks, leather and silver bracelets, and much more. Monogrammed dinner sets; hooded robes; and shiitake mushroom logs, which can produce mushrooms for years, are some examples of gifts available at Red Envelope.

Gifts.com has a wonderful and amazing collection of birthday gifts for everyone - men, women, teens, as well as babies and children. Fascinations also offers a wonderful collection of games for all.

Gift baskets make good birthday gifts too. Some examples of gift basket companies are Wine Country Gift Baskets, Gourmet Gift Baskets, Warm Sentiments, Green Mountain, Nostalgia Baskets, and Book Baskets. Especially for men, Well Baskets, LLC has some truly delicious food baskets.

Birthday Gifts provides detailed information on Birthday Gifts, Birthday Gift Ideas, Birthday Gift Baskets, Unique Birthday Gifts and more. Birthday Gifts is affiliated with Holiday Gift Ideas.

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If you are anything like me, you live for the action packed, heavy hitting, bone jarring topwater explosion produced when you throw a topwater bait. As far as I am concerned, it is incredibly exiting to watch the water splash upwards and the opportunity to see that lunker bass flash and slam into your bait! Getting a bass to take surface baits requires you to get their attention. Out of all the topwater baits on the market, few, if any, come close to creating as much surface disturbance as does the buzzbait. To a prowling hungry bass, this unique sputtering, splashing and gurgling noise that is created by a buzzbait is extremely hard to resist. I would like to educate and provide you with an understanding of the buzzbait so you can also enjoy the success of this awesome and versatile lure.

The buzzbait is designed specifically for surface fishing and lacks some of the versatility that it’s cousin, the spinnerbait possesses. Nevertheless I have found that many times a buzzbait is often more effective than a spinnerbait when fishing over grassy, weedy areas, or visible timber. Why? First of all it is less likely to become fouled in the grass or weeds. Second, in stained water or thick vegetation, the sound created by a buzzbait not only alerts bass to its presence but it allows them to locate, track, and acquire the bait much faster. Third, there is something special about the way a buzzbait will ignite the predatory instincts of a bass. A buzzbait will work best in calmer waters, however I often use one when there is a slight surface chop on the water. Although, too much wave action will erase the disturbance action caused by the buzzbait, so let your common sense take over in this situation.

When the surface temperature of the water is in the 60-degree range and the aforementioned water conditions are in alignment, I will throw a buzzbait just about anytime. Buzzbaits are typically thrown when the sky is overcast or when you are in a low light condition. Most people use the bait early in the morning or late in the evening. Keep in mind, this is simply a theory and you can throw a buzzbait anytime of the day. Buzzbaits are very effective when thrown into thick or heavy grass cover during warm or hot weather. You just might be surprised by how effective a buzzbait is at drawing bass out of the densest grass or surface matting. This versatile lure is great for locating bass. They will cast far and can be retrieved faster than most topwater baits. This will allow you to cover a lot more water in a shorter period of time. Considering that a buzzbait has a single hook that is usually offset, this will allow the bait to be fished in all types of cover no matter how dense it might be. This really adds to the locator ability of the bait as well.

I think that the biggest disadvantage of the buzzbait is the fact that bass will often completely miss the bait or strike it short. Some newer buzzbait manufacturers have helped to greatly increase the hook-up ratio by off-setting the weighted head and hook from the wire which runs the head and hook a bit deeper in the water than conventional buzzbaits. You can also buy single trailer hooks that will ad percentages to your hook-up rate. For this addition, I would recommend the Gamakatsu trailer hook. One other issue with the buzzbait occurs when you fish the bait in very dense cover. Bass sometimes have problems catching the bait. You might have to slow your retrieve a bit when fishing in these conditions. There is almost nothing as disturbing as when you see that water part and you get that huge powerful hit on your bait only to discover there is not a fish on the hook! With that being said, you must also be extremely careful not to set the hook to soon. This action will basically pull the bait right out of the mouth of the fish.

I view the procedure for an effective hookset with the buzzbait almost the same as a hookset with a Senko style worm. As with all topwater baits, you need to try and delay or hold back on the hookset a bit. I wait until I actually feel the fish take to bait. A good rule of thumb is to always set the hook by feel, not by sight or sound. The faster the fish hits the bait, the longer I wait. Many times a bass will hit the bait when they are cruising along at a high rate of speed and miss the hook entirely. They will often come back around and take another swipe at the bait if you keep your retrieve steady and slow the speed down a bit to make them think they possibly injured the bait. You can really up your odds if you have the buzzbait coated with a great scent as well. If the bass gets a taste of the scent, they are much more likely to come back for seconds.

Buzzbaits come in several sizes, but the most popular are the 1/4oz and the 1/2oz. Some buzzbaits have a clacker built in to make them louder. Blades come in all different sizes as well as shapes. One trick I learned several years ago is to take a 1/8″ drill bit and drill about 4 or 5 holes on all sides of the blades. This will force water through the blade holes and cause the water to bubble up. This will make the fish, which is looking at the bait from an underwater perspective, think that there is really something big going on near the surface. Buzzbaits are also available in one, two, three and even four blade models. The more blades a bait possesses, the louder they are.

When it comes to retrieving the bait, I like to retrieve just fast enough to keep the bait up on the water surface. If I do not get a reaction using this presentation, I then increase the speed until I get a reaction. There are times when I am “burning” the bait at full reel speed to get a bite. You might also try an erratic type of retrieve such as a fast-slow-fast or a slow-fast-slow system. You will always be a successful fisherman if you will just think your presentations out and give the fish what they want. Go ahead and experiment a little, as there really is not a “right” way to retrieve this lure. As far as colors go, you must experiment. If you have experienced success on a certain color of spinnerbait, I would try a duplicate that same color on a buzzbait. My favorite color of buzzbait is junebug or white/chartreuse with light blue.

I prefer using a baitcasting outfit when bass fishing, but when presenting a buzzbait, a spinning outfit is easier to use. I use a 7′ spinning rod with a medium heavy action and a fast tip. If I use a casting rod, I use a 7′ fast tip rod as well. My favorite rods for buzzin’ are the St. Croix Avid and the Kistler Helium. If you prefer a heavy rod, you might consider the G.Loomis MBR844C GLX. The reason it is easier to use a spinning outfit is because when you cast the buzzbait out, you must engage the reel just before the bait hits the water. This will help to pull out any slack in the line and prepare you to begin your retrieve immediately. This action is much quicker if you have a bail on a spinning reel to shut quickly. Be sure to keep your rod tip up, as this will help you to keep the bait running on the surface. Be sure not to lift the rod up too high, as this could cause you to miss a strike as the bait could lift from the surface. Go out and try a little buzzin’ and I am sure you will fall in love, when that “lunker” violently strikes your buzzbait!

G. Wayne Byrd is a professional bass tournament fisherman, who loves to teach others how to catch more and bigger fish. He is an active contributor to Fishin’ Secrets with Eric Allee and Friends.

http://www.fishinsecrets.com

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