Dear Golf Nut I have a question about taking a practice swing.  If you are taking a practice swing on a shot other than a tee shot, and accidentally hit your ball, what is the correct ruling?  Do you play it as it lies or are you allowed to replace it and hit again without incurring a penalty.  Thanks for the question, this is one that a lot of golfers miss when they are playing. (more…)

I saw a recent article on espn.com called “The Most Diabolical Links In The Country“.  It reminded me of some of the crazy courses I have played over my golfing years.  And there was one in particular that really stands out.  (more…)

Dear Golf Nut,  A playing partner hit a ball into the green. The ball plugged on the slope of the green. He marked the position of the ball and repaired the plug hole. However when he replaced his ball it kept moving closer to the hole because of the slope. What relief or rules would apply. (more…)

Most golfers I know take a golf trip from time to time.  Some take one every year.  It’s usually a group of the same guys, maybe college buddies getting together once a year or your regular foursome that goes to a different location once each summer.  But I read recently in Golf Digest about the ultimate golf trip that most of us, unfortunately, won’t be able to enjoy.  But it was great to read about it. (more…)

When you first saw this title you probably thought, Well every sport has pressure, golf is not different.  But maybe it is.  I was reading an article recently and it started me to thinking about pressure and the different aspects of it.  Especially as it relatets to golfers. (more…)

The results of the recent poll that we asked you golfers to answer and give us feedback about our content are complete and in.  And first I want to thank all the golfers who participated.   It was tremendous to hear from all of you on what you want us to write about here.  So let’s get on to the results and what it will mean for our content. (more…)

I was speaking with one of my newsletter subscribers last night and he said something that got me to thinking.  “Golf Nut”, he said, “I don’t agree with you about not practicing.”   We talked about it and I told him that I really wasn’t against practicing your golf game and went back through my thoughts on it.  And that’s what got me to thinking about some things I want to share with you golfers. (more…)

Heading towards the Tour Championship, 5 players are in contention and actually have a legitimate chance to win the Cup with a victory at The Tour Championship.  So unlike last years’ embarrassing runaway, the 2009 version of this playoff actually has a little excitement.  So has Tim Finchem and his crew finally figured it out and are golfers excited about it?

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Dear Golf Nut, please help me with this situation.  I hit a tee shot on a hole that had out of bounds stakes down the right side of the fairway.  Just outside of these stakes, in the out of bounds area, were a number of trees.  My shot sliced towards the out of bounds area and appeared to definitely be OB.  I hit a provisional ball and then went to look for my original shot.   We found my golf ball AND it was in bounds, but my playing partner said that I had to play the provisional ball because my ball had obviously hit something out of bounds before landing back in bounds.  I went along with him to keep the peace, but was this correct? (more…)

Dear Golf Nut,  I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I bent my 3 iron in anger early in a round of golf recently.  I was able to straighten it back enough to keep it usable.  So I finished my round and then I thought that maybe I had broken the rules.  Was I allowed to keep using that club?

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Tomorrow is the first round of the PGA Championship, the fourth and final major of this PGA golf season.  Tiger enters this tournament with some interesting stats.  First, he hasn’t won a major since his return from last golf seasons knee surgery.  And he enters his fourth major of the year coming off a win; in other words playing good golf.  So what’s up with Tiger this year, why hasn’t he won a major?

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I came across a web page today that had a listing of what it called “The Top 10 Golf Movies”.  That got me intrigued because I see Top 10 lists all the time.  And I hear golfers talk a lot about their favorite golf movie.  So let’s take a look and also see what you think.

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Golf Nut, I always seem to struggle with tight fairways.  I can be having a great round of golf and come to a tee box with a tight fairway in front of me and it’s almost like I should just drive the cart and put my golf ball in the rough or the woods.  Any tips for me?

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