Always winning that argument in the nineteenth hole or never letting yourself
get caught out on the golf course. It's always a good idea to keep reminding
yourself of the rules of golf. Visit our "Rules of Golf" page on regular intervals
and your knowledge of golf, your enjoyment of your golf game and the whole
golfing experience will improve as well as benefiting others. Remember, golf is
the only game where we referee ourselves.

 With the mind game now coming to the fore as we all realise how important
the right mental attitude is, we have teamed up with Gail Smirthwaite -
golf confidence coach. Her company, The golf mind Guru (formerly known as
Confidence Caddie) is quickly making itself known as the best in the business.
Gail counts Alison Nicholas, the Solhiem Cup Captain and winner of the
US Open, among her clients. If that is not a recommendation, I don't know
what is. And now she is available to us mere mortals, just click onto the
"Mind Game" page in our main menu for more information.

For the benefit of our readers, we have linked up with Play Great Golf
to use their forum. We feel that by starting yet another forum, no one
would benefit. By joining their forum the community will grow quicker
and become a good source of information and golfing banter.One of
the major benefits at Play Great golf is the "panel of experts" and lets
face it, we could all do with their advice. Go to "Forum" on main menu.

ORKA Golf Clubs

Due to the vast amounts that some companies can throw at advertising
and sponsoring the big names in golf, we begin to believe that their
equipment must be the best. But is this always true?

I came across a small club manufacturer (that's small manufacturer and not small clubs)
called Orka Golf, who have what seems to be a perfect business model if you don't have
the bank balance to take on the big boys at the advertising game. I would like to stress
that in no way is this a "have a go at the big boys" article. I have a lot of respect for a
lot of the large companies out there and like many of their products without reservation.
However, I feel that you need and want to know when a good thing comes along, after all,
we work hard for our money and should investigate fully what is out there before parting
with our cash. Most of us don't mind spending if the end result is a better game.

So what is this Orka Golf business model that I mentioned. In reality I can only give an
outsiders point of view and from here it is quite simple.

1.Take the best in design and have it manufactured to the highest standards using the 
appropriate   materials.
2. Give your customers a choice of heads/shafts and grips.
3. Sell only via qualified club makers so that all clubs are custom fitted (at no extra cost)
and expert advice given.

The end result being, clubs that fit and suit the players game, match their pocket
and give the confidence all players seek.

I must admit that I have fallen in love with these clubs and make no excuse for gushing
a little when I talk about them. I have avoided talking about technical specifications
because you can find out all of that on their website http://www.orkagolf.co.uk/ and also
find a club maker near you who stocks the Orka Golf range. What I will tell you is about
my own experience. That is, I'm really excited to have come across these clubs and
because of their playability and the confidence that they give me, they will be in my bag
for the foreseeable future.

Although I am a low handicapper, I've never felt comfortable with blades, so I have opted
for the muscle back. Trying out the entire range, all of which were good, I opted for these
because of all of the data from the club makers tech toys, The club makers advice (which
proved correct on the range) and my own input said that these were the clubs for me. I
felt total confidence with them in my hands. The only adjustment for me was an extra
layer or two of tape under the grips. They gave me playability when shaping shots.
Trajectory was excellent with good distance control and consistency.

I have always noticed that when magazines (I feel sure that some of them are swayed by
advertising revenue) review clubs and say (for example) that abc1's were excellent and
abc2's were less so when they are almost identical and tested by a 23 handicapper, that if
a manufacturer produces consistently good clubs, the model is down to personal preference.
I am an example. I found all of the Orka range a top of the line product but my preference
was for the clubs that sit in my bag...... With that in mind I would suggest that you try them
before buying your next set of clubs.