Wooden tees were also a pretty good idea and it eliminated the problem of scooping out some sand from the previously played hole to use as a tee on the next hole. Replacing feather-stuffed balls with gutta-percha and then to the high-tech space-age composites of today are good ideas, as well as game improvement clubs.

Logical improvements which allow people to play better without changing look of the club or the nature of the game.

But, by the same token, the fool who invented cigarettes should be reviled for all time along with the guy who invented the broomstick putter.

Master the basics before anything else.

Some of the biggest faults I see as a teacher are students with no real grasp of the three fundamentals in a golf swing. Without these basics, a solid, repeatable golf swing is almost impossible.

Grip. Stance. Alignment.

The grip is important for many reasons, not least of which is holding onto the club. If your grip is incorrect then the wrists cannot hinge properly and your grip pressure will probably be too hard as well. In addition, you risk misaligning the muscles in your wrists and arms and can develop tendonitis over a period of time. A bad grip will also force you to overcompensate elsewhere in the swing to keep the clubface square at impact.

Many students also neglect the importance of a good balanced stance, which is another major error. When we teach people to swing a golf club, we’re basically building a simple machine that performs a repeatable task. If the machine is set on an unbalanced platform, then its repetitive motions cannot be accurate. Many times, I will see a local player with their spine angle ramrod straight…and I know who their teacher is because it is something that all his students share. And it’s a good trait to copy. Spine angle can be thought of as the rear axle of your car. If the axle is bent, then the ride will not be smooth.

Alignment is the first thing that goes wrong in a golf swing and when it does, it results in the player slowly self-destructing. Most players neglect to check their alignment, so they assume, incorrectly, that either their swing plane or hip action is wrong and begin to rebuild something that wasn’t broken in the first place.

If you watch professional golfers practicing, you’d notice that the one thing they monitor carefully is their alignment. They even ask each other to check their alignment to ensure they are on target. Professionals know their swing is set in cement, so if they are missing the target in the same way more than a few times, they immediately check the alignment first.

I joke about the snap-hooks and all the other idiosyncrasies in my swing, but the truth of the matter is that I have major alignment problems due to my eyesight. Somewhere along the years, I developed a problem of lining up to the right of my target and this forces me to swing out and around because my own body is blocking me from reaching the ball.

In Phan Thiet, I forced myself to open my stance, which made me feel that I was aiming left of the target with my whole body open, but in reality, I was still aiming slightly right, but a lot less badly than before. The results were immediate.

If you’re just beginning to learn how to play golf, or even if you’re a good player but having a few problems, do yourself a favour and seek out your local Club professional for advice. It will save you aggravation in the long-run.

If the problem still persists…go have some ice cream…it never hurts