Jumat, 26 Maret 2010

The Importance Of Choosing The Flex In A Golf Club

When choosing a golf club, it is tempting to only focus on the things like length and weight. However, in order to choose the golf clubs that are best for your golfing abilities, you will need to carefully consider the flex of the shafts of the golf clubs you are looking at. Flex is an important factor in any golf club, but most beginners have a hard time wrapping their minds around the reason why. Here I will try to impress upon you the importance of the flex of a golf club. If you can understand why it works the way it does, you can start to buy golf clubs that work better for the goals you are trying to accomplish.

When you swing your golf club, there is a very imperceptible flex in the shaft. You won’t be able to notice it because you will be swinging at the time, but it is there. When you buy your golf club, it will have a flex rating assigned to it that will tell you everything that you need to know about the club. These ratings are extra stiff (X), stiff (S), regular (R), seniors (A), and ladies (L). You may think that it is not very serious to choose the wrong fled rating. When you strike the ball with a club that has a flex rating that you are not accustomed to, your shot is most likely to be angled in the wrong direction. This will cause nothing but frustration for you during your game.

To prevent this game-crippling turn of events, you should definitely be careful when choosing the flex in your shaft. There are certain traits that will always give away someone who should go for a stiffer rod. If your longer shots tend to always fly left of the intended target, this means that your golf club is most likely too flexible. The same goes if your swing is stronger than the average swing. If you swing the golf club extremely fast, chances are you would be better off playing your game with a stiff club. Just take the opposites of these things for the more flexible clubs – if your shots tend to veer to the right of if you have a slower swing, this is what you want to go with.

One way to determine what category you fit in is to go out to the driving range and hit the ball as far as you can. If your maximum drive is less than 200 yards, stick with an L flex rating. If it between 200 and 230, go with an S. Between 230 and 250, R. 250 or more, S. XS is usually only used by professional golf players, and doesn’t often come in handy for consumers. However, the rating system overall is a very good system and a great way for you to make sure that you are getting the golf club that you need. If you need more advice as to which rating you should choose, talk to some of the more experienced golfers around your favorite golf course and see if they can offer you any words of wisdom. The more personal advice you can get regarding the flex rating of your future golf clubs, the more likely you are to be happy with the choice.

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Things To Consider When In The Market For Golf Club

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The golf club market is a strange phenomenon. Every year, new models of clubs come out that every golfer in the world drools over. They are still just sticks with chunks of the same material attached to the end, but golfers always feel the need to upgrade and find higher quality sticks. However, if you avoid falling into this mindset you will find that you are much happier (and probably a bit richer). When you decide that you want your own golf clubs, it is best to step back and take a look at your situation in a way that will let you determine what you really need to spend your money on. Consider some of the following things, and decide for yourself whether you want to spend money on the more expensive clubs or if you’d rather just get some older, more reliable, and cheaper clubs.

First, consider how serious you are about golfing. Are you looking to become a professional golfer, or do you just go out on the weekend with your buddies? If you are still a beginner, then there is almost no reason in the world for you to spend money on deluxe golf clubs, even if you someday plan to be a pro. By buying the high-end golf clubs and skipping beyond your own abilities, you are cheating yourself out of the valuable learning that the other clubs can offer you. So keep within your ability range (if you have lower ability, you will be happy to find that you will have to pay a lower price for your clubs), and if you find that you are still seriously progressing, you may upgrade in the future.

Next you will want to think about how often you golf. If you golf every day, then you will find that it is worth it to pay extra for golf clubs that have a higher durability and lifespan. However, some of the high-end graphite clubs are known for everything but their durability, so you don’t want to mistake costliness for quality. If you stick with a good old set of steel clubs, you are not likely to have to replace them anytime soon. Steel clubs are also stiffer, so if you have a faster swing then you would probably want to go with them anyways. No matter what you choose, you will want to take it out and take a few swings with it before you commit to buying it.

So if the more expensive golf clubs aren’t all that great, why do people spend such obscene amounts of money on them? The truth is that if you have the skill level required to handle some of the more expensive clubs, it could pay off. They are designed to be very unforgiving and unfriendly to amateurs, instead rewarding the skill and accuracy that comes with years of practice. So if you are a beginner golfer who is buying an expensive new set of golf clubs, you are most likely shooting yourself in the foot. Stick with cheaper, more forgiving clubs, no matter what the most popular golfing magazines tell you. If you don’t believe that the more expensive clubs will hinder your game, borrow one and try it for a few shots. See how it affects your game.

Rather than taking any advice you read in golf magazines, on the internet, or even here, you would do best to go out and talk to some of your golfing buddies. See what they recommend, and have them study your strokes to see if they have any suggestions based on your unique playing style. Go to the club stores and try out as many clubs as you can before deciding on one. This will ensure the best results, since you will have personal experience with every golf club that you will be choosing from. This is much better than being completely clueless and choosing simply based on the statistics that you are given.

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Understanding The Basic Types Of Golf Clubs

For those new to golf, it can seem ridiculous to need 14 different clubs just to smack a ball enough times to get it to the end of the course. However, as you play the game more and more you will begin to see that all of the different types of golf clubs will almost certainly come in handy quite often. Here I will outline some of the most important key things that you need to understand about golf clubs. After you understand these, you can start to perfect you own ability to choose the best club to use at any point in the game. This, along with a powerful and accurate swing, is how you can begin to win more and more games.

The first type of golf club is a wood. To the contrary of what the name suggests, the heads are not made out of wood. Usually woods are made out of hollow metal, usually steel or titanium. They are designed to allow for the greatest distance with each stroke. Out of the 14 clubs in a standard set, the woods make up less than half. They are usually used on the long and straight portions of the golf course, since they allow for the greatest distance with semi-decent accuracy. The accuracy is certainly not the strong point of the woods, and usually it takes plenty of practice to be able to keep the ball on a straight course. Woods are also the longest clubs in the set.

Irons come next, and they are used most frequently throughout the game. They are very versatile compared to the other two types of clubs, and therefore make up a larger amount of the clubs in your bag. They can still achieve fairly large distances, though not quite as far as the woods can. Depending on which particular iron you use, you can have a much higher level of accuracy and get the ball a lot closer to where you want it to be. There are many different kinds of irons that have very specific uses, such as those that are meant to get you out of the sand traps or pop the ball up over an obstacle.

The final type of golf club is the putter, and a standard golf bag usually only contains one of these. These are used on the putting green at the end of the course, or in other parts of the course that require delicate accuracy. They are meant to be the clubs with the shortest distance and the highest accuracy, usually only going a few yards to the target. Balls hit with putters are not meant to fly up in the air. Rather, they are just pushed lightly along the ground where they will roll gently to the target. Putting is arguably the most important part of the game, so it is a good idea to get a nice putter and practice a bunch with it.

These 3 types of clubs are the basis for the game of golf. When you begin to start recognizing when you should use a wood or an iron, that is when you are beginning to get a hang for the game. Until then, you will just have to practice all you can with the golf clubs that you have.

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The Perfect Time to Sell Coins

When is the perfect time to sell coins? This may be a dumb question if asked of a coin collector however timing really does make a difference. There are times when a collector wakes up in the morning and suddenly makes a decision to sell his precious collection of coins. There are also times that a collector needs to give up his coin collections due for personal reasons and the idea of selling his precious coins may be the most difficult part. No matter what the reasons are, it is a fact that this does occur in the life of a coin collector.

There are many reasons why coin collectors sell their coins - there are coin collectors who are dealers at as well. Selling coins is their option and they may use it to generate income so that they can acquire other coins that they like.

Some collectors travel in search of a coin they want and during that travel, they may encounter coins that may not be qualified for their own collection but they buy them anyway. Upon returning home, they sell the coins they have purchased and make use of the money to buy the coins they are looking for.

There are also coin collectors who gather coins not just as their hobbies; these coin collectors use the coins as their source of income. They make a living from selling the coins that they collect. Sometimes they sell the coins to other collectors and price them higher than the usual price of the coins and this is appropriate if the collector owns limited edition or rare coins.

On the other hand, some collectors sell their coins because of other factors. They may sell coins because of personal reasons. Collectors sometimes decide to “give away” their collection because they no longer have any option but sell their coins. This is the most difficult situation for coin collectors as they often value their coins and as much as possible would not want to give them away - the coins may be memorabilia or may have sentimental value to the collector.

Once a collector has decided to sell his coins, he must consider if it is really the right time to sell the coins. Is the collector ready to give away his coins? Is the coin at higher price now? Will it do well and will he benefit from selling his coins? These factors should always be considered.

There are other options available to determine where a coin collector could sell his coins. He may want to sell the coins at auctions. Many people now prefer the option of putting their belongings up for auction and this is not limited to coin collections.

There is also a higher chance of having the coin sold at a higher price since auctions include bidding processes. Buyers may bid for a higher price especially if the coin being sold is of rare quality and has a higher value.

A collector may also want to put up a website to advertise the coins that he would like to sell. The Internet is the easiest way for collectors to search for coins. In addition, putting the coin on the Internet will make the selling an easier task. The collector may put up his own website and place the pictures of his coins and some brief descriptions on it. He should also note how much he is willing sell them for.

There are other options too: the seller may want to do a dealer-to-dealer negotiation. He can go directly to coin dealers and sell his coins. The dealers then can sell the coins that they purchased to other dealers.

It is important to compare prices between one dealer and another as there is always a chance that one dealer may buy the coins at a higher price than other dealer. It is wise to shop for dealers and then decide which you one you want to deal with.

It is also recommended that collectors who decide to sell their coins use a coin grading service. It is very important so that the seller not end up a loser when he sells his coins. By using a grading service, the seller will be able to set a price that is based on the assessment made by the grading service who will determine the actual value of the coins.

Most importantly, coin collector should not clean their coins once they have decided to sell them. If they do, the value of the coins will depreciate.

Finding Rare and Collectible Coins

Coin collecting was started only as a hobby for most people, however you can hear what other people say (or you probably have heard yourself) about news of people cashing in on their old coin; and that encouraged more people to go on a coin-collecting streak. If you are one of those people who want to invest in coins, here are several places to start your collection.

Coin Shops:

Many shop owners are dealers that know a lot of information about coins and are selling coins too. These coin shops are a valuable place to find and gain more information about coins and coin collecting. These coin shops can be costly, though, as they are anticipating selling their coins for a profit. With enough knowledge and/or having someone who know a great deal about coin collecting at your side, you can get great prices for your coins.

Coin Shows:

There are times when your local mall will have an exhibit from several coin dealers and that will let you see all of the collections and allow you to buy some coins for a lower price due to the competition. You will probably also see several new coins that are available and suitable for your collection.

These coins shows are great not only for sellers and buyers but also for coin enthusiasts who want to see rare and hard to find coins.

Mail Orders/Web Sites:

There are thousands of dealers worldwide and most of them have websites that allow buy coins and pay for them through mail order or through any online payment system such as Paypal. You should do your research on these companies and read their terms carefully to make sure that you can get your money back when you have a problem with the coin you purchased and/or received.

For every legitimate web site, there are may be hundreds of fake web sites that are just attempting to get your money. You should always ask for feedback from previous customers before paying anybody online and remember not to give out any password or pin numbers.

Flea Markets:

It would be surprising place to find rare coins at a flea market, but stranger things have happened. These places have different ideas about pricing which is due to their lack of understanding of how a coin should be priced. You will find overpriced coins but if you are lucky you might find a rare coin somewhere in those stacks of coins that will make it worth your while.

Flea markets sellers are usually looking for a quick sell and would probably give you discounts when you buy their items in bulk. Try to buy other items and get your coins added as a bonus.

Auctions:

If you are looking to invest in really, really rare coins, the best place to go would be an auction. Auctions are the only place where you can find people selling their rarest and most expensive coins. Several of these auctions are happening online at the same time and most of the sellers are looking for the highest bidders. You must be aware and warned that some of these sellers are frauds and will not make the price you pay worthwhile. You should try to learn more about these coins and their worth before trying to buy one from an online auction.

Other Coin Collectors:

Coin collectors usually have duplicate coins that they are willing to sell for a price lower than its market value. The only problem is it is hard to find another coin collector that collects the same coins as you. The best places to look are online groups, forums and (if you have one) local groups.

Other coin collectors are the best people to turn into when you want to start your own collection. They can offer you tips, discounts and some might even be tempted to give you some of their coins to kick-start your collection.

Coin collecting is like any other investment the value will fluctuate: they may depreciate in value and/or gain value at any time. The best way to profit in coin collecting is keep updated with the news and the prices of the coins. This will not only help you in not being fooled by merchants but by learning how to price a coin even without a price list.

THE CHEMISTRY AND ECONOMY OF SOUP-MAKING.

Stock being the basis of all meat soups, and, also, of all the principal sauces, it is essential to the success of these culinary operations, to know the most complete and economical method of extracting, from a certain quantity of meat, the best possible stock or broth. The theory and philosophy of this process we will, therefore, explain, and then proceed to show the practical course to be adopted.

As all meat is principally composed of fibres, fat, gelatine, osmazome, and albumen, it is requisite to know that the fibres are inseparable, constituting almost all that remains of the meat after it has undergone a long boiling. Fat is dissolved by boiling; but as it is contained in cells covered by a very fine membrane, which never dissolves, a portion of it always adheres to the fibres. The other portion rises to the surface of the stock, and is that which has escaped from the cells which were not whole, or which have burst by boiling. Gelatine is soluble: it is the basis and the nutritious portion of the stock. When there is an abundance of it, it causes the stock, when cold, to become a jelly. Osmazome is soluble even when cold, and is that part of the meat which gives flavour and perfume to the stock. The flesh of old animals contains more osmazome than that of young ones. Brown meats contain more than white, and the former make the stock more fragrant. By roasting meat, the osmazome appears to acquire higher properties; so, by putting the remains of roast meats into your stock-pot, you obtain a better flavour.

Albumen is of the nature of the white of eggs; it can be dissolved in cold or tepid water, but coagulates when it is put into water not quite at the boiling-point. From this property in albumen, it is evident that if the meat is put into the stock-pot when the water boils, or after this is made to boil up quickly, the albumen, in both cases, hardens. In the first it rises to the surface, in the second it remains in the meat, but in both it prevents the gelatine and osmazome from dissolving; and hence a thin and tasteless stock will be obtained. It ought to be known, too, that the coagulation of the albumen in the meat, always takes place, more or less, according to the size of the piece, as the parts farthest from the surface always acquire that degree of heat which congeals it before entirely dissolving it.

Bones ought always to form a component part of the stock-pot. They are composed of an earthy substance, to which they owe their solidity, of gelatine, and a fatty fluid, something like marrow. Two ounces of them contain as much gelatine as one pound of meat; but in them, this is so incased in the earthy substance, that boiling water can dissolve only the surface of whole bones. By breaking them, however, you can dissolve more, because you multiply their surfaces; and by reducing them to powder or paste, you can dissolve them entirely; but you must not grind them dry. Gelatine forms the basis of stock; but this, though very nourishing, is entirely without taste; and to make the stock savoury, it must contain osmazome. Of this, bones do not contain a particle; and that is the reason why stock made entirely of them, is not liked; but when you add meat to the broken or pulverized bones, the osmazome contained in it makes the stock sufficiently savoury.

In concluding this part of our subject, the following condensed hints and directions should be attended to in the economy of soup-making:

Beef makes the best stock. Veal stock has less colour and taste; whilst mutton sometimes gives it a tallowy smell, far from agreeable, unless the meat has been previously roasted or broiled. Fowls add very little to the flavour of stock, unless they be old and fat. Pigeons, when they are old, add the most flavour to it; and a rabbit or partridge is also a great improvement. From the freshest meat the best stock is obtained.

If the meat be boiled solely to make stock, it must be cut up into the smallest possible pieces; but, generally speaking, if it is desired to have good stock and a piece of savoury meat as well, it is necessary to put a rather large piece into the stock-pot, say sufficient for two or three days, during which time the stock will keep well in all weathers. Choose the freshest meat, and have it cut as thick as possible; for if it is a thin, flat piece, it will not look well, and will be very soon spoiled by the boiling.

Never wash meat, as it deprives its surface of all its juices; separate it from the bones, and tie it round with tape, so that its shape may be preserved, then put it into the stock-pot, and for each pound of meat, let there be one pint of water; press it down with the hand, to allow the air, which it contains, to escape, and which often raises it to the top of the water.

Put the stock-pot on a gentle fire, so that it may heat gradually. The albumen will first dissolve, afterwards coagulate; and as it is in this state lighter than the liquid, it will rise to the surface; bringing with it all its impurities. It is this which makes the scum. The rising of the hardened albumen has the same effect in clarifying stock as the white of eggs; and, as a rule, it may be said that the more scum there is, the clearer will be the stock. Always take care that the fire is very regular.

Remove the scum when it rises thickly, and do not let the stock boil, because then one portion of the scum will be dissolved, and the other go to the bottom of the pot; thus rendering it very difficult to obtain a clear broth. If the fire is regular, it will not be necessary to add cold water in order to make the scum rise; but if the fire is too large at first, it will then be necessary to do so.

When the stock is well skimmed, and begins to boil, put in salt and vegetables, which may be two or three carrots, two turnips, one parsnip, a bunch of leeks and celery tied together. You can add, according to taste, a piece of cabbage, two or three cloves stuck in an onion, and a tomato. The latter gives a very agreeable flavour to the stock. If fried onion be added, it ought, according to the advice of a famous French chef, to be tied in a little bag: without this precaution, the colour of the stock is liable to be clouded.

By this time we will now suppose that you have chopped the bones which were separated from the meat, and those which were left from the roast meat of the day before. Remember, as was before pointed out, that the more these are broken, the more gelatine you will have. The best way to break them up is to pound them roughly in an iron mortar, adding, from time to time, a little water, to prevent them getting heated. In their broken state tie them up in a bag, and put them in the stock-pot; adding the gristly parts of cold meat, and trimmings, which can be used for no other purpose. If, to make up the weight, you have purchased a piece of mutton or veal, broil it slightly over a clear fire before putting it in the stock-pot, and be very careful that it does not contract the least taste of being smoked or burnt.

Add now the vegetables, which, to a certain extent, will stop the boiling of the stock. Wait, therefore, till it simmers well up again, then draw it to the side of the fire, and keep it gently simmering till it is served, preserving, as before said, your fire always the same. Cover the stock-pot well, to prevent evaporation; do not fill it up, even if you take out a little stock, unless the meat is exposed; in which case a little boiling water may be added, but only enough to cover it. After six hours' slow and gentle simmering, the stock is done; and it should not be continued on the fire, longer than is necessary, or it will tend to insipidity.

Note. It is on a good stock, or first good broth and sauce, that excellence in cookery depends. If the preparation of this basis of the culinary art is intrusted to negligent or ignorant persons, and the stock is not well skimmed, but indifferent results will be obtained. The stock will never be clear; and when it is obliged to be clarified, it is deteriorated both in quality and flavour. In the proper management of the stock-pot an immense deal of trouble is saved, inasmuch as one stock, in a small dinner, serves for all purposes. Above all things, the greatest economy, consistent with excellence, should be practised, and the price of everything which enters the kitchen correctly ascertained. The theory of this part of Household Management may appear trifling; but its practice is extensive, and therefore it requires the best attention.

THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC COOKERY.

It is not enough that good and proper food material be provided; it must have such preparation as will increase and not diminish its alimentary value. The unwholesomeness of food is quite as often due to bad cookery as to improper selection of material. Proper cookery renders good food material more digestible. When scientifically done, cooking changes each of the food elements, with the exception of fats, in much the same manner as do the digestive juices, and at the same time it breaks up the food by dissolving the soluble portions, so that its elements are more readily acted upon by the digestive fluids. Cookery, however, often fails to attain the desired end; and the best material is rendered useless and unwholesome by a improper preparation.

It is rare to find a table, some portion of the food upon which is not rendered unwholesome either by improper preparatory treatment, or by the addition of some deleterious substance. This is doubtless due to the fact that the preparation of food being such a commonplace matter, its important relations to health, mind, and body have been overlooked, and it has been regarded as a menial service which might be undertaken with little or no preparation, and without attention to matters other than those which relate to the pleasure of the eye and the palate. With taste only as a criterion, it is so easy to disguise the results of careless and improper cookery of food by the use of flavors and condiments, as well as to palm off upon the digestive organs all sorts of inferior material, that poor cookery has come to be the rule rather than the exception.

Methods of cooking.
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Cookery is the art of preparing food for the table by dressing, or by the application of heat in some manner. A proper source of heat having been secured, the next step is to apply it to the food in some manner. The principal methods commonly employed are roasting, broiling, baking, boiling, stewing, simmering, steaming, and frying.

Roasting is cooking food in its own juices before an open fire. Broiling, or grilling, is cooking by radiant heat. This method is only adapted to thin pieces of food with a considerable amount of surface. Larger and more compact foods should be roasted or baked. Roasting and broiling are allied in principle. In both, the work is chiefly done by the radiation of heat directly upon the surface of the food, although some heat is communicated by the hot air surrounding the food. The intense heat applied to the food soon sears its outer surfaces, and thus prevents the escape of its juices. If care be taken frequently to turn the food so that its entire surface will be thus acted upon, the interior of the mass is cooked by its own juices.

Baking is the cooking of food by dry heat in a closed oven. Only foods containing a considerable degree of moisture are adapted for cooking by this method. The hot, dry air which fills the oven is always thirsting for moisture, and will take from every moist substance to which it has access a quantity of water proportionate to its degree of heat. Foods containing but a small amount of moisture, unless protected in some manner from the action of the heated air, or in some way supplied with moisture during the cooking process, come from the oven dry, hard, and unpalatable.

Boiling is the cooking of food in a boiling liquid. Water is the usual medium employed for this purpose. When water is heated, as its temperature is increased, minute bubbles of air which have been dissolved by it are given off. As the temperature rises, bubbles of steam will begin to form at the bottom of the vessel. At first these will be condensed as they rise into the cooler water above, causing a simmering sound; but as the heat increases, the bubbles will rise higher and higher before collapsing, and in a short time will pass entirely through the water, escaping from its surface, causing more or less agitation, according to the rapidity with which they are formed. Water boils when the bubbles thus rise to the surface, and steam is thrown off. The mechanical action of the water is increased by rapid bubbling, but not the heat; and to boil anything violently does not expedite the cooking process, save that by the mechanical action of the water the food is broken into smaller pieces, which are for this reason more readily softened. But violent boiling occasions an enormous waste of fuel, and by driving away in the steam the volatile and savory elements of the food, renders it much less palatable, if not altogether tasteless. The solvent properties of water are so increased by heat that it permeates the food, rendering its hard and tough constituents soft and easy of digestion.

The liquids mostly employed in the cooking of foods are water and milk. Water is best suited for the cooking of most foods, but for such farinaceous foods as rice, macaroni, and farina, milk, or at least part milk, is preferable, as it adds to their nutritive value. In using milk for cooking purposes, it should be remembered that being more dense than water, when heated, less steam escapes, and consequently it boils sooner than does water. Then, too, milk being more dense, when it is used alone for cooking, a little larger quantity of fluid will be required than when water is used.

Steaming, as its name implies, is the cooking of food by the use of steam. There are several ways of steaming, the most common of which is by placing the food in a perforated dish over a vessel of boiling water. For foods not needing the solvent powers of water, or which already contain a large amount of moisture, this method is preferable to boiling. Another form of cooking, which is usually termed steaming, is that of placing the food, with or without water, as needed, in a closed vessel which is placed inside another vessel containing boiling water. Such an apparatus is termed a double boiler. Food cooked in its own juices in a covered dish in a hot oven, is sometimes spoken of as being steamed or smothered.

Stewing is the prolonged cooking of food in a small quantity of liquid, the temperature of which is just below the boiling point. Stewing should not be confounded with simmering, which is slow, steady boiling. The proper temperature for stewing is most easily secured by the use of the double boiler. The water in the outer vessel boils, while that in the inner vessel does not, being kept a little below the temperature of the water from which its heat is obtained, by the constant evaporation at a temperature a little below the boiling point.

Frying, which is the cooking of food in hot fat, is a method not to be recommended Unlike all the other food elements, fat is rendered less digestible by cooking. Doubtless it is for this reason that nature has provided those foods which require the most prolonged cooking to fit them for use with only a small proportion of fat, and it would seem to indicate that any food to be subjected to a high degree of heat should not be mixed and compounded largely of fats.