The decision to play a hole or a round conservatively or aggressively plagues every golfer at one time or another. Which of us hasn't been tempted to hit the "miracle" shot-the kind that players talk about in the clubhouse years later. But gambling too often in golf can be costly, especially if you're a professional. Take Phil Mickelson. He's been criticized for gambling during the final round of tournaments. His aggressiveness has cost him tournament victories-and million dollar purses-on some occasions.

If you're not familiar with the 17th at Sawgrass, it's one of the most pressure-packed holes in professional golf. It's a par three, 137-yard hole, whose green sits in the middle of water. Miss the green, which probably seems as big as the head of a pin when hitting, and you're in the drink. Hit it and you might still have a long putt for a birdie. In addition, as the next to the last hole on the course, the 17th sets up perfectly as dramatic finishing hole. Talk about ratcheting up interest to the finish a tournament.

Obviously, the island hole is a challenge for all golfers, whatever their golf handicap. For players with high golf handicaps, just hitting the green and not the water spells success. For tournament players, however, the challenge is more strategic than tactical. Do they play the hole conservatively or aggressively? Do they go for the pin and the birdie, or do they go for the fat part of the green and the par? Heading down the stretch, the wrong decision can be the difference between winning or losing the tournament.

Of course, there are times when you must go for it. But playing conservatively is often better than going for it, even if it costs you a stroke, as I tell players during golf instruction sessions. To paraphrase Jack Nicklaus, as a golfer you'll face times when you need to gamble to have a chance at winning. But being conservative when boldness is not imperative is better in the long run. The trick is knowing when to be aggressive and when to be conservative.

If you have doubts as to whether you should go for it or play it safe when opportunity knocks, try splitting strategies during your next several rounds. In the first round play the front nine very conservatively. That means doing things like hitting the driver only if the hole is wide open, playing for the fat part of every green, and laying up on par fives unless you have a mid-iron shot or less to the green.

Then play an aggressive back nine. Hit your driver on every par four and par five. Shoot for the pin every time, regardless of the difficulty, and go for every par five on your second shot. In your next round do the opposite. Play a conservative front nine and an aggressive back nine. Compare the scores over the course of several rounds. See if being aggressive or conservative significantly improves them.

But don't take the result to determine if you should always play either extremely conservatively or aggressively. Rather, let the result help you decide what your strategic tendencies should be when you're not sure how to play a specific hole or course. If you are the type of player who gains nothing by being aggressive or it costs you strokes when you do, play conservatively instead. And keep that big number off your scorecard.

It can be difficult deciding when to gamble and when to be conservative. It's something only you can decide at the time of play. However, if statistics tell you that you don't play your best being aggressive, play conservatively. Doing so will help you cut down your golf handicap over the long haul.

Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

1) Do Not neglect putting.
Think about it. Once you hit the green, if you can regularly sink the golfball in two strokes or less, you gain a huge advantage. You need to practice your stroke for both long and short putts. Here again, practicing long putts is fun. However, begin dropping in putts from ten feet and in and you will be amazed how many strokes you knock off your score.

2) Practice the short game.
Most golfers love to head to the driving range and see how far they can hit a golfball. You can cut more strokes from your golf score if you learn to hit the short irons. Start close to the green and begin pitching the ball. When you are consistently dropping the ball close to the hole, back up ten to fifteen yards and begin practicing from that distance.
Master your short irons and you will quickly slash some strokes.

3) Hit it, then forget it.
My point here is, if you hit a bad shot you want to analyze what you did wrong. Was the clubface not square to the ball? Did you rush the shot? Was your swing tight and not loose? However, after you do so, forget it. You can't let the shot bother you. Do not try to overhit the next shot to make up for shanking this one. Just forget it. Let it go. It's done now and beating yourself up over it won't help and, in fact, can have the opposite effect.

4) Ditch the cart.
Unless your golf course requires you to use a golf cart, or you have physical limitations, don't use it. Golf was meant to be played while walking. While walking to your next shot, as you approach you begin thinking about how you want to play the next shot. You are thinking of club selection and whether to play it safe or take a gamble. When you are in a cart, golf becomes more of a rush thing. Get in the cart, drive to the ball and hit it. It just seems to take the fun out of it. Not to mention the exercise you receive when you walk the course.

5) When in doubt, play it safe.
If you are a weekend golfer, there is only so much time you get to play the game. When you come into a situation, such as a lie behind a tree, and you're contemplating whether to take a chance and try to slam the ball through the branches or simply hit a safe shot and get the ball back onto the fairway, you should probably elect to take the safe shot. Forget what Tiger did last Sunday. All you are losing is a single shot. If you go for it and hit the tree and the ball bounces back, you have lost an additional stroke.

Having said that, if you are just out to have fun and could care less what your final total is, go for it. :-)

Golf can be fun. It should be fun. The reality is most of us have that competitiveness, and that is a good thing. So anything we can do to lower our scores, even by a couple strokes, is going to fuel the juices and want to do even better next time.

Everyone was a beginning golfer at some time in their life. It is just that some folks hold on to that name a little longer than others. Beginning golf for ladies is not to be taken lightly. It is a difficult game to really understand, but at the same time, if you can't slow down and enjoy the ride then it is absolutely not worth taking that very first golf lesson.

I am just getting started in the world of golf. My husband, an avid golfer, who has been shooting the links for years now, had begged me for a long time to take up this age old wicked game of gentlemen, but I simply could not find it in my heart to be interested. But then a funny thing happened. I got sick and tired of being a "golf widow" and longed to spend more time with my sweetheart and so I decided to throw in the towel and ask my partner, who has taught many others to play golf over the years, to teach me how to play the game. He has even worked with several beginning golfers over the years, but I was convinced after a few trips to the golf course that I was going to be his first unsuccessful attempt! But thankfully, I was wrong.

This game of the wealthy can be quite an impending pastime and it can be a bit cash-draining to get started, but I was not going to be deterred. I was near frantic to do something that would let me have more time with my husband and who really cared what we were doing I simply wanted to at least be good enough swinging the clubs that I didn't embarrass either myself or my partner. So my husband got me started with a set of his old golf clubs that we took to a shop and had cut down to fit my height. That wasn't an expensive proposition so I was relieved! I absolutely had no desire to spend a small pile of cash particularly since I was a beginning golfer and then decide that I absolutely could not stand the game or worse yet be a total crash-and-burn expirment trying to learn the game of golf.

, which I didn't spend a lot of money on, which is really a good idea, ladies! No laying out hundreds of dollars on impressive clubs and other golf doo-dads when you haven't even completed your first round of golf yet! So then it was off to to the course for my first hour of instruction and then off to the practice range for some quiet time to review what I had just learned. There is just not substitute for practicing what you have learned and it is not just practice as in doing the same thing over and over, it is precise and solid practice that makes perfect.

Check out the cut rate stores, second-hand sports stores, or even garage sales and purchase a set of clubs that you can use, even if you need to have them cut down. Many have sets that even include a golf bag so you can hit the golf course in style. Figure out what works best for you and schedule a few lessons. You can do this through the local community college, most community golf courses offer golf lessons through their club pro, or even look into local golf academies, where their mission is to teach beginners and experienced golfers alike the game of golf. All of these alternatives should be quite well-known with teaching golf for beginners. And so, practice what you learn. Schedule an afternoon at the driving range and practice greens, where everyone else is practicing too. It took a ton of convincing for me to have the nerve to stand on the practice greens with all the other golfers, but it without a doubt is the successful time at the practice green and driving range that makes the difference in your golf game.

Ladies' Beginning Golf can be intimidating, there is no doubt, but don't throw in the towel!

Stick with it, you will be glad that you put forth and effort to learn to play a round of golf. A beginning golfer, no denying that, just look at my swing, but every outing gets better and I am not only enjoying my husband's company but finding myself as well while out on the golf course!