Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Essentials of Golfing Etiquette

By Rhys Jones

Golf is a very dignified game of rules, manners and etiquette, and it's quite important to know the basics of golfing etiquette before you play golf for the first time.

It doesn't matter whether you are playing alone, in a twosome or in a foursome, golfing etiquette demands that you must always wait your turn. You must remain aware of the group on the next hole and wait until they are well ahead of you before hitting your ball.

Golfing etiquette also says that it is never right to "hurry" the group in front of you. If you are playing with others, wait your turn to hit the ball and never hit at the same time as another player.

While you wait for your turn, go to your ball and determine what club you will need to use and how you are going to hit it. This is called "ready golf" and keeps the game moving along. Don't rush anybody, just be ready.

Another nice piece of golfing etiquette, especially for the beginner is 'playing through'. For example, if your team is holding up the players behind you, say because you are playing consistently over par, let them play through. You would simply wave them through, or if they are near enough to you, just ask them if they would like to play through. You will never make enemies by doing this!

When someone is making a shot, you should be behind them and you shouldn't make a sound! It is so distracting to be ready to tee off and just as you pull back, someone decides to jingle coins in their pocket or noisily unwrap a piece of candy.

Replacing divots. Let's say you are on the fairway and you strike the ball a bit thick and a clod of dirt and grass goes flying, no problem, but golfing etiquette says that you ought to replace it. On some courses you just put the clod back into the hole and step on it to press it down, but on most courses, there is a sand/seed mixture on the course to put into the divot. Also, if your ball makes a deep impression when it lands on the green, you should use your divot tool to repair it.

As soon as you have finished a hole, replace the flag and leave the green quickly so that the next players can play that hole. Count your score and write it on the scorecard when you're back at your cart.

There is much more to golfing etiquette of course, but these simple essentials of golfing etiquette will enable you to get through the course without upsetting anyone. If we all keep to golfing etiquette we will keep the game friendly, or not?

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Tour of the West: Tours in Cuba

By Jose Mauricio Maurette

This is one of a series of articles dedicated to promote escorted Cuba tours. The idea is to let you realize how convenient and cost effective is to know the island through an expert tour guide.

DAY 1: At arrival to Jose Marti International airport in Havana you will be assisted by your tour guide who will transfer you to the Old Town (Habana Vieja) where you are going to stay. Accommodation is optional. You can choose from a variety of hotels. You will be staying in Havana for the first 2 nights on bed and breakfast basis.

DAY 2: After breakfast, you will be picked up from the lobby of your hotel and will commence a full-day city tour of Havana begins with visits to all the important sites of old and Colonial Havana. Horse carriage drive around the perimeter of the old city. Vist to the well-known artists' studios of Nelson Dominguez and Carmen Montilla. Lunch at the Cafe Taberna. Afternoon tour of modern Havana in 1950's classic American car. Terminate at hotel. Dinner at La Mina restaurant and attendance to The Cannon shooting ceremony in evening.

DAY 3: Early in the morning you will be transferred to Las Terrazas complex and you will be staying at La Moka hotel for the next 3 nights on bed and breakfast basis. Your first afternoon in this resort will be at leisure so you can explore the magnificent nature surrounding the complex.

DAY 4 : After breakfast, full day tour around Las Terrazas area with a visit to the former Buenavista Coffee plantations founded at the beginning of the 19th century by French immigrants fleeing from Haiti. Lunch with drink included.

DAY 5: On day 5 you will depart early in the morning to Cayo Levisa( a small paradise island off the north coast of Pinar del Rio Province). You will spend your day at leisure enjoying the white sandy beaches surrounded by nothing but wild life. In the evening you will return to your Hotel La Moka.

DAY 6: Departure for Vinales Valley arriving at your hotel at lunchtime. Rest of the day free to enjoy the hotel's peaceful surroundings. Your overnight accommodation will be at Los Jazmines or La Ermita, for the next 2 nights on Bed & breakfast basis.

DAY 7: Early morning tour of Viales Valley visiting tobacco plantations, caves and rivers. Lunch is included in the package and it will be held on a beautiful restaurant called The Mural of Prehistory.

DAY 8: After breakfast departure for Havana. You can be dropped off at the airport or if you are extending your stay, a transfer will be arranged for you. As you can appreciate this tour last only one week but if you want to stay longer in Cuba I always recommend to add few nights at the end on a very nice and relaxing beach resort.

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Wellington City Profile

By Marty Johnson

Wellington, situated on the southern tip of New Zealand's Northern Island is the southernmost capital city in the world. The gusty winds that blow non-stop off Cook Straight have earned it the nick name "Windy City".

Wedged between steep hills, Wellington's limited space for expansion has forced the city to build high in order to accommodate increased demand for commercial and residential building. Victorian structures fell victim to new construction and modernization, giving Wellington the most modern skyline in the country.

The Maori people called the area around Wellington "the Head of Maui's fish", a reference to an incident in the Polynesian Maui Cycle when the hero, Maui, battled his siblings over a huge fish, leading to the land being cut up both by the fish's thrashing tail and by their knives.

When James Cook made a side trip here in 1773, the rough landscape of the bay was densely settled. Maori tribes fought one another constantly for the best coastal locations. This, along with the strong, unfavourable winds, may explain why Cook did not drop anchor and go ashore.

European settlement began with the landing of the warship Tory on 20 September 1839. In January of the following year, William Wakefield, commander of the first expedition of the New Zealand Company, "bought" the area from the Maoris for one hundred muskets. Wakefield thus became the founder of Wellington. The city was named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and England's national hero in the Napoleonic Wars. Wellington was named New Zealand's capital on 26 July 1865.

Wellington is more than the political centre of the country; it has also made a name for itself as a city of culture. Wellington is the home of Te Papa, New Zealand's pioneering, interactive national museum, as well as to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and such national treasures as the original Treaty of Waitangi.

New Zealand's most famous writer, Katherine Mansfield, was born in Wellington and published her first short stories in a local literary magazine. New Zealand's capital is remarkably diverse topographically, with mountains and hills embracing the compact city and its deep harbour.

At the summit of Mount Victoria, which can be reached by a cable tramway built in 1902, visitors can enjoy the beauties of Kelburn Hill and the Botanic Gardens. The gardens, established in 1869, now cover 26 hectares.

Beware the penguins Wellington is almost certainly the only capital city in the world where penguins freely roam the streets. This encourages visitors to walk alongside them; the city centre is best experienced on foot. Visitors (and penguins) can wander through its shopping arcades, lovely cafes and, less happily, constant traffic.

Nowhere else in the country is urban life lived as intensely as in Wellington. Unique adventure tours are available along the Kapiti coast and hiking trails run all along the craggy coastline, just off the coast, the world famous bird sanctuary of Kapiti Island attracts visitors from afar.

The environs of Wellington are known for their luxurious country lifestyle. Many great estates lie inland, just over the hills. Directly north of Wellington is Hutt Valley, where visitors can arrange bush and coastal hikes, SUV trips, golfing, mountain biking and angling.

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Earn Dollars Whilst Travelling on Cruise Ships

By Bretski Tyler

Many people who are stuck in their daily grind dream of adventure and fun. Many decide to go backpacking, from place to place. However their are many taking advantage of working for the many different cruise ship operators. Whilst backpacking usually entails staying in one spot and earning enough to move onto the next destination, working on cruise ships means you are getting paid to travel.

Working on a cruise ship often invokes images of adventure, fun, alcohol and lots of sex. Speaking as one who has done it all this and more is all true.

As part of a crew ship crew you eat, sleep and breathe life on the seas. The great factor in being part of a cruise ship crew is that you get paid to have fun, travel and see the world. Alcohol is cheap as chips (as little as a dollar a drink), and you are on a ship with allot of likeminded individuals who are looking for fun and great times. And in addition there is allot of sleepovers and room swapping between passengers and crew alike.

Another advantage of working on a cruise ship is that you are paid in cash and depending on what you are doing on the ship as part of your job you can return home at the end of a contract with quite a fair bit of money in your pocket. People who have been doing it for a number of years quite often have bought and paid off houses outright and if you choose to make a career out of it which quite a number of people do, well most cruise directors are often quite wealthy and live the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

Before you jump onto the application process, it must be considered that cruise ship life is not for every one, more than once a person has signed on only to catch the next plane home. However, people who are more relaxed and are willing to make a go out of it find they have the time of their lives. It's not just an adventure you get, but you end up making friends with people all over the world. Another thing to remember is that life on a cruise ship can be intense. Most cruise ships work 7 days a week so you could find yourself having time off rather than whole days off. Most find this to be not an issue as they find their work on the cruise ship a totally enjoyable experience.

One important thing to consider is that different cruise companies have different levels of freedom or privileges whilst on the ship. Cruise companies such as Disney, which is a Christian Family Values type of Company, can be quite restrictive on their crewmembers. In example I believe that you have to be a non-smoker and alcohol is heavily frowned upon when working for Disney. From what I can tell, the best Cruise company to work for in terms of freedom and rates of pay is Princess Cruises.

If the money or the thrill adventure is enticing you to think about applying, make sure to think about it carefully before signing up. Things that must be taken into account is the fact that you will have initial expenses that include a full medical check up, sea safety training as well as travelling expenses to meet up with the cruise ship, after which this initial expense the company generally pays. You are signing up for a contract period of about 6 - 8 months that will mean you will be away from your family and friends. (Although most cruise ship companies offer very cheap deals for family members to visit). If it still sounds enticing and you decide to take on the experience then you will surely have an experience of a lifetime.

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Hot Tips For Finding Cheap Holidays Abroad

By Marie Woods

Current info about cheap holidays abroad is not always the easiest thing to locate. Fortunately, this report includes the latest cheap holidays abroad info available.

A lot of people who live in the UK think that they have to take their holidays abroad for them to be any fun, but this couldn't be farther from the truth. Travelling can be stressful, especially if you're going with young children in tow. Use our search to find cheap holidays abroad departing last minute or in the next 12 months. Experience the magic and character of romantic Italy. Domestic travel stayed at the same level as the year before, and thus it was holidays abroad that produced the growth (of 12%). In 2006, 69% of Norwegians' holiday trips were domestic.

This has made the prospect of summer holidays abroad a remote possibility for many families this year, as the expense proves to be too much in the present economic climate. However, holidays are an important part of family life and many are now looking to the often under-explored UK locations to spend quality time with their friends and relatives.

The information about cheap holidays abroad presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about cheap holidays abroad or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

A modicum of economic stability and some degree of financial independence in a greater proportion of people have also contributed to this growing popularity of singles holidays abroad. People are now more able to take a Singles Cruise or a singles holidays to Turkey. A binary choice model explaining the distribution of holidays abroad undertaken by UK residents is constructed and estimated. The foreign holiday demand function is generated from a comparison of holiday costs and benefits, and stochastic behaviour is permitted.

Holidays and Independent Travel can help you compare and book cheap holidays abroad and cheap package holidays to save you money. You have full permission to reprint this article provided the links are kept unchanged. Last minute holidays abroad to Dubai from as little as 289, Florida from 329 and Europe form 99! With prices so low, now really is a good time to book a last minute holiday offer!

Now you can be a confident expert on cheap holidays abroad. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have something to bring to the table next time you join a discussion on cheap holidays abroad.

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Get Hooked to Pearls: Get the Finest Pearls in the World

By Amanda Rush

For all you know, diamonds are not just the perfect elements for jewelries to look their best. Moreover, they are also not just the only best friends that women have. In fact, pearls are also considerably woman's best friend and are fine additions for jewelries to look unique and more glamorous than ever. Totally opposite from how diamonds are made, pearls are made up of pure calcium carbonate in crystalline form processed through time within the soft tissue of a shelled mollusk. The whole pearl is made up of concentric layers that have been long deposited through time. Pearls are not that easy to find. They are very rare and each piece, especially a fine one that has a perfectly smooth and round surface, can be sold as a collector's item or as a magnificent centerpiece for various objects of beauty. In some cases, pearls can also take other forms that are regarded with a much lesser value. A fine pearl is considered as a gem stone with simplicity and elegance as its main feature.

To date, pearls have become increasingly in demand and a lot of manufacturers have been growing cultured pearls to meet such demand. Cultured pearls are very much alike with natural pearls and are very hard to distinguish. However, with the help gemological x-ray, it is easy to determine if the pearl is either cultured or natural. Gemological x-ray by the way is a state of the art piece of equipment of which you can see the notable growth rings inside a natural pearl. These growth rings are layers of calcium carbonate that are separated by thin layers of conchiolin. On the other hand, cultured pearls have amazingly totally different internal structure compared to the natural ones. A cultured pearl is seen with a solid center that has no growth rings.

The value of pearls is determined through its shape, size, quality of surface, orient, and luster. Natural pearls also are of much higher value compared to cultured ones. Single natural pearls are often bought as a collector's item or as a fine centerpiece for unique jewelries. When sold in matched strands, they often go in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Though less valued compared to natural pearls, there are certain types of cultured pearls that are regarded with very high value and quality such as the so called Black Tahitian Pearls. These black pearls are highly valued and priced due to their rarity and its culturing process that demands smaller volume output making it impossible to be mass produced.

When you are fond of pearls and a natural enthusiast of these fine pieces of gems, look online for great options. You can find some of the finest pearls that are ever to grace all the oceans of the world. From natural pearls to cultured pearls, reputable online stores are a sure place to find the finest pearls to satisfy your craving for unique and glamorous jewelries.

With a wide selection of high quality pearls, you get to find yourself drooling over pearl jewelry that are even best matched with other unique sets of jewelries. But the fun doesn't end there. When looking for pearls, find more than a commercial site. There are websites with lots of information that will make you more amazed and drawn to pearls. From the basic information to get you well acquainted with pearls to all the latest customer reviews, offers, and rewards, there is information bound to make your every visit a productive one.

What makes certain online stores stand out from others is that the pearls are literally and flawlessly hand selected. Find a reputable store that has a leading name in the pearl industry backed with its reliable customer service and considerably finest strands of pearls. You wouldn't also want to look anywhere else as you can find the finest pearls at the finest price.

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