In this noble quest to positively impact the world, it's easy to always look far down the road and overlook the opportunities you have to help others right now. Think about how you can improve someone's life today.  You may be very busy and think you don't have much time to spare, but you can still find little ways to help others. For example, you can set your alarm just a few minutes earlier than normal and scrape the ice off your neighbor's car before you head off to work. If you're in school, you can offer to organize a study group before a big exam or offer to share notes with your classmate who has been out with the flu for two weeks. Make a resolution to perform good deeds every day. The best way to do this is to look for little ways to spread joy and/or help others. For example:  Hold doors open for the people, making sure to do it with a welcoming smile. Let someone who looks to be in a hurry move in front of you while waiting at the grocery store. Buy a pack of diapers for the new parents across the street (even if you don't know them). Spend a few minutes cutting coupons from the newspaper so that you can pick up some extra groceries, and then donate them to your local food pantry. Sincerely ask those who serve you (your waiters and waitresses, check-out clerks, gas station attendants, etc.) how they are doing. Even though these are fairly small gestures, they can still have a big impact on others. You'll continue to find ways to make positive changes in others' lives on a daily basis, no matter how small. However, don't forget to think bigger and longer-term as well.  For example, do you want to be a philanthropist or work for a non-profit someday? Would you like to work for Doctors Without Borders? Do you want to make sure that all children have (beyond) adequate learning materials at school? Depending upon your longer-term goals, you may need to spend some of your time now developing and sharpening your skills and acquiring the requisite knowledge. This might mean that you'll need to enroll in particular course of study, obtain an internship or even change career paths. As a result, some of the time you have open to volunteer right now will be reduced, but you'll be making yourself into a better instrument for the world in the long-run. Think about what you appreciate in your life, and then think about ways that you can spread those good things to others.  For example, are you in a fulfilling career today because of the educational advantages you had as a child? If so, then perhaps a good way for you to both express your gratitude and help others would be to focus on helping school children get the books they need. Alternatively, you could volunteer to tutor a couple of times a week in an economically disadvantaged school district. The basic idea is to identify the ways in which you've been helped or blessed and in turn find ways to pay it forward to others.

Summary: Identify ways that you can help right now. Look for the little ways to help. Look to the future. Count your blessings.


Since the science of the sport and the equipment have progressed, opt for a driver with 9 or 10 degrees of loft rather than an older 7 or 8 degree driver. Amateur players can optimize the carry of the ball by selecting a driver with 1-3 more degrees of loft than tour-pros.A higher lofted driver will give you more carry which can help you stay more consistent in your shots. The launch-angle (determined by the loft on the club-head striking the ball), the speed that the ball comes off the club-face (determined by club-head speed as it strikes the golf-ball), and the spin of the golf-ball (determined by the prior 2 factors as well as some other factors including the grooves on the club-face, whether any grass got in between the club-face and the ball at impact, etc.) allow the ball to remain in the air (carry). While you mostly use a driver off the tee for a par 4 or par 5, you have options of another wood or iron. You won’t always use a driver when driving a golf ball. Some holes will be set up so that you have to use a 3, 5, or even 7 wood, or one of your irons, say if you are on a par 3.  Account for the design of hole you are playing as well as your own game when choosing a club. For instance, if you hit your 3-wood farther than your driver and think you could use an 8-iron to the green after hitting the ball with the 3-wood, you may want to select the 3-wood to take your first shot if you do well with the 8-iron. You can use your swing speed to help determine which club you need off a tee shot. Say you hit your 7 iron 150 yards, your swing speed is most likely around 95-104 mph. An 8 or 9 iron will be around 105-115 mph.  Irons have a higher loft than woods and in the case of a par 3 hole, you’ll be aiming directly for the green, which means you want more carry and less roll. If the green is less than 200 yards (183 m) away, you’re going to want to use an iron. Picking the right golf ball for your game can be a bit of a headache. You have to factor spin, hardness, distance, and most importantly, feel. Unfortunately, there’s no “golden ball” that has all the answers for you.  The best way to determine the right ball for you is to go to your local golf shop and talk to a professional about what you want in your shot. They can work with you to determine your club-head speed and help you choose golf balls with the correct thickness of the cover and density of the core for your golfing style. Hit a few balls and rely on how they feel. Golf is one the most mental games out there and feeling comfortable in what you’re hitting can greatly affect your shot. Note that professional rules prohibit you from using different types of balls during the same round. However, if you are playing with friends, bring several types of balls and experiment to find which works the best for you. Nowadays everything in golf has multiple options to choose from, including the tee you use. With a lot of modern drivers having large heads, the need to make taller tees arose, resulting in tees of varying lengths. When you take a shot, the golf ball should be teed up high enough that the top of the driver club-face dissects the ‘equator’ of the golf ball.   To avoid hitting the ground before hitting a teed up golf ball, use a taller tee. Similarly, if you’re on a long par 4 or par 5 and need to crush the ball to hit the green within par, a taller tee for your driver is usually the way to go. However, a taller tee isn’t always the best option when using an iron as you could tee the ball too high and cut under the ball. When using an iron, tee up the ball so it appears to be resting on top of the grass. Only the bottom 1⁄4 to 1⁄10 inch (0.64 to 0.25 cm) of the ball needs to be above the ground.
Summary: Choose a driver with the proper loft. Pick the right club. Know what kind of ball you’re using. Pick the right tee.