There's nothing with the power to put you down in the dumps quite like arranging an amazing golf holiday … and then messing up every shot you take for five days! If you have a terrible tendency to slice, we have some great tips for clearing up your swing before you leave on a golf vacation. Nothing left to do but enjoy your trip!

Understand the reason for slice

In technical terms, slicing is a clubface problem. The swingpath may be straight, but the face of the club is open, creating a sidespin moving from left to right.

Make sure your feet and shoulders are aligned

This is one of the most crucial tips. Golf stance is one of the fundamentals of having a good game, and it can feel a little uncomfortable at first to stand properly. Make sure the line created between your heel is aligned with the line created between your two shoulders. If it is not, you will almost certainly slice … no matter how hard you concentrate on getting your swing straight. Practice plenty before you leave for your golf vacation, to help make the new stance feel natural.

But I thought my feet and shoulders WERE aligned!

Sometimes we just can't tell! Use a long ruler, or the aid of a golf teacher or fellow player to help you assess whether your shoulders and feet really are aligned. What feels straight to you, may not necessarily be straight.

Follow through

It can feel unnatural to keep swinging as hard as you can until you can’t go any further, rather than just kitting the ball and letting the club fall back. However, follow through is critical in getting that ball to travel where you want it to! Golf teachers often have a heap of tips to help you make follow through feel natural.

Grip

If your grip is too far to the left, this will cause an open club face and clockwise spin … otherwise known as a slice. If your clubface is square to the target, you should be able to look down and see at least two knuckles of your left hand. If you see two, three or four, your grip is not your problem - your follow through or stance most likely is.

There are a few issues to look at to make sure your slice doesn’t ruin your golf vacation .. plenty of reason to get practicing right now!

Long Weekend Golf Holiday Planner: 3 Nights and Days in Palm Springs

If you live in California and have an upcoming long weekend, Palm Springs should be your golfing holiday destination of choice! Far enough away to feel like you’re on holidays, but a short enough drive so you don't feel that you're wasting your vacation in driving, Palm Springs hosts courses that presidents, golfing legends, and movie stars play on. Today we help you plan a long weekend in Palm Springs, doing what you love best … golf!

Day 1: Cimarron -- Boulder (Long Course)

Get into the groove of your long weekend golf vacation at one of the areas less expensive golf courses, Cimarron. The course has some very unusual design features, like sod-wall bunkers filled with white crushed marble … and gorgeous emerald fairways.

Afternoon 1: Film Festival!

If you’re in Palm Springs during either January or June, you will have access to one of the region's month long film festivals -- either Shortfest in June, or the International Film Festival in January. The International Festival is pretty big, often showcasing over 200 films from more than 60 countries.

Day 2: Desert Dunes

Most golf course designers would be happy to have ONE of their courses listed in the "Best Public Courses" collection. This was the first course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr to be voted as one of the best public course in California. It has a slope of 142 and is rated 4 stars -- lots of water hazards and fast, sloped greens!

Afternoon 2: Elite Land Tours

These adventures by Hummer into the California desert allow you to explore, without taxing your poor legs too much to play golf tomorrow! Everybody who has been on these tours raves about them -- you can go out to Joshua Tree National Park or San Andreas Fault.

Day 3: GC at Terra Largo (Landmark)

Save the best course for your last day, and take home some beautiful memories of this picturesque course. The course has 36 holes in total, a slope of 137 and a wonderful 4.5 star rating.

Afternoon 3: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies

You don't hear much of the music of the 40s, 50s and 60s any more … even the 90s is considered retro! You'll hear plenty on this side trip on your golf vacation, though. The Palm Springs Follies features both local performers and international vaudeville acts -- a riotous night out.

Long Weekend Golf Holiday Planner: 3 Nights and Days in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a great place for a golf holiday -- as an unincorporated self-governing territory of the United States, there are fewer administrative hassles than going for a long holiday to a completely different country. It is an archipelago, so you can see the ocean from just about wherever you are in Puerto Rico, and since it is only a short plane ride away (and there is no time one difference to speak of), it is quite easy to go down for a long weekend. Today we give you a guide to Puerto Rico's best golf and best afternoon activities for golf vacationers.

Day 1: Rio Mar, River Course

In most places, rivers don't really hold a candle to the power and beauty of the ocean. Puerto Rico's Rio Mar River course is a stunning exception! The native foliage has been largely preserved in this Greg Norman designed Caribbean golf course.

Afternoon 1: Le Lo Lai Festival

This show of traditional Puerto Rican dance is free aat two of its locations, and runs on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It is on at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm at different locations, so don't worry if your game runs late!

Day 2: Palmas Del Mar Palm Course

Designed by Gary Palyer this resort style course is basic but very enjoyable. The path winds through cocunt groves, marshes and thick jungle - a great way to experience the real Puerto Rico while having a great game of golf! If you get through holes 11 to 14, you'll feel that you can get through anything.

Afternoon 2: Heineken Jazzfest

Tito Puente hails from Puerto Rico, and if your are here over May you'll be able to catch this 4 day festival with some of the biggest names in Latin jazz. Let your feet and your body learn about salsa and meringue, as well as swings and follow-throughs!

Day 3: Palmas del mar Flamboyan course

This course was designed by Rees Jones, and is long and challenging for a Puerto Rican course. It circles a 23-acre lake, crosses the Candalero River and climbs hills to the ocean views beyond. Bring your strong, wind-compensating arms!

Afternoon 3: Old San Juan

You've spent a few days checking out the natural beauty of Puerto Rico, now it is time to experience the only walled city in the Caribbean, with its maze of cobbled streets, beautifully painted houses, and the mansions which were targets for pirates.

Golf holidays to Puerto Rico are incredibly rewarding - not to be missed out on!

Golf Holidays With Bobby: All About Robert Trent Jones and His Courses

He died at the ripe old age of 94, and it has been said that "The sun never sets on a Robert Trent Jones golf course!" No, he didn’t invent some artificial means of keeping the sun in position in the sky … he was simply one of the most prolific golf course designers in recent history. Today we take a selected look at some of Robert Trent Jones, Sr's courses that are best loved by golf professionals and golf holiday-ers alike.

Los Naranjos, Costa del Sol, Spain

One of Robert Trent Jones' trademarks was long runway style tees, which allow easy setup for getting past water hazards. This course also features wide fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and large, undulating greens -- tricky but enjoyable for golf vacationers!

Mid Ocean Club, Bermuda

Golf magaines can’t go past adding this one to the top 50 list, every time they create one. The par-3 16th hole is a favorite of players … including Jack Nicklaus! The PGA Grand Slam has been hosted by Mid Ocean Club several times.

Royal Kaanapali North, Maui

This course first openened in 1962 -- you can find many historic courses the world over that are the creation of Robert Trent Jones. In the foothills of the West Maui mountains, and the terrain of the course varies from sea level to beautiful sea views, and visions of the hotels dotted along the coast and mountains. The slope is 129, and this is rated 4 stars.

Port Royal Golf Club, Bermuda

The Bermudan government thit a winner with this golf club - they are the administrators of this Robert Trent Jones golf course. It is the most heavily played course in Bermuda, and hosts the Bermuda Open Championship every year. The ocean underneath the 16th is littered with little white balls, so if you don't play much, get some accuracy practice in before your golf holiday!

Three Golf Trip Games for Threesomes!

Had somebody pull out of your golf vacation at the last minute, leaving a gaping hole in your foursome? Never fear -- there are still plenty of games that you can play as a threesome at America's top golf courses. We check out some suggested rule setups for three different threesome games: Niner, Bingo Bango Bongo, and Wolf.

Niner

This game starts off as traditional stroke play -- just hit your own ball until it is in the cup. Then handicaps are awarded -- five points for the person with the lowest net score, three points for the next lowest person, and one for the highest scorer, to make a total of nine points for every hole. Each player will get three points if there is a three way tie; for a winner and a tie for second place, award five, two and two points; for a tie for winner and a last place, award as four, four and one point. Tally the points at the end of the round.

Bingo Bango Bongo

The odd scoring system for Bingo Bango Bongo means that many players get a bit frustrated with it! However, if you’re on your golf vacation for the fun of it (and you wouldn’t really be competing with your friends, would you?), it's a great game. There are three points available per hole, and while the etiquette is standard (in terms of who plays next and who tees first), the scoring is definitely not. The first person on the green gets one point; the person closest to the hole once all players on the green gets one; the person with the longest holed putt (or first in the hole) gets the final point.

Wolf

In this game for threesome golf trips, on player is the wolf and the other two are hunters. The longest of the three drives becomes the wolf and the other two are hunters. When the hole is completed, the score of the wolf will be doubled, and the result compared against the combined score of the hunters. If the wolf wins the hole, he gets two points -- if the hunters win, they get one each. If it is a tie, the round is declared no blood, and scores are carried over to the next hole until somebody wins.

"I Play Heaps But Never Improve!" 3 Most Important Tips for Beating the Plateau

If you're like many golfers, you hit a time in your progression when you plateau. A typical movement from beginner to pro involves a steep learning curve and rapid improvement when you start getting lessons; a more gradual improvement thereafter which usually evens off after a while. For some people, no matter how much they play, they never quite seem to get past this point. Often they assume it is just their natural best, and never try to get past it. It is after this time that many people give up the game … out of boredom. There is almost always more you can do to improve, though -- today we go through the most critical tips for getting over the hump in your game while on a golf vacation.

Look over the stats

If you just muddle along, you'll never get an accurate picture of exactly where your game is falling down. Make your next golf trip more worthwhile by incorporating a little more math -- play the same course every second day, and take notes about the shots you constantly play less well than you'd like to. This way you can go to a coach with an accurate idea of where you need help.

Get a coach!

The last point makes this obvious -- you need a coach to get past whatever mental or scoring block you have. The human brain is amazing, and can figure out many things by itself … but we are not omniscient! Use your upcoming golf vacation as an excuse to book in some tuition -- the change in scenery often helps encourage solid learning.

Grip, stance and tempo

80% of problems begin with either the grip, your stance or the tempo with which you swing. The internet offers plenty of advice on these issues - use it as a starting point. However, professional instruction really is the gold standard -- they can look at your individual body and see exactly what it is doing … and then correct it to help you play your best game on your next golf vacation.

Top Five Ways to Protect Yourself From Injury on Your Next Golf Vacation

If you're planning a nice golf vacation in the near future, I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that you aren’t planning to sustain an injury in the near future! The sad reality is that many golfing injuries are sustained while on vacation, for the simple fact that people are doing things that they're bodies haven’t been conditioned for by their daily life. If you’re planning a golf trip, here are some tips for getting into shape for it, and preventing injury while you’re away.

1. Do medium intensity cardio three times a week, high intensity twice a week

Aside from the encyclopedia of information that is available on how cardiovascular exercise improves our health, it also helps you make sure that you won’t keel over from exhaustion after your first 18 holes! A mix of moderate intensity (where you work at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate) and high intensity (where you work at 80% of your maximum heart rate) cardio programs is best.

2. Do core strengthening exercises

Few games depend as much on having strong core muscles as golf does. Get in the gym and do some lateral pull downs or other back strengthening exercises, and blend these with stomach strengtheners. Pay attention to perfect form in these exercises to ensure that you don’t do yourself injury. Both women and men should focus on keeping a tight pelvic floor through these exercises, also. Maintain the form on yourgolf vacation.

3. Eat plenty of oily fish or take an omega-3 supplement

Omega 3 is essential to the health of many parts of our body, and our joints are one of those. Especially for those of us getting on in years, golf can be hard on the joints -- support them nutritionally

4. Pick up your balls by bending your knees

This is one to watch out for while you are on your golf vacation. If you constantly bend at your spine to pick up your balls, you'll end up sore quickly and with an injury soon after. Bend at the knees when you’re getting your balls out of the hole and tees out of the ground.

5. Have a professional trainer put together a stretching program

That professional could be a golf instructor, or it could be a physical trainer. Either way, have someone create a stretching program tailored to your body (this can be done relatively inexpensively at your local gym), and use it every morning of your golf vacation, after a brisk walk.