Everybody knows that the Olympic Games are due to be held in Athens in 2004. Apart from the accepted consequences, positive and negative, for the city of Athens and Greece in general this sporting extravaganza will seriously affect the yachting fraternity from mid-July to mid-September.

Two major crises will afflict the greater Athens area i.e. transportation and accommodation. I will refer to certain aspects of transportation later but the accommodation problem will directly affect yachtsmen. How, you might ask ? I will tell you.

The Greek government is trying many ways to obviate the shortage of about 40,000 rooms. Athenians are being asked to offer rooms to visitors in their own homes and 11 cruise ships are being chartered and moored in Piraeus harbour for the duration of the Games. Not wishing to be left out of this possible bonanza, yacht owners will be offering their yachts as floating hotels in all the marinas along the Athens coastline, particularly Marina Alimos. Nor will this be restricted to Athenian yacht owners, as owners from all over Greece will be climbing on the bandwagon and will be moving their yachts into the Athens area for the Games. Many yachts are already booked to regular charterers and thus the prices for the period will go up to alarming levels, not to mention the shortage of available yachts.

Another serious problem will be the human waste from all these vessels. Piraeus harbour and all the marinas in the vicinity will become enormous sewage dumps. The people chartering these yachts as hotels are not yachties and will not know, or care, about the use of holding tanks and will simply dump the results of the exercising of normal human bodily functions into the sea. The shore facilities in these marinas will be nine times overstretched.

I promised to refer to transportation again because there will be massive shortages of flights over the period. Don’t miss the boat - book early your flight aswell.

You must also realise that the influx of yachts into Athens will produce shortages all over Greece, not only for the period from mid-July to mid-September, but beyond because of the positioning and re-positioning times of the floating hotels.

My advice, therefore, is that if you are a yacht owner avoid Athens for the period, unless you are going to watch the Games, and if you are going to charter - DO IT EARLY, not forgetting to book your flights at the same time. The “last minute booking” syndrome is not going to work in 2004 for the crucial period of the Games and the immediate pre and post period - say 15 July to 15 September.

Finally - how early is early enough ? I would say by Christmas 2003, at the very latest. This way you will both enjoy the early booking discounts, which most of the charter companies are offering, and get the yacht of your choice from the base of your choice. Almi Yachts statistics are showing that by February all yachts will be booked for July/August 2004 and only dinghies will be available!

If you are just starting out to play golf, you should never buy a new golf club set immediately as you may discover that this game is not for you later on. Furthermore, you are yet to find the type of golf clubs that fits you during the learning stage. The good choice is to start with cheap used golf clubs. And here are some guidelines to help you to hunt down your first used golf club set:

Golf Rental Clubs

First, you may want to play with the rental clubs at a driving range. During this time, don’t be afraid to ask your friends or other golfers to try their clubs on the range. This is a good opportunity for you to judge which type of clubs is right for you. After hitting for a period of time at the driving range and you think it is time to buy your own clubs, then ….

Rely on golf expert

When you go out to buy used golf clubs, you should always rely on people who know golf equipment well. You can look for your local pro at your local municipal course as a source of information and advice. Or you can consult the experts at the golf shop or even your friend who plays well or who knows anything about golf clubs. Alternatively, you can search the Internet for used golf club reviews. You can always ask people for advice but keep in mind that what suits them may not necessary prove good in your hands. Therefore, it is more important to identify the golf club set that suitable to your ability yourself.

Golf beginner’s half set

As a novice golfer, you are advised to learn with a half set of clubs with all matching iron of the same model. The half-set could be made up from a few combinations of clubs. In general, the half set combination consists of five iron clubs, including 4, 6, 8, pitching wedge and sand iron, in addition to 3 and 5 woods plus a putter. The driver is not recommended in the beginner’s half set because it is the hardest club to control. Majority of beginners would achieve better results using a 3 wood on the tee box. Likewise, 1, 2 or 3 irons should be avoided at the early stages of the game, as each of these long irons requires an accurate strike from the middle of the clubface with plenty of club heads speed in order to achieve good results. In contrast, a 5 wood with distance almost equivalent of the 2 iron - the ball can still travel a fair distance despite being hit off-center. Besides, a lofted wood is more forgiving than the thin blade of an iron club heads.

The half set combination not only sufficient for most novice golfers on the golf course for every situation but also makes club selection much easier. It is a good combination of clubs to help the novice to improve their swing technique until they are good enough before they advance to the full set golf clubs. Therefore, you have to make sure to select a golf model for your half set from a reputable manufacturer that can be added to at a later stage.

Golf Feels

The best way to purchase a used golf clubs is to actually hold them in your hand and swing them to get a feel for what you want. The feel of a golf club clearly seems to be all-important. But, what is ‘feel’? There is no scientific formula that defines it. In general, feel can be described as the way a golfer feels a club when he or she swings it depends on its swing weight and the flexibility of its shaft.

Iron Club head

Look for club head that made of stainless steel and avoid inexpensive alloy heads. For beginner, you should select the ‘heel-and-toe’ (or, perimeter-weighted) club head design, cavity backed (hollowed out in the back) and over-sized golf club. You should get bigger club heads because they are more forgiving with enlarges ’sweet spot’ that can produce maximum distance even with off-center contacts.

Golf Shafts

Graphite shafts is ideal for beginner even though it is more expensive that steel shafts. Its lighter overall weight allows beginner to swing the club faster even with enlarged clubhead.

Golf Grips

If you have purchased used golf clubs where the condition of the grips could be less than perfect or the grips don’t fit properly for you, then make sure you replace them. Grips are fairly easy and inexpensive to change by a pro or club repairman. Ensure all the grips are replaced with same size and design.

Finally, if you are just starting out with golf, chances are your swing is more likely to let you down rather than the golf clubs itself. Having said that, it is still important to try out the golf clubs before buying them in order to find a golf club set that suits your swing, body and game. Most importantly, makes you feel confident when you use it.

Andrew is the owner of Used Golf Clubs Guide, a website that provides complete guide to used golf clubs - where to buy/sell/trade in used golf clubs, what to check before buying a used golf clubs, how to choose a used golf clubs set… and more. You can visit his website at:http://www.used-golf-clubs-guide.com/