How to Rock an Interior Wall with Cultured Stone

An interior wall of drywall or plywood can with a few tools, some material and about a weekend(depending on job size), be turned into a conversational masterpiece. You can make a dramatic back splash in your kitchen or rock your entry way...just use your own imagination.

Materials: You will need...your choice of rock, sand, mortar "Type S", galvanized mesh wire, 1 1/4" roofing tacks, tarp or plastic to cover floor...you may need a grout bag(if you are going to have a mortar joint between the rocks), mortar "Type N" for grout and trim.

Tools: You will need a wheel barrow, mixing hoe, shovel, trowel, mud board, gloves, level and broom.

First cover floor with tarp or plastic to protect floor from splatter. Apply galvanized mesh wire with roofing tacks from stud to stud to ensure that wire is securely attached to the wall.

Now it is time to make the mortar.The recipe for mortar mix is 200lbs of sand (14 square shovels) per bag of mortar mix, 4 or 5 gallons of water. You can purchase sand in 100lb bags, which actually works out good when you are doing a small job mixing in a wheel barrow. It is recommended when using a wheel barrow to cut the recipe in half and only mix 1/2 of a bag of mortar mix at a time. Your mortar mix should be the consistency of cake batter.

Scatter rocks and get a pattern in mind. Spread mortar with trowel over mesh wire a couple of feet at a time. Unless you are laying stack stone, you can start at either the top or the bottom.

Pick the rock that you want to place, spread mortar on back of the rock, not too much, about 3/8" to 1/2" bead of mortar. Too much adds more weight and rock won't stay on wall. Place in on the wall and apply pressure. Give a slight wiggle after pressure has been applied. Allow 3 to 5 seconds for good contact and repeat. The reason for only applying the mortar a couple feet at a time is that the mortar on the wall needs to be fresh so that the mortar on the back of the rock will mesh with it.

River Rock, Castle Stone and other kinds of rock require a 3/8" or 1/2" spacing between rocks for a mortar joint. Stack Stone stacks on top of each other and requires no mortar joint.

After wall has been layed. Wet grout bag, trowel bag 1/2 full of mortar. Twist like a cake decorator, bring point to wall and squeeze. Follow joint around rock getting it completely full, stopping to retwist grout bag as you go. Grout entire wall and give mortar about 1 hour(depending on temperature) to set up. Put on a pair of gloves and use your finger to wipe down all mortar joints. You want your mortar to be just below the rock. This will leave it smooth and give it a cleaned finished look. Sweep wall to remove any leftover dust. If needed you can add a piece of trim at the edge.

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Better Golf... Through Knowledge

Better Golf... Through Knowledge

It is said that "What you don't know can't hurt you". In golf, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Let’s take a look at a few things the average golfer probably doesn't know about and how these things are probably costing you strokes.

Practice makes perfect... Not!

Practice only makes perfect if you are reinforcing proper swing techniques. For most golfers, a practice session consists of ripping through a bucket of balls on their lunch break or on the way home from work. A trip to the range will not help you unless you are going to spend the time to "work" on your swing, and not just reinforce those bad habits you've already developed. Use the following suggestions to help you turn that grip it and rip it pit stop at the range into a true practice session.

1. Only bring one club to the range with you at a time.

2. Hit a small bucket of balls and take your time with each swing.

3. Slow down your swing and try to hit the ball straight, not far.

Go ahead, blame your clubs!

There's a good chance that your clubs could be at fault for all those miss hits, even if they are brand new and cost you over $2000. The problem is, if they don't fit you and your swing, then even when you make that perfect swing the ball isn't going to end up where you wanted it to be. Club length, shaft flex, lie angle, and grip size will each greatly affect your golf game if they are not properly fitted to you. Get custom fitted for clubs and see what the difference is compared to what you have now. You could be losing a lot of strokes because of them.

Get some balls!

But don't get just any golf balls. And that doesn't mean that you should run out and buy the most expensive ball on the market. You need to get the right kind of ball for your game. Do you need extra distance? How about stopping power? Or soft feel? With so many different types of balls on the market today it makes it difficult to find a ball that suits your game. Here are a few tips on what different caliber golfers should look for in a ball.

1. Beginner - Distance, Durability, $

2. Intermediate - Higher Spin, Softer Feel, $$

3. Advanced - Tour Quality, Distance, Spin, Feel, $$$

There are a lot of little things that go into making a great golfer. Having a great swing helps, but that is the hardest part to get right. The easiest way to cut strokes is to learn about golf club fitting, ball selection, and practice routines and how they can improve your game. You’ll be surprised by the results.

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Teaching Wedge Blocking for Youth Football

The Double and Single Wing offensive systems institute the Wedge Blocking strategy. This may appear different than every other scheme of blocking you will teach, but later on after you observe it succeed, you will apply this system into your recent offense. In the early going it will look foreign to coach and look unorthodoxied. It requires tremendous fortitude as you coach this system to the squad.



It will be a slow advancement, but as soon as it has been taught the right way, it will be a crushing artillery in your arsenal. Waste no time teaching this system and start teaching this as early as day one. Your team needs to understand how important the wedge series is to the team. You will be capable of gaining a large amount of yards, and even those vital short yardage downs.



This actually is not difficult to show, but make sure that it is taught right. All lineman have to press into the lineman adjacent to him and form an solid area, wedge or upside down V.



The goal is on the snap of the ball, all blockers need to move together and step straight forward and towards the inside together. If you are using zero line splits, it will be simple to seal shoulders with the player adjacent to them. The key is that all linemen move forward together in harmony. Once your line is as close together as they can get, they now need to move together as one. Under no circumstance can any player on defense be allowed to bust the wedge. After the wedge is in place, the squad must practice staying together as one , while moving at equal speed. The purpose of the wedge to remain as one and keeping defenders out for as long as conceivable.



The best way to introduce the wedge is for a coach to stand with a dummy over the right side guard and make the players step, seal, and complete the wedge. After this action is perfected, then have the group move as one and try to knock the coach back down the field. Every player needs to step together, as one as they remain in the wedge. I define perfection as being able to execute the play, or in this case the drill for 10 perfect repetitions.



Opponents will attempt many different techniques to try and break up your wedge. One of the more popular techniques is to dive down at your lineman's knees. The best way to counter this move is to use high knees and step on their backs. When their backs start hurting, the defense will quit chopping your linemen's legs. Another great counter move is to run one of the wedge fake plays. Fake plays can be extremely effective because the whole defense will be "selling out" in an attempt to stop the wedge. The speedy pass routes or delayed reverses work great. Both the Double Wing and Single Wing have complete wedge series. No matter what age or experience level you coach, the wedge will be one of your strongest.





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Jim Oddo has been coaching pee wee, flag, pop warner and youth football for over 23 years. He has attained an 80+% winning percentage. Read how to win with over 400 FREE tips and posts regarding every area of little guy football at: http://footballplaybooks.info. In addition to coaching tips, there are many different offensive and defensive playbooks all modified in Youth Football Playbooks.

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Attaining The Perfect Golf Swing

The game of golf has a Holy Grail, a mythical thing that everyone is searching for but nobody ever seems to find: the perfect golf swing. The reason for this is simply that there is no such thing as a perfect golf swing. Each person is different, and so the swing style that is right for them will vary somewhat. However, there are a few basics that when applied can dramatically improve your golf swing.

There is no doubt that a professional golf swing is at the heart of the game and it is not possible to expect to play a reasonably good game of golf if one is not able to produce a consistent and good professional golf swing. Golf specific exercises play a key role in helping any golfer dramatically improve on their game quicker and perfect various aspects of their game much more rapidly, such as the golf swing plane.

The Swing Plane

The swing plane represents the path on which your golf club should travel upon during the swing. A good swing plane is vital if you want to be a consistent golfer. The idea that separates the high handicapper and low handicapper is usually the ability to rotate your body, keeping the club on a consistent swing plane.

One of the easiest ways to analyze your swing plane is have someone film you. A more high tech way to assist you in correcting your swing plane is a laser light that fits onto the end of the club handle. A swing trainer can also help you with your swing plane. Don't try to force the club into the correct swing plane, as this is counter-productive.

Swing Speed

When it comes to swing speed some players just cannot swing the golf club very quickly. It takes an optimum level of strength to produce a high enough swing speed to hit the ball the correct distances. Using a golf training club is one of the most effective ways to increase golf swing speed and power. The Speed Stik Golf Swing Trainer is one of the better golf swing trainers available on the market today.

Developing core strength is important for increasing golf power levels and swing speed, which is why the proper exercise is also very important to improving your swing.

Swing Exercises

When you are implementing a golf fitness exercise into your golf swing improvement program, you must be able to place the body in the correct starting position of the exercise. It is a proven fact that muscles used in the golf swing that are not exercised and conditioned on a regular basis with the correct exercise will usually not respond to the correct golfing techniques.

Most of the touring pros are now using exercise for golf to strengthen their swing and have seen their driving distance go way up. I can’t tell you how many golfers have emailed me telling me their amazing improvements in power, distance and accuracy from using exercise for golf to strengthen their swing.

The power exercise in the golf swing can also tremendously improve on the enjoyment of the game by eliminating pain, even as your body is strengthened to play a better game. Failure to execute a proper golf swing has even been responsible for numerous nagging injuries many golfers suffer, which further hampers their game.

So there you have it. There is no Holy Grail, no perfect golf swing, but there are three fundamental improvements that can be made: in the swing plane, swing speed, and regularly engaging in swing exercises. If you are careful to pay attention to each of these three aspects of swing training, you are sure to see significant improvements in your golf game.

Health Clubs � The Most Questionable Fee Gaining Popularity Right Now

For many people, the day they join a health club is supposed to be a major positive turning point in their life. After all, the decision to get in shape is never an easy one.

However, many clubs are really taking advantage of the fact that most people don’t really read the agreements that they sign.

These health clubs are putting in “stealth” fees that, while legal, leave many people wondering about the ethics of the clubs that use them.

So, what’s the killer fee that most people are completely unaware of?

It’s called the “facility improvement fee” or “facility improvement addendum” and it’s lighting up many members around the country.

Here is how it works. When you join a club that has one of these fees, you typically have to initial a spot that states that the club is going to draft a fee of $25 every (pick a month and date) of every year you are a member for facility improvements. In some instances, you don’t even have to initial beside it, it’s just there.

Now, that doesn’t seem like such a big deal. After all, the club does need to have new equipment, new paint, and money to get things fixed up.

In actuality, the many clubs never use this money for the improvement of their club at all. In fact, it’s just another profit center for them and it goes right in the owner’s pocket. Legally, they can do this due to the way the contract is written. Typically, it’ll say something like:

“Â…to be used for maintenance, upkeep, and any other club expense deemed necessary by management.”

To be honest, I’ve walked in a few clubs that don’t look like they’ve been cleaned in ages but they sure do charge the facility improvement fee.

Here are the biggest scams with “facility improvement fees”

• Charge the fee and never fix anything
• Only charge the fee to people with monthly memberships
• Charge the fee for “future” club expansion
• Charge late and bounce fees when the unplanned for draft attempts to go through

If your club charges a “facility improvement fee,” find out what they plan to improve this year. Ask to get an itemized list for all of the members. Should your fee be a legitimate fee, management won’t have any problems with providing this.

Make sure that your club is accountable to you with the money you pay. Granted, the owners have every right to do whatever they want with any dues based income. However, a fee that has a specific name should be used to that purpose.

If you are looking for clubs and you come across a “facility improvement fee,” make sure it looks like the health club LOOKS like it’s been improved or at least kept up. Think about it, if health clubs have an average member base of 2000 members times $25, that $50,000 should go a long way.

And remember, this is $50,000 EACH YEAR in improvements.

In conclusion, make sure to read all of your agreements and question any fees that seem a little questionable. A “facility improvement fee” can be a good thing if the fee is actually used for what it’s designed for. However, don’t let unscrupulous owners use it as another way to line their pockets.

Copyright © 2006 Brad Howard

Golf Course and Waterfront Living

With today’s planned lifestyle communities, golf and boating enthusiasts have an opportunity to purchase the vacation and retirement home of their dreams just a chip shot away from the green or stone’s throw from the marina. In addition to an ideal home setting, golf and waterfront community residents enjoy an active and diversified lifestyle experience complete with first-class golf courses, marinas, beaches, spas, clubhouses, recreation areas, fine dining and countless other amenities.

Out of the 10,000 master planned communities across the United States, over 2,500 are built around golf courses and pristine waterfront property. Making sense of all the options can be mind boggling. If you are thinking about relocating to one of these golf and waterfront communities, it is imperative to be able to distinguish one community from the next and more importantly, know what to look for before you buy.

In the past, golf and waterfront master planned communities catered to distinct segments of the housing market, namely middle to upper income empty nesters and retirees. Things have changed. Today, golf course and waterfront developments are designed to accommodate budgets of all levels and generally fall into one of two categories: multi-generational and age restricted.

The construction of multi-generational communities represents a recent trend in planned community home building. The underlying idea is to attract a diverse population of families including retirees and young professionals of varying income levels and backgrounds in order to establish a robust and vibrant community. After decades of building age restricted communities, builders and developers have recognized that the traditional elements of planned community living such as security, on-site amenities and low maintenance housing appeal to home buyers of all ages.

Most new communities are multi-generational developments. Vistancia situated in the beautiful Sonoran desert outside of Peoria, Arizona is a recently opened golf community attracting individuals and families of all ages. Since home sales began in March 2004, almost 500 families have moved into this scenic development with 1,700 total acres of open space and a 900-acre mountain preserve.

Conversely, age restricted planned communities are developed for the +55 home owner with amenities and facilities for today’s discerning empty nester and retiree. Typically, the age restriction requires one household resident to be at least 55 in order to qualify for home ownership. Over the last decade, an evolution has occurred with the age restricted community model of yesteryear making way for contemporary activity based developments complete with lavish amenities and world-class recreation areas, not to mention the conventional facilities required by the +55 demographic.

The undisputed leader in age restricted master planned community development is Del Webb. Since the 1960s, Del Webb has constructed numerous age restricted golf and waterfront communities across the United States. Del Webb’s Sun City developments are arguably the most recognizable line of age restricted communities stretching from coast to coast with Sun City Hilton Head in North Carolina and Sun City Lincoln Hill in California.

The most important criterion in selecting a traditional home is location and the same is true when deciding on a golf and waterfront community. The old adage “location, location, location” aside, one has to consider whether the new property will serve as a primary residence, second home getaway or retirement abode. The final location decision is generally based on three primary factors: home use, surrounding area and local weather.

For most of us working folk, our primary residence is located within an hour or so of a major metropolitan center. Don’t fret, there are hundreds of golf and waterfront communities centrally located within driving distance from most major metropolitan areas. If by chance you live near Dallas, you have several options to choose from including Stonebridge Ranch in north Dallas and Black Horse Ranch which is only 25 minutes from downtown. Washington D.C. commuters are also in luck with conveniently located golf and waterfront communities in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Belmont Country Club, a Toll Brothers property, is a mere 40 minutes from Washington D.C. in Ashburn, Virginia. These examples represent only a fraction of the actual number of suburban golf and waterfront developments.

The location decision is a bit more complicated and not as clear cut when one considers purchasing a second home retreat or retirement residence. In this situation, other factors come in to play such as the activity and cultural richness of the immediate area and of course, local weather. If you are looking for a second home, would you like to be nestled in the woods away from the hustle and bustle of the city, located in a more suburban area or some in between?

Climate is also an integral factor to take into consideration when purchasing a home particularly if you are feeling abused by recent harsh winters. This may clearly point to a direction that takes you out of your home state or even to another part of the country. Conversely, the summer’s never ending heat may drive you to consider the cooler climates up north. Fortunately, there are 2,500 golf and waterfront communities spread out across the United States from Minnesota to Texas and California to Massachusetts.

What is clear in the case of retirement homes is that good local health care and transportation facilities are a must. For most retirees, living over 60 miles away from the closest hospital or airport is just not an option. In the end, it comes down to striking a balance between modern necessities and the beauty of the great outdoors.

Once you have settled on a geographic location, the next area to focus on is amenities. These can vary greatly from one golf and waterfront development to the next. Typically, these expanded ‘goodies’ fall into two categories: conveniences and lifestyle enhancements. Conveniences include such things as security services, home maintenance, gardening services, concierge service, on-site retail and office space, cable television and high-speed internet.

Lifestyle enhancements relate to recreation activities and rest and relaxation befitting an enhanced life of leisure. One can find a mix of facilities at planned communities which support numerous activities like tennis, hunting, boating, skiing, and hiking. To balance the rigors of recreation, planned communities provide residents with rest and relaxation amenities such as spas, clubhouses, wilderness preserves, pools, beaches and fine dining.

With real estate opportunities for every budget, isn’t it about time you looked into moving to a golf and waterfront community that offers unbelievable vistas, year round activities, low maintenance living and first-class amenities?

Visit http://www.golfhomeconnect.com to find information on vacation and retirement homes.

Become a More Athletic Golfer to Improve Your Golf Game

Golf and Fitness are two terms that can finally go hand in hand, thanks to one Tiger Woods and his famous mystery workout routine, and the other professional and amateur players who have followed his lead. Once an activity perhaps identified more with pot bellies, motorized carts and cups of beer on the course than physical strength and a good physique, there is now no question that golf has entered the world of a full fledged sport that requires physical training to perform at its best. Golfers on the professional tours look like athletes now, with more and more toned athletic bodies being seen on TV crushing the ball down the longest, most difficult courses in the world. Spending some time in the gym has been shown that it can make as big a difference in a golfer's score as time on the range or putting green. The game itself has changed, and the way players approach it has changed, as well.

As a personal trainer and avid golfer, the relationship between fitness and golf is a natural one to maintain, but it wasn't that way when I started playing the game as a junior. I first picked up clubs when I was about 5, then started playing seriously by about the seventh grade. By seriously I mean it had become the obsession that many golfers feel when they realize they would rather be golfing than just about anything else. A group of friends and I played regularly, and by high school, we were not only on our golf team together, we were some of the best players in our entire small town.

I was never able to hit the ball as far as my friends on the team, and one thing they told me over and over was that I should lift weights and get stronger, which at the time they did because they also played on the basketball team in the winter. As a skinny cross country runner at the time, I saw no need nor had any interest in lifting, as the weight room intimidated me in high school. I look back almost 30 years later as a much stronger, longer and better player than I was then (because I lift weights!) and wonder what might have been had I listened to them.

What my friends on the golf team did in the high school weight room in the early 80's was primitive to the workout science and programs that are available to golfers now, but they were definitely on to something. One way to look at it was that before it became popular, they were athletes who happened to play golf, and it showed in the length they had off the tee. This athletic approach can be applied to any golfer's game in the present day and immediately improve their ability to play better. With some examination, it is easy to see why.

The golf swing itself is actually an incredibly complex movement that combines virtually every muscle in the body into one coordinated action. The requirements of balance, coordination, flexibility, stability, strength and power all come into play in just one swing. Over the course of a practice session or round, endurance becomes a factor as well. Having some physical fitness in all of these areas can make for a much more effective swing. It is a bit ironic that golf itself does not require you to be in shape to play (unlike running a 10 k race, for example, which needs a level of fitness to even be attempted), nor will it really get you in shape by playing regularly (unless you walk rather than ride a cart). Yet working out overall dramatically increases the ability to perform the golf swing itself. So many players look to the next big expensive driver to add yardage off the tee. Well, what it they could hit it harder by being in better shape, and straighter, too?

Getting into the specifics of golf fitness, flexibility is paramount in the modern golf swing. The ability to turn the body through the trunk away from the ball, storing potential energy on the backswing, while maintaining an anchored, solid stance through the legs and hips, is what has been shown to generate the most power. Tiger Woods has a tremendous shoulder turn on his backswing which sets him up to uncoil with great speed through the ball on the downswing.

A person taking golf lessons and attempting to emulate Tiger's shoulder turn typically doesn't even have a body physically capable of doing that motion effectively! They may be taking lessons, yet are prevented from practicing the motion that they are learning by a lack of flexibility and fitness in the muscles of the trunk and back. Only by improving their fitness in these areas through proper training can they then expect to perform the proper motion.

In addition to flexibility, core strength and stability throughout the body are essential as well. These fitness terms refer to the body's strength in the trunk and the ability of the muscles of the entire body to operate in a coordinated, athletic way, which provide a stable "platform" in the body for hitting the golf ball. The more coordinated and stable the body is, the less motion is wasted during the swing and the more effort goes straight into hitting the ball where it is meant to go.

After flexibility is attained and a good amount of core strength and stability as well, more basic strength can then be added into a fitness routine. This could be along the lines of the classic term "lifting weights" that my high school buddies wanted me to do. A flexible and stable body that gets stronger, as long as the flexibility is not lost, can add significantly more effort to the golf swing, especially in situations where the ball may be in the rough or have a lie that requires more effort than the typical swing. If you watched Tiger Woods during the US Open in June, 2007, his physique from his fitness routine looked more muscular than ever, yet was very flexible. There were comments from the TV announcers many times on the level of his fitness and how it played out in making his game more effective. He is quite capable of hitting shots no one else on earth can because of his fitness level. As a result, he has more shots available to him to help him score.

So we know now how fitness has changed the game of golf and what is available to the player who chooses to add more fitness to their routine and golf game. Anyone can benefit from some exercise that is golf specific, and can participate at the level that they want. A person doesn't have to workout like Tiger Woods to get better. Sometimes even just working out regularly itself can make all the difference.

Copyright (c) 2007 Charles Carter