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How To Break 80 Newsletter

March 29, 2006

“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
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In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) How To Avoid Hitting Fat Shots
2) Grip Pressure 

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1) How To Avoid Hitting Fat Shots
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Nothing’s more embarrassing than hitting a shot fat. The cause is usually an excessively V-shaped swing, the result of standing up during the shot to see the ball through impact. A tight lie, a rushed backswing, or the desire to lift or scoop the ball out of a lie also contribute to a fat shot.

Remember these 5 points to avoid hitting a shot fat:

• Ball position determines impact point
• The club’s loft gets the ball airborne
• Sweep the ball away with woods
• Irons need a descending blow
• Complete the back swing

First, ball position—up for a wood, back for an iron—determines the swing’s impact point. With a wood you sweep the ball away with an ascending blow. You want to hit the ball just past the lowest point of the swing arc. With an iron you strike the ball with a descending blow. You want to hit the ball just before the lowest point of the arc.

Next, loft determines trajectory. There’s no need to try to scoop the ball out of a lie or get under it. If you strike the ball properly, the clubhead’s loft sends the ball skyward. Just focus on hitting the ball at the right impact point and taking a complete backswing.

Now, visualize a U-shaped swing, with a pronounced “flat spot” through impact. With a wood, place a tee in the ground with no ball just opposite your left foot. Then try “picking” the tee out of the ground with your club. With an iron, take your normal stance and ground the club. Then try creating a shallow divot just past where you ground the iron. Concentrate on executing a complete backswing with both drills.

The above two drills improve rhythm and ball striking. They also ensure that you hit the ball at the right impact point in your swing, curing you of taking an excessively V- shaped swing. Practice them to eliminate fat shots.

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2) Grip Pressure
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Grip pressure affects your swing more than you realize. Too light and you lose control of the club. Too tight and you slow clubhead speed. Putting, driving, or chipping, grip pressure is a factor, which is what I stress in my golf tips. So how much grip pressure is enough? It depends on what you’re doing.

If you’re putting, grip pressure is a matter of personal choice. No one grip pressure is ideal. Some prefer one grip pressure. Others prefer another. It’s what gives you the best “feel.” You can hold the club as lightly as Ben Crenshaw or as tightly as Tom Watson and still putt well. The one thing you can’t do when putting is change grip pressure in the middle of your swing.

If you’re taking a full swing, grip pressure is light but not tight. You need some pressure to control the club during your swing but not so much you “strangle” the club in the process. Hold the club lightly as possible, but with enough pressure to maintain a good hold on the club, especially in the last three fingers of the top hand and the middle two fingers of the bottom hand.

I teach players in my golf lessons how to use grip pressure to control ball flight. If you want to hit a draw, tighten the grip of your left hand, enabling your right hand to take over at the bottom of the swing and closing the clubface. If you want to hit a fade, tighten the grip on your right hand, letting your left hand take over at the bottom of your swing and opening the clubface.

If you practice your grip regularly, you can develop a feel for grip pressure. Keep a club around the house for practicing your grip. Just feeling the club in your hands helps you feel the difference in grip pressure, so you’ll know the difference between a tight and a relaxed grip the next time you’re on the course.

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If you want to truly discover the secrets of shooting like the Pros
and creating a more reliable and consistent swing,
check out: http://www.HowToBreak80.com

Also, for past issues of this newsletter and some of my most
recent articles, visit our blog at www.HowToBreak80.com/blog

Until next time, Go Low!

Jack
 
P.S. Feel free to share this newsletter with family and friends. If you
would like to subscribe to this newsletter, send a blank email to
htb80newsletter@aweber.com

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How To Break 80 Newsletter

March 20, 2006

“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
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***EDITORIAL NOTE****
I currently publish this newsletter every Monday evening. As of next
week, 3/27/06, I will begin to publish it on Wednesdays instead.
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In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) The High-Trajectory Bunker Shot
2) Curing Putting Problems
 
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1) The High-Trajectory Bunker Shot
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Most golfers dislike hitting from a greenside bunker. They dislike it even more when they have to hit a high shot that lands softly on the green to get out of the bunker. The key to hitting this shot is the angle of attack.

Achieving the appropriate angle of attack for this type of bunker is simple. Knowing the right bunker technique helps removes some of the fear players have of this shot.

Below are six keys to the high bunker shot:

• Dig in for a solid foundation
• Aim left and open clubface
• Take the right path
• Turn at the top of the swing
• Use an extra steep angle of attack
• Hit down and through

Use your basic bunker set-up. Start by opening the clubface and then take your grip, choking down on the club. This ensures that the clubface stays open during the swing and improves control. Align your shoulders, hips, and feet left of the target line. Digging in provides a stable base.

Normally, you’d keep your wrists passive as the club is swept away from the ball. Here, however, you need a steep angle of attack, so hinge your wrists as soon as possible and swing your arms up instead of low and around.

As the body turns, sense that the club is “cocked” to the sky, then hit down and through the ball with extra force. The path of the clubhead should run parallel to the alignment of shoulders, hips, and feet. The combination of left alignment and open clubface sends the ball straight while the angle of attack drives the ball high, landing it softly on the green.

To practice the high bunker shot, try the “head cover drill.” Place a head cover a few inches behind a ball in a steep greenside bunker. Take the club back without hitting the head cover, hinging your wrists during the takeaway as soon as possible.

Practice the takeaway several times without hitting the ball. Then, try some shots without hitting the head cover either on the takeaway or at impact.

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2) Curing Putting Problems
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Having the “yips” is gut wrenching. Just ask Germany’s Bernard Langer, twice afflicted by the putting difficulty.” The yips are generated by a breakdown of the left wrist, causing the right hand to dominate.

The cure is anything that locks the left wrist and encourages a pendulum like action in your swing—the key element of a sound, repeating, and successful stroke.

Langer employed the cross-handed grip to cure the first onset of the yips. Here are the five steps using this technique:

• Assume a normal putting stance
• Place the left hand below the right
• Lock the left wrist as you putt
• Swing back and through, low and smooth
• Keep the head down throughout the putt

This grip works well. Reversing the hands encourages the locking of the left wrist and creates a pendulum-like swing. Everything else—your pre-putt routine, basic posture, ball position, head position, and so on—stays the same.

Langer used the “clamp grip” to cure the second onset of the yips. With the clamp grip, the left hand reaches down the shaft while the right hand clasps the left forearm to the club to steady the left wrist. The clamp grip is considered the ultimate measure in preventing the left wrist from breaking down during the putt. It, too, encourages a pendulum like swing.

The clamp grip is an effective solution as well, although it’s not as popular as the cross-handed grip, used by pros that don’t even have the yips. Others cures include using a belly putter or a long putter instead of your a traditional putter.

Whatever the putting cure, you’ll still need to practice. And one of the best tools to practice with, as I say in my golf tips, is the metronome, a device for helping people keep tempo on a piano. The metronome helps develop a nice smooth stroke with great tempo, a stroke that will reduce your golf handicap and make golf more fun.

===================================================
If you want to truly discover the secrets of shooting like the Pros
and creating a more reliable and consistent swing,
check out: http://www.HowToBreak80.com

Also, for past issues of this newsletter and some of my most
recent articles, visit our blog at www.HowToBreak80.com/blog

Until next time, Go Low!

Jack
 
P.S. Feel free to share this newsletter with family and friends. If you
would like to subscribe to this newsletter, send a blank email to
htb80newsletter@aweber.com

===================================================
How To Break 80 Newsletter

March 13, 2006

“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
===================================================

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Dealing with Downhill/Sidehill Lies
2) Hitting More Fairways
 
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1) Dealing with Downhill/Sidehill Lies
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The main concern with downhill/sidehill lies is keeping the ball from flying right, the result of a more upright swing, produced by the slope and your address position. The upright swing forces the club in a slightly out-to-in path through the hitting zone, sending the ball right. First off, let’s assume you are a right-handed golfer.

Here are the five things to consider that I recommend in my golf lessons.

• Put weight back on heels
• Aim left to allow for fade
• Maintain spine angle through shot
• Keep head at the same level
• Stay down through hitting zone

You need to bend forward from the waist far more than normal with this shot, causing you to fall forward. To balance yourself, stand a little closer to the ball, choke up on the club, and set your weight back on your heels. It’s vital that you maintain this balance throughout the shot. To get closer to the ball, simply squat down an inch or so by pretending you are sitting down.

It’s also vital that you maintain your spine angle and your head level throughout your backswing. These are the two most important factors in this shot. Concentrate on staying balanced at the top of the backswing.

Maintain a smooth rhythm in the downswing. Keep your left heel firmly planted through the downswing, counteracting the slope, and your chin up, allowing for your shoulder to turn.

Stay down through impact. Also, clear your left hip to allow for free arm swing as you release the clubhead down the target line.

I tell my students to aim left of the target line in case of a fade. I also tell students who hit a hook to practice hitting balls below their feet. It sets the swing on an upright plane and eliminates the excessive out-to-in swing path, which causes the hook.

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2) Hitting More Fairways
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Employing your natural shot shape, cutting back on your power, and maintaining balance and rhythm throughout your swing not only improves your ball striking, it also increases the number of fairways you hit and chops strokes off your golf handicap—all in the same process.

My golf lessons often focus on teaching students how to take advantage of their natural shot shape, like Colin Montgomerie does. Considered one of the most accurate drivers on tour, he combines his natural shot shape with a simple driving strategy for increased accuracy.

Montgomerie hits a slight left-to-right fade off the tee. To take advantage of his fade, he tees his ball up on the right-hand side of the tee box and aims down the left-hand side of the fairway. If he hits a slight fade, he ends up on the left side of the fairway. If he hits a pronounced fade, he ends up on the right side of the fairway but still in good position for the next shot.

Also, he tees the ball up a little lower than normal. That’s to promote his fade. If you want to encourage a fade, tee the ball lower than normal, choke down on the grip, and stand closer to the ball. If you want to encourage a draw, tee the ball higher than normal, hold the club toward the butt, and stand farther from the ball.

In addition, he swings only about 70 to 80 percent of his power. Taking a little something off promotes solid contact and provides distance. More importantly, it helps him retain control of his swing and maintain balance and rhythm—two keys to a consistent swing.

Whether your natural shot shape is a fade or a draw, learn to capitalize on it when hitting from the tee box, like Colin Montgomerie does. You’ll hit more fairways and have better approach shots to boot.

Here are five keys to hitting more fairways:

• Find the right shot shape
• Learn to play your shot shape
• Keep some power in reserve
• Maintain balance and control
• Practice to develop consistency

Practice these five things and you’ll be hitting more fairways in no time at all.

===================================================
If you want to truly discover the secrets of shooting like the Pros
and creating a more reliable and consistent swing, check out: http://www.HowToBreak80.com
 
Also, for past issues of this newsletter and some of my most
recent articles, visit our blog at www.HowToBreak80.com/blog

Until next time, Go Low!

Jack
 
P.S. Feel free to share this newsletter with family and friends. If you
would like to subscribe to this newsletter, send a blank email to
htb80newsletter@aweber.com

What makes a golf swing effective? Rhythm? Speed? Tempo? While these elements are factors, a golf swing works best when a player strikes the ball with the clubhead square to the line of flight, pointing at the target and with the right angle of attack. It’s the one fundamental that all great golfers share—and it’s a point I cover in my golf lessons. In fact, many golf instruction sessions revolve around the idea.

The five stages of a golf swing are set-up, takeaway, backswing, impact, and follow-through. If each stage is executed properly, the player will strike the ball at the bottom of his or her swing at exactly the right time and in exactly the right position. The five stages are as common to your swing as they are to Greg Norman’s, Arnold Palmer’s, or Sergio Garcia’s. My golf tips often address each of these stages.

Let’s examine each:

The setup is critical in the swing, a point I stress in my golf lessons. The foundation of your swing, the setup, is the one component that you completely control. A good setup— feet and shoulders aligned to the target line, weight evenly distributed, knees slightly bent, head high, chin up so as not to impede the shoulder turn—gives the swing the best chance of succeeding. A bad setup severely limits the chances of success and contributes to a bad swing.

The takeaway is also critical. Mistakes made here often lead to destructive compensations later in the swing. My golf instruction emphasizes that the first 24 inches or so of the takeaway is crucial. It helps determine the swing’s width and the clubhead’s path. Hands and arms take the club away in a slow movement, bringing the club to the top of the swing. A full shoulder turn accompanies the takeaway and moves in unison with the hands and arms.

The backswing begins in one piece. The club should be as close to parallel to the target line as possible. The left knee works in toward the ball. This is the ideal position from which to deliver a square blow to the ball. At the top of the swing the club changes direction, from backward to forward. The transfer of weight from your right side to your left side accompanies the start of the downswing. The shoulders turn in unison with the hands and arms as the club moves forward. It’s vital that this move be smooth. Any jerkiness throws the club off the correct arc or plane.

The point of impact, as my golf tips point out, is the most important stage of the swing. At this point, the swing should mirror the address position, except that your weight has moved to the left side. The player’s head remains behind the ball while his hands and arms move inside the ball along the target line, and the shoulders turn in unison with the hands and arms.

Solid impact is the common element in all great golf swings, regardless what the rest looks like. It’s a point my golf instruction stresses to every student, experienced or inexperienced.

The follow-through results from the impetus of the club through impact. The follow-through carries the club around in a freewheeling motion. The right heel comes off the ground after the weight moves to the left side, and the club remains in control in a balanced finish. The follow-through is a good indicator of the shot’s quality. If it ends with a nice finish, chances are the swing was effective.

Naturally, there will be some slight variations to this sequence. No two golf swings are the same, golf lessons not withstanding. In fact, if you watch three players on the PGA Tour closely, you’ll probably see three different swings. Ian Woosnam, for example, who is short and stocky, has a slightly flatter swing than Ernie Els, who’s taller and thinner. Woosnam also stands farther away from the ball at address than Els does. Despite these differences, both players deliver the clubhead square to the target line at the right angle of attack. Every great player does.

The components of an effective swing are well known. Now that I’ve covered them, there’s only one thing left for you to do. That’s practice. It’s the one thing golf instructions can’t help you with. I can work with students for hours and provide them with countless golf tips, but if they don’t practice, they’ll never lower their golf handicaps.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80…And Shoot Like The Pros!”. He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that was able to figure out the secrets of shooting in the 70’s on a consistent basis without quitting your day job. Jack has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately.