Golf Tips and Instruction-May 31, 2006
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How To Break 80 Newsletter
May 31, 2006
“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
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In this issue we’ll discuss…
1) Learning the Lob Shot
2) Conquering Buried Lies
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1) Learning the Lob Shot
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The lob—a high, soft landing shot—is a stroke saver. Hit with a lob wedge, this shot’s ideal for hitting over a bunker to a pin cut close to the edge of the green. Unfortunately, recreational golfers often try lifting the ball in the air with the club, instead of trusting their swing and the club’s loft, the most of any club in the bag, to do the job.
The key to the lob, which can also be hit with a sand wedge, is technique. The lob’s a bit of a challenge to hit, but here are 6 steps to help you pull it off like a champ:
• Check for the right lie
• Open your lower and upper body
• Aim the clubface to the right
• Position the ball forward in you stance
• Take a lengthy, slow swing
• Finish high with the clubface
Hit the lob only when you have the right lie. That’s paramount. You need a cushion of grass beneath the ball to slip the clubface’s edge underneath, contacting the grass and ball simultaneously. If you have a tight lie, hit a pitch shot instead. Executed properly, the pitch shot is safer than a lob shot but often leaves you with a longer putt.
Address the ball with an open lower and upper body. On most wedge shots, the lower body is opened but the upper body remains closed. Here both are open. At the same time, aim the clubface to the target’s right and position the ball forward in your stance to help generate loft. Also, keep your weight fairly well distributed.
Aiming to make contact with the turf a fraction behind the ball, take a fairly lengthy, slow swing, keeping the hands quiet, and make a high finish with the clubface. Many recreational players are reluctant to swing through the ball to a high finish, but the shot requires it.
The lob shot’s a useful but challenging shot. Mastering it requires hard work and practice. But it comes in handy when you need to clear an obstacle and the hole’s cut close to the green’s edge.
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2) Conquering Buried Lies
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Playing from a buried lie is a challenge if you let the lie intimidate you. Usually, a buried or “plugged” lie results from hitting a high lofting shot that drops heavily into soft sand. Regardless of what caused it, you can extricate yourself using the right technique.
With this shot, you must make changes to a normal bunker shot to get out of the sand. Keep these 5 changes in mind when playing from a buried or plugged lie:
• Square the stance and clubface
• Keep your backswing steep
• Keep your weight centered
• Hit down hard on the ball
• Keep your wrists solid through impact
For starters, you must make changes to your stance. Assume a square stance and keep the clubface square to the target line. Also, keep your weight centered over the ball, which should be positioned farther back in the stance than opposite the left heel. This set up provides the leverage you’ll need to hit the ball out of the sand.
To present the right angle of attack, pick the club up steeply in the takeaway and hinge the wrists earlier than normal. If you stop here, you’ll find yourself pointing the club directly skyward as you complete the backswing and move into the slot.
Once you’re in the slot, keep your weight centered over the ball, which helps maintain the angle of attack the shot requires. Since you need force to extricate yourself from the lie, you must hit down hard on the ball. At impact, you’ll meet resistance from the sand, so grip the club firmly to maintain rock solid wrists. And don’t worry about your follow-through.
The ball comes out of this type of lie low and with little backspin. Expect it to run when it lands. Using so much force reduces control over the shot, but if you swing weakly you won’t get out of the bunker.
Next time you’re in a buried like try these 5 changes and you’ll get up and down more often.
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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
Until next time, Go Low!
Jack
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break80ezine@aweber.com
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About the Author
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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 has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicaps quickly. His free weekly newsletter goes out to thousands of golfers worldwide and provides the latest golf tips, strategies, techniques and instruction on how to improve your golf game.
