What’s the difference between a player with a high golf handicap and one with a low golf handicap? Often, it’s the low handicapper’s ability to get up and down on a hole. Or, in other words, it’s the low handicapper’s ability to turn three (or more) shots into two around the green. It’s called scoring. And it’s the low handicapper’s secret weapon.

The key to getting up and down is more mental than physical. It includes:

1. Assessing the existing lie
2. Selecting the right shot
3. Choosing the right stance

This approach seems a bit daunting for some but you can simplify it. For most situations, the high floater, the stop-and-check, and the low runner chip shots will do the trick. Perfect these shots, as I stress in my golf lessons and golf tips, and you’ll be well on your way to achieving the single digit golf handicap many of us dream about.

Executing these shots properly requires setting the right shaft/spine lean at address. Two golf tips to remember: leaning the shaft and spine away from the target increases the height of your shots; leaning the shaft and spine toward the target subtracts height from the shot. Also remember that it’s easier to control distance when the ball is on the ground than when it’s in the air.

High Floater
The high floater is a shot I teach in golf lessons. It works well on a green cut extremely close to the pin. With it, the ball lands softly on the green, rolls a little, and then stops. It’s great when there’s little room between you and the flag. It works in most situations but if the lie is tight, use your putter. This high floater has a degree of risk to it requires a plenty of practice to learn even with the right golf instruction.

To hit the shot, position the ball somewhat forward in your stance. In addition, tilt your front shoulder up some and drop your back shoulder down a bit, effectively adding loft to the club and helping the shot fly higher than normal. Be careful not to lean the club shaft away from the target. Instead, keep it perpendicular to the ground. This set-up allows you to make maximum use of your wedge’s bounce. It also lessens the chance of a mis-hit.

Stop-and-Check
The stop-and-check works well when you have a small amount of green to work with, about 20 feet or so. It requires a lie where there’s some grass underneath the ball. Unlike the high floater, this shot is low risk. Nevertheless, it requires practice to master it. Effectively played, the stop-and check produces a shot where the ball hits once, checks up, and then trickles toward the hole. It’s golf shot I often write about in my golf tips.
To hit this shot, position the ball toward the center of your stance and keep your shoulders level. For you to get the ball consistently close to the hole from short range, you can add or subtract loft from the clubface, which automatically decreases or increases the distance of the shot, respectively. This set-up—slight forward lean and level shoulders at address—encourages a neutral shaft lean, allowing you to make contact with the ball using the club’s true loft.

The Low Runner
The low runner works well when there’s plenty of green to work with. You can play it from nearly any lie, even a tight one when there’s not much grass beneath the ball. Like the stop-and-check, it’s a low risk shot. With this shot, the ball skids, checks up, and then runs toward the hole. It’s a shot I’m often asked about in my golf lessons.

To hit this shot, position the ball back in your stance and tilt your front shoulder lower than the back. This set-up ensures the shaft lean you need to reduce the loft on the club and helps you use the leading edge of the clubface to pinch the ball crisply. The shaft lean also creates a shallow impact and keeps the ball from “climbing up” the face of the club, launching it high.

Practice these three shots until you’ve mastered them. (No golf instruction—regardless of how good it is—replaces practicing.) Learn when to use the shots to your best advantage and develop confidence in your decision-making ability. Do all that and you’re on your way to achieving a single digit golf handicap.

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 handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

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How To Break 80 Newsletter

August 30, 2006

“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
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“Hi {!firstname},”
In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Eliminating Pushes/Pulls When Putting
2) Maintaining Balance is Key
3) Question of the Week-The Correct Putting Stroke
4) Article- The Buzz about “The Quiet Eye” For Putting
5) Article- Easy Distance Off The Tee

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1) Eliminating Pushes/Pulls When Putting
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Nothing ruins a putt more than unwanted wrist action. When it combines with a shoulder motion that stops or decelerates, it’s deadly. The combination interferes with judging a ball’s pace and controlling its direction, resulting in a push or a pull when putting and destroying confidence and consistency. It could even lead to the “yips,” a deadly putting disease.

Want to eliminate pushes and pulls when putting? Keep these 5 keys in mind:

• Assume a comfortable grip
• Let your shoulders control the motion
• Take a smooth pendulum-like swing
• Keep your hands passive
• Accelerate through the putt

Don’t strangle the putter when you assume the grip. Instead, hold it lightly, which provides better “feel.” Next, take a smooth pendulum-like stroke in which the shoulders control all the motion while the hands remain passive.

Try this drill to eliminate pushes and pulls: Address a straight three-foot putt, and without a backstroke, brush the ball toward the hole. Make the follow-through by “pulling” with your left arm and left shoulder (for right-handers), and pushing with your right arm and right shoulder. Focus on accelerating the putter past your left foot. Check to see that the putter face is looking directly at the hole on the finish.

Repeating this drill engrains the feel of a solid putting stroke, which you can take to the course. More importantly, it helps eliminate unwanted wrist action, the main culprit of pushes and pulls. Practice this drill frequently and watch those putts—and your golf handicap —start dropping.

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2) Maintaining Balance is Key
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You’ve probably seen more than one player overswing. Maybe you’ve done it yourself a time or two. If so, I don’t have to describe the ensuing shot. More than likely, it wasn’t down the middle, and it wasn’t pretty. The errant shot occurred because you lost your balance during the swing.

Maintaining balance is one key to a good swing. To accelerate and release the clubhead squarely at impact, you must be properly balanced. The source of that balance is your lower body, which must remain passive until just before the moment of impact when it becomes more active.

Below are two drills that will help you appreciate the lower body’s role in hitting a ball and the need for good balance while swinging.

• Address a ball as you normally would but turn both feet in a few degrees. You should be able to sense the width of the gap between your knees. As you make your swing try to maintain that gap until just before impact whereupon you close it as quickly as you can, as you drive your right hip, knee, and foot through impact, brining the knees together. The resistance you feel in your lower body helps your balance, especially through the impact area.

• Another way to improve balance is hitting full shots from a fairway bunker, but without digging your feet in the sand. It’s not easy, even for good golfers. On a delicate footing, such as this, the only way you can stay balanced and make solid contact when you swing is to maintain a passive lower body.

One final note: as a general rule, for better balance, you shouldn’t lift your left heel (for right-handers) off the ground. Some players, however, notably senior golfers, must raise their left heels off the ground to compensate for a lack of flexibility. If you need to raise your left heel when swinging, do it.
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Question of the Week
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Garry Jones

Hitting Longer, Straighter Drives

Q. After reading your book and practicing more, I’ve lowered my handicap by 8 shots, from 22 to 14. But I’m still having problems with my driving. I’m hitting the ball 230-240 yards with carry, except I tend to hit the ball on the driver’s heel. When I go for it and connect with the ball, it goes a lot further, but it seems to fade/slice to the right. Do you have any ideas?

A. Thanks for you question, Garry. It sounds like you might be overswinging and/or trying to hit the ball too hard. Length from the tee is often confused with muscle power. Technique is more important. Developing a sounder swing improves driving distance, so work on technique.

Also, try the following:

• Widen your stance at address for stability
• Shift more weight to the right (for right-handers):
• Keep your chin up to allow your shoulder turn
• Take a full 90-degree turn.
• Hit hard with your right hand through impact
• Sense right forearm crossing over left
• Finish high with your swing

Two drills for increasing driving distance are the Lead Hand drill and the Weighted-club drill.

• The Lead Hand drill strengthens the “pulling” muscles of your left forearm (right forearm for left handers). In this drill, you practice hitting a golf ball with just your left hand. Start with a pitching wedge. Try the drill without a ball first. Swing easily. When you’re ready, tee the ball up and swing away. Take about 25 swings. When you can hit the ball off the tee consistently, drop down to an 8-iron. Repeat the process. Then try a 4-iron and, finally, the driver.

• The Weighted-club drill stretches the back muscles, leading to a fuller turn. Use a heavyweight practice club, a practice “donut,” or a weighted-cover for your club. Take about 50 practice swings a day. Swing easily and smoothly. After a month or two, you will find the arc of your swing is larger than before, without losing control of the swing. A larger arc generates more power.

You don’t have to swing hard to drive a ball a long way. You just have to swing the right way, with good tempo and timing. And remember accuracy is usually more preferable to distance.
Good Luck.
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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 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 award-winning 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.

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How To Break 80 Newsletter

August 23, 2006

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

1) Tall Golfer Tips
2) Overcoming a Lack of Confidence In Chipping
3) Question of the Week-The Correct Putting Stroke

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1) Tall Golfer Tips
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Being tall isn’t always an advantage in golf. Sure, it widens your swing arc, enabling you to hit the ball farther than a shorter player, but it also complicates your technique, introducing wasted motion in your swing and leading to inconsistency and other problems. That’s why it’s no coincidence that many of the game’s top players have been of less than average height.

Keep these 5 adjustments in mind if you’re tall:

• Widen your base
• Flex your knees more
• Push your hips/knees toward the target
• Raise your left hip slightly (for right-handers)
• Swing within yourself

Instability is a major problem for tall golfers. To overcome this, tall golfers should widen their base and flex their knees more than normal. Make the minimum distance between your feet shoulder-width, which lowers your center of gravity and promotes balance.

After assuming a comfortable stance, tall players should push their hips and knees toward the target slightly and raise their left hip (for right-handers) a little. This movement sets their right side a little lower than the left, further promoting stability.

Finally, take a comfortable swing. Don’t try to smash everything. Take no more than a three-quarter-length back swing and swing to a balanced finish. Staying within yourself when you swing promotes consistency, which is what you’re after. Since a tall person already has a naturally wide arc, generating distance is never going to be a problem, so he or she doesn’t have to swing hard.

Being tall doesn’t have to be a problem in golf. In fact, it can be an advantage if you make the right adjustments. Also, make sure their clubs are fitted correctly. Only with clubs measured to their physique will tall players be able to set-up to a shot correctly and consistently—a troublesome task for every tall golfer.

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2) Overcoming a Lack of Confidence In Chipping
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If you’re one of those players whose chipping is driving them crazy, there’s hope for you yet. There’s an alternate approach to chipping that will boost your confidence in your short game and provide better control of the ball. This approach sees chipping as just an extension of your putting.

Here are 5 keys to chipping as you putt.

• Select the right club
• Play the ball back in your stance
• Keep your hands and weight forward
• Spread your elbows out
• Stroke the ball as if your were putting

One of the keys to this shot is club selection. Most players use an 8-iron, but some favor a 7-iron. Once you’ve chosen a club, set-up as if you were going to putt the ball, using your normal putting grip.

Play the ball back in your stance, off the inside of your right foot (for right-handers). Keep your hands and weight forward, favoring your left side, and spread your elbows out. Hold the club almost vertically, so the heel is raised off the ground. This positions the ball off the club’s toe and helps you “deaden” the ball and control its roll.

Using a gentle rocking of your shoulders, allow the club to rise up several inches off the ground in the backswing, and then hit down on the ball slightly, clipping it into the air. Try to maintain the width of the gap between your elbows and focus on making an “arms and shoulders” swing. Use the same stroke you use when putting. That’s all there is to it.

This approach to chipping takes your wrists out of play. As long as you keep your head still and concentrate on making a short firm follow-through, you’ll end up striking the ball solidly. In time, you’ll learn to control the ball’s roll.

Chipping as you putt is great for when you’re on, or just past the green’s fringe and you’re not comfortable using a putter. You can also use this approach for longer shots. Just lengthen your stroke a bit, as you would if your were putting. For really long chips, use a 5- or 6-iron.

Try the chip as you putt approach on the practice green before using it on the course. Master it and you’ll not only regain confidence in your short game, you’ll even cut a couple of strokes off your score—all at the same time.
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Question of the Week
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From Gary Reid, Melbourne, Australia

The Correct Putting Stroke

Q. Great tips and info. They’ve really helped. Which putting stroke should I use? Some people say “out to in” for good putting. Others say “straight back and straight through” the line. Can you give me some insight?

A. Thanks, Gary. With a good putting stroke, the putterhead moves slightly inside going back, and then returns straight through “impact” and on towards the target. However, if you stand hunched over the ball instead of straight up, your stroke will tend to be more like that of a pendulum, straight back and through.

Try this drill to help promote a straight putting stroke. Find a straight four-foot putt and lay two clubs on the ground so they form parallel rails to the hole. Stroke a series of putts running the putterhead back and through without touching the shafts of the clubs. If the putterface is completely square, the putt will be holed every time. Repeat this drill until the stroke becomes instinctive.

If you’ve got a golf question you’d like answered, send an email to us at questions@howtobreak80.com and we’ll review it. I can’t guarantee that we’ll use it but if we do, we’ll make sure to include your name and where you’re from.
================================================
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

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 break80ezine@aweber.com
================================================
About the Author
================================================
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 award-winning 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.

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How To Break 80 Newsletter

August 17, 2006

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

1) Controlling Distance When Pitching
2) Overcoming Excessive Leg Drive

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1) Controlling Distance When Pitching
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It’s impossible to overstate the importance of pitching. It’s crucial to scoring well on a course. Accurate pitching helps produce birdies on short par-4s and par-5s, and helps save pars when your approach shot misses.

But even good players occasionally find these shots troublesome. Poor distance control is usually the culprit, the most common cause of which is traceable to the arms and body moving independently of one another. This lapse in technique inevitably costs the player unnecessary strokes.

Here are five keys to improving distance control when pitching:

• Adopt the proper set up
• Choke down on the grip
• Place your weight on your left side
• Take compact swings
• Vary the speed of your body turn

Increasing or decreasing the rotational speed of your trunk is the key to controlling the distance of pitches. First, adopt the proper set-up for a pitch shot. Remember to open up your left side (for right-handers) slightly, so the club can clear your hips. Choke down on the grip for extra control. The shorter the club, the easier it is for you to control.

With your weight mainly on your left side, take compact swings. Vary the speed of your body turn as you hit the ball. On a 20-yard pitch, think of moving your body 20 percent of what a full swing would be. On a 30-yard pitch, think of moving your body 30 percent. The idea is to tie the distance of the shot to how fast you turn your body. The longer the shot, the faster you move your body.

Try practicing the “body-controlled method” with a towel tucked between your upper arms and chest to keep the arms and chest in unison. And vary the length of your shots when practicing, so that you will learn how fast to move your body to hit the ball the desired distance.

Practice this drill whenever you can and you’ll be making pitch shots like a pro.

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2) Overcoming Excessive Leg Drive
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There’s a well-worn adage in golf that often causes major problems for recreational golfers: “Drive your legs for power.”

The notion that your legs are a power source is correct, up to a point. But their role is subtler than that. In addition to supplying power, your legs provide stability and balance. In other words, they provide the essential resistance in your swing that enables you to wind and unwind your trunk effectively. That’s where the real power comes from.

Problems arise when your legs drive too hard toward the target in the downswing, known as sliding. As the lower body drives, the upper body will be left too far behind the ball, placing strain on the lower back. It also places more emphasis on your arms and hands, which have to play catch up. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.

Players who drive to hard with their legs often finish in the reverse “C” position, we often see in old photos of golfers.

To hit the ball solidly (and consistently), you need to hit into what we call a firm left side. In other words, for the position you achieve at impact to be effective, the left side of your body must be firm enough to both support and resist the release of the clubhead as the trunk unwinds.

So how do you eliminate sliding? Here’s a simple drill I use in my golf lessons:

The Left-Foot Drill
Place a ball on the tee, then take your normal stance. Once you’re set, turn your left foot (for right-handers) slightly inwards, then hit. Turing your left foot inward will be awkward at first, but it eliminates any tendency to slide through impact and encourages a better rotation of your upper body against the resistance of a braced left leg through the hitting area.

As a final check, place an umbrella in the ground outside your left foot at address. If you can swing to the finish without knocking the umbrella over, you’ve obviously eliminated any sliding of the left side.

Try this drill the next time you’re on the practice tee. The end result should be a much more efficient release of the torque you create in your back swing, which in turn will be reflected in the higher quality shots you hit.
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Question of the Week
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From Jack, South Africa

Developing an In-to-Out Path

Q. Thanks for the interesting information, tips, and instruction in your newsletter. I’m a right-hander and I tend to swing the club on an out-to-in path, fading the ball on good days and cutting and pulling it on bad ones. My ball striking is very good, though. What drill can you recommend that can put me on an in-to-out path, so I can draw the ball?

A. Knowing how to hit a draw, like knowing how to hit a fade, is invaluable. A draw comes in handy when there’s a bunker, tree, or other obstacle between you and the pin or when you need to curve the ball—in this case from right to left—for whatever reason. A draw also rolls more when it hits the grown.

Try this drill to learn how to hit a draw. Next time you are at the practice range, imagine the ground as a clock face, with 12 o’clock pointing directly at the target. Move the ball back a little in your stance, if you’re using a wood or long iron. Then, focus on hitting the ball at the seven o’clock position to produce a draw. Practicing this drill teaches you to swing on an in-to-out swing path.

If you’re not comfortable with that drill, you can practice hitting the ball off the side of a hill that slopes toward you. That will also help you learn to swing the ball on an in-to-out path. Keep practicing until you’ve ingrained the swing path in your memory. Then carry it over to the course.

If you’ve got a golf question you’d like answered, send an email to us at questions@howtobreak80.com and we’ll review it. I can’t guarantee that we’ll use it but if we do, we’ll make sure to include your name and where you’re from.
================================================
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

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 break80ezine@aweber.com
================================================
About the Author
================================================
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 award-winning 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.