Golf Tips and Instruction-August 30, 2006
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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.
