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

October 25 , 2006

"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"
===================================================

In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Stopping the Reverse Pivot
2) Chipping with a Hybrid Club
3) Question of the Week- Achieving Consistency
4) Article- Playing Target Golf
5) Article- Six Lessons We Can Learn From Sam Snead

===================================================
1) Stopping the Reverse Pivot
===================================================
A reverse pivot saps power from your swing and curbs accuracy. It results from transferring your weight improperly during your swing. Instead of shifting your weight from your right leg during the backswing to your left leg for the follow-through, you maintain your weight on your left leg during the backswing and shift your weight to the right leg during the follow-through. Hence, the name—reverse pivot.

Allowing your head to turn to the right slightly as you swing the club back encourages your spine to rotate and gets your weight moving in the right direction. In the proper backswing movement, your left shoulder then turns comfortably beneath your chin, so that your chest is aligned more on top of your right knee. As long as you keep your left arm relaxed, you should find that you swing easily into a powerful position at the top of your swing.

However, transferring weight improperly also results from poor eye alignment at set-up. If you start with your eyes aligned right or left of the target line, your swing path follows to the right or left. The same holds true if your eyes are tilted down. They influence your balance and tilting them will cause you to shift your weight forward as you swing back.

Here are two solutions to this problem:

1. If poor eye alignment causes you to shift your weight improperly, use the brim of your hat as a level and practice making swings keeping your eyes in line with the horizon and brim of your hat.

2. If poor eye alignment is not the problem but you’re still transferring your weight improperly, try this drill. Adopt your address position, then place a club across the back of your shoulders. As you turn back allow your head and spine to rotate and sense your balance. Do this drill until you’ve ingrained the movement. Then do it some more.

Regardless of how you correct the problem, remember that properly transferring your weight is vital to generating power and accuracy.

=================================================== 2) Chipping with a Hybrid Club
===================================================
The short chip shot (50 feet and in) befuddles many recreational golfers. They’re not sure which club to use or how to hit the shot. Ordinarily, a player has a choice: Use either a pitching wedge or a sand wedge and fly the ball into the green, or an 8-iron and take a standard chip shot.

But now there’s a third alternative. Use a hybrid club to hit the shot. Here are 5 tips on using a hybrid club to hit chip shots

-Visualize the shot
-Choke down an inch or two
-Position the ball in the middle of your stance
-Use a putting stroke
-Hit a level shot

The key is knowing where you want the ball to bounce and start running to the hole. In general you want the ball to bounce and start rolling on the green as soon as possible, since it’s easier to control.

Address the ball as if you were going to putt it, then visualize how you want to hit it. Choke down on the grip to give yourself better control. Set up with the ball in the middle of your stance, with your weight 50-50 on either side. From there, make a putting motion, accelerating through the shot, just as you would with an ordinary putt. Use a stroke that provides level contact with the ball, instead of the downward blow you normally use with a hybrid.

Think of this shot as a long lag putt with a little extra pop. You can also use a fairway wood to make the shot, but the shorter hybrid club provides better overall control. Either way works well once you’ve mastered it. Try both and see which works best for you. The closer you chip the ball to the hole, the easier the putt.

=================================================== 3) Question of the Week- Achieving Consistency
=================================================== From Russell (New Zealand)

Achieving Consistency

Q. Hi, Jack. I’ve enjoyed reading your tips and reports. I print them out and read them over again. My scores are coming down, but slowly. I still seem to lack consistency. I have good days and bad days! I really get frustrated because I know I can do better. Any tips on how to settle down to some consistent golf.

A. Thanks for the question, Russell. Consistency is the Holy Grail of golf. Without having seen you swing, it’s hard to tell exactly what’s causing your inconsistency. However, there are some things you can do to achieve consistency without sacrificing power, especially off the tee.

My suggestions include:

-Use a pre-shot routine
-Eliminate tension at set-up
-Assume a proper grip
-Maintain your swing radius
-Release the club properly

Of course, other techniques for achieving consistency exist, but these will get you started. Once you’ve mastered them, move on to those other techniques.

Also, there’s the matter of swing thoughts. Ideally, you should be thinking about how you want to swing the club, not what you have to do mechanically. Thinking something like “slow and easy” or “tick tock” instead of “Keep your hands back” or “Rotate your hips” usually works better. Trying to consciously control how your body moves often spells disaster.

Best regards,

Jack

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

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

To view this newsletter online, please visit:
http://www.howtobreak80.com/newsletter10252006.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Playing Target Golf

5) Six Lessons We Can Learn From Sam Snead

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

=================================================== 2) 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 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.

The Scramble is one of the most popular tournament formats in golf. Used in charity events and pro-am golf tournaments, especially those involving professional athletes from other sports, the Scramble offers numerous formats for fun-loving golfers. All offer a combination of strategy, camaraderie, skill, and heartbreak. All are fun if played in the right spirit.

Originally called Captain’s Choice, since the leading player in each group made the choice on shot selection, the format became widely known as Scramble. It flourished in Texas during the Depression and attained great popularity in Las Vegas in the 1950s. It eventually become a staple of charity events and pro-am tournaments and was played a lot on the LPGA tour.

About 20 years ago a grade-school teacher in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula convinced Oldsmobile to sponsor a “World Series” Scramble tournament. The tournament grew in popularity over the years. Today, the National Oldsmobile Scramble pits teams of four against each other in a playoff.

The teams must win both local and regional elimination tournaments to qualify for the national event.

Basic Format

The Scramble’s basic format is simple and straightforward: Each player hits a tee shot on. The best ball, as determined by the captain, is selected for the second shot. Each member of the team hits his or her shot from that spot. The process continues until the hole is played out.

In a Pure Scramble no golf handicaps are used in the scoring and there are no restrictions on shot selections. Your best player’s shot can be used 18 times off the tee. The Oldsmobile Scramble uses this format except that the total number of handicap strokes in any one foursome must be at least 43.

Variations on a Theme

Over the years several variations of this format have evolved. In one, the player whose ball is selected is prohibited from hitting the next shot. Needless to say, golfers with low golf handicaps don’t generally like this format. In another, the variation calls for the tee shot of each player to be used at least three times. This format is an excellent way to bring everyone into the game. It also involves more strategy.

For example, some captains get the three tee shots of the weaker players used up quickly, saving the big guns for later in the round. Other captains like to leave the weaker player’s shots until the end. Each strategy has its advantages. A cardinal rule in a 3-shot format is never allowing a weaker player to be forced to hit the final tee shot.

If you want to make this format more of a challenge, add The Anderson Rule, which stipulates that no player’s tee shot can be used more than five times. This rule was instituted years ago after Dick Anderson, a former defensive back for the Miami Dolphins, hit such prodigious drives during a pro-am tournament that they gave his team a marked advantage.

Scramble with Handicaps

If you like to use handicaps in scoring here’s a format that will interest you. The team’s final round for the score is determined by taking 35 percent of the best player’s handicap and subtracting that score from the gross score. For example, if the team shoots 64 and the handicap of the best player is 8, subtract 2.8 from 64, knocking it down to 61.2. In this one, you use fractions to determine the winner. In a two-man scramble, add the total handicaps and divide by 8.

In setting up the tournament, the key is whether you use handicaps in the scoring. If you don’t, it’s essential to choose each team carefully, with each team having an A, B, C, and D player. The general guideline for each rank is 0 to 10 is an A, 11 through 15 is a B, 16 for 24 is a C, and 25 and above is a D. Try to balance off a strong C with a weak D.
Regardless of what format is used or how you set up the tournament, a scramble is fun. I’ve even had players taking my golf lessons tell me about crazy variations invented by leagues just for fun. Playing a Scramble is a great way to spend a nice day on the course and a good way of generating money for a charity, starting the golf season off, or finishing league play. Try it.

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.

Simple is always good in golf. The simpler a shot is to make, the easier it is to explain during golf lessons or in golf tips, and the easier it is for the player to understand and duplicate. More importantly, the simpler a shot is to make, the easier it is for a player to achieve consistency and make adjustments when needed.

Below are several short game suggestions. They’re all relatively simple and easy to make. Adopting one, two, or all of them will improve your chipping and pitching, which in turn will chop several strokes off your scores. Improving your short game is also a great way to reduce your golf handicap.

1. Change Clubs, Not Swing

It’s easier changing clubs, than altering your swing for different short game shots. Work on adopting a basic chipping stance, one that you can use whether you’re hitting a 5-iron, 7-iron, or pitching wedge. Here’s one approach.

1. Address the ball with a narrow slightly open stance, with your weight mainly on your left side (for right-handers)

2. Position your head almost directly over the ball, with your hands slightly ahead of the ball.

3. Grip down on the club as far as you can, right to the bottom of the grip itself.

4. Make a pendulum like stroke using just your arms and shoulders

5. Let the loft of the club and the pace of the swing control distance and trajectory.

This technique is easy to learn and use, and it holds up well under pressure. Just remember to keep you hands ahead of the ball throughout the stroke, which prevents you from trying to scoop it, and keep your stance narrow, which shifts your weight to the left side where it should be.

2. Hinge the Wrist

You can use the same stance and approach for pitching the ball, but remember to cock your wrists slightly before coming forward with the stroke. Use a sand wedge for most pitch shots and make two adjustments. Since you need to strike the ball with a crisp, descending blow (1) position the ball at your stance’s midpoint and (2) make sure that the club’s shaft and your left arm (for right-handers) are in a straight line, ensuring ball-then-turf contact. In addition, get a 60-degree wedge or a lob wedge and learn to hit either or both. They make getting up and over a mound or bunker easier, enabling you to get up and down more often.

3. Expand Your Shotmaking Capability

In addition to making the above adjustments, work on expanding your arsenal of shots. Practice shots like the short uphill/downhill shot, the dead lob shot, and the check-up shot. They will help you in pressure situations.

The uphill/downhill shot is tricky. The key is setting your spine at right angles to the slope, whether you’re hitting uphill or downhill. Your weight in these shots is always on your lower foot—the back foot for uphill shots and the front for downhill shots. With an uphill shot use a club with less loft. With a downhill club use a club with more loft.

The lob shot is great for overcoming a bunker or deep rough. It’s a cut shot that you can hit with a 60-degree wedge or a sand wedge. When the ball comes down, it lands really softly on the green and dies. Swing along your bodyline, which is slightly open, so the path of the stroke should be outside to inside, and take a steep swing. With this shot, you’ll have the feeling of coming across the ball.

The check-up is a little pitch shot that hits, hops, and checks. Use it with middle and back pin placements. Take a sand iron, set-up with your hands in front of the ball and your weight slightly forward, and hit down on the ball sharply. You want to hit the ball not the turf first. This is not a cut shot and there is little body movement.

These three shots take a little practice to master, so practice them when you’re on the range. They will pay enormous dividends. Also, use the basic stance we covered in the beginning of the article. And remember, keep things as simple as possible. Simplicity in golf makes things easier to learn and duplicate, achieve consistency, and execute changes when necessary.

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.

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

October 18, 2006

"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"
===================================================

In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Simplifying Swing Changes
2) Maintaining the Proper Spine Angle
3) Question of the Week- Distance vs. Control
4) Article- Simplicity: Three Keys to Better Chipping and Pitching
5) Article- Want Your Golf Game Scrambled or Over-Easy?

===================================================
1) Simplifying Swing Changes
===================================================
Most golfers hit clubs at one end of the spectrum better than at the other end. You probably hit an 8-iron or a pitching wedge better than a 3-iron or a driver. That’s because they require different swings. The shorter clubs need a steeper swing; the longer clubs a shallower swing. If you hit shorter clubs better, you probably have a predominately steeper swing.

The simplest way to make your swing fit your club selection is by adjusting your set-up. You can steepen or flatten your swing by adjusting your stance and shoulders. The more you open your stance and body alignment, the more the club swings up. The more you square your stance and shoulders, the more the club swings around your body.

For shorter clubs (7-iron through wedge) an open set-up works best. Drop your front foot back from the target line slightly, which also opens up your shoulders. This set-up forces the club to swing on the more upright plane needed for the shorter irons.
As you move from the middle irons to the driver, adjust your stance accordingly. Square your stance and shoulders to the target line. This set-up allows the club to swing on a flatter, shallower plane, with the club moving around your body—the type of swing required by the longer clubs for a solid hit.

As you adjust your set-up, you also need to think about ball position. If you really want to simplify things, keep the ball position consistent with every club—just inside the left heel. You can groove this position on the practice range by placing a tee lengthwise from the inside of your left heel toward the middle of the stance.

If you’re more comfortable moving the ball forward or backward as you change clubs, remember that when you open your stance the ball will seem to be further back than it really is. Either way, the easiest way to adjust your swing is by changing your set-up.

=================================================== 2) Maintaining the Proper Spine Angle
===================================================
Most swing errors are traceable to a poor set-up. That’s why so many professionals regard the set-up as the most important fundamental in a golf swing. A key element of a good set-up is your spine angle, which in turn results from of good posture.

Your spine angle at set-up, along with other angles you create at address, determines the quality of your shot. Indeed, the quality of your “static” position at address greatly influences the quality of the shot you hit. If your angles are correct to start with, your chances of hitting a good shot are greatly increased. In short, good posture equals good shots. Below are five tips on creating great angles:

• Flex your knees a little
• Stick your rear end out
• Keep your chin up
• Rest your arms on your chest
• Tilt your front shoulder and hip up

Try this simple exercise in front of a mirror. It will help teach you the proper posture for a good golf swing. It can be done with or without a club.

To start with, stand erect with your feet pointing outwards slightly. The distance between your heels should be no greater than the width of your shoulders. Now flex your knees a little until you can feel your weight moving forward on to the arches of your feet. Stick your rear end out—keeping your back straight—and keep your chin up.

Next, let your arms hang down as if holding a club. Feel your upper arms resting lightly on your chest. Finally, tilt your front hip and shoulder up a little, and at the same time relax your other side, dropping your shoulder just a bit. Your spine angle and center of gravity are now properly positioned.

Practicing your posture in front of a mirror seems trivial. But even great players occasionally struggle with their posture. And if you ask them, they’ll even admit that nine out of ten times it’s poor posture that triggers slumps.

=================================================== 3) Question of the Week- Distance vs. Control
===================================================
From Greg Winn - Virginia

Q: I have a colleague who consistently hits a slice – but he knows where it is going each time! He plays it from left to right and lands it in the middle of the fairway. He loses 20-30 yards to me every time – but he knows where the ball is going! How can I have distance and consistency in landing the ball – even if the flight of the ball is not straight? Perhaps it is better to curve the ball’s flight rather than try to hit it straight down the middle?

A. Thanks for the question, Greg. When it comes to a choice between distance and control, opt for control. It’s better to hit your drive 200 yards in the fairway consistently, than 250 yards in the deep rough. So what your friend loses in distance, he gains in control. As for more distance, a drive does tend to go farther when you hit a draw, because it runs when it hits the ground.

Here are five keys to hitting a draw:

• Adopt a closed stance
• Use a stronger left-hand grip
• Follow an inside track
• Aim right at the top of the swing
• Release the club through impact

When hitting a draw, the clubhead follows an inside track (inside the target line) on the takeaway and backswing. Also, it points to the right of the target at the top of the backswing. How far right depends on how much of a hook you want to play. Feel the toe of the club pass the heel, as you release your hands.

The draw is a handy shot to have in your repertoire and a good shot to be able to hit of the tee. But remember golfing great Jack Nicklaus advocates a fade instead of a draw off the tee because it promotes more control and predictability than a draw would.

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. Make sure and tell us your name and where you’re from. 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

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

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article- Simplicity: Three Keys to Better Chipping and Pitching

5) Article- Want Your Golf Game Scrambled or Over-Easy?

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 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.