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

November 15, 2006

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

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Pitching to an Uphill Green
2) Bunker Shot from Under the Lip
3) Question of the Week- One Plane vs. Two Planes

===================================================
1) Pitching to an Uphill Green
===================================================
A friend of mine, who had a 12 handicap, was about 60 yards from a fairly large green, which sloped dramatically uphill. The hole was cut toward the back. My friend took a full swing using his sand wedge. He landed softly on the green and died, well short of the hole, in three-putt range. Perplexed, he asked me what happened.

My friend made a common mistake when pitching to an uphill green. Like many golfers, he had misjudged the effect of the slope’s contour on the bounce and roll of the ball. As a result, his shot—though hit well—died long before reaching the hole, leaving a long difficult putt.

Here are 6 keys to this shot:

-Club selection is key
-Take a normal but slightly open stance
-Position the ball toward the middle
-Make sure the left arm and shaft are straight
-Aim the clubface at intended target
-Use a three-quarter swing.

Control and accuracy are what matter with this shot. The key is taking some loft off the club. Instead of using a sand wedge, try a pitching wedge and take a three-quarter swing. The ball flies lower but runs more, leaving you closer to the pin than a sand wedge.

Otherwise, play this shot as a normal pitch shot. Address the ball with a slightly open stance—which enables the left side (right-handers) to clear through impact— but make sure the clubface is aimed directly at the intended target.

Position the ball toward the middle of the stance, ensuring that the ball is struck crisply with a descending blow. Check to make sure your left arm and the club’s shaft form a straight line, which also ensures that the ball is struck with a crisp descending blow. Then take your swing.

Accurate pitching helps produce lower scores, whether you’re hitting to an uphill green or a flat one. Turning three shots into two with an accurate pitch is a major weapon in the battle for improvement.

=================================================== 2) Bunker Shot from Under the Lip
===================================================
Playing a ball from under a bunker’s lip tests a golfer’s shot making capabilities. It usually, requires an awkward stance, with one foot in the bunker and one foot out. Sometimes, the lie makes it even harder to execute. Clearly, the shot is one of the more difficult in the game.

Forget about hitting this shot close. Your number one priority is getting the ball out of the bunker. That requires a swing that makes the ball climb steeply upward after the club’s impact. That’s not easy. Trying to set up the next shot makes it that much harder.

Here are 4 keys to the shot:

-Use your normal swing shot
-Adjust your spine angle
-Minimize your follow-through
-Throw the sand out high

You need not alter your swing itself to make this shot. Changing your posture, alignment, clubface position, and/or stance—all pre-swing adjustments—automatically alters your swing. In other words, use your normal sand-shot swing, just change your set-up to suit the situation.

First, add loft to your sand wedge. Open the clubface before gripping the club. This helps the ball climb upward. Then, as you place your right foot in the sand, angle your spine to the right (for right-handers). This is critical. If you don’t do it, you’ll drive the ball into the lip. Your weight should be on your back foot.

In addition, reduce the motion in your lower body during your swing to maintain balance. And don’t try to follow through with this shot. You could injure your wrists or arms. A complete follow-through isn’t necessary anyway—as long as your angle of attack—preset by your spine adjustment—is correct.

Your one swing thought with this shot should be to throw the sand up high. Keeping this idea in mind, and adjusting your spine angle correctly, will get you out of the bunker in one shot.

=================================================== 3) Question of the Week- One Plane vs. Two Planes
=================================================== From Richard Leary

One Plane vs. Two Planes

Q. Hi, Jack. Is your instruction based on a one- or a two-plane swing? I’ve read that Hank Haney teaches a one-plane swing. Is that true? Is Tiger’s swing becoming a one-plane swing? What’s the difference between the two? I can’t tell by watching the swing.

A. Thanks for the question, Richard. My instruction is based on a two-plane swing, not the one-plane swing Hank Haney teaches. To explain the difference, you must focus on two points in the swing— spine angle at address and the position of the left arm on the downswing.

Your spine forms the natural axis around which your shoulders turn at a 90-degree angle. This angle is critical because it decides one plane of your swing. Your backswing, however, requires a left-arm swing (right-handers) that’s on a slightly higher plane than your shoulders. This plane is critical because it provides a free passage to the ball on the downswing.

Thus, when you swing, you actually employ two swing planes to hit the ball correctly. The first comes from executing the correct take away. The second from executing the proper downswing. The second swing plane, however, runs right through the correct angle of your spine, enabling you to deliver a clean crisp blow to the ball with a square clubhead and good power.

Haney eliminates the first plane by adopting a non-traditional address position. It’s a slightly simpler approach to the swing, which he says is easier to learn and better to employ.

As for Tiger, he has changed his swing from when he started on the pro tour, but it doesn’t look like he’s adopted a one-plane swing.

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/newsletter11152006.html

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.

The golf swing is basically a chain reaction, as I’ve said before. One good move leads naturally to another. Obviously, the first few “links” in the chain are critical, since they determine the quality and the shape of the swing. If you make a proper backswing, as I often write in my golf tips, you’ll develop power, accuracy, and consistency in your swing.

Unfortunately, some golfers take their backswing lightly. Instead of taking the club back slowly and smoothly, they rush it and find themselves in a poor position to start their forwardswing. A poor backswing requires complex adjustments during the swing, which can throw it off. The end result is a slice, a hook, or an otherwise ugly shot. If you want to develop consistency and power—while improving your golf handicap—you must build a better backswing.

Make a Preflight Check
Get in the habit of making a preflight check before starting your backswing. A good set-up increases the chances of starting off right. Check for correct posture, the right weight distribution, and the proper ball position, which should be just inside the left heel when using longer clubs and toward the middle of your stance for shorter clubs. Also, check to see that the club’s shaft is an extension of the left arm (right-handers) and that you have a neutral grip.

In addition, check your tee-height. As a general rule, the top edge of the driver should be level with the ball’s equator, irrespective of the clubhead’s size and design. This rule also applies to the 3-wood when used from the tee. The design of this club hasn’t changed significantly over the years. Its clubhead is smaller than almost all drivers’ clubheads, especially the new ones. You need to tee the ball lower to achieve the right height for the 3-wood.

Shift Weight Properly
Allowing your weight to move back and forth in harmony with the swing’s direction generates power. If the upper body coil and the weight shift are both correct in the backswing, the natural movement is a lateral one onto the right foot (right-handers), preparing the golfer for a forceful forwardswing. This is followed by a weight shift to the front foot.

Annika Sorenstam, considered by many as the number one ranked woman golfer on the pro tour, presents a good example of someone whose weight shifts properly during her backswing. Watch her when she swings. If you compare her head position at the top of backswing with her head position at the start of her backswing, you’ll see that it has moved a good 5-6 inches (12-15 cm) to the right, enabling her to “get behind the ball.”

Think “All Arms”
A proper takeaway is critical to a good swing. The catalyst for the chain reaction, the takeaway starts everything in motion, as I stress in my golf lessons. It introduces width and coordination in the swing, and determines the quality and shape of the shot. The first 30 inches of the takeaway is perhaps the most crucial point in the swing. The goal is a one-piece takeaway.

To achieve a one-piece takeaway, sweep the club back low and slow as your left knee, hip, and shoulder turn to the right. Shift your weight slightly onto the right foot (for right-handers), creating the feeling as if the move was “all arms.” And hold your chin up as you take the club away to allow for a full left shoulder turn.

Turn and Set
The turn and set is the final element of the backswing. Once the takeaway is complete, the wrists hinge as the body continues to turn and the arms swing the club up on plane. A useful checkpoint in the swing occurs at the halfway point in the backswing. In a properly executed backswing, the club points toward the sky. From there on, it’s a simple movement to the top of the backswing.

Watch the takeaway of Ernie Els when opportunity permits. His upper body, hands, arms, and the club all move away from the ball in harmony. The wrists are almost completely passive. They only start to hinge as the hands reach a point just beyond the right hip, the ideal takeaway to emulate. Notice also that he lifts his left heel slightly as he takes the club back. There’s no hard and fast rule on this, as I’ve said in my golf tips. If you need to lift it slightly to complete a full body turn, then do so.

One last tip on building a better backswing: As you begin, try thinking “low and smooth.” Maintaining this swing thought as you start your swing encourages you take the club back in a deliberate manner.

Building a better backswing is a key to generating a consistent, repeatable swing—the hallmark of players with low golf handicaps. Work on your backswing in practice. You’ll see a difference in your swing on the course.

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.

The more golf instruction sessions I do and the more golf tips I write, the more I’m convinced that a solid set-up is a critical fundamental. Without a good one no one, including the greatest golfer in the world, can play the game well. That’s why I key on the set-up in introductory golf lessons. If you want to get the most from your swing, you need a good and settled set-up.

The discussion that follows will help you build a good set-up. While many of the tips in this article are reminders of advice you’ve probably heard previously, they will help you achieve consistency and accuracy in your swing, which is what we all want. Establishing a good set-up can help your golf handicap greatly.

Grip
A sound set-up starts with a solid grip. The way the hands are placed on the club determines a swing’s shape and the clubface’s direction at impact. That in turn dictates the direction of the ball. Use whichever grip (baseball, overlapping, or interlocking) feels the most comfortable yet allows you to make solid contact with the ball, as I tell those who take my golf lessons. But, like everything else in golf, it must be right for you.

How do you know when you have the right grip? Your grip is ideally suited to you when the tips of the fingers on the left hand (right-handers) just touch the fleshy pad of the palm. If they don’t, try another grip or check the position of your hand. Either or both maybe the problem. It’s the “trigger” position formed by the thumb and the forefinger of the right hand, however, that’s really critical. Make sure you can “squeeze the trigger” with your grip. If you can’t, there’s something wrong. Also, when it comes to the overall grip, apply just enough pressure to provide a secure hold on the club while feeling the club’s weight in your hands.

Posture
Posture is also critical to a solid set-up. The body angles created at address in your posture have an impact on the shape and quality of your swing. Keeping your balance throughout is crucial to hitting good shots and a direct result of good posture. Good balance stems from perfect weight distribution at address, essential to creating a solid base for your swing. To achieve good posture, stand up straight with your arms and club extended, then bend over from the waist while you lower the club. Once the club touches the ground, flex your knees slightly. That’s good posture. Watch Ernie Els next time a tournament is on TV. He has nearly perfect posture despite having less than an ideal build for a golfer, as I’ve mentioned in my golf tips.

Stance and Ball Position
Your stance’s width—the distance the feet are apart at address—is determined by the club used. A major component in a consistent set-up, the stance gets narrower as the clubs get higher. Widen the stance for a driver, and narrow the stance for a wedge. With the driver, make sure the heels are the same width apart as the shoulders. With the wedge, the feet should be close together. Somewhere in between lies the ideal stance for every other club in the bag. Trial and error will tell you what feels most comfortable, but it’s imperative you find a stance the fits each club.

Ball position influences the clubhead’s path at impact. That in turn determines initial shot direction. Many golfers vary ball position, depending on the club used. They move the ball back from just inside the left heel (right-handers) to the middle of the stance as the clubs get shorter. Others, like Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman, maintain constant ball position, just inside the left heel, for every club. Again, it’s a matter of comfort and personal choice. While varying the ball is more popular, I usually advise those attending my golf instruction sessions, to try both. Use whichever approach feels most comfortable and provides the best results.

Aim and Alignment
Good golfers constantly monitor their aim and alignment. The clubface must be aimed at the target and the body must be aligned with the clubface—known as perfect parallel alignment. Start by standing behind the ball and visualizing the shot. With a clear picture of the shot in mind, step to the ball. Pick out an immediate target, such as a leaf or divot mark, a club length or so in front of the ball along the target line. Aim the clubface over that point. Once you establish a square clubface, build your stance around it. Square your feet, hips, and shoulders to the clubface position. Check your alignment by laying a club down on the ground parallel to the target line in practice, something I have beginning students do in my golf lessons all the time. Your stance should be parallel to the club.

Triggering the Swing
Once in their set-up some players use a small movement to trigger their swings in motion. A “swing trigger” encourages a smooth takeaway and helps prevent jerky movements that could harm the swing. Swing triggers are different for each player. Gary Player kicks in his right knee. Arnold Palmer gives the club one final, aggressive waggle. Jack Nicklaus turns his head to the right slightly—Nick Faldo does the same. Try each of these swing triggers. If they don’t work, try developing one of your own. It can make all the difference in the quality of your swing.

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

November 8, 2006

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

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) The Sand Chip
2) The Left-Arm Position
3) Question of the Week- Hitting the Ball above Your Feet
4) Article- Four Steps To Building a Better Backswing
5) Article- Five Fundamentals of a Good Set-up

===================================================
1) The Sand Chip
===================================================
If you’re one of those golfers who wishes his or her sand game was better, you probably dread hitting into a bunker, regardless of how good the shot was that preceded it. However, there is a simple escape that you can use to get out of a bunker: the sand chip.

The sand chip is a low shot that with quite a bit of roll, so you’ll need lots of loft to clear the bunker’s lip and lots of green to work with before taking the shot. Here are 5 keys to the hitting the sand chip correctly:

-Assess the green carefully
-Rise your club on its toe
-Play the ball opposite your back foot
-Make the stroke with little wrist break
-Make “ball first” contact

The idea of the sand chip is to catch the ball cleanly, taking just a bit of sand with your shot. To do this, raise your club on its toe, making the shaft more upright and lessening the chance of your clubhead grabbing the sand.

Play the ball opposite your back foot in your stance and keep your hands forward of the ball, so that the shaft points at your lead shoulder. This set-up ensures a low running shot with sufficient loft to clear most bunkers.

The stroke is made with little wrist break and by keeping your weight on your font foot. The fixed wrists allow the butt end of your club and the clubface to move together back and then through the golf ball, enabling you to get some loft on the shot. Remember, touching the sand will incur a penalty so be careful.

Practice the sand chip the next time you’re at the range. Players who can hit this shot well find it an easier way to escape a trap than the traditional bunker shot.

=================================================== 2) The Left-Arm Position
===================================================
Even good players have problems striking the ball. If you’re a poor ball striker or you tend to hit fat or thin shots, it could be your left-arm position (for right-handers).

Here are 5 tips on maintaining the correct left-arm position:

-Check your grip
-Hinge the club on your backswing
-Take a full turn
-Keep your hands away from your head
-Fold the arm after impact

Correct use of the left arm begins with the grip. Make sure the club lies diagonally across the fingers of your left hand, not your palm. If you’re holding the club with your fingers, you’ll naturally hinge the club on your backswing. If your wrists hinge on their own, you’ll be tricked into hinging your elbows. Keep your hands as far away from your head as comfortably possible.

Correct use of the left arm also results from your shoulder turn. Good ball strikers synchronize their arm swing with their shoulder turn, facilitating a solid turn and a straight left arm. Poor ball strikers generally stop turning their shoulders too early, but continue to swing their arms back. The result: a shortened arc and a collapsed left arm.

Left Arm Drill
First, make sure you’re gripping the club correctly in the left hand. Second, take your right arm and place it over your left wrist. Your right thumb should point down and your palm should face the target.

Swing back and keep your left arm extended by pulling it across your chest with your right hand. Keep your hands away from your head. Focus on maintaining the radius of your swing created at address. Now swing down. As you do, rotate your left forearm with your right hand, which is how you square your club at impact.

Once you start rotating your left forearm, you’ll begin feeling how the left arm correctly folds on the followthrough. Practice this drill several times until the motion feels natural. When it does, take it to the course. Your swing should be longer and you should strike the ball more forcibly than before.

=================================================== 3) Question of the Week- Hitting the Ball above Your Feet
=================================================== From Padeep Pal

Hitting the Ball above Your Feet

Q. Hi, Jack, I have trouble hitting the ball above my feet. Alignment is also problem. What can I do to correct it?

A. Thanks for the question, Padeep. Hitting the ball above your feet is a matter of (1) making a few simple adjustments to your stance and swing, and (2) aligning yourself properly before swinging. Here are 5 tips that can help,

-Aim right of the target
-Stand tall throughout the swing
-Keep weight centered over arches
-Swing along slope
-Stay in balance

One key to this shot is aligning yourself right of target, The ball moves right to left (for right-handers) with this shot, so if you line up dead center on target, you’ll probably pull the ball left. Instead, line up your shoulders, hips, and feet with the target line, not the flagstick. And since the ball is closer to your upper body, stand taller throughout your swing, but not too tall.

Another key is centering your weight above your arches, not on the balls of your feet. The change helps you swing along the slope and stay in balance throughout the shot.

Many recreational golfers shift their upper body forward during the swing and come into the ball lower than what they were at address, resulting in a fat shot. Or they’ll lose balance, pop out of the stance, and hit a weak slice. Keep your posture constant. Maintain the same spine angle that you set at address right on through impact.

With this shot, you also may need to make adjustments to your stance and/or swing. In that case, try choking down on the club and aim about 20 yard to the right of the hole.

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/newsletter11082006.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article- Four Steps To Building a Better Backswing

5) Article- Five Fundamentals of a Good Set-up

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.