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How To Break 80 Newsletter

April 18, 2007

“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”

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In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Mastering a Swing Change
2) Strengthening Your Golf Muscles
3) Question of the Week- Improving Distance
4) Article- Sand Shot Basics For Dummies
5) Article- Chipping Basics For Dummies

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1) Mastering a Swing Change
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Mastering a swing change isn’t easy. If you’ve been driving the ball with a weak grip for several years, it’s hard all of a sudden to change to a strong grip. It’s also confusing and frustrating, especially in the beginning, as you struggle to get comfortable with the new way of doing things, which is why it takes time and practice to succeed. But there are techniques you can use to make the change smother.

Here are five tips on mastering swing changes:
1. Commit to the change
2. Don’t use a club
3. Practice without a ball
4. Perfect the move first
5. Practice, practice, practice

Most swing changes feel awkward at first. While this is natural, it’s also disconcerting. For some, it’s a good excuse for discarding the change. That’s why you have to commit fully to the change, if you’re going to succeed. Try using something other than a club, like a broomstick, to help you get more comfortable with the change initially. Once you feel comfortable with the broomstick, change to a club.

Also, don’t use a ball to practice the change at first. The ball only serves as a distraction when trying to make a swing change. It changes your focus from learning the change to performing your best. It also forces you to concentrate on correcting your swing fault and hitting a golf ball simultaneously. So get comfortable with the swing change first before introducing a ball.

After you’ve perfected the change, go to the range and practice hitting balls. And keep practicing the change until it feels natural. If you find yourself thinking about your swing as you hit, step away from the ball and re-group. Make some rehearsal swings while concentrating on mechanics then continue hitting the ball.

We all need to make changes in our golf swings at some time or another, if we’re seriously about improving. But mastering a swing change isn’t easy. It takes time and effort. Using the approach described above to correct a swing change makes things easier. It also helps you learn the change faster.

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2) Strengthening Your Golf Muscles
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Fatigue makes cowards of us all. It also makes us poorer golfers. Getting tired on the back nine is no fun. Inexplicably, it seems, you find yourself making mistakes on the back nine you didn’t make on the front nine, costing yourself strokes. Preventing fatigue is why you see more and more professional golfers getting in shape these days, including Tiger Woods, who works as hard at it as anyone.

Here are five keys to improving golf muscles:

* Focus on flexibility
* Work on balance training
* Exercise for symmetry
* Avoid bulking up
* Include cardiovascular training

The secret to developing your golf muscles is focusing on three things: flexibility, balance, and symmetry. Combining a workout routine emphasizing these there elements and cardiovascular conditioning, like running, swimming, or power walking, strengthens not only your golf muscles but also your whole body. Together, they lower your scores while they prolong your life.

Before a round, focus on exercises emphasizing flexibility, like stretching the back and shoulder muscles, and the rotary muscles of the hips, torso, and rotary cuffs. After a round or when you’re not playing in the winter, concentrate on strength and balance training, like imitating the golf swing using a weighted club or resistance bands to increase range of motion.

Keep in mind, however, that the key with strength and balance training is symmetry. That means doing exercises in both directions to develop both sides. For a left-handed golfer that entails swinging a weighted club from both the left and the right sides. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a strong left side and a weak right side, creating the peak conditions for an injury.

Performing exercises on one leg instead of two also improves balance. But remember to switch legs. Assuming a golf-swing posture as you go through your routine helps. Also, don’t bulk up too much if you’re into resistance training. Bulking up hurts the stretching you’ve done.

And don’t forget to add a cardiovascular workout to your routine. Your heart is a muscle, too. It needs exercise to strengthen itself just like your arms, hips, shoulders, and back. Work at staying in shape and you’ll not only post lower scores, you’ll lead a healthier life.

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3) Question of the Week- Improving Distance
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From Lamtruong

Improving Distance

Q: Hi, Jack. Thank you for your fantastic newsletter. Can I ask you a root question? How do I improve my distance? My drives average only around 200 yards.

A: Thanks for the compliment and the question, Lamtruong. We all want to hit longer drives. It’s great for our egos and our scores. Unfortunately, players often confuse length from the tee with muscle power, as I’ve said many times before. Technique is far more important. In fact, developing a sound swing greatly improves driving distance, so concentrate on perfecting technique.

And keep the following tips in mind:

1. Widen your stance for greater stability
2. Shift more weight onto your back leg
3. Keep your chin up so you can turn your shoulder
4. Take a full 90-degree shoulder turn
5. Hit hard with your right hand
6. Sense your right forearm crossing over left
7. Finish high with your swing

Two proven drills for increasing driving distance are the lead hand drill and the weighted-club drill.

1. The lead hand drill strengthens the “pulling” muscles of your left arm (right arm for left-handers.) With this drill, practice hitting a golf ball with just your left hand. Start with a pitching wedge. Try it without a ball first. Swing easily and smoothly. 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, and so on, until you get to a driver.

2. 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’ll find the arc of your swing is larger than before, without losing control of the swing.

Driving for distance is great. But remember, accuracy is better than distance in many cases. A 200-yard drive that lands in the fairway is better than a 250-yard drive that lands in deep rough.

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.

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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

To view this newsletter online, please visit:
http://www.howtobreak80.com/newsletter04182007.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article- Sand Shot Basics For Dummies
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/sandbasics.html
5) Article- Chipping Basics For Dummies
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/chippingbasics.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
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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 golf instruction on how to improve your golf game.

Sooner or later, you’ll face a shot where you must go over an obstacle and land on the green to hole out with a par or better. It may be for bragging rights in your Tuesday morning foursome, the title to the club championship, or a friendly wager with the club pro. Or, it might just be for sheer personal pride. Whatever the case, it’s a shot you must make.

When faced with a 25-foot lob like this, the first thing you need to do is to relax, as I tell students taking my golf lesson. Catch your breath and review the shot closely. Then decide if the reward is worth the risk. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor in golf. But if you’re convinced it’s a shot you need to make, then go for it.

Confidence is the Key
The secret to overcoming an obstacle like a tree, as I’ve written in my golf tips, is confidence. If you watch a good golfer address the shot and then a not-so-good golfer, you’ll notice one big difference: Good golfers know they can get over the tree and land on the green. Not-so-good golfers aren’t sure. Instead, they hope (and pray) for a miracle shot, one that lands on the green and sticks.

Good golfers know they can make the shot for three reasons. First, they have faith in their mechanics. They know what adjustments to make in their swings to get the job done. And they know they’re swings are good enough to do it. Second, they know what the real key is to making the shot. And third, they know that they can do it because they’ve done it before in practice. Let’s take a closer look at each of these topics.

Making the Right Adjustments
Making the right adjustments, as I have said in my golf instruction sessions, is often the difference between hitting a shot like this successfully or failing miserable. Here are six tips on hitting the shot:

1. Choke down on the club
2. Use an open stance
3. Play ball in middle of your stance
4. Align your body left of the target (for righties)
5. Align the clubface square to target
6. Swing along your body

Start by choking down on the grip and addressing the ball with an open stance. Aim your feet about 30 degrees more open than normal. Also, play the ball in the middle of your stance and position your weight on your back foot. Although you align your body left of the target, align the clubface square to the target. Position your hands directly over the ball. This is the proper position to hit the shot, as you may have read in my golf tips.

Key To The Shot
The key to this shot is taking the right swing path. You must remember to take the club back along your bodyline. That means approaching the shot on an out-to-in swing path on the downswing. Maintain the bulk of your weight on your back foot and use a steady smooth swing. And accelerate through impact. Allow your hands to release through the ball while still holding the clubface open.

Most recreational golfers don’t choke up on the club when taking this shot and/or they don’t open their stances. They just grab the club at the usual spot and then use a normal stance. Then they try to “lift” the ball over the obstacle. Needless to say, they’re not successful.

Practice Makes Perfect
After taking a few practice swings to get comfortable, find an obstacle like a tree or a high fence and practice the shot. Address the ball as indicated above but take your mind off your swing. Concentrate on the obstacle you need to hit over instead. Visualize yourself successfully making the shot. Once you have a clear picture of success, swing away with confidence.

Practice this shot several times and concentrate on the visual image of the ball clearing the obstacle and dropping softly on the green. After a few attempts, with sufficient confidence, proper visualization, and sound mechanics, you’ll ingrain the shot enough to try it on the golf course. Practice this shot as often as you can. Your goal should be to ht the shot successfully 10 times out of 10. Do that and you’ll have enough confidence and skill to hit the shot in a pressure situation.

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.

Golf is as much mental as physical. You have to execute both phases to achieve a low golf handicap. Just ask any player who’s ever stood over a short clutch putt. She may have made this put a thousand times before. But on the day she’s asked to hole that putt for the club championship, the cup looks about as big as a pinhole, even from a foot away. The thought of missing the putt plays havoc with the golfer’s mind, as I’ve mentioned in my golf tips, and causes some people to miss the putt.

When an architect creates a truly challenging hole, he creates the same kind of stress in the player’s mind as the short putt does in the example above. The golfer starts thinking about the “bad” things that could happen, instead of concentrating on the putt. With the process of execution disturbed, the chances of success decline. The one thing the player must do on a challenging hole is carefully weigh the risk/reward factors before accepting the architect’s challenge.

The Line of Charm
Course architects, as I tell students in golf lessons, often use psychological ploys to challenge and excite a player’s interest. These ploys can be traps. One of the most basic is the “line of charm,” a term coined by designer and writer Max Behr. He designed golf courses in the 1920s and also wrote on the subject.

The line of charm is a tantalizing path to the green that attracts the golfer’s eye but is fraught with danger and disaster. The line of charm challenges the line of play that the architect has outlined. It almost always lies close to several hazards. And it draws the golfer in but threatens to undo him, if he’s not careful. When faced with this situation, you must always look at the risk/reward equation, as I tell players in golf instruction sessions.

Take the 16th hole at Cypress Point Golf Club. The hole represents a great golf challenge for any player. It stretches out onto a rocky promontory in the Pacific Ocean. The course’s architect, Alister Mackenzie, used the Pacific as one of the most dramatic hazards in golf. Mackenzie also stretches the limits of this par 3 hole by lengthening it to 235 yards.

Mackenzie uses the line of charm to lure golfers away from the safer layup and pitch route that ensures no worse than a bogey 4 and toward the more difficult shot over the ocean. This shot leads to a birdie or par�if executed properly. But miss it and you’ll most likely end up with a double bogy or worse. Regardless of how you do on the hole, you’ll remember the experience, thanks to the psychological affects the architect built into the course.

Playing Tricks
Architects also play tricks on golfers. The penal value of the hazard and the fear and excitement it arouses, don’t always match up. Often, the psychological factors introduced by the hazard outweigh the physical danger. A large greenside bunker may cause players to hit away from it only to bring deep rough or a combination of other hazards into play. This is similar to the out-of-character shot created by a seemingly easy hazard. How many times have you seen a player who normally blasts good drives skip one into a small lake in front of the tee box.

Water is the most fearsome of hazards but the architect will use anything at his or her disposal. Take George Crump, who built Pine Valley Golf Club in the sandhills of western New Jersey. With limited water available, he used carries over sandy waste areas to duplicate water’s psychological effect. In other words, he used sand to mimic water. And he did it effectively.

Psychological ploys, like the line of charm, tempt golfers away from the “righteous” path. The golfer’s ultimate goal is to assess all the hazards on the hole, not just the dramatic ones, before deciding on the shot. Smart golfers process the risk and lay up when necessary. But you must keep your wits about you and avoid the temptations the architect places before you. And you must focus on the success of the shot, not the dangers.

The architect’s job is to challenge the golfer and create fear and excitement on the hole. By understanding what the architect is trying to do and focusing on executing the shot, not what could happen if he misses, the golfer avoids succumbing to the temptation of psychological tricks, like the line of charm. To knock down your golf handicap and achieve lower scores, you need to carefully weigh the risk/reward factors on each hole before deciding on your path.

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

April 11, 2007

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

1) Forward Shaft Lean
2) Retaining Spine Angle
3) Question of the Week- Maintaining the Left Elbow
4) Article- Avoiding the “Line of Charm”
5) Article- Six Steps To Pull Off The 25-foot Lob

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1) Forward Shaft Lean
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Ball-first contact is mandatory if you want to hit your irons like a pro. How do you know if you�re making ball first contact? Look at your divots. If you’re making ball-first contact, your divots will come after the point of impact, which means your hitting the ball with a descending blow. If you start your divots before impact, you’re not making ball-first contact, which means you’re not hitting the ball with a descending blow.

The key contributor to a descending blow is forward shaft lean�the angle of your shaft when striking the ball. The club’s shaft must be leaning forward at impact for a solid hit. Forward shaft lean “traps” the ball against the ground, rather than “scooping” it with the club. Combine forward shaft lean with the proper release of the hands and you’ll make solid contact with your irons every time.

Below are two drills that foster good iron play. The first teaches you forward shaft lean. The second encourages good release of the hands.

Headcover Drill
By placing a headcover behind the ball about a foot and slightly inside the target line, you can learn to strike the ball with a descending blow, achieving the correct forward shaft lean. Start with practice swings without the ball, concentrating each time on hitting the turf on the target side of the headcover without making contact with it. Once you feel comfortable doing this, place a ball in front of the headcover and hit some shots. If you swing with a scooping motion, you’ll hit the headcover first.

Release Drill
To learn to rotate the club properly through impact, focus on freeing your hand action in the backswing and downswing. Imagine hiding your bottom hand with your top hand as the club passes through impact. With practice, you’ll ingrain the feeling.

Work on these two drills and you’ll find yourself hitting your irons like a pro and not slicing the ball. Remember ball-first contact is mandatory and forward shaft lean is the key to ball-first contact.

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2) Retaining Spine Angle
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The body angles created at address—known as posture—influence the shape and quality of your swing. If you achieve and maintain the correct body angles at address, you’ll have a better chance of hitting a good shot. If you don’t achieve and maintain good angles, your chances of hitting a good shot are slim and none. No body angle is more important than your spine angle.

Spine angle is key because it;s the axis around which your body turns. The turning of your body creates the torque you need to power the ball, whether you’re hitting from the tee box or the fairway. But sometimes in the last few seconds before starting your swing, the golfer throws his spine angle-and the rest of his set-up-off by making some small movement, like turning the head to take one last look at the target.

But there’s an alternative movement to viewing the target that helps maintain your spine angle. In the last few seconds before swinging, turn your chin instead of your head to view the target. Turning your chin toward the target enables you to retain the proper body position and spine angle, without adjusting your weight, shoulders, or hands. When you turn your head, you inevitably lift it, open your shoulders, and lose sight and feel of what the correct position should be.

Remember to turn your chin, not your head, to view the target, whether hitting a wood or an iron. It will keep your spine angle�and setup�in place. And watch those small movements just prior to hitting the ball. They can throw your swing and your consistency�off.

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3) Question of the Week- Maintaining the Left Elbow
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From Thomas

Maintaining the Left Elbow

Q: Hi! I have read many of your articles and they’re very useful in improving my game. I have a question about my golf swing. Lately, I have been plagued with elbow break- down at impact and follow-through. I have been working on trying to keep my left elbow straight but sometime it breaks down during the backswing. I keep getting mixed messages about the left arm in the backswing. Some instructors say to keep your arm straight during the backswing (make a wider arc) for more distance. Some say you don’t have to keep it straight during the backswing. It only matters when you’re at the impact area when the arm needs to be straight. Is there any suggestion or advice you can give me? Thanks.

A: Your left arm (for a right-hander) must be straight at impact to hit the ball well. A straight left arm during the backswing is another matter. If you can keep it straight through the backswing, you’ll produce more distance because your swing radius is wider. But some people because of age, a lack of flexibility, injury, or what have you must bend the left arm a little during the backswing. That�s okay, as long as the rest of the swing is sound.

Sometimes a bent left arm is the result of over swinging, caused by an out-of-position right arm (for a right-hander). In addition to intentional swinging to hard, the two main causes of over swinging are:

1) losing control of your grip at the top of your swing, or 2) an unnatural width of your backswing because of a malfunctioning right arm.

The right arm controls the width of the swing arc. If the angle of the gap at the top of the swing between the right forearm and the right biceps is less than 90 degrees, you�ve over swung, forcing the left arm to bend in the process. An ineffective coiling of the torso often accompanies the over swinging.

The key to shortening your swing is re-establishing the correct width of your backswing arc. To do this, your right elbow must form a right angle as it folds back at the top of the swing, forming an �L� shape. In this position your left arm is comfortably straight (not tense) and your club is parallel to the ground, assuming you hinge your wrists correctly. From there it is simply a matter of bringing the club down straight through impact.

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/newsletter04112007.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article- Avoiding the “Line of Charm”

5) Article- Six Steps To Pull Off The 25-foot Lob

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.