You guys see Tiger’s monster slice on the 15th at Augusta
last weekend? It sank into the water and cost him the
tournament. Granted…he meant to slice it so as to get
around a branch and attack the pin. It really shows
us how much power and distance can be robbed from your ball
flight when slicing the ball.

We all know that slicing the ball is a score-killer…and
it’s not pretty to watch either! It is, without a doubt,
the biggest problem most amateur golfers have (and from all
the email from my readers, this stands true.)

Now, I draw the ball as a natural shot and I know that because
of that shape alone I get additional yardage on my drives and
don’t have to swing nearly as hard as someone who slices.

So, how do you fix a slice? There are several ways but a
couple of years ago I came across this resource that teaches
people how to draw the ball and it’s really effective. Check
it out here: http://www.howtobreak80.com/fixslice.htm

I’m sure you’ll find this web site chocked full of information
and tips on how to stop slicing and start drawing the ball.

So if you’ve got a fade or slice that you’d like to turn into a
consistent powerful draw, jump over to this site today and check
it out: http://www.howtobreak80.com/fixslice.htm

Go Low,

Jack

P.S. They’ve even got a famous challenge that if the information
doesn’t help you stop slicing they actually pay you. Funny and
confident, but true.

Ernest Jones knew he was in trouble. When he was hired in 1905 as the 18-year-old assistant pro at Chislehurst Golf Club, Kent, England, he didn’t realize he had to teach golf as part of his responsibilities. He thought he was being hired just for his playing and clubmaking skills only. But then he was informed that he also was expected to give golf lessons. So he set about learning everything he could about teaching golf.

Eventually, Jones developed a simple theory on the golf swing, explained in his two golf instruction books. Swing the Clubhead debuted in 1937. It embodies all Jones’ thinking on the golf swing. He published his second book, Swinging into Golf, in 1957. But it’s so similar in content to his first book you only need to read the first to understand all the key principles of Jones’ theory. The simple unvarnished theory Jones espoused provides much food for thought.

Swinging and Levering
Jones’ theory on the golf swing is embodied in two concepts, swinging and levering. According to Jones, swinging and levering are two diametrically opposed methods of applying power. In swinging, the connecting medium between the power and the object swung has both ends moving in the same direction. In “levering” the two ends move in opposite directions. It’s impossible to join up the two in one unified application of power, regardless of what you do.

Moving a weight back and forth at the end of a string is probably the simplest and best way of demonstrating what Jones meant by swing the clubhead. A pocketknife attached to the end of a handkerchief does the same thing. Since the handkerchief is flexible, like the shaft on a golf club, it transfers power not through levering but through swinging with your hands and fingers. And the concept of swing, Jones believed, is what really powers a golf swing.

The Art of Golf
Jones took much of his theory from Sir Walter Simpson’s golf instruction book, The Art of Golf, published in 1887. Although Jones differed with Simpson on the idea of “hitting” a golf ball, Ernest agreed with Simpson that golf was not an arcane science requiring different moves and positions. Nor did Jones believe that you could learn golf by trying to eliminate mistakes. There are simply too many to correct. And he didn’t believe in imitating other players. You tend to see the results before you recognize the fundamentals that caused them.

Instead, Simpson led Jones to see the golf swing as a simple but elusive art�the art of swinging the clubhead with the hands and fingers and feeling the swing therein. For Jones the swing was everything. If you wanted to generate power, you needed to move the clubhead faster through impact. Unfortunately, you can’t move the clubhead faster than you can swing, says Jones. So if your grip was throttling the club, you were bound to slow the clubhead down.

“The golf swing can be readily taught and consistently performed,” writes Jones, “but only if it is conceived as one, overall movement. The body and all its parts should be treated as disastrous leaders but wholly admirable followers of the actions of the hands and fingers.”

The mechanics that many teachers preach in golf lessons and golf tips, which included the movement of body parts and different positions, were not part of Jones’ theory. Instead, the movements of the hands and fingers more than anything else produced the golf swing results. In other words, his theory that everything follows from the movement of the hands and fingers makes him an advocate of the “tail wags the dog” theory of the swing.

His Own Best Example
Jones was his own best example of his theory. Slight of build at 5 feet 5 1/2 �inches, he won the Kent Cup in 1914. He lost a leg in France in World War I in 1916. But four months later, on the day he left the hospital, he shot an 83 at the Royal Norwich Links, swing on one leg. He eventually went on to a highly successful 60-year career in teaching the ideas contained in Swing the Clubhead.

Jones’ theory on the golf swing has survived through the years. Among legendary golf teachers, Bob Toski, Jim Flick, and Davis Love, Jr., all espoused his ideas. Besides containing some serious food for discussion, Jones’ theory reminds us that there is more that one way to hit a golf ball, and that the best approach to the golf swing is to find a theory that fits your personality and your game. Once you do that, you’ll be able to lower that golf handicap by faithful practice of the approach’s principles.

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.

During golf lessons I teach that when putting you can use all sorts of ball positions, grips, and stances and still be a good putter. It’s a lot like hitting a baseball. If you’ve ever seen a professional baseball game, you probably noticed that every hitter has his own approach to hitting the ball, including his own stance, position in the batter’s box, and “pre-swing” routine. But if you really looked closer, you would have probably see that there are certain key fundamentals every good hitter does well that make him a good hitter. So it is with putting.

Below is a short golf instruction session on putting, perhaps the single most important influences on your golf scores. In this article on golf tips, I highlight five keys putting fundamentals common to all good putters. If you want to improve your putting, and thereby lower your golf handicap, you must execute these fundamentals well, regardless of whatever else you do while on the green. Otherwise, you’ll muddle along as just an average putter and just an average golfer.

1. Keep Your Eyes Directly Over the Ball
If you ask a good putter what the secret is to putting well, chances he or she will tell you that it’s the set up. And one of the keys to adopting the right set up is maintaining your eyes directly over the ball. When you position your eyes directly over the ball you know for sure that you’re aiming directly down the target line. It also helps you keep the putter low to the ground and square to the target. And it helps keep your weight centered on the balls of your feet, which eliminates any tendency to rock backward during the shot.

2. Use an Inside To Square Swing Path
Many successful putters use an inside to square swing path, once they’ve squared off their stance. An open stance encourages the putter’s blade to cut across the ball through impact. That puts sidespin on the ball instead of topspin, causing you to miss putts left, if you are a right-handed putter. An open stance also makes it harder to hit a ball solidly on longer putts. A square stance, on the other hand, encourages an inside-to-square swing path�a better swing path. It also encourages a pendulum like swing and helps keep the blade of the putter square to the hole longer.

3. Follow Through Long and Low
Another common fundamental to good putting is using a follow-through that’s long and low. With a short follow-through, your stroke feels stunted and abrupt. This in turn encourages you to follow through with more of a “hit” at impact, creating the feeling of chipping the ball instead of putting it. However, if you keep your arms comfortably bent, you can easily extend your stroke down the target line with little effort. That means you can follow through more on putts, maybe as much as 15 inches on a putt or more. Hence the ball rolls more smoothly and bounces much less. From a short range you can be sure the ball won’t bounce unpredictably off the club. Following-through long and low also helps you determine the right pace on faster greens.

4. Change Backswing Stroke, Not Tempo
There are certain elements of putting that are all too often ignored in golf lessons but that are nonetheless important. Tempo is one of them. The surface texture of the putting green doesn’t matter as much as maintaining the same swing tempo while putting. The same is true of stroke length. If you’re going to improve your putting, you need to learn what tempo (stroke speed) best suits you, and then stick to it. Trying to produce different tempos to match different surfaces is extremely difficult. It’s better to vary the length of your backswing, then the tempo at which your swing the sputter. Learning to maintain the same tempo while varying the length of your stroke will increase your consistency and confidence when putting.

5. Speed Determines the Line
Pace and fluidity, like tempo, are sometimes ignored in golf instruction sessions on putting. The teacher and student are often far more concerned about the mechanics of the putting stroke that these elements. That doesn’t mean they aren’t important. Both pace and fluidity are critical in determining the line of your putt. Knowing your own tendencies also helps you compute the line. If you’re normally an aggressive person, allow less line for your break, than if you are a lag putter. And vice versa. Once you’ve decided on the direction of your putt, point the ball’s trademark down the desired target line. This will give you confidence that the blade is square to the target line.

These five steps on putting all seem to be common elements that good putters excel at. You need to work on them to become a good putter and a player with a single-digit golf handicap. But they’re not the only ones. So keep your eyes and ears open. Try to pick up other golf tips on putting that can help become more than just an average putter and golfer.

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

April 4, 2007

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

1) How the Pros Handle Augusta’s 10th Hole- More Power
2) Amen Corner Demands Strong Iron Play-What You Can Do
3) Question of the Week- Keys to Consistency and Power
4) Article- Five Steps To Better Putting
5) Article- The Best Way To Swing the Clubhead

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1) How the Pros Handle Augusta’s 10th Hole- More Power
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The 10th hole at Augusts National, the Master’s longest par 4, is its toughest. It requires a draw off the tee, whether it’s with a driver or a 3-wood. A good tee shot here puts you in the 165-yard range. But if your drive doesn’t travel far enough, you’re looking at 200 yards or more into a narrow green, with trouble on both sides. Needless to say, the margin for error here is small.

The pros pump up their power for holes like No. 10 when necessary. That’s why they’re pros. But recreational plays have a tendency of throwing their swings out of whack when trying to generate extra power. The key to generating extra power is getting to the top of your swing in good position to commit to a powerful, free flowing downswing. That means staying in sync with your swing.

Below are 5 keys to staying in sync:

• Maintain the same arm/body speed
• Don’t let your body or arms dominate
• Avoid getting too deep inside
• Keep the right arm in front of your body
• Concentrate on tempo and rhythm.

To solidify your top position, keep your arms and body moving at the same speed, as you draw the club back. Don’t let either dominate. And make sure your arms don’t get too far inside and behind your body during takeaway. If they do, your club will slip into a “too deep” position, meaning it’ll be wrapped too far around your body.

To guard against this, keep your right arm (right-handers) in front of you, which makes it feel as if your arms and body are connected. Not going deep dramatically changes the club’s position in the slot. Instead of it being behind you and low, it is in front of you, where it’s more neutral and less prone to hitting a bad shot off the tee, and high. It’s in great position for the downswing.

Don’t let the idea of generating more power scare you. The secret is getting your club into a good position at the top of your swing, so you can make an aggressive, free-flowing downswing. Take the club away slowly and smoothly. Concentrate on staying in sync. And maintain tempo and rhythm throughout your swing.

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2) Amen Corner Demands Strong Iron Play-What You Can Do
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Masters.org, the official site of the Masters Tournament, offers fans several intriguing interactive features. One is a hole-by-hole walking tour of the course, including hole No. 11, which begins Amen Corner. Herbert Warren Wind coined the name in 1958 for a Sports Illustrated article from an old jazz recording, Shouting at Amen Corner, by Milton (Mezz) Mezzrow, a Chicago clarinetist.

Hole No. 11—one of Augusta National’s most challenging par 4s—has undergone numerous changes over the years. It’s a great driving hole made tougher by the addition of 30 yards, which turned a 7- or 8-iron approach shot into a 4- or 5-iron approach shot. Tournament players will need some great iron play on No. 11 to reach the green in regulation. A pond in front guards the green.

Great iron play requires a sharp descending blow through the ball, making a divot after it not before it. To ensure a downward accelerating blow with authority, you must get your right shoulder (right-handers) into the shot while keeping your hands ahead of the ball. At impact, the right shoulder is closer to the ball than the left.

To train the brain to keep the right shoulder low through impact, visualize a martial artist punching through a board. As she throws the punch, her shoulder lunges forward with her arm for the added momentum needed to break the board. If the shoulder doesn’t move, her arms-only punch would bounce off the wood.

To train the body, take some practice strokes with just your right arm holding the club. Concentrate on moving your right shoulder closer to the ball as you work your way through the downswing. This drill ingrains the proper feel for the shot and prevents an early release of the arms and hands, a major power leak with irons.

Keep an eye on hole No. 11 during The Masters. It’s one of the most challenging at Augusta National. To reach the green in two, a player must hit a strong iron shot, which can only be done by using a sharp descending blow driven by a full right shoulder turn.

=================================================== 3) Question of the Week- Keys to Consistency and Power
=================================================== From Greg Greenwalt

Keys to Consistency and Power

Q. Hi Jack, I have been reading your material for a couple of weeks and it is very informative and helpful! I hit my irons great and am able to hit draws and fades with good distance control. I even hit my 3w and 5w with no problem, but I cannot find any consistency with my driver. Even if I hit the ball in the middle of the club face it goes left, right, too high, or too low and with far less distance. I don’t feel like I am swinging differently, but I know I am not reaching my potential off the tee. How can I achieve more consistency and distance with my driver?

A. Good question, Greg. Achieving consistency and power off the tee may just be the Holy Grail of golf. But combining these two things isn’t always easy. What’s the secret to achieving consistency and power? Below are five suggestions.

1. Eliminate tension on the tee
A common mistake on the tee is tightening up grip pressure when trying to hit for power. Tightening your hands and forearms creates tension in your body. Tension slows clubhead speed, which in turn drains power from your swing. To hit a ball with consistency and power, eliminate as much tension from your hands and body as possible.

2. Assume a proper grip
Check the position of your thumb on the club. Major power losses result from assuming a faulty grip, especially a grip in which the left-hand-thumb (right-handers) is fully extended at the top of the grip. This grip causes a chain reaction of faults in other areas—a too-weak left-handed grip, a faulty wrist hinge, and a shaft that swings beyond parallel at the top of the swing.

3. Maintain swing radius
Radius is the distance from your left shoulder (right-handers) to the end of the clubshaft. In other words, it is the distance from the center of your golf swing to the outer-edge. Your lead arm must be in line with or trailing your other arm at impact, known as “maintaining radius.” Maintaining radius enables you to strike the ball solidly and with power.

4. Generate leverage
Your setup determines how powerfully you swing a club in a controlled manner. First, widen your stance for stability and power. The insteps of your feet should be in line with your shoulders. Second, turn your back foot in slightly to create a coiling post for your backswing and to support your torso rotation and weight transfer. Third, flare the front foot out to facilitate downswing rotation.

5. Release the club properly
Ideally, you want to square the clubface to the ball at impact by rotating your right forearm over the left (right-handers). The result is a flat left wrist and a clubface square to the ball. After impact, your hands and arms should extend fully and your body should rotate to the left as your club remains on the target line. If you wear a glove, your glove hand should be underneath your ungloved hand. This position is the result of proper swing sequence.

These five keys—eliminate tension, assume the proper grip, maintain swing radius, generate leverage, and release the club properly—help achieve consistency and power off the tee. And that in turn produces better scores and a lower golf handicap.

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/newsletter04042007.html
Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article- Five Steps To Better Putting

5) Article- The Best Way To Swing the Clubhead

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.