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How To Break 80 Newsletter

May 2, 2007

"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"
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In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Taking the Golf Digest Challenge
2) Swinging To A Balanced Finish
3) Question of the Week- Maintaining a Straight Left Elbow
4) Article- How To Stop Coming Over The Top
5) Article- Six Must-Haves For Incredible Power

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1) Taking the Golf Digest Challenge
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The Golf Digest Challenge is a fun way to improve your game. Found on Golf Digest's Web site (www.golfdigest.com), the challenge offers a great way of generating better scores and lowering your golf handicap. It's easy to take, has some neat features, and provides free prizes for doing so. Best of all, it doesn't cost a thing to take. All you have to do is enter some information.

Here are 5 of the Challenge's key features:

* Tracks scores and stats
* Long game/short game handicaps
* Tips and drills
* Lesson library with video drills
* Free practice plan

You start by entering a goal?a score you'd like to beat. Then, every time you play a round (18 holes), you enter your stats? your score, the number of putts and chips, the number of greens hit in regulation, and so on. A mulligan allows you to throw out a poor score. You also rate the course?easy, moderate, or difficult. Optional information includes the course's rating and slope. If you want, you can print a scorecard to keep track of the information when playing.

The site crunches these numbers and feeds them back to you. It provides a progress tracker that shows you how you're doing versus your goal, long game and short game handicaps, and stats on your chipping and pitching. It also provides a free practice plan designed specifically for you. The lesson library contains video drills on just about every facet of the game.

And if that isn't enough, the Challenge lets you provide feedback on tips you've tried for others to read. Rate a tip and you're automatically entered to win golf equipment from Cobra. Sign up and you're eligible for a getaway golf trip from La Quinta Resorts, the site's main sponsor.

Interactive learning tools like the Challenge are great fun. You not only learn, but you have fun doing also. They also break up the monotony of just going out there and playing or practicing with not feedback. They give you purpose and direction while speeding up the learning process.

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2) Swinging To A Balanced Finish
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We've all hit our share of awkward shots. Maybe we've fallen off to one side or the other or we stumbled forward. But it wasn't pretty. Usually, finishing awkwardly is the result of trying to hit the ball too hard or to swing the club too fast. Weekend golfers are prone to swinging off balance because they play and/or practice less than more serious golfers. So their tempo and rhythm tend to be off, resulting in an awkward swing.

However, finishing in balance is critical, especially with iron place. Ideally, you want to end your swing with the spine straight, and your right shoulder over the left foot, if you're right-handed, or with the left shoulder over the right foot, if you're left-handed. Any stumbling forward or toppling off balance is a sure sign that there was something wrong with the swing.

One key to finishing in balance is the position of your right shoulder (for right-handers). Work on driving your right shoulder past your chin and toward the target. We call this getting "good extension." It's a positive image to have in mind as you swing the club down through impact. Also, continue to unwind your hips and upper body through the hitting zone. Don't stop short as some golfers do.

The "Swish" Drill
What do you do if notice you're finishing out of balance during a round? The Swish drill is a simple exercise that many top player use to regain tempo and rhythm quickly during a match.

Take a normal stance. Hover the clubhead about two feet above the ground. And swish it back and forth through impact. Concentrate on the sound the clubhead makes as it moves through the hitting zone. Without the ball getting in the way of the free-flow of the swing, the club should make a distinct "whoosh." By repeating this exercise, you'll encourage a smooth acceleration of the clubhead through impact. Now hit. Try to recreate the feeling in your swing.

While you can't influence the flight of the ball after it's been struck, proper follow-through is still important. If you finish in balance, your swing is probably free of major faults. In addition, concentrating on certain post-impact points, like a straight spine, can encourage improvements in the swing itself, influencing both impact and accuracy.

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

Maintaining a Straight 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?

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 loosing

(1) control of your grip at the top of your swing, or
(2) the natural 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.

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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/newsletter05022007.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article- How To Stop Coming Over The Top
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/stopcomingovertop.html

5) Article- Six Must-Haves For Incredible Power
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/sixpowermoves.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 instruction on how to improve your golf game.

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