Long drives and clutch putts grab most of the attention these days. The media tracts PGA players who smash 300-yard drives or drain 15-foot putts to win tournaments. These skills are where the money is in golf. But PGA pros and god players with low golf handicaps know that solid iron play is almost as important to achieving low scores as long drives and clutch putts.

What are the keys to good iron play—consistency and accuracy. Common elements of all great iron players, they are the ultimate objective of nearly every golf lesson session given. They’re also what players should strive for during practice sessions. Below are ten essentials to achieving accuracy and consistency, and driving down golf handicaps. Use them like a checklist to see how many you implement in your swing.

Check Your Setup
The setup position is a vital but often overlooked element in good iron play. It’s also among the most ignored fundamentals in golf by weekend players. The setup is one of the few things in golf we have complete control of, so there’s no reason for not getting it right. All good iron players have setup routines for every iron shot. And while the routines may be different, they all have the same goal—to put them in the best position to hit the golf ball.

Three essentials to a good set up are:

(1) good posture,
(2) consistent ball position, and
(3) proper address.

The shaft’s length determines your posture. The longer the shaft the father away from the ball and the more upright you should stand. Ball position, to a large extent, dictates angle of attack: the shorter the club, the steeper the angle of attack. Some players change ball positions with each club. Others employ one ball position. Whatever you do, be consistent. Maintaining a proper address position—feet/shoulders in parallel alignment, weight evenly distributed, hands over, or just ahead of, the ball—is also vital.

Build a Repeating Swing
The more we can repeat the same swing, the more often we’ll achieve a predictable result—the secret to lower golf handicaps. To build a repeatable swing, we must:

(4) stay connected and
(5) set the club on the correct plane.

Staying connected is a common factor found among all good iron players. The shoulders, arms, hands, and club should all move away from the ball in unison. Hinging or cocking the wrists sets the club on the correct plane, which keeps the clubface square to the path of the swing.

Two other important essentials in building a repeatable swing are:

(6) swinging to the top of the slot and
(7) retaining power in the swing.

If the club’s shaft is horizontal to the ground, it should be parallel to the target line. The angle of the club should match the angle of the forearm while maintaining the original spine angle and head position. Settle the weight smoothly on the front side and start unwinding the upper body. The right elbow should be dropped down to the side.

Concentrate on Impact
Impact is the moment of truth when it comes to clean, crisp iron shots. Everything in the swing is designed to be channeled into this moment. The quality of the shot determines the quality of the impact. The essentials are:

(8) collect the ball and
(9) open the shoulders at impact.

Iron shots must be struck with a descending blow, if you’re to hit them accurately and consistently. A good image to have in mind is to “collect” the ball, not hit the ball. The hips, body, and shoulders should be slightly open at impact. This creates the needed for the arms to release the ball down the correct path.

Swinging to a Balanced Finish
Although you can’t influence ball flight once you’ve hit it, the follow-through is still important. Concentrating on certain post-impact positions during the swing often encourages improvements in the swing itself. The essential here is:

(10) extension.

Try to stay with the ball as long as is comfortable though impact. Drive the right shoulder past the chin. This is known as extension. The swing should finish with the spine straight and the back shoulder over the front foot. Maintaining balance is critical for good iron play.

Have a friend review your swing or record your swing to see if you are incorporating these 10 essential elements in your swing. If you’re not, it may be why you’re not as consistent or as accurate with your irons as you’d like to be. Golf lessons will help, but they’re not enough. You still need to practice hitting those irons, if you want to lower that golf handicap and reach your full potential as a player.

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

June 13, 2007

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

1) Hitting The 3-Wood Off Tight Fairway Lies
2) Chipping Out of Deep Rough
3) Special Section – Course Preview – Oakmont to Prove a Challenge
4) Article – Ten Essentials to Solid Iron Play
5) Article – Course Management 101: Playing Boldly

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1) Hitting The 3-Wood Off Tight Fairway Lies
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This year’s U.S. Open features some of the tightest fairways on the PGA Tour. The average fairway width at Oakmont is 28 yards. While some of the tighter driving holes measure only 22 yards wide in spots. Sometimes those 22 yards really play 10 yards wide because most of the landing areas tilt and pitch toward the deep stuff. So you can expect to see players hitting plenty of 3-woods off the tee and from tight fairway lies.

Hitting a 3-wood off a tight fairway lie is more difficult than some players think. Since the 3-wood doesn’t have much loft some players try to help the ball into the air. This mind-set causes them to hang back on their right side and swing up on the ball. The move has the opposite of the intended effect: The club makes contact on the upswing and the golfer tops the shot.

Here are five keys to hitting the 3-wood from a tight fairway lie:

* Play the ball back in your stance
* Sweep the ball off the turf
* Hit with a descending blow
* Shift your weight to the front side
* Swing through the ball

Play the ball about an inch farther back in your stance than you would with your driver. This position lets you sweep the ball off the turf, rather than hit it on the upswing. Keep the clubhead level to the ground as it approaches the ball and past impact.

If you hit with a descending blow, you’ll scrape the grass or even take a small divot. For that to happen, though, you must shift your weight to your front side and swing through the ball, letting your arms fully extend.

Think about keeping the clubhead traveling down the target line for as long as possible. This helps keep the clubface square. Try swinging your 3-wood at the same tempo as a 7-iron, or at about 80 percent maximum effort. You’ll hit the ball more flush, which translates into an extra 20 or 30 yards.

You may not be capable of hitting your 3-wood 280 yards like the pros. But it can still be valuable. By learning how to hit it more solidly off the deck you might reach some par 5s in two, setting you up for a birdie or even an eagle.

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2) Chipping Out of Deep Rough
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Among the changes at Pittsburgh’s Oakmont Country Club, the site of this year’s U.S. Open, is graduated rough. With this, the grass graduates from lighter around the edges of the fairway to deeper the father away from the fairway. Graduated rough means players will probably be hitting less from the deep rough than the light rough. Nevertheless, the deep rough will still be a factor, especially with short shots near the green.

The problem with chipping from deep rough is the grass, which wraps itself around the club’s hosel, delofting the club on impact. The grass trapped between the clubface and the ball also reduces spin, causing the ball to roll more upon landing, making it harder to control. Since this is a tricky shot, let’s review some of the keys to chipping out of the deep rough:

1. Use a slightly open stance
2. Open the clubface wide
3. Play the ball forward
4. Hinge your wrists
5. Come through the ball

When the grass is really thick, you have resign yourself to the fact that you’re limited in what you can do. Set a modest goal of getting out and onto the fairway in good position to hit the next shot. Trying anything more ambitious usually gets you in more trouble more often than not.

Take a normal but slightly open stance and open your clubface appropriately, creating loft. Play the ball slightly forward in your stance and hinge your wrists during your back swing. This creates a steeper angle of approach for the shot, which you’ll need to extricate yourself from the lie. Now hit the ball. You’ll come out soft, and stop much quicker than you otherwise would.

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3) Special Section – Course Preview – Oakmont to Prove a Challenge
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Oakmont Country Club, the site of this year’s U.S. Open, has a rich and varied history. Designed by founder H.C. Fownes, it’s been the site of seven U.S. Opens, five U. S Amateurs, three PGA Championships, and a U.S. Women’s Open. It’s also been the site of U.S. Open wins by Jack Nicklaus (1962), Ben Hogan (1953) and Ernie Els (1994). And of course, who can forget Johnny Miller’s final-round 63 here to win the 1973 U.S. Open.

Oakmont hosted its first Open in 1927, won by Tommy Armour, who said that the course forced him to execute each shot with “muscle tightening terror.” This year’s winner may not describe the course in quite the same way after the tournament is over, but there’s not doubt Oakmont will prove a mighty challenge even to the best of the best. Having undergone some dramatic changes since the last Open was played here in 1994, Oakmont will demand a player’s best to win the tournament.

For this year’s Open, Oakmont’s fairways will average a mere 26 yards in width—the same as Winged Foot a year ago. Gradient roughs going from toe deep to ankle-deep line the fairways. Bunkers and drainage ditches ranging from waist deep to shoulder deep to stand-on-your-toes deep pepper every hole. Gone are most of the trees that once lined the course and provided shade. The ditches and bunkers have all been excavating and deepening in preparation for the tournament.

Then there are Oakmont’s unique holes. The par-3 eight might require a driver from its new back tee, 288 yards from the green, a full 300 yards from its back-hole location, which will be employed on the final two rounds of the tournament. The par-5 12th, with 17 bunkers, will play as a true three shot hole for at least two rounds. It measures 667 yards—the new longest hole in U.S. Open history. Then, of course, there’s the famed Church Pews bunker between the par-4 third and par-5 fourth. There’s also a smaller equivalent of the bunker left of the 15th hole.

A great deal of Oakmont’s reputation is built on it’s super fast greens, which also feature a collection of slanted surfaces, steep slopes, and gullies, that are tightly cut and pressed with heavy rollers. Like most U.S. Open courses in recent years, Oakmont’s greens are primarily Poe annua, which usually creates problems in hot, humid weather. These greens are unique because they are “perennial” Poe annua—precise strains of which can’t be found on any other country club.

Tight fairways, gradient roughs, unique holes, and super slick greens will make Oakmont an enormous challenge for this year’s U.S. Open field. The winner will need to out think his opponents on this course and play virtually mistake-free golf. He will have to depend on accuracy over distance, whether driving from a tee or hitting off the fairway, and a superior short game to win. Good course management and precise shot making will be the order of the day. Look for the tournament to go down to the wire.

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/newsletter06132007.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article – Ten Essentials to Solid Iron Play
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/essentials.html

5) Article – Course Management 101: Playing Boldly
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/boldly.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.

With fairways averaging 26 yards in width and rough so deep you could lose a small dog in it, this year’s U.S. Open promises to be a real test for even the msot accomplished professionals. When the #1 guy in the world says “It’s probably the hardest U.S. Open course I’ve ever played”, you know it’s got to be tough.

I personally love the U.S. Open because unlike most of the other tournaments the pros play, the possibility of seeing a winning score above par is quite realistic. No birdie-fest or balls spinning back 25 feet on a green. It’s fast, firm and frankly, humiliating to these guys, despite their professional status.

Because of the exterme difficulty of this event, anything can happen and anyone can win….but I’d like to hear from YOU. Who do YOU think will win this week and be crowned the reigning U.S. Open champ? Answer correctly and we’ll put you into a drawing on Monday June 18th for one of my products. If your name is drawn, you get to pick any one of my products and it’s yours…on the house. And yes, we pay for the shipping too

There’s only one rule….only those posts submitted on Thursday and Friday will count. Those who vote on Sat or Sun won’t be counted toward the contest because by then you will have an unfair advantage. You’re more than welcome to post at any time though! Good luck and I hope you choose wisely and get one of my products for free!

This is the third in a series of articles on the Natural Swing. The previous articles provided golf tips on the swing’s fundamental principles and its starting form. Here, we examine the backswing, providing a brief golf lesson on what proponents of the Natural Swing call the “loading motion.”

The Natural Swing emphasizes that the most basic of all principals is that golf involves a swinging motion directed toward a target. Unlike the traditional swing taught by today’s pros, the Natural Swing is a whole body motion. It emphasizes swinging through the ball. not swinging at it to hit it. Instead, we swing a unit—our hands, arms, shoulders, and club—through the ball toward our target. If the ball is in the right place, we’ll hit it because it is in the swing’s natural path.

The Natural Swing’s starting form, the subject of our second golf lesson, gives you a chance to execute the swing properly. Since the golf swing is one motion, the starting form is a sort of lead-in. It sets a tone of harmony and ease. And it focuses on two key ideas: balance and proportion. Balance is the key to the Natural Swing. Everything you do should be done with an eye toward maintaining and promoting balance during the swing.

Proponents of the Natural Swing call the backswing “loading.” The subject of our third golf lesson, this concept represents a key point of differentiation from the traditional swing. Unlike that, which divides the activity into discrete parts, the Natural Swing sees the swing as one motion—a loading and an unloading of energy, a seamless moving from one phase to another. The term loading, according to the Naturalists, implies energy and commitment, as well as something vigorous and energizing.

Gathering and Storing Energy
Loading gathers and stores energy, which is done by transferring your weight to your back foot while rotating the body around your trunk. While you seem to complete these motions in unison, you actually start them by shifting your weight to your back foot. The upper body and shoulders follow, without a sense of urgency. The motion should feel relaxed and comfortable. And the “picking up” of the club, which often ruins balance and compromises arc and plane, should be eliminated.

The loading motion is less of a rotation than an unloading, so some 25 percent of your weight remains on the front foot. In other words, while loading you rotate about 90 degrees, while unloading you rotate almost a full 180 degrees. After a while, you will sense when you’ve loaded your swing completely, thanks to your sense of balance and your awareness of your target—the two triggers to the unloading phases.

The successful transfer of weight, while staying in balance, accumulates energy.

But how do you know when the effort is complete? Loading is complete when about 75 percent of your weight is on your back foot. If you were to shift 100 percent of your weight on your back foot, you’d lose your balance, and thus violate the most basic principal of the Natural Swing. Maintain balance, as I tell all those who attend my golf instruction sessions, is the key to all swings.

Target Awareness is also Key
With the Natural Swing you don’t have to worry about reaching the position where the club is level to the ground with the clubhead pointing down the target line. The force propels the club to a position that represents an outer limit for you, given your flexibility.
The loading motion is over when centrifugal force has taken you as far as you can go while maintaining balance.

The intensity of your target awareness contributes to your sense of when you have completed your loading motion. It operates in conjunction with your sensitivity to balance. Since you’re aware of the target, you’ll sense when it is time to start moving toward it, that is, to begin unloading. This happens sometime toward the end of the loading motion, which is why Naturalists say that loading and unloading are part of the same motion.

Good Footwork is Essential
Good footwork is essential in the Natural Swing. Footwork is the voluntary action that initiates the motion. You put yourself in motion through your weight transfer. Develop your sense of balance, so that you know when you’ve gone beyond the inside of your right foot. If you feel yourself getting out of balance, you’re no longer transferring your weight. You’re swaying. Keep your weight to the inside of your foot.

Your hands are also essential to the Natural Swing. They should remain “passive.” That doesn’t mean your hands are inactive. It just that they don’t consciously do anything to influence the swing’s motion. Your hands will be as active as they need to be, if you let them move along with the rest of your body.

Conclusion
In summary, the loading motion is generally circular in shape. Instead of transferring your weight so far that you lose our balance, you simply let yourself rotate around your trunk. All parts of the body move in unison during the loading motion. The effect of the motion is to let the hands move together with the clubhead. The loading motion then is a matter of moving immediately to the right foot.

As we shift our weight the governance of balance, our hands, and the left arm extend naturally. The voluntary actions of the loading motion that you need to learn are weight transfer and rotation, that is, you make them happen. Once initiated, the centrifugal force created by the Natural Swing takes us to a balanced and powerful position, from which we can begin the unloading motion and complete the 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.