Golf Tips and Instruction- August 1, 2007
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How To Break 80 Newsletter
August 1, 2007
“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
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In this issue we’ll discuss…
1) Drilling Downhill Putts
2) Creating a Practice Station
3) Question of the Week - Overcoming Alignment Problems
4) Article - Hit the Spot To Slash Your Golf Handicap
5) Article - Six Mental Keys to Great Putting
Jack’s Note: Happy August! This is a big month for golfing fans as we have the PGA championship next week as well as the last few tournaments in the new FedEx Cup playoffs. It will also be a big month for us as we will be releasing a new DVD later this month as well as a special event next week.
We’re just about to re-order a whole new stock of the “How To Break 80…And Shoot Like the Pros!” physical book but we have some inventory left which I’d like to offer to you at a great discount. This is our award-winning physical book which contains the entire game plan to shooting lower scores…even if you’re high handicapper. I’ll also be offering an equivalent discount on the eBook and audio CD’s. So, if you still haven’t checked this product out, now is your chance. Stay tuned next Tuesday, August 7th and watch for you special discount notice. We’ll only be running this discount sale for a couple of days so mark your calendars.
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1) Drilling Downhill Putts
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Beware of downhill putts! They can cost you, if you’re careless. Hit them too softly and you could wind up with another downhill putt. Hit them too hard and you could go flying past by the hole. Or worse, the ball could roll off the green and into the rough, a bunker, or the water. A big break makes the putt that much harder.
While you must be careful with downhill putts, you don’t need to be intimidated by them. Here are 5 tips on playing downhill putts:
* Take your typical putting stance
* Hold the club a little firmer
* Avoid the putter’s sweet spot
* Play the ball off the toe
* Keep the face square at impact
Even a slight tap of your putter can send a ball flying past the hole. So avoid hitting the putter’s sweet spot. When you do, the ball jumps off the face of the putter. Instead, hit the ball off the putter’s toe. It absorbs the force delivered by the stroke, deadening the putter’s impact just enough to prevent the ball from flying past the hole. Since the putt is downhill, you don’t need to strike the ball as hard to get it to travel the same distance.
However, you must make a slight adjustment, if using this technique. Grip the putter just a little firmer than usual. When you hit the ball on the putter’s toe, the putterhead tends to twist open, throwing the putt off line. Gripping the club more firmly keeps the putterhead square to the ball through impact, resulting in a truer putt.
Downhill putts are hard even for the pros. I’ve seen some pros roll the ball right off the green and into the drink. But downhill putts don’t have to cost you strokes, if you’re careful. Putt the ball off the putterhead’s toe and you’ll not only avoid trouble, you’ll sink more putts.
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2) Creating a Practice Station
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If you’re like most people, you barely have time for your job and your family. So when you find time to practice, you must make the most of it, if you’re serious about improving. What you need is something that makes practice more efficient and effective.
Set up a practice station next time you visit the range to maximize your use of time. Instead of just beating balls off the tee, use the station to put some order into your session. It eliminates two variables in your setup—alignment and ball position. In addition, it helps establish the correct optical reference to your target.
Here’s how to set up a station:
1. Establish a target line to a far away target. Then place a club on the ground outside the line but parallel to it.
2. Stick a shaft (or something similar) into the ground about 10 feet away along your established target line. This serves as an intermediate target.
3. Establish a stance line, parallel to the target line, and place another club on the ground along the stance line, in front of your feet.
4. With another club determine your ball position on a line perpendicular to your stance line.
Now you’re ready to hit. Place a ball on the target line in the pre-determined position. Use the shaft stuck in the ground as an intermediate objective along the target line, which serves as a guide as you try to hit the ball right or left of it. And swing away. Next time you play visualize the setup before hitting. It should help you hit better shots.
Don’t let a lack of time hamper improvement. Set up a practice station next time your on the range and use it to work on your game. It’s an efficient and effective aid to practice.
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3) Question of the Week - Overcoming Alignment Problems
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Q. Hi Jack, I have a problem with aligning myself square to the target. Have any tips?
Thanks
David Deysel
A. Thanks for the question, David. If you want to hit the ball down the middle with power, you must achieve a square alignment. Golfers tend to misalign themselves because they stand to the side of the ball at address, forcing them to view the target from an angle instead of head on.
To assure proper alignment, use the box-and-one drill. Here are 5 keys to the drill:
* Tee the ball opposite your left heel
* Imagine an invisible box
* Make the box as square as possible
* Picture the ball in the left-hand corner
* Bring the clubface into the ball
Take your normal address. Now tee the ball opposite your left heel, if you’re right handed. (If you’re left-handed, tee it up opposite your right heel and reverse what follows.) With that line established, draw an imaginary box on the ground. Try to make the box as square as possible. The box’s left side is the line between your left heel and the ball; the box’s right side is the line between your right heel and a point behind and even with the ball.
Now open the toe of your left foot slightly to allow for your hips to clear and take your normal golf swing. Concentrate on bringing the clubface squarely into the ball in the box’s upper-left hand corner. Follow through as you normally would.
The box-in-one drill helps you achieve square alignment. Use it whenever you doubt your alignment. Remember perfect parallel alignment helps you achieve consistency and accuracy, without short-circuiting power.
Clarification: Hitting a Draw
Some readers were confused about the point of impact when hitting a draw, which we discussed last week. If you’re right-handed and you envision a clock with 12:00 pointing directly at the target, you would be standing on 9:00. Directly opposite you would be 3:00. Normally, you tee the ball at about 1:00 (opposite your left heel). To draw the ball, tee it at 4:00, which is slightly back from the middle of your stance. Your swing would start at around 6:00 and travel round to 4:00, that is, from inside the target line to outside the target line. Sorry for the confusion.
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/newsletter08012007.html
Here are some of my recent articles:
4) Article - Hit the Spot To Slash Your Golf Handicap
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/spot.html
5) Article - Six Mental Keys to Great Putting
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/mentalputt.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.
