Many weekend golfers are too impatient for their own good. They don’t take time to warm-up before playing a round of golf. They’re too much in a hurry to tee off when they get a chance to play, which is understandable if they only play once a week. By the time they get to the course, they’re usually chomping at the bit. Unfortunately, these golfers risk injury, sacrifice performance, and hurt their golf handicaps by not warming up properly.

Failing to warm-up affects consistency and power. That’s why I recommend using a pre-round warm-up routine in my golf lessons. You can’t get the most out of your muscles if they’re not ready to play. That means warming them up before you tee off. So if you’re one of the weekend golfers who don’t have a pre-round warm-up routine, think seriously about developing one. It could help your golf handicap more than you realize.

Warm-up Goals
The goal of a warm-up is increasing the body’s core temperature, drive blood flow to working muscles, improve neuromuscular firing, and enhance oxygen flow through your muscles. Warming up also helps prevent injury. Once you’ve completed your warm-ups, you’ll feel loose, better prepared to swing a club, and ready to play 18 holes.

Since most players know their bodies better than anyone else, I encourage those who take golf lessons from me to develop their own warm-up routines. Developing your own routine les you target those muscles that need the most attention. But whether you develop your own or borrow one from someone else, the important thing is setting time aside to achieve the physical goals you set for yourself.

Keys to a Warm-up Routine
One key to pre-round warm-ups is efficiency. PGA pros usually get to the course two hours before they play. After arriving, they go through a complete warm-up program, designed to prepare them for playing. Their programs work on every phase of their game, from start to finish. When playing golf is your livelihood, you leave nothing to chance.

But weekend golfers don’t have two hours to warm up. Their time is limited, so they must depend on efficiency to make up for it. Their warm-up routine must prepare them for everything, from their body to their golf swing, in a short period. So the weekend golfer must be resourceful and imaginative in developing his or her warm-up routine.

Another key to pre-round warm-ups is working on the right muscles. This saves time, prepares you for swinging the club, and enhances overall performance without wasting time. If you plan to develop your own routine, try concentrating on the muscles that most influence your game, like the larger muscles of your lower body, which power your swing. Then add exercises to your program designed specifically to stretch and warm these muscles groups up.

Elements of a Good Routine
A good routine must incorporate the entire body and accomplish the physical goals discussed above. A brisk walk to the practice range and back or around the clubhouse grounds is a good way to kick off a warm-up routine. It loosens your muscles and raises your body temperature. Once complete, you can move on to exercises that stretch and flex your muscles.

Below are three examples of exercises you can incorporate in your routine:

Rotator Exercise
This exercise focuses on golfer’s two most troublesome areas, the hamstrings and lower body. It also involves body rotation specific to the golf swing.

* Place your feet shoulder width apart
* Extend arms over head while grasping a club
* Slowly bend downward toward the top of your feet
* Extend downward until a stretch is felt in the hamstrings or lower back
* Pause one second then return to the starting position.
* Rotate your shoulders, arms, torso, and head to the right
* Extend the club downward toward the top of your right foot.
* Pause one second, then return to the starting position.

Now repeat the exercise to the left. Continue doing the exercise for 10-15 repetitions.

Squat with Arms Raised
In this warm-up keep your body erect throughout the exercise. Do 10-15 repetitions.

* Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
* Hold the club vertically in front of you with both hands
* Lower you body by bending at the knees, not the hips
* Simultaneously raise the club horizontally in front of you
* Raise yourself up again and lower your arms.

Standing Twist with Club
This warm-up loosens up the muscles you use when you twist and swing. It helps ensure that your first swing is right on the button. Repeat both sides 5 times

* Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
* Keep your knees loose
* Grab your club with both hands
* Rise it in front of you to almost chest high
* Slowly turn to one side, then the other.

Having completed this part of the routine, you can now go to the practice range and hit some warm up shots. Start with your short irons, and then skip every other club. Finish by hitting your driver. If you fade the ball while warming up, you probably will be fading the ball during your round. Bear that in mind when you start.

Now move on to the practice green. Hit some long putts to determine the green’s speed, and then finish with short putts to build confidence in your putting. When you finished hitting short putts, you’re ready to play.

A pre-round warm-up routine is a must for every golfer. Creating and using one that you’re comfortable with prepares you for a round of golf, prevents injury, and improves consistency and power. And anything that improves consistency, power, and performance can only help your golf-handicap.

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

November 7, 2007

“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
===================================================

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Lob Over a Greenside Bunker
2) How To Set-Up For The Long Putter
3) Question of the Week - Stay Low on Windy Days
4) Article - A Warm-Up Routine To Generate Power and Consistency
5) Article - Ways To Adjust To Slower Or Faster Greens

Jack’s Note: If you’re interested in advertising on this newsletter, please email us at ads@howtobreak80.com.

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1) Lob Over a Greenside Bunker
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We’ve all faced this shot at some point—a lob over a greenside bunker. And we’ve all probably chipped the ball into the bunker at one time or another, costing ourselves strokes. It may even have cost us the hole, if we’re playing match play. Mistakes like that chip away at our confidence, so the next time we face the same shot, we’re worried more about coming up short than hitting the ball past the hole. It’s enough to keep us awake at night.

While the greenside lob is a challenge for most weekend golfers, it doesn’t have to be your undoing, not if you follow the keys listed below.

Six keys to hitting a lob over a greenside bunker:
* Check out your lie
* Take a nearly full swing
* Drop the club into the ball
* Keep the clubface pointed to the sky
* Let your legs and body rotate
* Keep your head stable and centered

The key to making this shot is the lie. Check it out carefully before making a decision. If you have a tight lie, you won’t be able to slide your club under the ball and you’ll skull it. If have a fluffy lie, you’ll get under the ball too much and dump it into the bunker. Neither mistake is good. So get a firm sense of how much grass is behind the ball and how much air is under it before deciding what to do.

Once you’re committed, assume a slightly open stance, take a full backswing, and “drop” the club into the ball, popping it up. Keep the clubface pointed to the sky as you complete a short follow-through. And let your legs and body rotate forward, but keep your head stable and centered. If you’re in deeper rough, make a slightly faster swing to compensate for the grass.
You’ll need to work on this shot in practice to master distance control. Place a club 15 yards ahead of you and try landing shots just past it. With practice, you’ll learn to hit the shot properly and stop worrying about coming up short. You’ll also build confidence. And you’ll be able to sleep again.

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2) How To Set-Up For The Long Putter
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There’s no question that for some people the long putter works well. In general, it allows for greater consistency from stroke to stroke, especially under pressure. That’s because the putting motion is dominated by the larger, easier to control muscles and has fewer moving parts to coordinate. So if your thinking of changing the way you putt, the long putter is worthy of consideration.

But to benefit from the long putter, you must have the proper set-up. Below are key components of the set-up:
1. Stabilize the top of the putter
2. Position your bottom hand correctly
3. Keep your control arm straight
4. Align yourself to the target line
5. Keep the putter shaft vertical at address

One of the keys to putting well with the long putter is stabilizing the club’s top. To do this, assume a normal putting stance, and then press your top hand lightly against your breastbone while keeping a light hold on the top of the putter. In fact, try to avoid tension in either your hands or your arms whenever you putt.

Make sure the palm of the control (bottom) hand faces the target line. You can slide the handle between your fingers or set your forefinger down the side of the grip. Use whichever grip feels most comfortable. At this point, the control arm should form a straight line from the shoulder to the clubshaft. Align your shoulders and your control arm parallel to the target line and set-up the ball so the putter shaft is vertical.

With the proper set-up, executing the stroke for the long putter is simple. The shoulders should not control the stroke. Instead, they should move in unison with the control arm. You want to create the feeling that the palm of your control hand is rolling the ball toward your target.

If you’re not happy with the way you’ve been putting lately and your thinking about making a change, the long putter is worth considering. Just remember, having the proper set-up is critical to the success of this putting method.

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3) Question of the Week - Stay Low on Windy Days
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Q. Jack, I just returned from Hawaii where my high scores landed me in 12th place out of 12 golfers net. I am a 9 handicap, yet the higher handicappers beat me on the wind swept courses we played on Kauai. I have always hit the ball long and high. Long and high into those trade winds put me no longer than the other, lower flight hitters. I was and am frustrated, as I hit good shots that stayed in the air, and looped back to be in the same area as the shorter hitters.

I need to hit lower in these conditions, both off the tee and with the irons. What to do?
Bill Goodale

A. Thanks for the question, Bill. Playing on a windy day can be frustrating for players like you, especially if you’re playing into a headwind. You’re right when you say you need to learn to hit the ball more on a line on windy days. A low line drive cuts through a strong headwind, adding distance to the shot.

Below are five keys to hitting a low line drive
1. Choose the right club
2. Complete the shoulder turn
3. Widen your stance for stability
4. Stay low in the hitting zone
5. Finish with the weight forward

Club selection when playing in the wind is based on personal experience. But in general, use more club when hitting into the wind. Use less when playing with the wind. If the situation calls for a 9-iron and you’re playing into a headwind, use a 7-iron but choke down on the club. That’ll keep the ball low and give you the same distance.

Also, widen your stance slightly for stability, stay low to the ground in the hitting zone, keep your hands ahead of the club, and finish with your weight well forward. And make sure you complete your shoulder turn. Try driving the ball forward on a low, penetrating trajectory.

In a crosswind, curve the ball into the wind, if you want it to land softly. If you want it to land and roll, ride the wind. In a headwind, play the ball back in your stance. In a tailwind, do the opposite. Play the ball forward in your stance and hit it higher for more distance. Count on the ball flying straighter and longer, even on mis-hits.

In addition, swing more softly on windy days, even with a headwind. Swinging softly reduces the ball’s spin—and that’s a key to beating the wind. Maintain a smooth rhythm to your swing and transfer your weight in harmony with the motion of the club.
Learning to hit a low line drive takes practice and patience. Spend time on the range in the fall when the wind is the strongest and work on hitting low line drives with all your clubs. Practicing will pay off next time you play on a windy day.

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/newsletter11072007.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - A Warm-Up Routine To Generate Power and Consistency
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/warmups.html

5) Article - Ways To Adjust To Slower Or Faster Greens
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/ballroll.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

===================================================
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.

===================================================
How To Break 80 Newsletter

October 31, 2007

“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
===================================================

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Controlling Spin on Short Iron Shots
2) Using Plyometrics To Power Your Swing
3) Question of the Week - Using Parallel Alignment To Improve Consistency
4) Article - A Golf Lesson on Matching Swing Plane and Body Type
5) Article - The Three-Wedge System Increases Accuracy

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1) Controlling Spin on Short Iron Shots
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Golfers often cost themselves strokes on short iron shots because they can’t control spin. So even if they hit a great short iron shot, its useless because their inability to control spin means their shots won’t hold the green. Their balls hit and bounce over the green or roll off the backside. Now they must hit back to the green, adding stokes to their scores.

Learning to control spin on short iron shots is critical, if you want to lower your golf handicap. It means you can really “stuff it in there” on tight pins, leaving you within putting range of the hole.

Here are five keys to controlling spin on short iron shots:

* Take more club than normal
* Play the ball slightly back of center
* Delay your wrist set on the backswing
* Take a shorter swing
* Slow down the pace of your swing

The key to controlling spin on short iron shots is shallowing out your swing. That reduces your angle of attack, which takes spin off the ball. If you approach the ball on too steep an angle of attack, you’ll increase spin and lose control of the shot.

To shallow out our swing, make these adjustments. First, take more club than normal, allowing you to swing “softly” and still reach the green. Second, play the ball slightly back of center to reduce trajectory. Third, delay your wrist set slightly while taking a shorter backswing. And fourth, slow the pace of your swing down. If you execute these adjustments right, your ball will hit the green and stay there.

Mastering spin helps cut strokes off your scores. It lets you hit your target on the green and not have the ball roll or bounce off. That in turn increases your chances of making pars and birdies. And who wouldn’t want that?

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2) Using Plyometrics To Power Your Swing
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Plyometrics—a type of exercise using a rapid movement, followed by a short rest, followed by another rapid movement—is becoming increasingly popular with professional athletes. More and more athletes in sports requiring fast explosive moments, like a golf swing, are turning to plyometrics to fine-tune their activities. What’s the attraction? Plyometrics increases an athlete’s power output without necessarily increasing his or her maximum strength output.

Most exercises involve a muscular contraction that starts off rapidly, but decelerates suddenly before the end of the repetition. For example, lifting a barbell involves jerking the weight quickly into the air, then bringing this motion to a sudden halt. This decelerative phase is lacking in plyometrics exercises.

Plyometrics use explosive movements, like sudden lunges, to develop muscular power. They are usually open-ended movements into free space. (Think of kangaroo jumping through the outback.) They increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, with the goal of increasing a jump’s height or a punch’s speed. With golf, the exercises would be designed to enhance a player’s power by increasing clubhead speed through impact.

The lunge drill, in which you step sideways from your left foot to your right foot and back for 30 seconds, is a typical plyometrics exercise. It builds up the thigh muscles, which is where a quick body turn comes from as well as good clubhead speed. Another plyometrics exercise is catching and tossing a medicine ball to an assistant while you lie on your back. The triceps and chest muscles work while they are lengthening (catch phase) and contracting (toss phase).

Plyometrics is not dangerous, but they are high intensity, so stress on joints and muscles occurs. Flexibility is required for injury prevention and enhancing the effect of the stretch shortening cycle. And balance, coordination, and agility are required for safe performance. Other considerations include age, surface footwear, and bodyweight, and technique.

If you’re looking to increase your power or you’re just bored with your regular routine, add plyometrics to your work out. It’ll not only improve your game, it’ll also improve your health.

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3) Question of the Week - Using Parallel Alignment To Improve Consistency
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Q. Hi Jack, I’ve been golfing for 11 year now (15 handicap), and while my overall game has improved I’ve had the most difficult year hitting off the tee. I’ve been taking lessons in an effort to correct the problem. On the range I find myself hitting the ball very well, but on the course I struggle badly. I truly believe it is between the ears and find myself second guessing alignment and swing path while standing over the ball. As a result, my swing becomes all arms, resulting in very poor and inconsistent drives.

Any suggestions for dealing with the mental aspects as well as any tricks and tips to assist with aligning oneself to the target consistently?

Thanks
Chris Gorman

A. Thanks for the question, Chris. Most people have a range game and an on-course game. But, like you, they can’t seem to fit the two together. And to a certain extent it’s mental. The key is practicing like you play.

For example, if you’re having problems keeping the ball in play from the tee, go to the range and try imagining a tight row of trees on either side of you. Now try to keep the ball between those two sets of trees. Or, line yourself up in the middle of two yardage markers on the practice tee and try to drive the ball between. Practicing like you play, instead of just swinging freely, helps you take your range game to the course successfully.

As for proper alignment, pick out a spot, such as a divot or a leaf, a club-length or so beyond the ball but along the intended target line. Aim the club directly over the spot. Now, align your body to match the clubface’s angle, keeping the clubface square to the target.

With the clubface squared and the body aligned, take your stance. Align the shoulders, hips, and feet square to the clubface position. Flex the knees slightly and assume the correct spine angle, bending from the waist. This stage locks you in to the correct position. This process is known as perfect parallel alignment. Pros like Ernie Els and Tiger Woods adhere to it because it has a positive effect on the shape and quality of their swings, ensuring accuracy. Why shouldn’t you?

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/newsletter10312007.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - A Golf Lesson on Matching Swing Plane and Body Type
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/bodytype.html

5) Article - The Three-Wedge System Increases Accuracy
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/manballrool.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

===================================================
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.