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

December 12, 2007

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

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Playing From A Downslope Bunker Lie
2) Alter Tee Height More Distance
3) Question of the Week - Hitting the 3-Wood
4) Article - Keeping Your Equipment In Shape Pays Off
5) Article - Putting With The Lines

Jack’s Note: ‘Tis the season for giving right? Well, I’d like to give you something that will help your game. We all know how important tracking your numbers is but what if it were quick and easy to do? That’s how the Stat Tracker II can help. The regular price for this little gem is $29.99 but it’s yours today for free. Check it out here. You like free stuff don’t you?

===================================================
1) Playing From A Downslope Bunker Lie
===================================================
Playing from a downslope lie in a greenside bunker is among golf’s toughest shots. Since most bunkers have a sizeable front edge, you must generate some height to get out of the bunker in one. Unfortunately, generating height with a downslope lie is hard. Trying to help the ball in the air doesn’t help either.

Follow the seven keys listed below to make this shot:
* Play the ball back in your stance
* Shift your weight to your front side
* Grip down on the club
* Create a steep arc
* Hit down to create height
* Stay down on the ball
* Chase the ball down the slope

The key to this shot is creating a steep angle of attack. Place the ball well back in your stance and grip down on the club for maximum control. Shift your weight to your front foot. Doing so helps maintain balance throughout the shot, brings the shoulders into line with the angle of the slope, and makes it natural to swing down with the club.

Pick the club up steeply by hinging your wrists at the start of the backswing. This builds a steep arc into the swing and ensures that your club doesn’t hit the back lip of the bunker or touch the sand behind you. It’s a one-stroke penalty to touch the sand during the backswing.

Drive the club down into the sand behind the ball. Make sure your hands lead the way, as you retrace the path of your takeaway, and that you stay down on the ball as long as possible. Chase the ball down the slope as it travels through impact. Resist transferring your weight during the shot—one of the few in golf where there’s no transfer of weight.

Playing from a downslope lie in a greenside bunker can be a nightmare. But if you make some adjustments to your normal stance, create the right angle of attack, and maintain your balance during the swing, you’ll get out in one.

===================================================
2) Alter Tee Height More Distance
===================================================
Every drive has an optimum launch angle—the initial elevation angle of the ball (with respect to the ground) immediately after impact with the clubhead. If you strike the ball at the optimum launch angle, you’ll hit it long and far. If you strike the ball at a less than optimum launch angle, you won’t hit it as long or as far.

Many golfers try to generate more distance off the tee with muscle power. They swing the club as hard as they can, trying to get as much distance as they can. They’d get better results by changing their launch angle instead. Altering tee height is an easy way to change launch angle and increase distance on your drives.

Most manufacturers produce tees in the following heights:
* 2 1/8 inches
* 2 ¾ inches
* 3 ¼ inches
* 4 inches

Today’s drivers are designed so golfers can capitalize on the club’s “hot zone,” an area located just above the clubface’s sweet spot. This area is where the club’s “gear effects” are the highest. Gear effects are the features built into modern drivers and fairway woods intended to reduce the amount of slice or hook when the ball is propelled.

When you hit a ball at the optimum launch angle, you not only take advantage of the clubhead’s gear effects, but you also reduce the ball’s spin. A ball with less spin carries a greater distance.

If you’re craving extra yards, buy the longest tee you can get, without exceeding the four-inch USGA limit, to maximize your driver’s power capabilities. This is especially true for the oversize drivers, with 400cc to 460cc driver heads.
Hitting a ball at a higher tee height than normal takes some practice. Experiment with higher tee heights at the range. Then, take it to the course. You’ll be surprised how much farther you hit the ball.

=====================================================
3) Question of the Week - Hitting the 3-Wood
=====================================================
Q. Hi, I am a 5 handicap and I have a problem hitting a 3-wood. Most of the time I dong the ball or I don’t get it in the air. I have tried different 3-woods and I still cannot hit it consistently. It is my most hated club in my bag. I usually hit my 5-wood but on some par 4s I cannot reach, so I try to hit my 3-wood.

I just cannot get the ball up in the air. I have tried to hit down on the ball and this doesn’t help either. Like to hear from you.

Thanks
Stella

A. Whenever I have a student who has trouble hitting a club, I have them go back to the fundamentals. Let’s look at the basics of hitting the 3-wood first:
1. Position the ball inside your front heal
2. Put your hands slightly in front of the ball
3. Hit the ball with a slightly descending blow
4. Keep the club low on takeaway and through impact
5. Swing the club with the same tempo as the 7-iron
6. Keep your head steady throughout the swing

The key to hitting a 3-wood is “sweeping” the ball off the ground. To do so, create a wider arc on your backswing by extending your arms away from the target and by extending your right arm on the follow-through. That produces a wide arc. The wider the arc, the greater the clubhead speed and the more distance you’ll generate.

Also, swing the club with the same tempo as your 7-iron. Some golfers speed up the tempo of their swings when hitting a 3-wood to generate distance. That only creates problems. If you’re in the rough, use the same tempo but take a slightly steeper swing. And make sure you can see most of the back of the ball before hitting a 3-wood.

To learn to hit the 3-wood with consistency, place a tee about 6 inches in front of the ball. When you swing, use the tee as a reference point and extend the club through the ball after impact. This exercise teaches you to make the sweeping motion you need to launch the ball properly.

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/newsletter12122007.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Keeping Your Equipment In Shape Pays Off
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/equiptmentshape.html

5) Article - Putting With The Lines
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/puttlines.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.

Many recreational golfers rely on feel, natural talent, and repetition to hone their technique and lower their scores. Or, if they’re really old school, they may use swing thoughts developed many years ago. Not surprisingly, these players don’t see much improvement over the years in either their scores or their golf handicaps. The improvement they do see results mostly from technical advances in equipment and better course conditioning.

Modern golf instruction combines an understanding of swing mechanics with an emphasis on creating an athletic, natural motion. To create this motion, you must eliminate whatever mechanical thoughts you’ve developed over the years and replace them with simpler, more effectives ones that help your swing become more natural, athletic, and repetitive. Once accomplished, you’ll amaze yourself at how much more athletic your swing is and how quickly you lower your golf handicap.

Setup
It’s critical to have a good setup. If you start off poorly, you have little chance of executing a solid swing. To achieve a more athletic setup, your shoulders, hips, and knees must be level and your weight spread evenly between your feet. Two key thoughts for a good setup are “stay level” and “be athletic.” You could even think “bouncy” since your legs must feel that way in an athletic setup, with flexed knees and relaxed muscles.

Takeaway
The takeaway is another critical move in the swing, as I’ve mentioned in my golf tips. You need a solid, one-piece takeaway powered by your shoulders, not your arms, wrists, or hands, to initiate a fundamentally sound swing. When your arms, wrists, and hands move independently of one another, trouble ensues. Independence forces the club off plane and jeopardizes the square alignment of the clubface. Think “all together” at the takeaway and you won’t go wrong.

At The Top
If your backswing is off during your swing, you lose all the angles you create with a good setup. That means you lose any chance of creating a leveraged, dynamic attack into the ball, inhibiting your ballstriking and short-circuiting power. The thought of “squatting” (your butt toward the ground) is the key for creating the right move into the ball. A telltale sign of a strong squatted pivot away from the target is the backside being close to the ground and pointing at the target.

Transition
The transition from backswing to downswing is extremely critical, as I’ve said in my golf tips. A common misconception of recreational golfers is that the club should stay in front of the body during the swing. While this is true on the backswing, it is incorrect on the way down. A proper transition occurs when the body drags the hands and club into the swing. You want the club to be trailing the body up to and past impact. A good swing thought here is “body leading arms.”

Impact
While it’s natural to think “hit the ball” at impact, it’s not the best approach. In fact, it’s a bad approach. The desire to “hit at” the ball initiates the use of the hands during the downswing, breaking down the proper sequence of the body first, club and arms second. Instead, think “squeeze the ball on the club face.” What many recreational golfers don’t realize is that accomplished players don’t think about hitting the ball. They think about swinging through the ball at a point several inches past the ball. It’s what I encourage players to do in my golf lessons.

Finish
Golfers who swing the club at the ball invariably finish poorly. These players generally stop their swings at the point of impact. Golfers who swing the club through the ball generally have a correct finish. Your thought at the finish should be “get the back shoulder to the target.” This thought forces you to keep working past the ball and changes the ultimate destination from the point of impact to well beyond it, generating more power and a balanced finish.

Old School vs. New School
Old school teachers often used specific images to create the proper feel for a correct swing. Unfortunately, these images sometimes breakdown at key points, leading golfers astray. For example, a popular old school image for assuming the proper grip of a club was for the player to think of holding a small bird in his or her hands. What if you’ve never held a bird in your hands? How can you know what the feeling is like?

Today, golf teachers try to combine an understanding of the proper mechanics of the swing with the feeling of a natural athletic motion. Try substituting the swing thoughts we discussed above for some of those mechanical swing thoughts you may have developed over the years. Use the new swing thoughts at the range and on the course. You’ll be surprised how effective they are and how much they’ll improve your swing and 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.

Buying a good set of irons can cut scores and lower golf handicaps, but only if they’re right for you. When an iron feels right, your confidence soars. The higher your confidence, the better you’ll play, as I’ve said in my golf tips. The lower our confidence, the poorer you’ll play. That’s why you need to do your homework before buying a new set of irons. The goal is to choose a set of irons that’s right for you.

But choosing the right irons involves several considerations. It also takes time and thinking to sort out the different models. Unfortunately, the process turns some golfers off. Instead of taking their time selecting the best irons for their games, they get frustrated, head to the nearest golf store, and buy whatever’s on sale. Fortunately, there’s an easier way to do it.

Key Considerations
First, we need to be realistic about our needs—and about how we play the game. Are we a weaker or stronger player? The beginning golfer doesn’t need the same things in an iron that an experienced player does. Nor does he or she play the same way. That’s why I always tailor my golf instruction sessions to the individual player.

Nevertheless, most golfers play better with irons that have a degree of offset, simply because these clubs are easier to square at impact. Also, irons with wider soles are more forgiving because they have more bounce. Irons with narrower soles have less bounce and tend to dig in more, especially for players with steeper swings.
In addition to these factors, there’s also cavity design, center of gravity (CG), and momentum of inertia (MOI) to consider. Irons with larger cavities (and wider soles) have a lower CG, making it easier to get the ball airborne. On the other hand, the larger the clubhead and/or the more the designer incorporates perimeter weighting in the design, the higher the clubhead’s MOI. In other words, the more the club tends to turn in your hands.

The Maltby Playability Factor
Thankfully, there’s a rating system for golf clubs that can help when buying irons. It’s called the Maltby Playability Factor (MPF). Developed by famed club designer Ralph Maltby, this rating system ranks golf clubs based on how easy or how difficult they are to play for golfers at different skill levels. The MPF charts golf clubs from the easiest to master to the most difficult to master.

The MPF factor fits clubs into six different categories, ranging from most forgiving to least forgiving: Ultra Game Improvement, Super Game Improvement, Game Improvement, Conventional, Classic, and Player Classic. Better players excel with a club from any category. Weaker players have a better chance of success with clubs from the game-improvement categories. The latest MPF ratings on irons can be downloaded at www.ralphmaltby.com for those buying clubs.

A Tip on Trimming
If you decide to re-shaft your clubs instead of buying new ones, the question of butt or tip trimming may come up. Although it sounds confusing, the choice is actually fairly simple:

* If you want to shorten a shaft without significantly affecting the flex profile—the way the shaft feels and performs—trim the butt end of the shaft. That’s the end where the grip resides.

* If you want to stiffen the shaft’s flex (and change the club’s feel), trim the tip section.

Golf clubs usually come with a set of instructions on trimming provided by the manufacturer, so the guidelines are clear. Just remember, if you tip-trim a shaft, you’ll change how the club feels AND performs. Changing how a club feels and performs, as I said in my golf tips, can change how you play. That, in turn, can change both your scores and your golf handicap.

Buying a new set of irons can be exciting and confusing. Using the MPF charts makes the process a little simpler. But if you really want clubs tailored to your swing, the best approach is buying custom made golf clubs. They can be fit exactly to your needs and specifications, and provide the feel you’re after. Either way, the game’s more fun when playing with clubs that feel god.

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.

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

December 5, 2007

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

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Swinging The Putter Smoothly
2) Use a Fade for More Control
3) Question of the Week - Hitting from a Fairway Divot
4) Article - Choosing The Right Irons
5) Article - Think Your Way To A Lower Golf Handicap

Jack’s Note: Be sure and read this week’s article “Use a Fade for More Control”…it’s one thing to really try and master as it will give you a lot more confidence to fire at pins. And just as a small reminder, the Holiday Blowout Sale officially ends on Friday (tomorrow) the 7th so give it a look if you want to save big at www.break80today.com/blowout or call us at 888-896-6844.

===================================================
1) Swinging The Putter Smoothly
===================================================
The most efficient, effective putting stroke is one in which the putter swings like a pendulum, back and forth, smoothly and rhythmically. But the stroke doesn’t come naturally. You must train your body to produce a perfect pendulum-like motion. Once trained, you must practice regularly to maintain your stroke’s fluidity and rhythm.

Here are 6 keys to making a smooth, pendulum-like putting stroke:

1. Keep your grip pressure light
2. Maintain a steady head
3. Keep the front shoulder down
4. Strike on the upstroke
5. Keep the wrists firm
6. Accelerate through the stroke

Keeping your grip pressure light and maintaining a steady head throughout the putt are two “musts” in putting. A light grip provides more feel when putting, and feel is a big part of putting. A steady head—with your eyes directly over the ball—keeps the putter square to the target line. Moving your head throws your putt off line.

The takeaway is a one-piece action. Move the arms, shoulders, and putter away from the ball together, with the hands remaining passive. If you think “front shoulder down,” you’ll produce the correct motion. Make a smooth, rhythmic stroke and accelerate the putter through the ball. If your ball position is correct, the pendulum action enables you to strike the ball on the upswing.

In addition, keep the wrists firm through impact and follow-through—one of the most important moves in putting. Try imagining them encased in plastic casts. Accelerate the putter-head through the stroke, even on short putts, and make sure your follow-through is as long as the takeaway.

A useful putting drill that builds fluidity into your swing is to start by taking a normal practice stroke, using a smooth, rhythmic motion. Then address the ball, close your eyes, and repeat the motion—letting the ball get in the way of the stroke. This drill helps make the real stroke more like a practice stroke, and improves putting accuracy.

===================================================
2) Use a Fade for More Control
===================================================
The fade—a shot that travels left to right for right-handers—was one of Jack Nicklaus’ favorite shots when on the pro tour. Eventually, the power fade became one of his most potent weapons. He used it with great precision to hit specific targets. He especially liked using it as an approach shot because he could control the ball’s roll more than with a draw.

The ideal lie for hitting a fade is closely mown grass or a bare lie. Both make it possible to get “more of the ball” and create as much sidespin on the ball as necessary. Using a straight-faced club makes it easier to generate sidespin. Here are five other tips on hitting the fade:

* Preset the correct impact position
* Go across the line at the top
* Swing the clubhead along your foot-line
* Clear the front hip
* Swing through to left of target

Hitting the ball on an in-to-out swing path, combined with an open clubface, produces a fade. Preset the correct impact position by assuming the proper stance. Aim the clubface directly at the target and align the feet, hips, and shoulders left of target. The more open the stance, the greater the fade.

This stance produces a position at the top of your backswing where the clubshaft points left of target, as it should. Follow the clubhead along a path parallel to the foot-line of your stance on your downswing. Unwind the body as with any other shot, but make sure you clear the left hip as the club drops down on the correct swing plane.

Try holding the clubface open through impact, as the clubhead travels across the line. Swing through to where your belt buckle points left of target, and finish with almost all your weight supported on your front foot, as always.

Accomplished golfers know how to work the ball. And one of their best weapons is the fade. It’s a great shot to learn because it provides more control over ball roll, so you can use it to hit specific targets, like the green, or go around something, like a tree. Master the fade and you’ll cut strokes from your scores.

=====================================================
3) Question of the Week - Hitting from a Fairway Divot
=====================================================
Q. Hi Jack, last weekend, I hit a perfect drive down the middle, only to walk up to my ball and find it in a divot on the fairway.

What tips do you have for hitting a ball from a divot? I went on to double bogey the hole, as it totally threw me.

Ben

A. Thanks for the question, Ben. No one likes hitting from a divot when you’re sitting in the middle of the fairway. But it happens and you can’t let it throw you. When you’re on a course that gets a lot of play, it’s not unusual to find yourself in a fairway divot once in awhile. Stay calm, focus on the shot, and remember these tips:

* Position the ball in the middle of your stance
* Keep your front arm and shaft in a straight line
* Let your hands lead the club through impact
* Stay down longer after the shot
* Finish with your club pointing to the target

The key to hitting this shot is you address position. Placing the ball in the middle of your stance ensures that you strike the ball crisply and cleanly, and with a slightly descending blow. Keeping your front arm and the shaft in a straight line encourages ball-first contact, required in this type of shot.

Since playing from a divot resembles hitting from a downhill lie, let your hands lead the clubhead through impact. Stay down longer on the shot than usual — as long as three seconds, if you can—before looking up. Finish with your club pointing at the target, not wrapped around your body.

A good way to practice this shot is hitting from divots at the range. Another way is putting a tee in the ground and practice scraping the grass in front of the tee without hitting it. Either way, you’ll find that practicing pays off.

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/newsletter12052007.html
Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Choosing The Right Irons
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/irons.html

5) Article - Think Your Way To A Lower Golf Handicap
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/think.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.