Every player with a golf handicap has heard of Amen Corner. This storied section of Augusta National Golf Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Amen Corner is among the most famous pieces of real estate in golf. It's also one of its toughest to play. It's taught many a player a golf lesson or two. In fact, quite a few players have faltered coming around this corner, only to drop out of contention.

Amen Corner has also been the site of controversy in the Masters. In fact, that's how it got its name. It was there that Arnold Palmer took the lead—and some say won the 1958 Masters—on a controversial shot, one that never sat well with runner up, Ken Venturi. The shot eventually led to Palmer's first Masters win. While many golfers know of Amen Corner and its place in golf history, few are aware of how it really got its name.

Naming Amen Corner
The name Amen Corner refers to holes No. 11,12,13. Herbert Warren Wind coined the name in a 1958 article for Sports Illustrated, in which he wrote that Amen Corner included the second half of 11 and all of 12 and 13. Wind borrowed the name from an old jazz recording called "Shoutin' at Amen Corner." Amen Corner was a section of New York City that was the hub for the production of Bibles.

Wind named that section of Augusta after witnessing the seemingly miraculous way in which Arnold Palmer played the three holes on the final day of the '58 Masters. The official website of The Masters describes the happenings this way:

"Saturday evening in 1958, heavy rains soaked the course. For Sunday’s round, a local rule was adopted allowing a player whose ball was embedded to lift and drop it without penalty.

Sunday on No. 12, Arnold Palmer hit his ball over the green and the ball embedded in the steep bank behind it. Being uncertain about the applicability of the local rule, the official on the hole and Palmer agreed that the ball should be played as it lay and that Palmer could play a second ball, which he dropped. Palmer holed out for a 5 with the original ball and a 3 with the second ball. The committee was asked to decide if the local rule was applicable and if so, which score should count.

"At No. 13, still unsure of what his score was at 12, Palmer sank an 18-foot putt for eagle 3. When he was playing No. 15, Palmer was told his drop at 12 was proper and that his score on the hole was 3, leading to his first major victory."

Ties To Early American History
In addition to being the site of Palmer's controversial actions, Amen Corner has some ties to early American history, as the location of Rae's Creek is situated at this spot. Named after John Rae, who died in 1789, Rae's Creek runs in front of the green on 12th, has a tributary leading to the tee at No.13, and flows at the back of the green at No.11.

It was Rae's house that was a secondary fortress up the Savannah River from Fort Augusta. The house kept resident's safe during Indian attacks when the fort was out of reach. Hogan Bridge, named after golfing legend Ben Hogan, is also part of Amen Corner.

Internet Coverage
Amen Corner is so prestigious a piece of golf real estate that last year it got its own Internet coverage. As was the case in 2007, Amen Corner Live will again feature live streaming video of the 11th, 12th, and 13th, holes from Augusta National Golf Club. Amen Corner Live will be available free of charge at http://www.cbs.sportsline.com all four days of the tournament. In total, there will be more than 26 hours of live video from Augusta.

This year CBS is adding holes 15 and 16 to the coverage. In 2007, users of Amen Corner Live viewed over four million video streams of live golf action with an average time spent viewing of approximately three hours per visit.

Online coverage of the Masters Tournament on CBSSports.com debuted in 2006 with Amen Corner Live, live streaming video of the 11th, 12th and 13th holes from the Augusta National Golf Club. Amen Corner Live returned in 2007 and was joined by Masters Extra, live streaming video of the entire field and course from the Masters Tournament for one hour prior to television coverage.

In addition, ESPN.com offers a slide show commemorating 50 years of Amen Corner. If you're a fan of golf, you won't want to miss coverage of this year's Masters. You'll not only enjoy watching it, you might pick up a golf tip or two that will help with 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.

How To Break 80 Newsletter

April 02, 2008

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

1) Stand and Deliver
2) Try "Dead-Hands" Chipping Style
3) Question of the Week - Achieving a One-Piece Takeaway
4) Article - Coming To Grips With Your Grip
5) Article - 4 Hard Shots Simplified

Jack's Note: First off, thanks to all of our gracious customers who took the most recent survey on our DVD instruction and what’s coming up. I plan to use that input in a meaningful way when we’re putting together the new instructional products for this year. Also, I’ve got some great things lined up for you guys in the coming months and while I’m quite excited about them, I can’t go into a great deal of detail at this time. But stay tuned because shortly I’ll be delivering some of the best instructional content I’ve ever put out.

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1) Stand and Deliver
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Good posture is critical to hitting the ball solid. The more your back is curved at address, the more likely you'll lift up to hit the ball. Lifting up prevents you from hitting the ball with authority. It also robs you of power. Keeping your back straight, on the other hand, promotes consistent contact.

Below are 5 steps to attaining perfect posture:

1. Stand tall with feet spread apart
2. Hold the club in front of you
3. Bend forward at the hips
4. Flex your knees
5. Stick out your butt

Standing up straight helps maintain balance—a key factor in a good swing. In fact, it's better to stand too tall than to slouch. Start by standing up straight with the inside of your feet shoulder width apart. Balance your wieght on the balls of your feet. And turn your toes out slightly.

Next, hold the club out in front of you. Bend forward from the hips until the club touches the ground. Your back should remain straight. Flex your knees a bit and stick your butt out slightly. Sticking your butt out helps balance you when you bend forward. Try keeping your back straight throughout your swing.

Your quadriceps—the muscles on the front and outside portion of your thighs—supports your swing. To strengthen them, put your back against the wall and slowly lower yourself into a sitting position. Stay there for a few seconds or until your thighs begin to burn. Then push up slowly until your standing. Do this exercise a few times a day and you'll build those muscles up.

Assuming the proper posture is critical to achieving a good swing. Slouching or slumping prevents your making solid contact and robs you of power. Follow the five-step process discussed above you to attain perfect posture every time.

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2) Try "Dead-Hands" Chipping Style
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The secret to improving quickly is mastering the short game. Chipping is a vital component of the short game. So if you're not blowing people away with your chipping, try using the "dead-hands" approach. The swing is simpler and easier to repeat. It encourages consistency. And the ball behaves the same on almost every shot - although it doesn't stop as quickly as with the traditional style of chipping.

Here are 5 tips on using the dead-hands approach:

* Set your weight on front foot
* Lean the shaft forward a bit
* Use shoulders and forearms
* Drag the club through impact
* Keep hands and wrist quiet

The key with the dead-hands style is keeping your wrists quiet. With the traditional style, proficient chippers often hinge their wrists abruptly on the backswing to generate clubhead speed and backspin. But if you don't practice or play a lot, it's hard to develop consistency with this approach. Enter the dead-hands style.

First, take your normal address position, then set your weight forward. Lean the shaft forward slightly, so that your hands are just ahead of the ball. Now, using just your shoulders and forearms, "drag" the club through impact. All your hands do is hold onto the grip through contact and beyond. And don't break your wrists.

The dead-hands style eliminates the sudden flick that weekend golfers often make when using the traditional approach to chipping. With this style, both the wrists and hands stay quiet.

You don't have to wait until you’re on the practice green to try this approach. You can practice it in your backyard. And you can practice it during the winter. Chipping doesn't involve a big swing and if you get proficient chipping over frozen turf, you'll be dynamite when the whether warms up. Improving your short game is the fastest way of knocking strokes off your golf handicap - bar none.

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3) Question of the Week - Achieving a One-Piece Takeaway
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Q. Hi, Jack, How is it that Lee Trevino tells his "subjects," George Lopez, for instance, on his latest Golf Channel appearance, to "always keep the club pointing to the center of the chest until the cocking of the wrist"? Is it at that point when you start the downswing with the body?

Anthony Fernandes

A. Thanks for the question. What Lee is talking about is the takeaway. It determines the swing’s shape and tempo, so you want to get it right. In a way, it's a lot like chess. A good opening move can set the tempo of play.

Most instructors tell you that a good takeaway involves using a one-piece movement. Moving the club, hands, arms, and chest in unison keeps the clubhead low and the backswing full during the takeaway. It also starts a wide and powerful move away from the ball.

One way you can achieve a one-piece takeaway is by keeping the club's butt pointing at the center of your chest until you start cocking your wrists, which usually comes at about hip high. That's what Lee is saying.

Another way to ensure a smooth, one-piece take away is, at address, to think of your arms and shoulders as forming an inverted isosceles triangle with the club. Focus on turning this triangle back with your chest and naval. Moving the club back in this way guarantees a one-piece take away.

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/newsletter04022008.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Coming To Grips With Your Grip
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/coming-to-grips-with-your-grip.html

5) Article - 4 Hard Shots Simplified
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/4-hard-shots-simplified.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.

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Dickens' opening to A Tale of Two Cities sounds a lot like a typical round of golf for some players. They hit good shots and they hit bad ones. The bad ones often spell trouble. And when golfers are in trouble, they sometimes make bad decisions. Those add strokes to their golf handicaps.

Staying out of trouble is the key to achieving a low golf handicap. Of course, that's easier said then done. For some, trouble finds them. And it always seems to be of the same kind, like hitting into sand traps or the trees. Below we describe four shots that will get you out of trouble.

The Long Bunker Shot
Is there anything worse than a 40-yard bunker shot? Judging by the feedback from players who take my golf lessons or read my golf tips, there isn't. Want a way to escape every time: Play the shot like a long putt.

Take your sand wedge. Set up close to the ball than you normally would for a bunker shot and use a reverse overlap grip. Now make a U-shaped swing, not a V-shaped swing. Keep your weight on your front foot and make a long aggressive putt-like shot by rocking your shoulders and turning you stomach.

The club should enter the sand and skim through it. Try not to dig into the sand like you would if you were hitting a typical bunker shot. Done right, you'll increase control of the ball and it will come out every time.

Under The Trees
Sooner or later you'll find yourself hitting from under a tree. It may be the result of a bad slice or a dead pull hook, but there you are under a tree. If you hit it high, the branches will knock the shot down. You need to stay low and get as much distance on the shot as possible. Your goal is to put yourself in good position for the next shot.

To play a ball under a tree (or other obstacle), you have to play what is essentially a pitch shot. Use a 5-iron, but set up as if you were hitting your pitching wedge. Place your weight well forward, position the ball back, and keep your stance slightly open. Make a three-quarter backswing, controlling the movement with your upper body, not your arms.

Don't punch at the ball through impact. Instead, take a gentle swing, like you were making a soft pitch. Let the club pitch the ball. Think low and slow as you make the shot. The combination will keep you under the obstacle.

Escaping a Groove In The Sand
Like most pros that hold golf instruction sessions, I teach my students to rake the sand after taking a shot from a bunker. Most weekend players do a good job of raking. No one likes to hit from a bad lie in a bunker, so most players will rake the bunker out of respect for the next player. Thanks to this conscientiousness, your ball sometimes ends up in a deep rake mark.

This is a tricky little shot. Instead of letting the bounce on your wedge skip through the sand, swing down from the outside at a steep angle, digging the club's edge an inch behind the ball. Let your right hand (left hand for lefties) turn under your left hand (right for lefties) to scoop the ball out. It should come out high and lands with little spin.

When You Must Catch It Solid
Even the best courses have bare spots. So finding yourself with a bare lie is not uncommon. When you're hitting from this type of lie, there's no room for error. You have to be precise. So you must concentrate on making solid impact.

Many players with this shot like to take a big, loose swing with their arms going back. This makes for an inconsistent downswing. Instead, pretend you're holding a cigar in your mouth pointing straight down. Make your backswing without letting the cigar move. The tighter turn and shorter backswing helps you hit the ball solid off any lie. (You can use a real cigar as a practice aid if you want.)

Dedicate yourself to staying out of trouble this season. But don't get discouraged if you find yourself under a low hanging tree or in a long bunker. Stay calm and use your head.

If you practice trouble saving shots like the ones described above, you'll not only end up getting out of trouble - and in good position for the next shot - you'll also make an impact on that golf handicap of yours.

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.