In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Making The Ball Sit
2) Never Top It Again
3) Question of the Week - Ladder Drill Grooves Putting Stroke
4) Article - Knock It Home When Between Clubs
5) Article - Oakland Hills To Test PGA's Best

Jack's Note: Hopefully you guys enjoyed the videos I sent recently on adding power and distance to your game. If you missed them you can see the first one here and the second one here.

As I said earlier this week, next week I’ve got a brand new DVD coming called “Maximum Distance” next Tues. the 12th. We’ve been working on it for over 6 months and it’s without a doubt the single best DVD we have created. Over 90 minutes of pure distance techniques and strategies that can help even the shortest of hitters. Really good stuff folks.

And I’ll be giving away some great golf stuff too so be sure to take a look. Talk to you soon!

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1) Making The Ball Sit
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You're about 20 yards from the hole, with a bunker between you and the pin. Or, maybe it's a stream or a bush. Whatever it is, you have to hit over it to reach the green. What you need to do is to hit a shot that carries the bunker and sits when it hits. In the past, you've either flubbed this shot and grounded the ball into the bunker or skulled it and drove the ball over the green. But some minor adjustments will change that.

Here are six keys to hitting this shot:

1. Focus on making solid contact
2. Place your feet closer together
3. Keep your arms loose and extended
4. Move your hands inside the target line
5. Brush the grass in front of the ball
6. Minimize your wrist hinge

Making solid contact is a must on this shot. Place your feet closer together, position the ball in the middle of your stance, and lean your body toward the target. You want your head in front of the ball. This sets you up perfectly so you can come down sharply into impact. Hitting down on the ball pops you over the obstruction.

When you swing, keep your arms loose, as if they're extending through impact, and swing your hands left of the target after impact (right of the target, if your left-handed). If you swing your hands toward the target at impact, you might shank the shot. Make sure the clubhead never gets higher than your hands from start to finish. In other words, minimize wrist hinge. Try to brush the grass in front of the ball.

All your wedges have the loft to carry the bunker. You don't need to flip or scoop the ball over it. Focus, instead, on hitting the ball low.

Learn to hit this shot and you'll save yourself a ton of strokes over your golfing career. The ball will carry the bunker and sit when it comes down.

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2) Never Top It Again
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Topping the ball in the fairway is among the more common swing faults of weekend golfers. Toping has various causes. Overswinging often causes men to top. Lack of flexibility often forces seniors to top. And trying to scoop the ball in the air often makes women top a shot. Whatever the cause, topping costs you some embarrassing moments and a stroke or two on the hole. The key to eradicating this swing fault is hitting down on the ball.

Below are three drills that help cure topping:

* The Cup Drill
* Hit The Bag Drill
* Over The Bag Drill

The Cup Drill helps cure even the worst case of topping. This drill is more of a visualization exercise than anything else. Take your normal stance with a wood or iron. Position the ball appropriately for the club you're using. Now imagine there's a cup a few feet in front of the ball. Try hitting the ball into the cup. The drill forces you to keep the ball low.

The Hit The Bag Drill is a different version of the Cup Drill. Instead of visualizing a cup two or three feet in front of you, lay your golf bag in that position. Now take a 7-iron and try chipping a ball into the bag.

Once you've groove the feeling of chipping shots into your bag, try the Over The Bag Drill. Lay your bag in front of you as in the previous drill, but instead of hitting the ball into the bag, hit full shots just over the bag using a 7-iron.

These drills force you to do the one thing that's guaranteed to stop all topping: Hitting down on the ball. Master this swing fundamental and you'll be well on your way to never topping again.

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3) Question of the Week - Ladder Drill Grooves Putting Stroke
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Q. Dear Jack, What is the ladder drill for practicing your short game?

Thanks,
Jim Wilson

A. Thanks for the question, Jim. The ladder drill is a great. Designed to help you improve your putting, it's one of the best drills around for curing the yips. That's when a person has a problem sinking putts three to four feet out or less. Here's how the drill works:

On the practice green, find a straight in, slightly uphill putt. Align 10 tees in a row a foot apart from the hole out. Put a few golf balls next to each tee. Play a game and begin putting starting from 1 foot out. The rules are: If you make the putt at 1 foot, progress to tee at 2 feet and so on. If you happen to miss a putt, regress to the previous tee. Try to graduate all the way up to the tenth tee.

Use your imagination to create slightly different versions of the game to maintain interest. The drill reinforces confidence by repeating success. It also grooves your putting stroke. You will make far more short putts than you miss using this system. Enough practice with the drill will carry over into your next round of golf.
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/newsletter08062008.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Knock It Home When Between Clubs
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/knock-it-home-when-between-clubs.html

5) Article - Oakland Hills To Test PGA's Best
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/oakland-hills-to-test-pgas-best.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, go to http://www.howtobreak80.com/newsetter.htm

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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.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Golf Newsletters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.