Golf Tips & Instruction 9/24/08
In this issue we’ll discuss…
1) Improving Your Lag Putting
2) Finding The Right Stance Width
3) Question of the Week – Learn To Leave A Divot
4) Article – Master These Four Swings
5) Article – Making Hybrids A Go-To Club Cuts Golf Handicaps
Jack’s Note: What a Ryder Cup huh folks? Earlier in the year I said we had no chance without Tiger and I’m glad I was dead wrong.
But I’m right about one thing. When I said hitting irons properly is one of the most overlooked fundamentals of the amateur player I wasn’t kidding. It’s also one of the easiest to master with the proper instruction. I’m talking about making perfect, pure impact to compress the ball properly on each shot and I’ve just put the finishing touches on a brand new DVD called “Perfect Impact” that shows you how in under an hour.
It’ll be ready for you next Tuesday the 30th. Watch your email. And by the way, I’ll be giving away something very special to some lucky subscribers. Talk soon.
1) Improving Your Lag Putting
Approach shots often stop anywhere from 20 feet to 40 feet from the hole. So if your not a good lag putter, you’ll find yourself three-putting more often than you’d like. Good lag putting is a function of your ability to gauge ball speed. If your speed is off, you’ll end up way short of the hole or go flying well past it—maybe right off the green if its fast.
Below is a three-step drill for improving lag putting:
1. Take your putterhead back to your toe
2. Take your hands back to your toe
3. Take your hands back beyond your toe
Controlling ball speed is a matter of stroke length, not speeding up or slowing down your motion. To get the ball close on a lag putt, you need to change your stroke length while maintaining the same rhythm and tempo as you do on your other putts. Here’s one way to use stroke length instead of rhythm and tempo.
Find a green with a long flat putt. Settle into your normal putting stance. Take the putterhead back as far as your big toe using your normal rhythm and tempo. Strike the ball as you normally would. When it stops, measure the distance. For most golfers, it’s about 20 feet.
Repeat the process. But this time take the putter back until your hands are even with your big toe. Measure the distance. Normally, it’s about 30 feet. Repeat the process a third time. But this time take the putter back until your hands go beyond your foot. Measure the distance. Usually, it’s about 40 feet.
The distances mentioned above are approximations. You need to measure your putts when you do this drill to get your true range. To fine-tune your stroke for in-between distances, take the putter back a little farther or a little shorter depending on the putt’s length.
Practice this drill until you have the distances down pat and you’ll dramatically improve your lag putting. You’ll also cut down on how often you three-putt.
2) Finding The Right Stance Width
In golf, small things often make a big impact. Take your stance width for instance. It’s a critical part of your game. If your stance is too wide you’ll not only be out of balance, you’ll place your wieght over your toes, which sets you up for an outside-in swing and a potential slice. The right stance width helps maintain balance and allows you to swing on plane with every club.
Here’s how to check your stance width:
* Stand in front of a full-length mirror
* Note how your hands hang at your side
* Widen your stance by three-inches
* Check your hand position at this width
* Repeat the process to find the right width
When you’re perfectly balanced, your hands hang at your side the same way. Your balance changes every time you widen your stance by three-inches. Keep widening it by three-inch intervals until your feet are just outside your shoulders.
Now, repeat the drill using a yardstick. Note the widths that allow your hands to hang together the same way. Find three stance widths: one for your driver, one for your mid irons, and one for your wedges. Note the three widths on your yardstick. Then use it at the driving range.
This exercise creates muscle memory. On the course, you’ll know exactly how wide to spread your feet for every club, from woods to wedges.
Starting with a correct stance width is critical. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll hit the ball longer and straighter with all your clubs. But gives you a better chance of swinging a club on plane more often, helping you eliminate a slice and curbing undue hand rotation, which in turn enables you to set your clubface square at address. You’ll hit the ball longer and straighter more often.
3) Question of the Week – Learn To Leave A Divot
Q. Hi Jack, Recently, I’ve started making poor contact with my irons. It’s costing me strokes big time. I can’t seem to overcome this problem. I’ve gone to the range a few times and I do okay. But when I get to the course, the problem is still there.
Casey Bartlett
Irving, TX
A. Thanks for the question. To make good contact, you must create a divot when you hit your irons. That means learning to hit down and through the ball. The best way of doing that is by hitting off the grass. You can also do it by hitting off a practice matt, but you need to make an adjustment.
When you hit off a mat, you’re hitting on a nice soft lie. Even if you hit the ball thin, you still get a good shot. Do the same thing on the course and you end up making clunky contact with your irons.
Next time you’re at the range, grab some grass and place it one club head in front of the ball on the practice mat. On each swing, try to hit the ball, then the grass. Catching the grass grooves the down-and-through swing you need to be successful with your irons.
If you have problems swiping the grass in front of the ball, pull your front hip pocket toward the target at the start of the downswing and then turn it behind you. That helps.
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/newsletter09242008.html
Here are some of my recent articles:
4) Article – Master These Four Swings
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/master-these-four-swings.html
5) Article – Making Hybrids A Go-To Club Cuts Golf Handicaps
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/making-hybrids-a-go-to-club-cuts-golf-handicaps.html
Until next time,
Go Low!
Jack
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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.
