Accuracy dramatically lowers golf handicaps. Hitting a ball where you want when you want time and time again chops strokes off your scores and golf handicap. To help golfers improve, golf lessons on accuracy usually focus on swing mechanics. That's a great place to start. The better a golfer's mechanics, the better are her chances of hitting the ball exactly where she wants.

But perfecting swing mechanics is only half the battle. The other half is mastering the non-mechanical fundamentals, for lack of a better term, that also help determine accuracy. Golfers don't always work as hard on these fundamentals as they do on grooving the right swing mechanics. But make no mistake about it. They're as important to accuracy as having the right grip or swinging on plane.

Start Off In Balance
A good golf tip on achieving accuracy is to focus on balance. Balance is among the most overlooked of all swing fundamentals. Every big name swing teacher agrees that it's critical to maintain balance throughout the swing. The best way of doing that is to start out in balance. A balanced starting form sets the tone for a good swing. It also promotes feelings of simplicity, freedom, and confidence.

Determine The Shot's Key Factors
Another good golf tip is to always determine a shot's direction before hitting it. Too often golfers address the ball without determining direction. In addition, determine other key factors like distance, trajectory, and curvature. All these factors must be considered to hit a target. Determining a shot's purpose, also essential to accuracy, greatly influences those other factors.

Visualize Ball Flight
Once purpose and direction are determined, golfers must visualize the ball's flight path. They need a mental picture of how the ball will reach the target. Once they have that, they can let their subconscious take over. Visualizing ball flight includes drawing a target line mentally. Focus on starting the ball on the target line and getting the ball to do what you want it to. Use any visualization technique that works.

Focus On Striking The Ball
A fourth golf tip for achieving accuracy is to focus on striking the ball. That’s especially true when it comes to driving. Once a golfer picks out a target and determines the ball's flight path, he or she needs to focus on striking the ball. Too often a golfer tenses up in an effort to blast a 300-yard drive only to lose focus on hitting the ball. That usually results in a flubbed or an off-target shot.

Maintain Target Awareness
Target awareness is probably an important factor in accuracy. Some consider it even more important than confidence or good swing mechanics. While that's debatable, there's no doubt that it's among the top keys to accuracy. But choosing a target doesn't mean picking out a spot "somewhere out there." It means picking out a very specific target and aiming for it.

One day when Ben Hogan was practicing on the range, a colleague challenged him to hit a ball into a clump of trees. Hitting it into the trees wasn't specific enough for Hogan. He asked the colleague which tree he wanted him to hit. While no one expects you to be as accurate as the legendary Hogan, the story is a great example of what picking out a target means.

These five golf tips help improve swing accuracy. When combined with the proper mechanics, they help golfers pinpoint their shots with consistency. Practice also helps. Hitting a shot exactly where a golfer wants to—over and over again—not only grooves mechanics, but also builds confidence. Together, confidence and accuracy shave strokes off 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.

Everyone has bad rounds—even the pros. Maybe you're tired. Or you've had a long layoff since you last played. Or, it's just not a good day: Whatever the reason, you're not getting it done. You're shanking drives, flubbing approach shots, and missing short putts. Days like that hurt your ego and your golf handicap. But they don't have to be a complete waste of time.

In fact, days like that can be productive. While you should save major swing changes for the practice range, you can do things during a bad round that will help your game. Some of these things are physical. Some are psychological. But they all give you an opportunity to put your game back on track. And what you learn might just lower eventually your golf handicap.

1. Turn Your Thinking Around
First, turn yourself around mentally. That's often harder than correcting your swing faults. But if you don't turn yourself around mentally, you won't turn yourself around physically. You'll continue to hit bad shots. Put the day in perspective. It's not the end of the world. And you still may be able to salvage something from the round.

2. Work On A Fundamental
Working on a fundamental helps on bad days. Often, when you're playing poorly, golfers have too many swing thoughts running through their heads. Instead of focusing on their targets, they're concentrating on their hands, theirs hips, and/or their legs. That's too much thinking. Instead, focus on one thing, like making a complete shoulder turn, and work on getting that right. Think of the round as an extended golf lesson. Sometimes all it takes to salvage a bad round is one good shot.

3. Follow Your Pre-shot Routines
If you're having a bad day, chances are you're missing putts. One way to change that is to follow your normal pre-shot putting routine, even though you're discouraged about how you're playing. Also, follow your pre-shot routines on your drives and approach shots. Pre-shot routines prepare you mentally and physically to it. They're one of the first things players abandon when they're having a bad day.

4. Break The Cycle Of Bad Shots
Often when golfers are hitting bad shots, their concentration wanders. When their concentration wanders, they hit more bad shots. It's a vicious cycle. Hitting bad shots also erodes confidence. Losing confidence is the worse thing that can happen to golfers. To break the cycle of bad shots, slow yourself down and concentrate on hitting every shot well. Focusing on every shot when you're playing poorly isn't easy, but it's the first step in restoring confidence, as I've mentioned in my golf tips. It's also a key step in turning around your round.

5. Play Within Yourself
Sometimes golfers try to do more than they can do. They try to hit shots they either haven’t practiced or aren't capable of hitting, like a 300-yard drive. All of a sudden, they find themselves playing poorly. As soon as golfers see themselves playing that way, they should re-examine what they're doing. If they're trying to play beyond their capabilities, they must re-group, slow their games down, and do what they're good at.

These golf tips don't exhaust the list of things golfers can do to salvage a bad round. But they're a start. Playing badly doesn't mean golfers can't learn something about their games or themselves. They can. They need to think of these rounds as extended golf instruction sessions and work on executing the fundamentals. That can help turnaround their play and keep their score—golf handicaps—in check.

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.

In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Scoring With Your Short Game
2) Sink More Putts With A Precise Setup
3) Question of the Week - Two Simple Putting Drills
4) Article - Salvaging A Bad Round
5) Article - Five Golf Tips On Accuracy

Jack's Note: Perfect Impact DVD Update-We had some folks make double orders by accident this week so we actually have 27 DVD’s left if you still want one. If you haven’t seen the video I sent along with it for you to watch, you can check it (and the DVD info) here.

1) Scoring With Your Short Game
Accurate pitch shots help you score in golf. But if you push or pull your short pitch shots, it may be because of poor control with your left hand (right hand for left-handers). Your left hand controls the direction of these shots, so you can't let your right hand take over during the swing. If it does, you'll hit the ball right or left.

Here are six keys to hitting accurate short pitch shots and a drill to help you improve left hand control of the club:

* Open your stance a little
* Position the ball toward the middle
* Adopt a secure but light grip
* Keep the shaft and left arm in a straight line
* Aim directly at the target
* Keep your hands ahead of the ball

Hitting a short pitch shot is fairly straightforward. Just remember to aim at the target and keep your hands ahead of the ball. The key to scoring with wedges is controlling the shot's direction with your left hand.

Your left hand is in control when it and the clubface arrive at impact lined up with each other in a square position. If the left hand turns left at impact, the clubface will close and you'll pull the ball left. If the left hand turns right at impact, the clubface will open and you'll push the ball right.

To enhance your feel for left hand control, practice hitting short wedge shots with your left hand only. Make sure you pick out a target where you want the ball to go. Also, grip the club a little more tightly if you have problems returning the club square to the ball at impact.

Practice this drill until you feel comfortable hitting left-handed, then add the right lightly and practice some more.

Accuracy and consistency are the keys to scoring with wedges. To be accurate and consistent, you must let your left hand control the shot's direction.

2) Sink More Putts With A Precise Setup
Watch a PGA tournament on television and you'll see that the pros are very precise when setting up to putt. Adopting a precise setup creates the perfect foundation for a repeating stroke. It also gives you the best chance for striking the ball solidly. A good setup is comfortable, with the player's hands hanging down naturally and her eyes directly over the ball.

Here are six keys to a precise putting setup:

* Keep your eyes over the ball
* Point your thumbs down the shaft
* Adopt a relaxed comfortable stance
* Keep the shoulders square to the line
* Position hands over or just ahead of the ball
* Aim the putter face straight down the line

The two most critical parts of your setup are ball placement and eye position. If the ball and your eyes are not positioned properly, they'll throw your stroke off, making it almost impossible for you to sink putts with any consistency.

Positioning the eyes directly over the ball is critical. It's easily the most important element in your putting setup. It helps you direct the ball down the intended line.

Place the ball placed forward in your stance, with the ideal position opposite the left heal or a fraction of an inch back. Left-handers should place the ball opposite their right heel. This position allows you to strike the ball on a slightly upward stroke.

To check that the eyes and the ball are positioned properly, take your normal putting stance. Make sure you're relaxed and comfortable. Now, drop a ball from the bridge of your nose. The landing spot marks the ideal ball position for putting.

Viewing a good setup from above, the feet and shoulders are parallel, the putterface is square to the line, and the hands are placed over, or slightly ahead of, the ball, with the eyes directly over the ball.

Practice setting up as often as you can. Ingrain it. It will help you sink more putts than ever before.

3) Question of the Week - Two Simple Putting Drills
Q. Hi Jack, I have been reading your book now for about 3 weeks. The last two weeks I have gone from shooting in the 90s to the 80s. I am beating all my friends, but I still have work to do especially on my putting. I purchased an 8-foot auto putt, and was wondering if you could give me some drills to work on. For example, I started from 5 feet, and don't stop until I have made three in a row.

Thanks,
Eric Magoon

A. Thanks for the question. Two putting areas weekend golfers often need work on are concentration and stroke consistency. Here are two simple drills that will help you improve in both areas.

One-Putt Drill
This drill improves concentration. Instead of throwing down several balls and then hitting away, use just one ball. Putting with several balls causes you to lose focus when putting. Putting with one ball restores it. Use your on-course putting routine and concentrate on every stroke. Make your practice as much like the real thing as possible. Practice the one-ball drill enough and you'll automatically take this intense concentration with you next time you go to the course.

This next drill improves stroke consistency. If your putting stroke is too mechanical or too rigid, you'll leave putts short.

One-Hand Putting Drill
To ingrain a natural putting stroke that rolls balls purely and promotes good distance control, practice putting with one-hand—your dominant hand. This drill allows you to feel how this hand controls putter speed and what it feels like to propel the ball smoothly across the green. Then, practice hitting putts one-handed with your non-dominant hand. Once you get a feel for how the hands work separately, hit putts two-handed.

Practice these drills as often as you can. They'll improve your concentration and help you develop a smooth, consistent putting stroke.

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/newsletter10012008.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Salvaging A Bad Round
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/salvaging-a-bad-round.html

5) Article - Five Golf Tips On Accuracy
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/five-golf-tips-on-accuracy.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/newsletter.htm

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.

When Padraig Harrington won the British Open in 2007, he used his hybrid on the tournament's final three playoff holes to secure victory. Later, he said it was his "go-to" club—the club he relied on in the clutch. He also said his hybrid was his go-to club in this year's British Open and PGA Championship. That's a ringing endorsement for hybrids from one of the world's best golfers.

Hybrids are your most playable clubs, as I've said in my golf tips. They're also the most versatile. And they're probably the easiest to hit. You don't need golf lessons to learn to hit them well. Most weekend players with mid to low golf handicaps learn to hit them effectively without going to special golf instruction sessions. You can hit high, powerful shots with hybrids. And you can make par-saving rescues with them. So why not make one your go-to club?

Hybrids Improve Shots
Tests prove that hybrids improve your shots—and your swing. What they show is that golfers adept at hitting a hybrid tend to hit the ball longer than players who hit long irons —about 15 percent farther. The hybrid allows players to cock and uncock their wrists more easily while swinging. This in turn allows them to maintain a longer cocking action and a steeper angle of attack.

The hybrid also enables players to generate more hip action—in the case of players with low golf handicaps as much as 38 percent faster. That generates more clubhead speed. The body feels this increase and adjusts, moving faster through the ball. Thus, hybrids deliver more power without having to swing harder.

In addition, the latest trend in hybrids makes them even more playable. If you look at the newer models, you'll see that newer models have slightly bigger clubheads than older models. Bigger clubheads give you a higher moment of inertia for stability and a deeper center of gravity for height. With all these advantages going for hybrids, why not use one to your advantage?

Swing Shape Is Key
Swing shape is often the key to determining how well you hit a hybrid. Few players hit both a wood and a hybrid well. Usually, players tend to hit one much better than the other. Players like Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, and Paul Casey, who have flatter swing arcs through the ball, tend to hit their woods better than their hybrids.

Players like Harrington and Parker McLaughlin, who have more of a descending arc through the ball, tend to hit their hybrids better than their woods. If your swing is naturally steep (your divots are deep even with your long irons), you're probably better off hitting a hybrid than a 5-wood or long iron.

Another key is the club's shaft. Hybrids were meant to replace long irons not fairway woods. That's how they were first designed and that's how they perform best. As a result, most golfers do better with hybrids when the clubs are fitted with shafts designed for irons rather than shafts designed for woods.

Golf Tips On Playing Hybrids
If want to make hybrid you're go-to club, but are having trouble hitting one, here are some golf tips that will make hitting one easier:

* Start up square at address
* Stay as relaxed as possible
* Make a good strong turn
* Employ a smooth transition
* Start down with your hips
* Push the club at impact.

In addition, position the ball farther back than a wood. The club is shorter than a wood, so you need to move the ball back a little.

Most weekend golfers benefit from making hybrids their go-to clubs—even those players with high golf handicaps. If you're having trouble hitting one, look to your swing shape and the club's shaft as the causes of your poor shotmaking. If these elements are okay, incorporate some or all of the above golf tips in your swing. Making your hybrid your go-to club—with its playability and versatility—is a great way to chop strokes off 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.