In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Stop Pulling Your Shots
2) Beating Blocked Shots
3) Question of the Week – Hitting Long Irons
4) Article – This Simple Move Adds Yards To Your Drives
5) Article – Practice With Scoring Clubs To Cut Golf Handicaps

Stop Pulling Your Shots

Pulled shots, like block shots, are high on the list of bad shots. If your spine angle and weight distribution are off at address, there’s a good chance you’ll pull the shot. Putting too much weight on your forward foot at address pushes your spine angle too far forward. It also prompts a swing path that moves from outside the target line pre-swing to inside the target line post impact, resulting in a pulled shot.

Below are five keys to preventing pulled shots:

Address ball as if on an upslope
Shift weight to back foot
Lower your back shoulder
Position your hands behind the ball
Stay behind ball on the swing

Correcting both your weight distribution and spine angle prevents pulled shots. Start by setting up as if you were hitting on an upslope. Then, shift your weight from your front foot to your back foot. Drop your back shoulder slightly so that it’s lower than your front shoulder. And position your hands behind the ball at address. This set-up tilts your spine away from the target and changes your swing path.

To visualize the set up, take an iron from your bag and have a friend step on the clubface. Now match the angle of your shoulders to the angle of the shaft. That sets you up with your spine angle tilted away from the target and your front shoulder higher than your back shoulder. If you keep this image in mind at address, you’ll set yourself up nicely behind the ball. Stay behind the ball when swinging.
By re-distributing your weight and correcting your spine angle, you’ll prevent pulled shots. From this position, your downswing comes from inside the target line and arcs back inside that target line past impact. This results in a square clubface at impact and a straighter flight path. You’ll also gain some distance.

Beating Blocked Shots

Block shots rank high on the list of bad golf shots. If you tend to block shots, you could be swinging too aggressively. If you are, you need to curb your aggressiveness to improve your shot making and improve your game. Once you learn to control your aggressiveness, you can use it more productively.

Below are four golf tips for beating blocked shots.

Better posture, better impact
Less tilt, more coverage
Release the head early
Brace your left side and release

Bad things happen when you’re too aggressive. Over aggressiveness often causes your lower body to outrace your upper body. That forces your upper body to tilt away from the target. When this happens, your back shoulder can drop too far under the backswing plane, leading to a blocked shot. To prevent this, try to “feel tall over the ball,” with your knees slightly bent, and keep your upper body straight during the swing. Better posture means less tilt. Less tilt means better impact.

Lack of head movement also causes blocked shots. It, too, can force you to lose your forward tilt toward the ball. If your head stays down and straight, your hips lunge toward the ball, pulling you out of your posture. But if you turn your head slightly with the shot you’ll have better results. You’ll keep your spine straighter and get the club back in front of your body sooner. When your arms get out in from of your body, they can swing down the line better.

If you block shots off the tee, it may be because you’re swinging too aggressively. Learn to curb your aggressiveness a little. You can then use it to your advantage.

Question of the Week – Hitting Long Irons

Q. Hi Jack, I have been hitting my 3-wood and 5-wood at the driving range, but I am always hooking the ball. I have noted that the contact mark of my ball contact in the clubface is on the toe side. I can’t seem to hit it at the center of the clubface. I would appreciate very much your advice.

Thanks.
Euls Austin

A. Thanks, Euls. If you’re hooking (or pushing), your clubface isn’t square at impact. You can stop hooking with a few minor adjustments at address.

First, check your grip. It could be too strong, which means your right-hand is turned too far to the right. If it is, turn it slightly to the left. (If you’re left-handed, reverse the process.) Turning your right hand prevents it from dominating the shot, a key contributor to hooking. Second, play the ball forward in your stance. Third, open up your upper body slightly in relation to the target line at address.

In addition, make sure the toe of your club points skyward you’re about halfway into your backswing. Point the toe skyward helps square the clubface at impact. Also, work on clearing your body through impact. If you do it right, you’ll feel as if your hips are opening up towards the target and your front shoulder is moving forward as you strike the ball. You’ll also feel as if the grip is moving left, but that the clubface remains open. Ingraining these tips in your swing eliminates hooking (and pushing).

Below is a drill that helps you stop hooking (and pushing):

Lay down two clubs parallel to the target. Position the first is along your feet and the second outside the ball, creating a track with the ball in the middle. Now, swing. As you do, keep your cap’s brim in line with the outer club. This keeps your head on the right swing path. Practice this drill faithfully and you’ll hit straighter shots.

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

Here are some of my recent articles:

This Simple Move Adds Yards To Your Drives

Practice With Scoring Clubs To Cut Golf Handicaps

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.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 4:54 pm and is filed under Golf Articles, Golf Newsletters, Golf Tips. 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.