In this issue we’ll discuss…

• Hit It Close With Super-Soft Pitches
• Using Your Wrists To Turn On Power
• Question of the Week – Chipping It Close From A Downhill Lie
• Article – Splitting The Fairway
• Article – Three Drills To Fine Tune Your Tempo

Hit It Close With Super-Soft Pitches

To hit it close when there’s a bunker between you and the pin, you need both loft and distance control. You have to get over the bunker, but you don’t want to roll too far past the pin. Hitting a high, floating lob shot with your 60-degree wedge is an option. But it takes practice to master this shot. It’s also risky. You could hit it thin and land in the bunker. The super-soft pitch is a safer alternative.

Below are five keys to hitting super-soft pitches:

• Sole a 56-degree wedge
• Play the ball slightly back of center
• Keep your shoulders level
• Swing your arms and chest away
• Stop your swing just after your back knee

The key to this shot is pre-setting your body in the correct impact position. This helps you strike the ball with just the right amount of spin and loft.

Sole your 56-degree wedge with the face square and pointing directly at your target. Don’t open the clubface. Play the ball slightly back of center and lean your shaft forward, without closing the clubface. Also, line up your grip with your sternum about an inch in front of the ball. Make sure your shoulders are level and your arms hang straight down. Ease off on your grip pressure.

Make your backswing by swinging your arms and chest away from the ball using an easy hinge of the wrists. Your path should feel straight, but with a slight turn. Stop your backswing just as your hands pass your back knee. You want to return the club, shaft, and weight to your start-up position. Finish your swing with your hands low and directly in front of your chest.
When you execute the shot correctly, your club descends into the bottom of the ball, creating the correct loft to send it into the air, land softly on the green, and roll close to the pin.

Using Your Wrists To Turn On Power

Poor ballstriking can cost you a lot of strokes. Several common swing errors lead to poor ballstriking. But if you’re also slicing the ball, it’s a good bet you’re not releasing the club properly. That can get you into serious trouble. More importantly, it can balloon your golf handicap.

Properly releasing the club:

• Ensures solid contact with a square clubface
• Adds power to your swing
• Allows clubhead to exit hitting zone on plane.

These advantages work together to assure golfers hit longer, straighter shots. If you think you’re not releasing the club properly, try these simple golf tips:

Hinge your wrists fully after impact: Golfers plagued by poor ball striking don’t release their wrists properly. Instead, they keep them firm and lift the club onto the next plane. This results in a swing flaw known as the “chicken wing,” in which the golfer never bends his front arm. When swinging the club, your front arm should bend, but with your elbow pointing toward the ground as your wrists unhinge.

Swing your driver with just your back arm and hand: This exercise ingrains the feel of a powerful release. As your hand reaches your back knee on the downswing, begin unhinging your wrist and then really unload through the hitting zone. Also, bow your back wrist as your hand come through contact and “throw” your club at the target.

Make swings with both hands on driver: But make sure to unhinge your wrist fully through impact, so that the wrist of your backhand is bowed and the wrist of your front hand is cupped. If you start hooking, add more body turn to the shot.

Work on these golf tips for better ballstriking. When your shots start flying straighter and farther, you know your releasing the club correctly.

Question of the Week – Chipping It Close From A Downhill Lie

Q. Hi Jack, On the course I play a lot, I seem to face a lot of downhill chips. I either run it way past the hole or dub it, leaving me with nearly the same shot and a very bad temperament! Any advice?

Jeff Bramhall
Bronxville NY

A. Thanks for the question, Jeff. Chipping from a downhill lie is tricky. If you’re not careful, it can cost you two or three extra strokes. Extra strokes can turn a good round into a not so good round.

Having chosen your club, you want the contact point to be where it would be from a level lie. So you need to adjust your body position and center of gravity to account for the slope. To do that, set up with your front shoulder low and your stance slightly wider for stability. Brace yourself on your front knee and set your weight on the inside of your front foot.

Position the ball back in your stance. (How far back you position the ball you’ll learn from experience.) Keep your hands ahead of the ball at address. Now hit down firmly. Work the club under the ball. And lead the hands down the slope.

If the ball is in the rough, you’ll also have to account for the grass. Even if you swing hard, the grass can still catch your clubface and twist it. Since your goal is to get the ball out of the rough, you’ll need as much loft as you can get. Follow the same guidelines as above, but use a sand wedge and open your stance even more.

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:

Article – Splitting The Fairway

Article – Three Drills To Fine Tune Your Tempo

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 Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 5:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. 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.