In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Hit It Sweet From The Start
2) Recovering From Trouble
3) Question of the Week - Controlling Your Short-Game Backswing
4) Article - Hit It Longer And Straighter
5) Article - Take The Guess Work Out Of Pitching

1) Hit It Sweet From The Start

If you're like many golfers, you can't always get to the range before playing. Your schedule just doesn't permit it. So you tend to feel stiff at the start of a round. And even when you do make the range, you may still feel tight on the first hole. Nonetheless, you hit a good first drive. You're about 170 yards from the hole and in the fairway. Now what? Will you be able to hit an iron to the green? Below is an exercise that will prep you for the iron shot.

Here are the five keys to this exercise:

The exercise warms up your wrist hinge. If you hinge your wrists properly during your takeaway, chances are good you'll start your swing smoothly.

Take your regular address position with your iron of choice. Cock the clubhead straight up and down until the shaft is just short of horizontal. Take the club back by bending your right wrist and bowing your left until the shaft is parrellel left of your target line (right for right-handers). (You should see wrinkles across the back of your right wrist.) Go back to your address position and hit the ball. Try to get your wrists in the same position as you did above.

The exercise takes only a few seconds, so you should be able execute it quickly before swinging. You can probably run through it while the other guys are hitting. If it's done correctly, the exercise improves your rhythm and helps you hit it sweet from the start.

2) Recovering From Trouble

If you're like some weekend golfers, you're struggling to get rid of a slice. So why would you want to know how to hit one on-demand? That's easy. It can save you strokes and help you make more pars. Let's say you drive one off the right into the woods. Instead of punching out like you normally do, leaving you miles from the green, slicing it hard right gets your ball rolling on the fairway and puts you back in business.

Below are five keys to hitting a hard right-to-left slice:

1. Aim your body about 20 yards left of target
2. Point your club about 10 yards right of toe line
3. Turn your hands well to the left on the grip
4. Make your normal swing
5. Hold the clubface open through impact

To hit a hard slice when in trouble, you must make adjustments. At address, aim your body 20 yards left of target, point the clubface 10 yards to the right of your toe line, and turn your hands well to the left on your grip (right for left-handers). These adjustments add loft to your shot. To hit the ball your normal 7-iron distance, use your 4-iron.

Make your normal swing, but hold the clubface open through impact. When you block the clubface's rotation like this, you create a glancing blow that puts sidespin on the ball. You know you've done it right if your clubface points to the sky in your follow-through.

This shot can get you out of trouble, but you must keep two things in mind. First, check your stance. The ball jumps hard right on contact, so you have to be angled correctly. Second, check the trees. This shot takes off much higher than your usual punch out, so look for overhanging branches.

Slicing off the tee is bad. But slicing from the trees can help you get back on track after a bad shot and save more pars.

3) Question of the Week - Controlling Your Short-Game Backswing

Q. Hi, Jack, I have a major problem controlling my backswing when I'm chipping or pitching. I can't stop going back. When I do keep it short, I hit the ball so soft it just goes a little forward and in the wrong direction. Is there practice drill I can do to stop going back too far?

Marie Holleran

A. Thanks, Marie. Dave Peltz is a short game guru. He has worked with many Tour players. and written several books on the short game. When it comes to pitching, he has his students do this: Visualize a clock in your heads, with 12:00 at the top. Take the club back to 7:30 for a short pitch. Take the club back to9:00 for a medium pitch. And take the club back to10:30 on a full pitch. Work on this in practice until you've ingrained the three swings.

Here's a recommendation for chips: Put a ball where you normally position it for a chip shot. Put your golf bag (or something else) about a foot or so behind the ball. Practice your chipping. Take the club back almost as far as the bag, and then come forward. If you hit your bag on the way back, you've gone back too far.

When you chip, use this swing for all your shots. For distance, change clubs depending on the chip's length. Use longer irons for longer chips and shorter irons for shorter chips. This approach simplifies your chipping decision.

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

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Hit It Longer And Straighter
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/hit-it-longer-and-straighter.php

5) Article - Take The Guess Work Out Of Pitching
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/take-the-guess-work-out-of-pitching.php

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, January 13th, 2010 at 4:32 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.