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.

Bombing one off the tee is sexy. There's nothing like seeing a shot take off straight down the fairway, hang up in the air for what seems like an eternity, and hit the ground some 300 yards away. It's a beautiful sight. But what good is a 300-yard drive if you can't hit an accurate approach shot? It's no good. Accurate approach shots lead to shorter putts, better scores, and lower golf handicaps.

The key to hitting accurate approach shots is executing the fundamentals during your iron swing—setup, takeaway, backswing/downswing, impact, and finish. How you execute the fundamentals during these phases determine how well you hit an iron. Some professionals that give golf instruction sessions include the transition from backswing to downswing as a separate phase. Making a smooth transition from your backswing to your downswing is critical. But in the interest of space, we've included it as part of the backswing.

Setup
There's no reason not to start with a good setup. Flex at the knees, stand firmly on the balls of your feet, bend from your hips not your back, adopt a straight (but not rigid) back, and balance your weight evenly over both feet. Think "rock and roll" to remind you that feet serve as a rock through your backswing and roll through your downswing. And don't overlook ball position. It's never farther back than your sternum or farther forward than your left armpit.

Takeaway
It's critical that you make a good takeaway. Watch golfers who have low golf handicaps. Most will have good takeaways. Some teachers use the 2-8-12-rule in their golf lessons. During the first two inches of your takeaway, take the club straight back. From the second inch to the eighth inch, take the club back some more, but don't break your wrists. This is a natural continuation of your takeaway. From the eighth inch to the twelfth inch, start breaking your wrist. At this point, the club should be parallel to the ground and the target line. In the rough, you'll need a slightly steeper takeaway.

Backswing
Shifting your weight to your back foot is crucial in your backswing. It enables you to make a good coil and prevents you from making a reverse pivot. So keep until your weight shifts to your back foot. Keep your hands away from your body. At the top of the swing, a straight left arm is ideal but a slightly bent elbow is also acceptable. Your head should be behind the ball.

Make a smooth transition to the downswing. From this position, you're ready to turn toward the target. Allow your hands to drop underneath your head as you begin shifting toward your front foot. The club should be directly over your rear shoulder. You should be approaching the ball with a descending blow.

Impact
This is the moment of truth—as I tell students who attend my golf lessons. Good golfers know that at impact they need to achieve a "stacked" position to make solid contact. This position includes a full release of the wrists, a straight left arm (right for left-handers), most of your weight transferred to the front foot, and your hips open. Contrary to popular belief, the impact position isn't the same as the setup position. With longer irons, allow for a slower wrist cock. This widens your swing and provides the flatter arc these clubs require.

Finish
Your finish tells you a lot about what's going on during your swing. The correct finish ends with the bodyweight primarily on the front foot, the club behind you, and your head, chest, and belt buckle facing the target. You also should be balanced and able to hold that position indefinitely. From your finish position, you can tell two things: (1) if the majority of your weight has successfully shifted to your front foot, and (2) if your body has fully rotated without excessive sliding through the downswing, which will produce mis-hits.

Driving the ball is indeed sexy. But it's only one phase of golf. If you're serious about improving, you must master your irons, too. A 300-yard drive is worthless if you don't follow up with an accurate approach shot. Use the golf tips we've provided above to hone your iron swing. It will help you hit more greens in regulation and 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.

Good golf shoes are critical to playing well. They stabilize you, provide leverage against the turf, supply traction and protection, keep your feet dry, and provide comfort during a round of golf. It's hard to hit with power or accuracy when you're slipping and sliding all over the place, or your feet hurt because of your footwear. More importantly, golf shoes help you manage weight transfer during your swing. Technically, it's called weight management in golf instruction sessions, and it's a big part of a swing's success.

Weight management, as I've explained in my golf tips, is the science of how you transfer weight from one foot to the other when swinging a club. Technically, it's how you transfer your center of gravity in relation to the toe and heel of each foot as well as where your weight is at impact. When it comes to swing, proper weight management is critical. It enables you to hit the ball farther and straighter more consistently. It also is a key to chopping strokes off your golf handicap.

Cutting Edge Designs Featured
Today's golf shoes feature cutting edge designs—the kind of designs once reserved for hiking boots, climbing shoes, and running and walking shoes. Golf manufacturers have spent countless hours applying technological advancements, like dual-pod soles, variable-flex shoe shanks, and multi-density blends of thermoplastic urethane, to designs to create golf shoes that help you transfer weight to the correct regions of your foot during the swing.

For example, many of today's top shoe models feature two-pod soles. It's one reason why they are more expensive than other models. Why are two-pod soles important—because the soles are bridged together by a cradle that cups the foot's arch for better weight displacement toward the ball and heel of each foot. For golfers, this means improved weight movement, leading to a balanced, more powerful swing.

Spikes Have Gone High-Tech
Spikes are another area where manufacturers have made great strides. Once, metal spikes were all the rage, but alternative spikes quickly replaced them. Alternative spikes didn't last long, since they did little more than prevent you from slipping and sliding on dry grass. Today, spikes have gone high-tech. They not only provide superior traction and comfort, they also allow you to aim where you need traction the most.

Then, there are spikeless golf shoes. Spikeless shoes, which resemble track and running shoes more than ever, provide traction-integrated soles. Thanks to this innovation, these shoes are more practical and comfortable than spiked shoes for a lot of golfers. Spikeless shoes offer several advantages in addition to good weight management. Their spikes don't have to be replaced and they don't need to be removed right after the round. Nevertheless, they give the same traction as with spiked shoes.

Ventilation is just as important to playing well as good traction. Manufacturers have made significant improvements here also. Many offer golf shoes with advanced designs that let the foot breathe while keeping the toe, heel, and bottom of the foot dry. Some shoes use a high-tech metal mesh to keep feet cool and comfortable as well as dry and clean.

For golfers that love hot weather, there are shoes that breathe from not only the top but also the bottom. These shoes afford the utmost in ventilation and comfort while still retaining structure, stability, and gripping action. These shoes aren't your best bet on rainy days. But if you play on a day when it's blistering hot, these shoes keep your feet cool and dry.

Great Strides In Insoles
Insoles are a fourth area where manufacturers have made great strides. Today's insoles are not only removable, they're also designed to levy superior support, comfort, durability, and ventilation using a series of perforations, canals, and mixed materials. Some insoles vary in thickness, allowing golfers to customize the way each shoe feels. Other insoles mold and conform to the foot's shape.

Golf shoes are vital to playing well. They provide traction, comfort, protection, and leverage. More importantly, they enable you to transfer your weight properly during your swing. Proper weight management is one secret to hitting the ball farther and straighter more consistently. Doing that can help you slice 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.

Power alone can't shave strokes off your golf handicap. But power combined with accuracy can. Together, they can put you in great position to attack the green in regulation. The more greens you hit in regulation, the better your chances of making pars and birdies. If you can squeeze out another 20 to 30 yards off the tee while still maintaining accuracy, you'll dramatically increase your chances of reducing your golf handicap.

But weekend golfers often try to create power the wrong way—by either swinging their arms faster or firing their hands at the ball. This approach sacrifices accuracy for distance. If you swing your arms faster or fire your hands at the ball, you may get more distance but you'll probably miss the fairway. So how do you increase distance off the tee without sacrificing accuracy? That's easy—engage the four key elements of power that weekend golfers too often ignore—tempo, stability, torque, and a dynamic lower body.

Maintain Tempo
Everything starts with tempo. Sometimes a tight fairway or menacing bunker tempts you to change your swing. Resist that temptation. Abandoning the basics seldom works. That's why golf lessons emphasize them. The basics are the key to hitting the ball longer and straighter because they produce solid contact. If you want make solid contact you must maintain good tempo. Unfortunately, weekend golfers abandon tempo when trying to hit bombs. The result is a lot of fast, jerky swings that deliver poor contact. Savvy golfers keep tempo in mind whenever they're on the tee.

Good golfers also concentrate on maintaining a solid base. Keeping your rear knee flexed as you take the club to the top is the secret to achieving accuracy and power off the tee. This move helps you shift your body weight to the right side so that it rests on the inside of your right foot (left foot for left-handed golfers) during the backswing. It also helps prevent you from executing a reverse pivot and allows you to make a powerful move back to the front side in the downswing. Without a solid base from which to hit, you'll leak power and curb accuracy.

Create A Wide Arc
In addition to maintaining good tempo and a solid base, you'll need a wide arc width on the tee. It creates the torque you need to hit it longer. If you want more distance off the tee, you must create a wider backswing than normal without disrupting your tempo. You can do this by maintaining a solid—but not locked— rear arm. This move creates maximum arc width. Folding both elbows at the top, which you see golfers do a lot in golf lessons, creates a narrower arc width and a significant loss of power. That's because it forces you to pull the club too far inside on the takeaway, robbing the backswing of the arc width needed to generate more power.

Drive Your Weight
The last of the four basics for generating distance and accuracy—and perhaps the most important—is an active lower body. You must drive your weight toward the target on the downswing, if you want to hit longer, straighter drives. You want to feel like your throwing your legs at the target, while actually staying steady. This move is also known as making a power shift. Failing to do this short-circuits your power, resulting in a weak tee shot.

To check your weight shift, take your address with a driver. Then, tee a second ball just inside your back ankle. Make your normal swing, moving your weight away from the target going back and toward it coming down. If you transfer your weight correctly, your back angle will roll inward on the downswing, knocking the second ball off the tee. If you leave the ball on the tee, you know you haven't made a good power shift, leaving yards on the table.

Using your lower body to generate more distance is a forgotten power fundamental. It's one of those golf tips that really pay off if executed properly. When combined with the other three power elements—tempo, stability, and torque—you can add an extra 20 to 30 yards to your drives. That enables you to power the ball over menacing fairway bunkers or cut corners on doglegs and still find the fairway. In addition, it increases your chances of hitting more greens in regulation. Hitting more greens in regulation will result in making more pars and birdies and lowering 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.