In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Draining Breaking Downhill Putts
2) Gas Up Your Swings
3) Question of the Week – Cutting Fairway Bunkers Down To Size
4) Article – Think Your Way To A Lower Golf Handicap
5) Article – How To Drive More Fairways Starting Now
1) Draining Breaking Downhill Putts

Has this ever happened to you: You blew past the pin on a breaking downhill putt on one hole, then on the next breaking downhill putt, you leave it short. That’s because you probably were focusing on the hole, which can get you in trouble. Breaking downhill putts can intimidate you. But they don’t have to. You can conquer them if you make a slight re-adjustment in your thinking and make some adjustments.

Below are six keys to sinking slick downhill putts:

1. Forget about the hole
2. Read the slope carefully
3. Try envisioning the break
4. Identify the speed spot
5. Make a commitment
6. Use a nice rhythmic stroke

The key to draining slick downhill putts that break is to forget about the hole. Aiming for it increases your chances of blowing past the hole. Instead follow these steps:

Start by walking halfway between the ball and the hole to get a sense of the green’s slope. Try envisioning how the ball will behave. Where it will break? How far will you need to hit the ball before the slope can carry it the rest of the way?

Once you’re determined how the ball will behave, identify your “speed spot,” the spot you need to reach before the slope will carry the ball the rest of the way. Think of that spot as the hole. If you’ve determined that this putt will break, move your spot to the side to allow for how you think the putt will curve.

Also, make a mental commitment to the spot. Don’t waffle. If you do, you have no chance of sinking the putt. Having made a commitment, make your putt to the spot and let the slope do the rest. Use a rhythmic, pendulum-like stroke.

Don’t let breaking downhill putts scare you. Walk the target line, identify the speed spot, move it to the side for the break, commit to the shot, and make a nice easy stroke. Do that and you’ll either sink the putt or leave close.
2) Gas Up Your Swings

There’s nothing wrong with sacrificing distance for accuracy. It’s better to be in the fairway with a 250-yard drive, than the woods with a 265-yard drive. But sacrificing too much distance off the tee can cost you—especially when you’re playing a very long hole. To generate 10 to 15 extra yards off the tee, you must focus on three areas of your swing. Fine-tuning the areas increases clubhead speed.

Here are three tips to help generate more clubhead speed:
1. Turn your back
2. Soften your wrists
3. Rotate your hips

Three easy moves give your drives more oomph. First, turn your back to the target. How do you know when you’ve made a complete turn? When you feel your left (right for left-handers) shoulder turn underneath your chin and your back directly at the target, you’ve made a complete turn.

Second, soften your wrists. Weekend golfers often stiffen their wrists during their downswing, sapping power from their swings. Instead, let your wrists go soft. This increases clubhead lag. The longer your hands lag the clubhead, the more speed you generate at the bottom of your swing when you release the club.

Third, turn your hips fast. As you approach impact, make sure your turning your hips to the left strongly. This move in combination with soft wrists allows your left arm to lead the clubhead into the ball. This is a key power move. Do it correctly and the clubhead whips threw the impact zone at high speed.

You can sacrifice a little distance for more accuracy. But be careful. You don’t want to sacrifice too much. It can hurt you on long holes. Instead, focus on executing the three tips describe above and you’ll add yardage to your drives without forfeiting accuracy.
3) Question of the Week – Cutting Fairway Bunkers Down To Size

Q. Hi, Jack. Brilliant website. Magnificent tips. One area of the game I struggle with is playing irons out of fairway bunkers. I tend to take too much sand and only get 10 to 20 meters on the shot. I’d really appreciate any tips on how to hit short, mid, and long irons in the bunker.

Thanks,
Paul P.
Dublin, Ireland

A. Thanks, Paul. The keys to iron play from a fairway bunker are minimizing the use of your lower body and picking the ball cleanly from the sand. Recreational golfers tend to drive down on the ball, like their hitting a normal iron. This lowers their centers of gravity, which in turn cause you to hit behind the ball and take so much sand on the shot. To avoid this, make the following adjustments:

* Stand a little taller at address
* Move closer to the ball
* Dig your feet into the ground
* Choke down on the club,
* Play the ball toward middle

Also, don’t try to take a big divot. Instead, pick the ball cleanly from the sand using your arms, leaving little or no divot. In addition, use a half to a full club more than normal from that distance and stay within yourself. Don’t try to do too much with your swing. Hitting the ball in the fairway or anywhere on the green beats being in the bunker.

Try this drill to master this shot. Go to a fairway bunker and drop several balls in the dirt. Address a ball. Get a friend to hold a club butt under your chin. When you start your downswing, he or she removes the club. Continue your swing. Try hitting the ball 10 to 20 yards at first. Extend the distance until you’re hitting the ball on the green. Holding the butt under your chin: (1) forces you to stand tall at address, (2) straightens the spine angle, and (3) helps quiet your lower body.

Don’t try to hit down in a fairway bunker. It causes you to hit behind the ball. Instead, set-up as described above, maintain a quiet lower body, and pick the ball cleanly from the sand.

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 – Think Your Way To A Lower Golf Handicap
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/think-your-way-to-a-lower-golf-handicap.php

5) Article – How To Drive More Fairways Starting Now
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/how-to-drive-more-fairways-starting-now.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.

I just put together another video for you on swing plane.

With the right swing plane you’ll make solid contact more consistently and hit it further.  With the wrong plane you will continue to struggle.

Today’s video is all about knowing what YOUR own swing plane is.  Specifically, how to determine it for your own swing and how to get back on track when you start mishitting the ball.

The best part of this 5 minute video is that we go over the proper swing planes for both tall and short players (yes, we all have different planes.)

I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one and will learn a lot.  Give it a gander.

http://www.break80today.com/swingplane/findyourswingplane.html
Enjoy,
Jack

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) How To Squat For Power
2) Make The Second Shot Count
3) Question of the Week – Handling Loose Sand Over A Hard Surface
4) Article – Sorting Out The Spin On Golf Balls
5) Article – Crush It Off The Tee
1) How To Squat For Power

There are certain techniques that pro golfers weekend golfers you shouldn’t use. The reason: Weekend golfers lack the athleticism to use them. On the other hand, there are certain techniques that pro golfers make that weekend golfers can—and should—copy. Squatting for power is one. Many pro golfers make this move to add yards to their drives. It’s Tiger Woods signature move and a key reason he’s able to drive the ball a ton.

Here are seven keys to making an effective power squat:

1. Squeeze your shoulder blades
2. Keep your arms near your body
3. Drop your hands straight down
4. Turn your hips to the left
5. Flex the knees slightly
6. Throw your arms past the ball
7. Point your right shoulder at the target

Once your set up, flex your knees slightly and move your weight over the balls of your feet. Then, squeeze your shoulder blades together and relax your neck muscles, encouraging your arms to extend naturally. Keep your arms close to your body as you go into your backswing and rotate your left arm as you near the top.

At the top, keep your torso turned by the same amount as you start to pivot your hips toward the target. This sends your torque sky-high. Flex your knees downward ever so slightly, as if you were going to sit down. Don’t just bend your torso. Now drop your hands straight down like their being pulled by your hips.

As you approach impact, slow down your lower body so your arms can release properly. After impact, “throw” your arms past the ball. This improves your extension and eliminates the instinct to steer the shot. Finish by getting your back shoulder to point at the target, which encourages you to release the club and increases your clubhead speed.

Next time you see your favorite pro on the tee, watch him or her closely. See if he or she makes a power squat to generate those extra yards on their drives. If he or she does, feel free to copy it. It’s one technique you can—and should—copy from the pros.
2) Make The Second Shot Count

Your drive lands in the fairway on a long par 5. You’re in good position, but you need a good second shot to capitalize on your drive. You know you can’t reach the green in two even with your best 3-wood shot; however, your tempted to hit your 3-wood anyway hoping to get as close to the hole as possible. But hitting the 3-wood—an easy club to hit off line—can get you in trouble.

Consider these three questions before hitting it:

1. Is the pin clear?
2. Is the pin protected?
3. What’s your favorite approach club?

Before hitting the 3-wood, check out the pin’s placement. Is it in the center of the green unprotected? If it is, use your 3-wood, but make a controlled swing to a target. Don’t use a wild swing and get yourself in trouble. If you pick a good landing spot and hit it, you’ll have an unobstructed chip to the hole.

If the pin is protected, rethink your strategy. If there’s a bunker or other obstruction between you and the pin, you don’t want to be 20 to 30 yards away. You won’t be far enough away to put backspin on the ball and stop it. So even if you hit a good shot, you’re out of position. Instead, select a shot that leaves you with a full pitching or sand wedge to the green.

If you don’t hit your pitching wedge well, but you’re lights out with another club, like a 9-iron better, pick a landing spot with your second that’s about 120 yards away—a good distance to hit your 9-iron. Focus on that spot when you hit your second shot like it’s the green. You want to hit that shot. If you do, you’ll be hitting your best approach club into the green.

Second shots on long part 5s can present a dilemma. But they don’t have to trouble you. If you lay-up wisely, you can make par or birdie and save yourself strokes.
3) Question of the Week – Handling Loose Sand Over A Hard Surface

Q. Hi, Jack. Is your chipping technique good for sand traps that have no sand only fluff on top, even one close to green? Or, will there be problems getting over the lips? My home course has rocky sand traps. The club just bounces off top of the sand. It’s very hard to get a layer of sand to send the ball out on blast shots.

Thanks,

Norm

A. Thanks, Norm. Hitting from loose sand over a hard surface is tricky. If you dig down too deeply with the clubface, you’ll hit the hard underbelly. That slows the clubhead down and causes you to leave the ball in the bunker.

Here how to approach this shot systematically:

* Determine the sand’s hardness by testing it with your shoes. This tells you if the sand is hard-packed, just firm, soft with a thin crust, or soft with a hard underbelly.

* If the sand is firm, replace the sand wedge with a pitching wedge. It digs in and under the ball better than a sand wedge, preventing skulling. Also, set up a little wider than normal. Make a low sweeping takeaway. And hit down briskly an inch behind the ball

* If the sand is hard-packed, like Norm’s, play the ball as you would from hard dirt. Square the blade of pitching wedge, position the ball back in your stance, and set the hands ahead of the ball. Pick it cleanly from the surface.

* If the sand has a thin crust, play the shot as a typical bunker shot. Use a sand wedge, especially if the sand is deep and powdery.

Don’t let bunker shots get to you. Most have a slight margin for error. Attack them confidently. Getting out of them in one regularly will shave strokes from your scores and golf handicap.

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 – Sorting Out The Spin On Golf Balls
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/sorting-out-the-spin-on-golf-balls.php

5) Article – Crush It Off The Tee
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/crushing-it-off-the-tee.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.

All golfers want to improve. Those serious about doing so take golf lessons from professionals or study golf tips offered in books, magazines, and newsletters, like mine. Usually, the golf lessons and golf tips focus on swing flaws. Refining your swing to eliminate flaws is a great way to improve ballstriking. Understanding how club design dictates the quality of impact is also a great way to improve ballstriking. In fact, it may be just as good, if not better than, working at eliminating swing flaws.

When we discuss club design, we usually talk clubhead size or shaft materials. These can affect your ballstriking and shot distance. But here we want to discuss a different aspect of club design. A club has three key design features:

* shaft lean toward target,
* significant lie (or shaft lean toward body),
* center of gravity

These features exist in every club, even your putter. They contain secrets on how to swing your drivers, wedges, and irons to improve your ballstriking, if we interpret them correctly. In other words, if we look at the features closely, we’ll see how they dictate proper golf swing mechanics.

Shaft Lean Toward Target
Shaft lean is the first, and possibly the most important, club design feature to consider. If you sole a club properly in your normal address position, you’ll see that the club sits on an angle where the handle leans slightly toward the target. The angle is important. It represents the angle at which the club must be delivered to the ball at impact to create optimal pressure. This pressure compresses a ball to a portion of its original size when hit, just like a racquet does with a tennis ball does when it’s hit or a wall does when rubber is thrown against it.

Effective ball compression causes the ball to spring off a clubface at maximum velocity. The only way to effectively compress the golf ball—and produce crisp, clean shots—is to deliver a forward leaning shaft at impact, whether you’re swinging a driver, iron, or wedge. This leads to maximum distance. A backward leaning shaft, on the other hand, doesn’t achieve maximum distance because it lacks the pressure needed to compress the ball enough to maximize impact.

Using A Backward Leaning Shaft
Most golfers present a backward leaning shaft at impact, where the club’s handle leans away from the target instead of toward it. A backward leaning shaft reduces the compression being delivered to the ball, leading to poor contact, poor direction, and a serious loss of distance. But you can learn to deliver a forward-leaning shaft with few simple chipping and pitching drills:

Begin by using a sand wedge. Place the ball well back in your stance to play a chip shot. The shaft should lean forward so that the handle is positioned in front of the clubhead, with your hands in front of your left pant pleat. Using your arms and shoulders only, swing the club back and through. Make sure you lead the handle of the club through the impact area. Hold the finish. The shaft should line up with your left arm and the ball should pop in the air. You’ve just hit a chip.

Next, widen your stance. Place the ball in the center of your feet. Make the same swing as before, but add some wrist hinge on your backswing. This will carry the ball a little further. Make sure to lead with the handle through impact as before. Continue to the same follow through position as the chip. You’ve just hit a pitch and run.

Keep Impact Attitude in Mind
Finally, hit some shots with your full swing, while keeping the same “impact attitude” in mind, as you have for the previous shots. You should notice a big difference in the quality of contact you get from this swing.

Forward-shaft lean is one of three key club design features. These features point the way to efficient swings when examined closely. Forward-shaft lean encourages you to swing the ball with a forward-leaning shaft at impact just like you’re taught in golf instruction sessions and like how the clubmakers designed the club to be swung. If you want improved ballstriking, you must strike the ball with the impact attitude designed into the club. If you do, you’ll hit longer, straighter shots that will help take 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.