In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Practice Routine Eliminates Bad Chips
2) Putting From A Tie
3) Question of the Week – Demystifying A One-piece Takeaway
4) Article – Mastering The Three Wood
5) Article – Six Keys To Knocking Down The Flag

Jack’s Note: Does your short game need help? Try taking up to 12 strokes off your store here.
1) Practice Routine Eliminates Bad Chips

Poor chipping hurts your game more than you know. Catching chips fat or thin or hitting them off line can cost you. Poor chipping often stems from poor technique. If you don’t practice chipping as much as you should, you’re technique can slip and you can acquire bad habits. But improve your technique and you’ll not only become a better chipper, you’ll also save a ton of strokes.

Below is a six-step practice routine that improves chipping:

1. Sole your wedge on the ground
2. Raise your wedge on its toe
3. Stand closer to the ball with your feet together
4. Shift weight forward
5. Take club back like your putting
6. Make smooth forward stroke

Chips shots are specialty shots, so if you using your standard setup to chip, you’re making things difficult. Adjust your setup and you’ll eliminate bad chips. Practice the following routine to improve chipping.

1. On the practice green, sole your wedge on the ground. Grab your putter and do the same
2. Raise your wedge up on its toe until the shaft angel matches your putter’s shaft angle. (This removes the need to swing on an arc, minimizing the chance that you’ll hit the ball off line.)
3. Drop your putter and stand close to the ball with your feet together.
4. Shift your weight forward a bit
5. Take the club back like your putting, which is why you made the shaft more vertical
6. Make a smooth forward stroke using the same length and pace as your backswing.

Once you have a good feel for the angle at which you need to place your wedge, stop using your putter. But continue working on this practice routine until you ingrain its other steps. Eventually, it will be come second nature.

Bad chipping can cost you strokes. Don’t let it. Improve your technique by practicing the routine explained above. You’ll not only improve your chipping, you’ll chop a boatload of strokes off your golf handicap.
2) Putting From A Tie

Last week we reviewed how to put up a tier. This week we address how to putt from a tier. The goal when putting from a tier is not to stroke the ball so it races past the hole out of makeable range. You want to either sinking the putt or leave it close enough for a tap- in. To do this you can’t just hit it softly like you would if it were a straight downhill putt. It’s a bit more complicated than that.

Below are five keys to putting from a tier:

- Assume your normal putting setup
- Aim for a spot on the precipice
- Commit to that intermediate spot
- Shorten your putting stroke
- Keep it even on both sides of impact

Your goal when putting from a tier is to roll the ball at just the right speed so it makes it over the precipice and let gravity do the rest. In essence, it’s just half a putt, but you still need to be careful. If you hit it too hard, there’s nothing to stop the ball from rolling past the cup.

Start by assuming your normal putting setup. Now change your target. Instead of using the hole as your target, pick a spot on the tier’s crest. Once you have that spot nailed down, commit to it. You want to hit the ball hard enough to where it almost stops before hitting that spot.

Also, don’t slow down to hit the ball softly. If you do, you might not hit your target spot. Instead, shorten your swing, just make sure you keep the putting stroke even on both sides of impact, just like you’d do for a routine putt. Gravity will do the rest.

Putting from a tier is a bit more challenging than making a straight downhill putt but no overly so. Putt the ball just enough to where it reaches the crest of the hill and then trickles down to the hole. That way you’re assured the ball won’t race past the hole out of makeable range.
3) Question of the Week – Demystifying A One-piece Takeaway

Q. Hi, Jack. What is a “one-piece takeaway”?

Thanks,
Don Ernst
Olympia, WA

A. Thanks, Don. A “one-piece takeaway” refers to the action of your arms and hands as you take the clubhead back to start your backswing. Ingraining a one-piece takeaway helps you hit longer, straighter shots.

To execute a good one-piece takeaway, picture your arms and hands forming an inverted isosceles triangle.  Now take the triangle back with your chest and your naval. As you do, concentrate on bringing the club back low and slow. Sense that you’re using the bigger muscles in your shoulders and trunk to move the club, instead of the small muscles in your arms and hands. Maintain the triangle’s shape until opposite your back leg and then start hinging your wrists.

To see if you’re doing this correctly, place a second ball about a foot behind your object ball—just inside the ball-to-target line. Take the club back slowly. If you sweep the second ball away smoothly as you move your triangle back, you’re using a one-piece takeaway.

If not, practice this drill:

Select your driver.  Choke down on the club a few inches. Place the butt end of the club at a point just above your belt. Now practice making small swings. Concentrate on keeping your arms close to your sides, with the club touching your navel. This drill imparts the feel of a one-piece takeaway.

The first move away from the ball is critical. It determines the shape and tempo of your swing. That’s why making a one-piece takeaway is so critical. Work on the drill explained above to generate the feeling of a one-piece takeaway. Then, take it to the course. Before you know it, you’ll be hitting longer 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

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 – Mastering The Three Wood
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/mastering-the-three-wood.php

5) Article – Six Keys To Knocking Down The Flag
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/six-keys-to-knocking-down-the-flag.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

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 Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 4:13 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.