"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"

In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Hitting a Short Iron Draw
2) Sticking An Uphill Approach Shot
3) Question of the Week - Curing Alignment Problems
4) Article - Four Secrets To Launching It
5) Article - Get Fit And Go Low
1) Hitting a Short Iron Draw

If you tend to spray the ball off the tee, there may be times when you need a shot that you know you can hit in the fairway. A short-iron (8-iron) draw may be just what the doctor ordered. It can save you from getting yourself into deep trouble when you’re not driving well. But be careful. This is a tricky shot. You have to generate enough clubhead speed to work the ball from a short distance.

Below are five keys to hitting a short-iron draw:

* Set up square to the target line
* Pull your right foot back
* Take the club back on an inside plane
* Pull the club through with your hands
* Keep your head down

To hit this shot successfully, you must make minor adjustments to your stance and swing. Start by setting up square to the target line. Then pull your right foot back about an inch from the line. (If you’re left-handed, you would pull your left foot back an inch.) This closes your stance slightly.

Using a one-piece takeaway, take the club back on a slightly inside plane. Pause for a second at the top of your swing. Make the transition to your downswing. And pull the clubhead through with your hands into impact. Keep your head down until after you’ve finished the swing. These movements encourage your hands to over release a bit, which creates the spin needed to draw the ball.

This shot flies lower and farther than normal. It also has a bit more roll to it. But if you remember those things when executing the shot, the short-iron draw can be ideal when you’re having trouble getting off the tee or on holes with doglegs.
2) Sticking An Uphill Approach Shot

Some courses feature numerous elevation changes. If you play one of these courses, chances are good you’ll face your share of mid-iron uphill approach shots. This shot is trickier than it looks. The last thing you want to do is come up short, which can cost you strokes. You also don’t want to try and “scoop” the ball in the air. Mis-hitting the shot could leave you with a tough 25-yard pitch to the green.

Below are five keys to hitting an uphill approach shot:

1. Play the ball in the center
2. Lean the shaft towards the target
3. Keep your head even with the ball
4. Contact the bottom of the ball
5. Aim for the back of the green

This shot requires a club adjustment. But it’s often hard to tell how much more club to use or how to hit the shot. An old rule of thumb says to take one more club for every 10 yards of elevation. But it’s not easy to tell what 10 yards of elevation looks like from the fairway. What do you do?

First, make all your calculations to the back of the green. Then, take a club that will get you to at least the green’s center—even if the pin is up. Assume your normal stance for a mid-iron club, but play the ball in the center of your stance and lean the shaft towards the target. Try to keep your head even with the ball and swing with confidence.

If you’ve chosen the right club, a good swing gets you home. To avoid the tendency to scoop the ball, focus on making contact with the ball’s bottom. The worst thing to do is to fall back and try to scoop the ball in the air. If you miss, you can find yourself in trouble, which could tack unnecessary strokes onto your score.
3) Question of the Week - Curing Alignment Problems

Q. Hi Jack, I sincerely enjoy the tips and drills. They have helped me tremendously.

My problem is alignment. On the range it's easy, just lay down some clubs, align, and hit away. However, on the course you can't have the benefit of laying down clubs.

Do you have some advice on how to ensure that your clubface, feet, hips, knees, and shoulders are aligned at your target?

Thanks for all the help.
Joe Klumpp

A. Thanks for the question, Joe. Golfers tend to misalign themselves in two ways. Some aim their feet at the target, and then ignore their arms, hips, and/or clubface. Others offset their alignment to compensate for a swing fault, like a slice or a pull. Neither way encourages consistency or accuracy.

To check alignment, use the box-and-one visual aid. Tee the ball opposite your left heel at address. Now draw an imaginary rectangular box on the ground. The box’s left side is the line between your left heel and the ball. The box’s right side is the line between your right heel and a point behind and even with the ball. Try to make the box as square as possible.

Having done that, open the toe of your left foot slightly to allow for your hips to clear. Take a normal golf swing. Concentrate on bringing the clubface squarely into the ball in the box’s upper-left hand corner. Follow through as you normally would.

The box-in-one aid helps achieve square alignment. That in turn improves consistency and accuracy off the tee without short-circuiting power.

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 - Four Secrets To Launching It
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/four-secrets-to-launching-it.php

5) Article - Get Fit And Go Low
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/get-fit-and-go-low.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 Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 3:18 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.