"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.

What’s the most frustrating shot in golf? Some say it’s the pop-up after a great drive. Others say it’s hitting a dribbler on an easy approach shot. Then there are those who say that topping the ball from a great fairway lie is the most frustrating shot. Those mis-hits certainly hurt. But for our money the shank is by far the most frustrating shot in golf. It’s also among the most dreaded. Once you start shanking the ball, it’s often hard to stop—even with golf lessons.

If you’re among golfers who’ve started shanking the ball and can’t stop, you’re not alone. Plenty of golfers have suddenly had this problem. Many were unable to stop, even if their lives depended on it. As with most mis-hits in golf, specific reasons exist for shanking a shot. There are also fixes that can help you shake off the shanks. These fixes are simple to execute and apply, and can really benefit your game. With their help, you can rid yourself of the shanks, keeping your golf handicap in check.

Swinging From The Outside In.
A shank can happen many ways. One way is by swinging the club from outside the target line to inside the target line. When you swing outside in, you risk hitting the ball with the clubhead’s neck and hosel. If you’re really good at finding the clubface before impact (or your clubface is closed at impact), you probably won’t shank. If you’re not good at making hand adjustments—and most golfers are not—you’ll shank the shot.

The key to stopping this cause of shanks is to swing the club more from the inside out. In other words, start your takeaway inside the target line, and initiate the downswing with the body to prevent coming over the top and swinging across the ball. Some teachers refer to this as “dropping the club in the slot.” Do this and rotate through to the finish and you’ll shank your shots a lot less.

Hands Not Releasing
Another cause for shanking is not releasing your hands through impact or releasing them too slowly through impact. The hands must release the club through the impact zone square to the face before contacting the ball. If they don’t, the club makes contact with the neck of the iron first, boosting your chances of shanking the shot.

To fix this problem, loosen your hands. Then take a few short swings while focusing on releasing the hands well before you reach the ball. This type of release is unusual, but it helps greatly when it’s time to make a full swing. At that point, your hands will be ready to release right over the golf ball, the way they should.

Open Face And Body
A third cause of shanking is an overactive body turn. If you’ve read my golf tips newsletter, you know how important body turn is. If the body slides or rotates too much and the arms don’t have time to catch up, the clubface reaches the target wide open, increasing your chances of hitting the ball with the club’s neck. In fact, anytime your body and arms disconnect, you risk shanking your shot. To overcome this swing flaw, try this simple drill that I use in my golf lessons:

Align your stance so your front foot is closest to the target and is about a foot in front of your other foot. Your other foot should be behind you. At this point, you should be standing so that it looks like you’re walking forward. Now hit some balls from this stance.

The drill teaches you to maintain your turn away from the ball. It also allows your arms to swing from the proper path and release the clubhead on time. It’s a great drill to get your swing coming from the inside out and for limiting excess body rotation through impact—both of which lead to a mis-hit.

Shanking is among the most frustrating shots in golf. Once you start, you can’t always stop. Shanking affects golfers at anytime and at any level. Even veteran golfers with low golf handicaps sometimes have a bout of the shanks. Swinging the club from the outside in instead of inside out can cause you to shank. But learning to swing from the inside out will help prevent the dreaded shanks from occurring and your golf handicap from rising.

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.

Every golfer wants to excel when he or she plays. But learning to play golf well is hard. That’s why only a handful of golfers own single digit golf handicaps. These golfers rack up low golf handicaps because they know how to save strokes around the green, not because they hit the ball a ton. A great way to save strokes around the green is by mastering the art of getting up and down. Doing so can save you a ton of strokes over the season.

To master the art of getting up and down, you must understand how your wedges work. For example, you need to know what “bounce” is and how it affects your shots. You also need to know the best place to hold your elbow during wedge shots. And you need to know how your right elbow affects short game shots pitches. Having learned all this, you can then go on to practicing drills that can boost your ability to get up and down.

Choosing The Right Wedge
Some golfers carry as many as four wedges in their bags—a pitching wedge, sand wedge, gap wedge, and a lob or a flop wedge. The primary difference between these wedges is their “bounce.” Bounce is the part of the clubhead that hangs down behind the leading edge, as I’ve explained in my golf tips newsletter. It allows the club to skid instead of dig into the ground, making the wedges play differently. Generally speaking, a club with more bounce is easier to hit from the sand and rough because it doesn’t dig into the ground.

Bounce often determines which club is best suited for making a short game shot For example, a 58-degree wedge with 12 degrees of bounce offers the most flexibility from sand and grass. That’s why many pro golfers use this club around the greens, instead of a 52-degree gap wedge or a pitching wedge. The 58-degree wedge is also more useful than a 60-degree wedge with no bounce, which is much harder to hit. That’s why many golfers use the 58-degree wedge as their “go to” club for short game shots.

The Wrists And The Clubface
Your wrists at impact and the face of your club work together. To see this relationship, hold a tennis or badminton racket with your lead hand. Use a golf grip. If you’re right-handed, grip the club with your left hand. A cupped left wrist adds loft to the racket for a higher shot. A neutral or flat left wrist produces a neutral face. A bowed left wrist reduces loft. However, in all these positions, the racket face remains square to the back of your left hand, as many learn in golf instruction sessions. The same holds true for the clubface.

Your back elbow also plays a huge part in hitting good short game shots, which many golfers don’t realize—as I discovered in my golf lessons. Trying to manipulate the clubhead on the backswing is among the most flagrant short game swing flaws. The player either pulls the clubhead inside or pushes it outside, both of which lead to poor results. Instead, slide your right elbow along your side on the backswing and let your right wrist hinge softly. This keeps the clubhead under control, increasing consistency.

Get Forward On Short Game Shots
The key to hitting solid short game shots is setting your weight forward. Also key is keeping your shoulders level. To do that, hold the club in front of you in your right hand and slide your left hand down your left leg. When your left hand gets to your knee, move it to the club and take your normal grip. To get used to how this shift feels, hit some sand shots from this tilted position. This exercise trains you to avoid leaning back during your swing.

If you’re serious about chopping strokes off your golf handicap, you must master the art of getting up and down. Doing so can cut a ton of strokes off your score during the course of a year. Use the golf tips provided above to help you understand how your equipment affects your shots. Once you understand the equipment side of the equation, making adjustments will be easier. Before you know it, getting up and down will be a piece of cake.

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.

In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Optimize Your Backswing For More Yards
2) Putting Spin On Long Irons
3) Question of the Week - This Home Drill Improves Your Hip Turn
4) Article - Saving Shots Around The Green
5) Article - Shaking Off The Shanks
1) Optimize Your Backswing For More Yards

Optimizing your downswing and impact position is critical to good ballstriking. Just as important to good ballstriking is optimizing your backswing. In fact, some experts consider it more important than the other two swing elements. The backswing is where you build speed and width—two key ingredients to a powerful swing. To become a great ballstriker, you must first put yourself in position to make a powerful downswing into the ball.

Below are five signs that you’ve made a good backswing:

1. Arms are fully extended
2. Wrists are fully hinged
3. Clubface is parallel to forearm
4. Body is rotated around the back knee
5. Head is behind the ball

Some players think that generating a good backswing means raising their hands high at the top of the swing. Not so. To generate more yards from your shots, you must optimize your backswing. Doing so builds torque, which you need to drive the ball long and straight.

A good backswing features the arms extended, the wrists fully hinged, and the clubface parallel to the left forearm for right-handed golfers. For left-handed golfers, the clubface would be parallel to the right forearm.

In addition, the golfer’s upper body is rotated around the back knee. Proper rotation puts the left shoulder behind the ball and increases weight distribution to the back leg. More importantly, it places your head behind the ball.

Check your backswing in a mirror. See if you’re “faking it”—just lifting your hands above your head. If you are, you’re losing power. To increase this power, hinge your wrists and rotate your body during the backswing. When you hinge and rotate, you shift your weight automatically to the right side, putting you in position for making a powerful downswing into the ball.
2) Putting Spin On Long Irons

Many golfers have replaced their 3- and 4-irons with hybrids. They’re shorter and easier to hit. But some golfers haven’t switched clubs. They’re still using long irons when the situation presents itself. But you must be careful with long irons. The longer the iron the greater the chance of catching the shot thin. Even when you hit the ball solidly, you’re not compressing it against the ground, costing you distance and shot-stopping spin.

Here are five keys to hitting solid long irons:

* Take your regular address
* Shift your hips to the front
* Stretch the club away
* Push your spikes into the ground
* Swing down on the ball

To compress the ball and get the full distance and spin potential from a long iron, you must be on your front side at impact. Using a “stack and stretch” move helps you hit crisp irons.

Take your regular address position. Shift your weight slightly so that your front hip is over your front heel. And keep your shoulders even. If you’re trying to compress the ball, the last thing you want to do is tilt your upper body toward the target.

As you take the club to the top, stretch its butt away from your body as much as possible while keeping your front heel on the ground and your weight on the left side. This is a key move because it puts you in a powerful position.

Start your downswing by pushing the spikes of your front shoe into the ground. Dig them in as deep as you can. This move shifts more of your weight to your front foot before you start to unwind and gives you a strong base that will allow you to hit down on the ball firmly.

To practice the stack and stretch move, wrap one piece of a Theraband around the instep of your front foot and the other around the fingers in your forward hand. As you swing to the top, the Theraband adds resistance, which is what you should feel in your front side as you swing.
3) Question of the Week - This Home Drill Improves Your Hip Turn

Q. Hi Jack, Which drills would help me improve my hip turn in the downswing? My problem is that during the downswing I release the arms and hands before I swift my weight.

Best regards,
José Carlos

A. Thanks for the question, José. It sounds like you’re having problems synchronizing your upper and lower bodies during your swing. The Synchro-Turn Drill teaches body synchronization. It’s a simple drill you can do at home:

Take your stance facing a full-length mirror. Bend slightly at the knees and hips. Assume your address position. And move your hands to your hips, with your thumbs forward. Now pinch your elbows toward each other behind your back, locking your shoulders and hips together.

Start your backswing by turning your lower and upper bodies away from the target. When you’ve turned as far as you can, hold that position for a second or two. You should have turned your hips far enough so that your lead knee is pulled slightly toward you’re back knee.

Start the downswing by moving everything together. Turn as if you’re swinging a club. Move through impact to the finish and stop. Now look at where you are. Your chest should point left of target, if you’re right-handed. Your weight should be on your forward foot. Your back toe should be up for balance and be weightless. And your back knee should be covering your front knee. Repeat this drill 25 times while keeping your head and spine in the same position fixed.

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 - Saving Shots Around The Green
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/saving-shots-around-the-green.php

5) Article - Shaking Off The Shanks
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/shaking-off-the-shanks.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.