How To Break 80 Newsletter

August 1st, 2011

"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"

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In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Swing Normally From Fairway Bunkers

2) Balance Keys Good Setup

3) Question of the Week: Escaping the Sand

4) Article: How To Control Your Wedges

5) Article: Easy & Simple Putting Tips to Save Strokes

Jack's Note: Should be an exciting week as Tiger will be back in action. I personally hope he can stay healthy and put on a good performance. How's your golf game coming along this season? Would love to hear about it. You can hit reply to this email---always love to hear from you guys.

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1) Swing Normally From Fairway Bunkers

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Even a well-struck drive can end up in a fairway bunker. When that happens, you want to get out of the bunker as cleanly as possible. One of the most common mistakes when hitting from a fairway bunker is trying to hit the ball too hard. That causes you to lunge at the ball instead of staying back. While every fairway bunker is different, the basics of hitting from one are the same—whether the bunker has a high lip or a low lip.

Below are six keys to hitting from a fairway bunker:

Choke down slightly

Take a wider stance

Play the ball back

Quiet your lower body

Keep your feet stable

Take an extra club

Your main goal when hitting from a fairway bunker is getting back on the fairway in good position for the next shot. Follow the golf tips below and you’ll do that every time.

Choke down on the club slightly to start with, which encourages ball-first contact—a must on shots like these. Play the ball back in your address position and take a wider stance than normal, creating stability.

Keep your feet still as you swing. They shouldn’t move at all from where they were at address. By minimizing motion through the swing, you’ll stay level through the shot and make solid contact at impact.

Also, keep your lower body quiet when swinging. You want as little lower body motion as possible. This will keep your swing shallow.

To avoid overswinging, take an extra club. If you usually hit a 7-iron from this distance, use a 6-iron. Then swing nor.mally

The most common error when hitting from a fairway bunker is swinging too hard. Instead, follow the keys explained above and swing about 75 percent and you’ll conquer any fairway bunker you land in.

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2) Balance Keys Good Setup

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Balance is the key to a good setup. In fact, it ’s probably the most important ingredient in your setup. Your balance is greatly affected by the position of your head, the heaviest part of your body. If your head is out of position at address, chances are good your balance will be off—and so will your golf swing. To make the perfect swing, you must position your head correctly.

If you assume the proper setup posture and let your arms hang naturally under your shoulder, they’ll swing a long a straight line. If you tilt your head upwards slightly, the path your arms create shifts to an inside-out swing. If you lower your head, the path your arms take shifts to an outside-in swing.

You think that an outside-in arm path would produce the same type of swing path. But it doesn’t. Instead, it produces the opposite. Your body naturally compensates for the adjustment with your head, so you swing on the opposite swing path to keep your balance. Thus you need to keep your head in the right position to maintain good balance and execute a good swing.

Here’s a drill to teach you how to set up with the perfect posture:

Stand upright and hold your driver so it’s flat against your back. The clubhead should touch the back of your head and the grip should rest against the end of your spine. Keeping a flat back, bend over from the hips. Flex your knees into an athletic position. Don’t slouch or tuck in your rear end. With your head in this position, you’re well on your way to achieving proper balance.

Balance is the key to hitting them long and straight. Your head is the most important part of your setup when it comes to achieving balance. Focus on keeping your head in the right position and achieving the proper posture, and you’ll hit it straight more often than not.

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3) Question of the Week: Escaping the Sand

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Q.

Hi Jack,

I’m a pretty good sand player and have no fear at all when I'm in a bunker. But there’s one course where we play where the sand is very soft. I find it impossible to make a good shot out of there. In fact sometimes I can't even get out. Can you tell me if there’s a different way I should be playing this shot.

Thank you,

Brian Rypien

A.

Great question.  Dave Pelz, the short-game guru, offers a slightly different approach to hitting out of sand. Most golfers use the “dig and push method” to escape the sand. With this method the golfer hits about an inch behind the ball. The leading edge of the club digs down two or three inches and the golfer pushes the sand and ball out and onto the green.

Pelz suggests using “the scoot and spin” method. There are three keys to this method: (1) set up and aim your body and swing line about 20 degrees left of target; (2) set the clubface extremely open, more so than you normally do for a sand shot; and (3) position the ball forward on a line on the inside of the heel of your left foot.

Once set up correctly, you swing parallel to your bodyline. But instead of digging the club into the sand an inch or two, slide the clubface under and past the ball, ending with a full, high finish and 99 percent of your weight on your front foot.

Two things happen when you slide the club under the ball: (1) the club passes under the ball, never actually touching it; and (2) the club continues out and up, leaving the sand before the ball and throwing only a little sand forward. The ball pops out to the left of your bodyline.

Pelz does a good job of explaining the “scoot and spin” sand shot in his book, Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible. His method, says Peltz, gives you more margin for error and more consistency.

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.

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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

Click here to view this newsletter on the web

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article: How To Control Your Wedges

... Your wedges are the keys to cutting strokes from your golf handicap. A good wedge shot, as we’ve often said in our golf tips newsletter, can turn three shots into two. But you must learn to control your wedges to capitalize on their stroke-saving capabilities...

5) Article: Easy & Simple Putting Tips To Save Strokes

...Before practicing any of these drills, check your grip. It must feel comfortable when putting. Start by gripping the handle in your left palm (right palm, if you’re left-handed), and not in the fingers. The handle should go right under the fleshy part of your thumb. Then, add your right hand, also gripping the handle in your palm...

Until next time,

Go Low!

Jack

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About the Author

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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.

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