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How To Break 80 Newsletter
January 20, 2012
"The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"
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In this issue we’ll discuss…
1) Tip: Maintain Your Spine Angle For Consistency
2) Tip: Sink More Putts With This Change
3) Drill: Achieve Consistency Now
4) Article: Golf Tips For The Complete Player
5) Article: Lies: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Jack’s Note: Did you see those two cool videos I sent out earlier this week? They’re all about hitting the ball further and fixing a slice. If you missed them, you can see them here below. Lots of great comments! We look forward to your input as well.
Video #1 – Add Big Yardage
Video #2 – Stop Pushing/Fading In 30 Seconds
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1) Maintain Your Spine Angle For Consistency
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If you lack consistency in your swing, you’re not alone. Many golfers do. One reason why is that they don’t maintain their spine angles throughout the shot. Instead, in an effort to generate more power, they jab the upper body up and away from the ball as they try to lift and pull the ball into the air. Jabbing alters the spine angle during the shot, throwing the swing completely out of sync. Changing your spine angle not only fosters inconsistency, it also results in weak shots.
Here are five keys to maintaining your spine angle throughout your swing:
- Lean by hinging from your hip socket
- Maintain a straight back and neck
- Add knee flex to posture
- Rotate your hips fully through the shot
- Maintain back shoulder under chin
You must maintain your spine angle through impact to achieve consistency in your golf swing. Achieving consistency is a key to becoming a complete player.
Use your 5-iron for this golf tip. Start by leaning forward at address. Make sure you lean forward from the hips and that your back and chin are straight. Next, add a little knee flex. Use your 5-iron to judge how much lean and knee flex you need. With the proper lean and knee flex, the 5-iron’s shaft and your spine angle should be perpendicular to one another. This is your optimum spine angle.
Having found your optimum spine angle, you must learn to maintain it through impact. The best way to do this is to rotate your hips fully through the shot. When your hips don’t rotate, the body has nowhere to go but up, leading to weak shots and a lack of consistency.
If you focus on maintaining your back shoulder under your chin through impact, you’ll maintain your spine angle throughout the swing. I you want to achieve consistency, learn to maintaining your spine angle throughout your swing.
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2) Sink More Putts With This Change
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If your putts tend to fall short of the hole, it could be due to left-wrist break down (right wrist for lefties) during your stroke. When you do this, you push the putterhead in front of the shaft, adding extra loft to the ball and causing it to bounce and skid over the green. Putts that bounce and skid lose momentum and invariably fall short of the hole. The best way of keeping your left wrist firm at impact is to use an all-shoulders putting motion.
Here are five keys to putting with an all-shoulders motion:
- Form a “V” shape with your shoulders and arms
- Point your elbows away from the club shaft
- Bend your arms slightly
- Lighten your grip and keep your head still
- Keep your body still by locking your legs
With an all-shoulders motion, your hands should feel like they’re just holding the putter, as your shoulders work the putter back and through. This motion allows you to strike the ball with the correct amount of loft to produce pure roll. The drill below trains you to use an all-shoulders motion:
Pin the shaft of your sand wedge against your chest using your elbows. Secure it by pressing your elbows to your side. This creates a triangle of your shoulders, arms, and hands. Now stroke some putts holding the shaft firmly in place. Spend 10 minutes like this hitting medium length putts.
If you still find it hard to maintain a firm left wrist, try a different grip. Grips like the left-hand low grip and the claw grip are good options. Studies show that these grips help gol-fers control left-wrist breakdown by reducing the influence of the left hand during the stroke. Less wrist breakdown means you’ll get the ball to the hole more often and sink more putts.
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3) Drill: Achieve Consistency Now
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A common swing fault among weekend players is swaying. This fault occurs when you move laterally during your downswing. Excess swaying can cause all sorts of problems, including a critical one—inconsistency. If you’re in a different spot at impact each time you hit the ball, your ball will wind up in different spots on the course. Use this drill to curb swaying:
Take your normal stance at the practice range. Have a friend brace your golf bag against your back leg. Now make some practice swings. Try to make the swings without pushing into the bag on your backswing. If you brush against it, you’ve swayed. Now do it again with the bag between you and the target. Brace the bag so it’s even with your front shoe but leave a little extra space between your shoe and the bag. That way your front leg can move slightly toward the target and become perpendicular to the ground.
Practicing this drill curbs lateral swaying. Do that and you’ll not only boost consistency, you’ll hit the ball solidly every time.
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: Golf Tips For The Complete Player
…Scoring well during a round depends on two things: keeping the ball in play and playing well from 100 yards in…
5) Article: Lies: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
…While making adjustments is the key to playing a good, solid round of golf, it’s more critical to adjust to some than others…
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
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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.
