In this issue we’ll discuss…
Save Strokes from Hillside Lies
Hitting the 3-Wood High Or Low
Question of the Week – Conquering Those Long Bunker Shots
Article – Four Keys To A Perfect Swing
Article – Become A Lights Out Putter With A Practice Routine
Save Strokes from Hillside Lies
Golfers botch hillside lies for two reasons: They either fail to make solid contact on or lose their balance during the shot. The reason: With sidehill and downhill lies, you tend to lean into the hill as you swing. The result: an inconsistent array of fat and thin shots. But if you make clean contact on hillside lies, you’ll hit it straighter and save strokes.
Below are four keys to making clean contact with hillside lies:
- Adjust your club selection
- Adjust your ball position
- Flare your downhill foot
- Make your normal shot
The key to this shot is making sure your shoulders match the hill’s slope, which you can do with a simple adjustment of your front foot.
Start by choosing your club. An uphill lie adds loft to your club. Use a less lofted club. A downhill lie subtracts loft from your club. Use a more lofted club.
Adjust your ball position as well. For an uphill lie, play the ball forward an inch or two. For a downhill lie, play the ball in the middle of your stance or slightly back.
Finally, match your shoulders to the slope without losing your balance. Do this by flaring your front foot about 45 degrees. Then swing normally.
Your flared foot evens out your stance and puts the ball at the bottom of your swing. This keeps you from slamming your clubhead into the hill or the center of your ball. A flared foot also gives you more freedom of movement in your backswing and makes you feel balanced while swinging.
Don’t let hillside lies throw you. Make solid contact by (1) adjusting your club selection and ball position, and (2) matching your shoulders to the slope by flaring your front foot. Learn to make clean contact on hillside lies and odds are you’ll eliminate those extra shots that pad your scores.
Hitting the 3-Wood High Or Low
One course I play has two different types of par 5s. Both greens are reachable from the fairway in two with a 3-wood. But on one you must go over a small pond to reach the green. On the other you have nothing but fairway between you and the green. On the first you want to hit a high shot that falls softly on the green. On the second you want to hit a low shot that runs to the green.
Here are five keys to hitting the 3-wood from a tight fairway lie:
- Play the ball back in your stance
- Sweep the ball off the turf
- Hit with a descending blow
- Shift your weight to the front side
- Swing through the ball
The key to hitting different shots with the 3-wood is to adjust your stance, not your swing, to achieve the lofts you need. In fact, it’s almost always better adjust your stance than change your swing.
For the high shot over the water, play the ball a little more forward in your stance and drop your hands slightly at address. Also place a bit more weight over your back foot by tilting your spine away from your target. These adjustments position you perfectly to sweep the ball off the turf while adding loft to your clubface.
To play a shot with a lower, more piercing trajectory, do the opposite. Position the ball where you’d play a mid-iron and set more weight on your forward leg. These adjustments de-loft the club at impact and produce the lower ball flight you need to run the ball to the green.
Adjusting your stance to achieve a different shot with the 3-wood is the preferred option when you need different ball flights from the same club. It’s both safer and easier to execute this move than changing your swing.
Question of the Week – Conquering Those Long Bunker Shots
Q. Hi Jack, I get out of greenside bunkers fairly easily, but the longer bunker shots are a problem. What do you suggest for a 25- to 50-foot bunker shot?
Robert K Mokros
Spring Hill, Florida
A. Thanks for the question, Robert. The goal with a long bunker shot is to hit the ball high and drop it softly on the green.
Using a normal set-up, position the ball just inside your front heel, open your stance slightly, and grip down on the club, applying light to moderate pressure. Point the clubface at the target and the shaft’s butt at your stomach.
As you start back, cup the back of your left wrist (right wrist for lefties). This adds loft to the clubface. On the way down, maintain the cup of the left for a long as possible. Feel as if you’re pulling down with the left arm. Then lock the back of the left wrist, allowing the clubface to slide through sand without it closing.
Finally, let your hands and wrist fall together as the body weight shifts to the outside of the front foot. Keep your head behind the ball by trying to peek under it at impact.
You’ll need a lot of backspin with this shot. So use a wide arc during your backswing by keeping your hands as far from your shoulders as possible. Also, use an inside-to-square-to-inside swing path.
Execute the golf tips explained above and you’ll hit a long bunker shot that drops softly on the green.
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
To view this newsletter online, please visit:
http://www.howtobreak80.com/newsletter09232009.php
Here are some of my recent articles:
Article – Four Keys To A Perfect Swing
Article – Become A Lights Out Putter With A Practice Routine
Until next time,
Go Low!
Jack
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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.