How To Break 80 Newsletter

April 02, 2008

“The Web’s Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter”
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In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Stand and Deliver
2) Try “Dead-Hands” Chipping Style
3) Question of the Week - Achieving a One-Piece Takeaway
4) Article - Coming To Grips With Your Grip
5) Article - 4 Hard Shots Simplified

Jack’s Note: First off, thanks to all of our gracious customers who took the most recent survey on our DVD instruction and what’s coming up. I plan to use that input in a meaningful way when we’re putting together the new instructional products for this year. Also, I’ve got some great things lined up for you guys in the coming months and while I’m quite excited about them, I can’t go into a great deal of detail at this time. But stay tuned because shortly I’ll be delivering some of the best instructional content I’ve ever put out.

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1) Stand and Deliver
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Good posture is critical to hitting the ball solid. The more your back is curved at address, the more likely you’ll lift up to hit the ball. Lifting up prevents you from hitting the ball with authority. It also robs you of power. Keeping your back straight, on the other hand, promotes consistent contact.

Below are 5 steps to attaining perfect posture:

1. Stand tall with feet spread apart
2. Hold the club in front of you
3. Bend forward at the hips
4. Flex your knees
5. Stick out your butt

Standing up straight helps maintain balance—a key factor in a good swing. In fact, it’s better to stand too tall than to slouch. Start by standing up straight with the inside of your feet shoulder width apart. Balance your wieght on the balls of your feet. And turn your toes out slightly.

Next, hold the club out in front of you. Bend forward from the hips until the club touches the ground. Your back should remain straight. Flex your knees a bit and stick your butt out slightly. Sticking your butt out helps balance you when you bend forward. Try keeping your back straight throughout your swing.

Your quadriceps—the muscles on the front and outside portion of your thighs—supports your swing. To strengthen them, put your back against the wall and slowly lower yourself into a sitting position. Stay there for a few seconds or until your thighs begin to burn. Then push up slowly until your standing. Do this exercise a few times a day and you’ll build those muscles up.

Assuming the proper posture is critical to achieving a good swing. Slouching or slumping prevents your making solid contact and robs you of power. Follow the five-step process discussed above you to attain perfect posture every time.

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2) Try “Dead-Hands” Chipping Style
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The secret to improving quickly is mastering the short game. Chipping is a vital component of the short game. So if you’re not blowing people away with your chipping, try using the “dead-hands” approach. The swing is simpler and easier to repeat. It encourages consistency. And the ball behaves the same on almost every shot - although it doesn’t stop as quickly as with the traditional style of chipping.

Here are 5 tips on using the dead-hands approach:

* Set your weight on front foot
* Lean the shaft forward a bit
* Use shoulders and forearms
* Drag the club through impact
* Keep hands and wrist quiet

The key with the dead-hands style is keeping your wrists quiet. With the traditional style, proficient chippers often hinge their wrists abruptly on the backswing to generate clubhead speed and backspin. But if you don’t practice or play a lot, it’s hard to develop consistency with this approach. Enter the dead-hands style.

First, take your normal address position, then set your weight forward. Lean the shaft forward slightly, so that your hands are just ahead of the ball. Now, using just your shoulders and forearms, “drag” the club through impact. All your hands do is hold onto the grip through contact and beyond. And don’t break your wrists.

The dead-hands style eliminates the sudden flick that weekend golfers often make when using the traditional approach to chipping. With this style, both the wrists and hands stay quiet.

You don’t have to wait until you’re on the practice green to try this approach. You can practice it in your backyard. And you can practice it during the winter. Chipping doesn’t involve a big swing and if you get proficient chipping over frozen turf, you’ll be dynamite when the whether warms up. Improving your short game is the fastest way of knocking strokes off your golf handicap - bar none.

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3) Question of the Week - Achieving a One-Piece Takeaway
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Q. Hi, Jack, How is it that Lee Trevino tells his “subjects,” George Lopez, for instance, on his latest Golf Channel appearance, to “always keep the club pointing to the center of the chest until the cocking of the wrist”? Is it at that point when you start the downswing with the body?

Anthony Fernandes

A. Thanks for the question. What Lee is talking about is the takeaway. It determines the swing’s shape and tempo, so you want to get it right. In a way, it’s a lot like chess. A good opening move can set the tempo of play.

Most instructors tell you that a good takeaway involves using a one-piece movement. Moving the club, hands, arms, and chest in unison keeps the clubhead low and the backswing full during the takeaway. It also starts a wide and powerful move away from the ball.

One way you can achieve a one-piece takeaway is by keeping the club’s butt pointing at the center of your chest until you start cocking your wrists, which usually comes at about hip high. That’s what Lee is saying.

Another way to ensure a smooth, one-piece take away is, at address, to think of your arms and shoulders as forming an inverted isosceles triangle with the club. Focus on turning this triangle back with your chest and naval. Moving the club back in this way guarantees a one-piece take away.

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

To view this newsletter online, please visit:
http://www.howtobreak80.com/newsletter04022008.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Coming To Grips With Your Grip
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/coming-to-grips-with-your-grip.html

5) Article - 4 Hard Shots Simplified
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/4-hard-shots-simplified.html

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, send a blank email to break80ezine@aweber.com

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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.