By Jack Moorehouse

If you usually slice off the tee, you’re costing yourself strokes. Slicing lands you in instant trouble, leaving you with bad lies and tough shots. More importantly, slicing boosts your golf handicap and increases pressure on your short game. Most slicers know this. That’s why they’re always looking for a cure. Some find it. Others don’t. Those who don’t find a solution often get frustrated.

But you don’t have to get frustrated with your slice. You can eliminate it once and for all by following a simple, four-step process. It tells you why you slice and provides golf tips that can help correct it. In the end you get a slice-free swing that has you thinking—and acting—like a new player. Eliminating your slice helps chop strokes off your golf handicap and eliminates frustration. Below is the four-step process:

Step 1: Examine Your Divots
Slicers create three types of divots. Each reveals the mechanical problems behind their slice.
Divots that move extremely left of the target line result from swings combining an open clubface and an incorrect swing path.
Divots that move somewhat left of target and then curve back across the target line result from a faulty swing path traveling outside in and across the ball.
Divots that move relatively in line with the swing path but drift slightly left result from and open clubface at impact.

Step 2: Determine Your Downswing Type
Downswings are driven by either a pulling (rotary) or a pushing (lever) motion. A rotary-driven swing uses the hip and trunk rotation as the primary force moving the club. With this type of swing, the golfer turns his or her body counterclockwise, with the club being dragged through impact. A lever-driven swing is one in which the right hand and forearm are the primary force behind the downswing. With this type of swing, the shoulder and chest rotation are delayed as the right hand and forearm power the club down into impact.

Step 3: Match Your Grip
It’s critical that your grip matches your downswing type. If you’re a rotary swinger, you need a stronger grip than a leverage swinger. A stronger grip counters the open impact position by keeping the right hand and elbow bent and tucked into the body, which in turn lowers the right shoulder and keeps the clubhead on the correct path.

If you’re a lever swinger, you want a more conventional grip or even a bit of a weaker grip. For a lever swinger, a grip that’s too strong results in a closed clubface at impact, producing hooks. To make sure your grip works with your swing type, focus on developing a setup position that’s correct and use your impact position to check on your grip—when your wrists unhinge at impact, the clubface should be square.

Step 4: Find The Slot
It’s critical you get the club properly slotted.  It’s also critical you match your transition to your swing type. If you’re a rotary swinger, the most important things to focus on when making the transition into the slot are letting the arms be relatively passive so they can swing freely and maintaining a slightly closed clubface position. At the top the rotary swinger’s position is somewhat flatter than the lever swinger’s and the left wrist is slightly bowed. Both are musts.

If you’re a lever swinger, the most important things to focus on when making the transition is shifting your weight onto the left leg, shifting the left shoulder left with no pulling of the left arm, and keeping the right wrists bent. At the top, the most important things are keeping the clubface square and the right hand and wrist bent to maintain width and keep the club on path.

Slicing is the game’s most common swing fault. It’s also among its deadliest. If you slice consistently off the tee, you’re often find yourself in instant trouble. This costs you strokes and boosts your golf handicap. To eliminate your slice, follow the four-step process described above. It will help you to hit them long and straight. Hitting them long and straight like they teach you in golf lessons boosts confidence and saves frustration.

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Think Your Way To Solid Irons
2) Hit Pinpoint Bunker Shots
3) Question of the Week: Getting Rid Of The Shanks
4) Article – Five Pro Tips That Will Reduce Golf Handicaps
5) Article – Four Steps To A Slice-Free Swing

Jack’s Note: Who wants a new set of irons? Alex from the Golf Swing Speed Challenge is giving away some really nice ones if you’re interested. He’s also unloading some GPS’s and other cool stuff. Oh yeah, he’s the guy who has the simplest system I know of to add massive distance to your game.

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1) Think Your Way To Solid Irons

Do you think about your swing too much? Many weekend golfers do . Thinking about the mechanics of your swing when at the range is great. That’s the place to eliminate swing faults. But thinking about your swing while on the tee box is bad. Thinking about folding your right elbow or cocking your wrists in the middle of a swing usually ends in a shank, skull, or topper. Eliminate mechanics-based swing thoughts when on the course and you’ll hit solid irons from the fairway every time.

Below are five steps to hitting solid irons:

1. Assess and select
2. Determine shot shape
3. Picture the ball flight
4. Address the starting line
5. See the result in your mind

Accept that you’re going to use the swing you have at the moment. Then, visualize where you want to land the ball. When your mind sees something, you often achieve it. Follow these five steps to do it every time:
Determine your exact yardage, get a sense of your lie, make a good club selection, and commit to the shot.

* Determine your shot shape by standing behind the ball and visualizing the line that your lie will produce. Also, visualize your ball flight.
* Choose a point on the horizon where you want the ball to start. Picture the ball starting in that direction and landing squarely on the green…exactly where you want it to land.
* Address the ball, square yourself to the target, and draw an imaginary line to your point on the horizon. Use the line to align your clubface, hips, and shoulders.
* See an image of your ball flight in your mind as you start your swing. The better your visual image, the better your tempo and rhythm and the better your golf shot.

Forget about swing mechanics when on the course. Thinking about them usually leads to trouble. Instead, follow the five steps above to hit crisper irons from the fairway.
2) Hit Pinpoint Bunker Shots

If you’re like most weekend golfers, you’re happy to escape a bunker in one. But good bunker players not only get out in one, they also control the ball when it hits, saving strokes. You can hit pinpoint bunker shots when you need to by making a minor swing adjustment.

Basically, you have two choices when hitting bunker shots: You can run the ball to the flag or you can have it check up when it hits. Sometimes, running the ball to the pin is the right choice. Other times, checking up is the right choice. Good players can do both.

The difference between the shots is the way your wedge exits the sand. When the wedge exits on a shallow basis, the ball hits ands runs. When the wedge exits at a steep angle, the ball hits and stops. Here’s how to hit both shots:

* To get the ball to hit and run, use a shortened version of your regular full swing, with your body facing the target and your right arm (left for left-handers) stretched across your torso.
* To stop the ball, lift the club out of the sand quickly. Lift the club out of the sand quickly by bending your left elbow after impact. It should feel like you’re trying to get the shaft straight up and down as soon as you make contact with the sand.

Bunker shots are challenging. So most players are happy to get out in one. But if you want to hit accurate sand shots, learn to change how your club exits the sand to add spin to the ball or run it up to flag. Hitting pinpoint bunker shots save strokes.
3) Questions of the Week: Getting Rid Of The Shanks

Q.

Dear Jack:

I’ve been reading your lessons for some time now and there’s a problem I have I wish you could help me. I’m an 18 handicapper. Most of the time I even hit lower than this.

But these past few months I’ve been shanking my shots, especially my approach shots. What should I do to avoid this?

Thanks,
Leslie Agoncillo

A.

Thanks for the question, Leslie. We get this question at least once a year. Here’s the answer: A shank occurs when a ball is caught in the angle between the clubface and the hosel, spinning the ball sideways.

A shank occurs when the clubhead is farther away from a golfer’s body at impact than at address. The primary causes are

1. Standing too close to the ball, which prevents your hands from swinging freely past your body, or
2. Shifting your weight forward onto your toes, throwing your hands and clubface too far from the body.

If your hands are the problem, place a ball about a half-inch outside your ball. Then, try hitting the inner ball cleanly. Try to sense that your hands are closer to your body through impact and that you’re going to hit the ball on the club’s toe. If you hit both balls, your hands are still too close to the outer ball.

If weight shift is the problem, curl your toes inside your golf shoes. Keep them curled throughout the swing. If this doesn’t work, place a ball under the front of each foot, pushing your weight back on your heels. Practice hitting balls that way until the shanks disappear.

Also, gripping the club too tightly can’t cause the shanks, but it can contribute to them.

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 Steps To A Slice-Free Swing
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/four-steps-to-a-slice-free-swing.php

5) Article – Five Pro Tips That Will Reduce Golf Handicaps
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/five-pro-tips-that-will-reduce-golf-handicaps.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.

By Jack Moorehouse

Average size players like Sergio Garcia and Annika Sorenstam prove that you don’t have to be a giant to hit the ball long. To hit the ball long like Sergio and Annika, you’ll probably have to change your mind-set a little and make some minor adjustments to your every day routine. Making these changes can add 20 or even 30 yards to your shots and help you chop strokes off your golf handicap—without spending hours at the range. We call it power over easy.

The hardest thing for weekend players to accept is that they don’t have to swing hard to hit the ball long. I see students in my golf lessons swing harder all the time. Professional golfers seldom swing harder than 85 percent on any shot. More often, they’re swinging at 70 percent. They’ve learned to swing easily and smoothly and let leverage and clubhead speed work for them. To gain extra yardage, work on things like rhythm, tempo, and technique.

Upgrading Your Fitness Level
Fitness level is another key to power. Many weekend golfers do little to maintain their fitness levels. You can gain extra yardage to your shots just by upgrading your fitness level. Doing cardio, Pilates, Yoga, and/or light weightlifting can transform your body. Improving your fitness level may not directly translate into more distance on your shots, but the improved endurance that comes with upgrading your fitness level will help you hit the ball as far on the 17th tee as on the first.

Another golf tip on generating more yards from your shots is to take advantage of today’s advancements in golf technology. New drivers, shafts, and balls are great, but players don’t benefit from them completely unless they work together. For example, some balls spin less and launch higher than others. These balls enable you to use higher-lofted drivers, which provide more carry. More carry translates into longer shots, especially when playing on firm fairways.

Plug The Power Leaks
In addition to modern technology, plug the power leaks in your swing. For example, among the biggest power leaks is the tendency to take the club back with your hands and arms not in sync with your body. When the hands get too far from you, your body sucks the club inside and the player “lays-off” at the top. In other words, he points the club left of the target at the top. Once this happens you must correct this power leak with your hands. This is a leading cause of inconsistency. Golf instruction sessions can help you plug the power leaks in your swing.

Finally, learn to release the club properly. When weekend golfers feel like they need to hit the ball a long way, they tense up—almost as if they were going to get punched. They clench their muscles and hold the club really tight. That tension restricts the player’s ability to cock his wrists and reduces his turn, as I’ve mentioned in my golf tips newsletter. That, in turn, leads to shorter shots. Keep your hands loose and soft and you’ll add distance to your shots.

Also, learn to feel the clubhead releasing. When you’ve released the clubhead properly, you should feel like your left side is bringing the club back and right side is bringing it forward. To reinforce this feeling, hold a heavy club—like a sand wedge— in your right hand (left for left-handers) and take small swings, holding the club lightly in your fingers. Use the right hand, arm, shoulder, and hip to swing the club through, and feel the weight of the club itself promoting a good release. With a good release, there’s no holding on or manipulation to try to square the clubface at impact.

You don’t need to attend dozens of golf instruction sessions or hit hundreds of golf balls at the range to generate more power. There are easier ways. Work on rhythm, tempo, and technique, upgrade your fitness level, plug the power leaks in your swing, and learn to release the club correctly and you’ll see yourself hitting longer shots. Longer shots can help you hit your targets more often. Hitting your targets in turn can help you chop strokes off your golf handicap.

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.

By Jack Moorehouse

One way to chop strokes off your golf handicap quickly is to improve your pitching. The closer you land the ball to the pin on a pitch, the easier your putt. To improve your pitching, you first must learn to hit all your wedges. That sounds like a lot of work but it’s not. You don’t have to master pitching with each wedge. You just have to practice enough to develop a favorite while knowing which shots to avoid. Then make that favorite your go-to pitch shot under pressure.

Once you’ve learned to hit all your wedges, the next step is learning to control your pitches after they land. It’s one of the keys to pitching success. Usually, it’s best to land a pitch shot at least three feet on the green, as I’ve said in my golf tips newsletter. It’s better to hit a higher, softer shot with a 64-degree wedge than to try and hit the fringe and roll the ball to the pin. Fringes cause more bad bounces than the green, making it harder to control the shot after hitting.

Choose An Approach
Another key decision with pitches is choosing an approach. Some players hit low pitches that run. Others hit high pitches that land softly. Both approaches work. However, the best finesse players prefer shot trajectory rather than spin to control the placement and bounce on greens. High soft-landing shots are more predictable when well executed. Plus, they’re easier to hit time after time, as you may have learned in your golf lessons. Low running shots are harder to hit well consistently.

Let your skill at executing the shot, plus its margin for error and its probability of success, determine your approach. If you think you can get the ball closer with a flop shot than a bump-and-run, use the flop shot. The key is getting the ball as close to the pin as possible. Also, commit to the shot before swinging. If you’re not committed to the shot, your chances of executing it drop. Practice the shot in your mind first, then take your stance and hit.

Decide On Loft
If you choose to hit a high shot, you must then decide on the shot’s loft. This is a key decision because a shot’s loft affects its roll. How much loft do you need? A good golf tip to keep in mind is that when hitting a pitching wedge from bent grass, the ball rolls about as far as it flies. With a sand wedge from bent grass, the ball runs about two-thirds of its carry. If you hit a sand wedge with 15 yards of carry, it runs about 10 yards. With more lofted wedges on bent grass, the ball runs about half the carry distance.

Modify these estimates based on the green’s conditions. For example, the harder the green, the farther the ball rolls after landing. The softer the green, the sooner it stops. Also keep in mind that the higher the shot, the deeper the pitch mark the ball makes and the faster it stops. Shots from bent, rye, or bluegrass are easier to hit because the grass doesn’t grab your club as much as other grasses. Bermuda grass is difficult to pitch from, especially if you’re hitting against the grain. Kikuya grass, the dominant grass in Japan, is the most difficult to pitch from.

Effects Of Grass
Many greens have bent, rye, and Bermuda grass. They all affect the ball differently after hitting. Below are some golf tips to keep in mind:

* Expect more roll on bent greens and a little less on the thicker, stronger-bladed Bermuda greens.
* Expect almost no affect from the grain on bent grass, unless you can see it growing in once direction or another.
* Bermuda grain has a big affect on roll. Hitting into the grain, the ball stops faster. Hitting with the grain, the ball rolls farther.

Ask in the clubhouse what type of grass the course uses on its greens. Then use the above golf tips as guidelines when pitching. Also keep in mind that pitch-shot execution errors can be magnified or minimized depending on where a ball lands. So if you want to quickly chop strokes off your golf handicap, improve your pitching by controlling where the ball lands.

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.