By Jack Moorehouse

Ever wonder what’s the toughest shot in golf? Candidates abound. There’s the restricted swing, the controlled fade, and the feet inside/ball outside fairway bunker shot, as well as the ball in the rough on an upslope, the double breaking putt, and the traditional flop shot. Truth is, every one has his or her own set of tough shots. You may have covered them in golf lessons or read about them in golf tips, but you still can’t hit them. They intimidate you and add strokes to your golf handicap. Below are my candidates for the five toughest shots in golf. See if you agree.

Some players consider driver off the deck the toughest shot in golf. Many golfers never use this shot. The just read about it in golf tips. But in the right situation, it can help. The problem is your driver has the least amount of loft, so it’s hard getting the ball in the air. If you hit up on the ball, you’ll probably mis-hit. The only way to get the ball in the air is to cut the shot. Play the ball off your front heel and aim 15 yards left of your target (right for left-handers). Then swing across the ball, instead of down on it. Feel like you’re pulling your right hand toward you’re left hip on the way down.

The Plugged Bunker Lie
Other players consider the plugged bunker lie the toughest shot in golf. It’s certainly a candidate. Since you’re ball is buried in the sand, you can’t hit the typical sand blast you learned in golf lessons. There’s too much sand. Instead, come down hard into the impact zone. You should feel like you’re jamming the heel of the club into the bunker with the toe pointed at the sky. If you keep your hands low to the ground through impact, you’ll create an explosion big enough to unplug the ball and escape the bunker.

Then there’s the severe downslope from the rough. The hill’s slope moves the bottom of your swing arc back, making it easy to catch the ball fat or thin. The rough compounds any errors you make. Set your body level with the lie by tilting your torso to the left (right for left-handers) until your front shoulder sits lower than your back shoulder. Now swing. Don’t hang back to fight the pull of gravity. Doing that moves your swing arc back even farther and makes missing the ball a real possibility. This shot isn’t always addressed in golf instruction sessions, but it’s so tough maybe it should be.

One of Two Bunker Shots
For my money, the toughest shot in golf comes down to one of two shots. The bunker blast from a downhill lie is one. You have to hit the ball high to get it out of the bunker, which is difficult because the slope negates the club’s loft. The secret to hitting this shot is to take a wider stance than normal for balance and then align your shoulders with the slope. Now open your clubface and make your normal bunker swing. Don’t try to swing too hard or get under the ball too much. The ball will come out lower and with extra roll.

My other candidate for the toughest shot in golf is the feet outside, ball inside bunker shot. This is one tough shot, not only for weekend golfers but also for pro players. Almost anything can happen. Spread your feet wider than shoulder width and position the ball just inside your front foot. Also, bend your knees and rear end down more, so you can get down to the ball. Hinge your wrists quickly when you swing and keep your body quiet for balance. The steeper the slope the more the ball will go right (left for left-handers).

What matters here isn’t which shot is the toughest, but how you handle a tough shot. Don’t let it intimidate you. When it does, you tense up and forget the keys to hitting the shot correctly. Next time you face a tough shot, relax. Run through the keys you learned in golf lessons or read about in golf tips, and then swing away. And remember, you don’t always have to put the ball a foot from the cup. Be realistic with your expectations. You’ll conquer more tough shots that way and knock strokes off your golf handicap in the process.

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 instructi

By Jack Moorehouse

Most of us bring our A games to the course about 10 percent of the time. The rest of the time we bring our B, C, or D games. Sometimes, we even bring our F games. This variation in games is based on inconsistency. We’re inconsistent because most of us learn our swings through trial and error, not by taking private golf lessons or attending group golf instruction sessions. As a result, our swings are a hodgepodge of adjustments that make consistency elusive and kill our golf handicaps.

But what if you could design the perfect golf swing—one that encourages consistency. What would it look like? Of course, it would have to be flexible, so it could be adjusted to your body type and to your other attributes, like flexibility and height. But the swing would still contain certain key elements that would promote consistency. Not long ago I read an article by a noted golf instructor who addressed this issue. Her are the elements of his perfect swing.

Fade Over Draw
The ideal shot shape is the fade. We’re not talking slice. A fade curves just at the end of its flight, falling softly to the right only a few feet. A slice has a much more violent curve to it. It starts curving much earlier because it has so much sidespin. The advantage here, according to the instructor, is that a fade is easier to hit under pressure. You can hold onto your release a little longer and still get a decent shot. That compensates for our natural tendency to hold onto the club a little longer under pressure.

Low To High
The average golfer plays the swing from high to low. In other words, before the golfer’s hands drop down into the slot of the swing, his shoulder and chest spin out toward the ball. This early upper body rotation forces a steep, cut-across path. Other golfers do the opposite. They go from low to high, keeping their backs to the rotation while the hands drop toward the back foot. It’s not until the hands drop to waist high that the majority of rotation takes place. It’s this “late” turn that carries the hands into a good position.

Passive Over Active
Timing, as I tell students in my golf lessons, is a poor foundation on which to build your swing. But that’s what happens when your hands are active instead of passive in the swing. Active hands try to open or close the clubface. Passive hands don’t try to manipulate the club at all. With a passive release, the hands are responders, not initiators. It’s the lower body that sets up the release of the angles of power, removing the need for conscious timing. Thus, there’s no need to time the release because the move is timed for you by the correct use of your lower body—a much easier process under pressure.

Right Before Left
There are three “miss patterns” in golf: (1) You know exactly where the ball is going; (2) you know where the ball isn’t going (Jack Nicklaus used this pattern); and (3) you’re unsure where the ball is going (majority of golfers). The first two you can count on. The third has a variable miss pattern—both right and left. So you don’t know where the ball is going. Right misses (left for left-handed golfers) are soft. They hang in the air. When you’re not playing well, you can go all day missing to the right.

Thin Before Fat
You can miss a ball either fat or thin. With a thin shot, the club contacts the ball at its equator. This is a better miss pattern because the ball goes almost as far as a normal shot, while the side spin provides a sliver of control when it lands. Fat shots, where the club hits the ground, are to be avoided at all costs. They not only cause major distance loss, but they also mess with your confidence. The pro’s thinking makes sense. Personally, I still favor the draw over the fade, if the draw is your natural shot. If the fade is your natural shot, then go with that. You’re more likely to revert to your natural shot under pressure anyway. But overall the approach is conducive to creating consistency in your swing. Once you have a consistent swing, you’re sure to knock 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.

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1. Add Ten Yards To Your Irons
2. How To Make A Restricted Swing Shot
3. Question of the Week – Eliminating The Reverse Pivot
4. Article – Designing The Perfect Golf Swing
5. Article – The Toughest Shot In Golf

1) Add Ten Yards To Your Irons

How well do you hit your irons? If you rarely take a good divot, chunk the longer clubs or hit them thin, and/or leave your approach shots short, you’re leaking power. Swinging harder only drains more power from your swing. That’s because your arms outrace your body, the true seat of power in a golf swing. You must plug those power leaks in your iron swing to add yards to your swing:

Here are six keys to plugging those power leaks:

1. Maintain your head behind the ball
2. Assume a powerful back arm position
3. Keep the shaft is ahead club at impact
4. Keep hips and arms are in the same place
5. Make sure the back of your front hand faces the target
6. Transfer your weight to your forward foot

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The key to hitting power irons is to arrive at impact with a descending blow. Unfortunately, some golfers swings are so flat, they can’t return the iron squarely to the ball at impact.

Here’s a drill that teaches you to generate good clubface-to-ball contact with your irons:

Stick an umbrella in the ground. Next, place a ball on the ground so that when you take your stance the heel of your back foot is about two feet from the umbrella. Swing back. If the club hits the umbrella, your swing is too flat. Take numerous practice swings until you’re sure you’ll miss the umbrella on the way up. Before you hit balls, move the umbrella back six to ten inches, so you won’t hit it on the way back down. But use it as a reminder. Move it back to its original position when practicing.

If your backswing path is flat, you can’t return the club squarely to the ball. You’ll hit weak irons no matter how fast or hard you swing. Work on the drills like the one described above to ingrained its fundamentals and plug the power leaks. Making solid contact consistently adds yards to your irons and cuts strokes from your scores.

2) How To Make A Restricted Swing Shot

You can hit a shot in the woods even on the best of days. When that happens, chances are good you’ve lost your ball, but not always. If you do find your ball, it may be lodged tightly up against the base of a tree. While you can make a full backswing, you can’t follow-through without slamming into the trunk. Knowing how to make a restricted swing can save you and your club.

Below are five keys to this shot:

• Take a shoulder-width stance
• Play the ball toward the middle
• Hinge your wrist quickly
• Power the club down with your arms
• Pull back at impact

The secret to making this shot is not to slow your swing down, but to maintain your normal speed and take a smaller swing. That way you can pull your club back at impact.

Select a mid- or short iron for the shot. (A shorter club is easier to control and doesn’t travel as fast as a long iron.) Take a shoulder width stance, play the ball as close to the middle of your stance as possible. But if you must play the ball forward, that’s okay. Just place more weight on your front foot.

Take the club back by hinging your wrists quickly. Swing your hands back to hip height, then power the club down with your arms. Pull the club back the moment you make contact with the ball, almost as if the club were rebounding from the ball. Try to take a steep divot.

Many golfers slow their swings with this lie. That leads to mis-hits. Maintain your swing speed, take a shorter swing, and pull the club back at impact. This will save your hands and your club. If all goes well, you’ll find yourself back on the fairway in good position.

3) Question of the Week – Eliminating The Reverse Pivot

Q. Hi, Jack, Lately, I can’t seem to hit the ball with a lot of power. My friends tell me I’m making a reverse pivot when I swing. Can you tell me what that is and how to correct?

Marion Luig
Charlotte, NC

A. Thanks for the question, Marion. A reverse pivot results from poor weight transfer. Normally, you transfer weight to your back foot when swinging, then onto your front foot during the follow-through. With a reverse pivot, you do the opposite. This flaw constricts the proper turning of your body, costing you power and accuracy.

The reverse pivot stems from many things, including an obsession with keeping your head down and/or your left arm (right for left-handers) rigidly straight. Allowing your head to turn to the right (left for left-handers) slightly as you turn back helps. It encourages your spine to rotate and gets your weight moving in the right direction. Allowing your arm to bend slightly is okay, too.

This simple drill helps eliminate a reverse pivot: Adopt your address position. Place the club across the back of your shoulders. Make a slow turn, as if you were going to hit the ball. Set up and do it again. The club encourages you to move your head and spine a little as you turn. It also encourages better balance.

Do this drill as often as you can until you’ve ingrained the feeling. Try to remember the feeling when you go to the range or to the course. With practice, you’ll make solid contact and drive the ball.

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

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article – Designing The Perfect Golf Swing
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/designing-the-perfect-golf-swing.php

5) Article – The Toughest Shot In Golf
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/the-toughest-shot-in-golf.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.

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Hit It Sweet From The Start
2) Recovering From Trouble
3) Question of the Week – Controlling Your Short-Game Backswing
4) Article – Hit It Longer And Straighter
5) Article – Take The Guess Work Out Of Pitching

1) Hit It Sweet From The Start

If you’re like many golfers, you can’t always get to the range before playing. Your schedule just doesn’t permit it. So you tend to feel stiff at the start of a round. And even when you do make the range, you may still feel tight on the first hole. Nonetheless, you hit a good first drive. You’re about 170 yards from the hole and in the fairway. Now what? Will you be able to hit an iron to the green? Below is an exercise that will prep you for the iron shot.

Here are the five keys to this exercise:

The exercise warms up your wrist hinge. If you hinge your wrists properly during your takeaway, chances are good you’ll start your swing smoothly.

Take your regular address position with your iron of choice. Cock the clubhead straight up and down until the shaft is just short of horizontal. Take the club back by bending your right wrist and bowing your left until the shaft is parrellel left of your target line (right for right-handers). (You should see wrinkles across the back of your right wrist.) Go back to your address position and hit the ball. Try to get your wrists in the same position as you did above.

The exercise takes only a few seconds, so you should be able execute it quickly before swinging. You can probably run through it while the other guys are hitting. If it’s done correctly, the exercise improves your rhythm and helps you hit it sweet from the start.

2) Recovering From Trouble

If you’re like some weekend golfers, you’re struggling to get rid of a slice. So why would you want to know how to hit one on-demand? That’s easy. It can save you strokes and help you make more pars. Let’s say you drive one off the right into the woods. Instead of punching out like you normally do, leaving you miles from the green, slicing it hard right gets your ball rolling on the fairway and puts you back in business.

Below are five keys to hitting a hard right-to-left slice:

1. Aim your body about 20 yards left of target
2. Point your club about 10 yards right of toe line
3. Turn your hands well to the left on the grip
4. Make your normal swing
5. Hold the clubface open through impact

To hit a hard slice when in trouble, you must make adjustments. At address, aim your body 20 yards left of target, point the clubface 10 yards to the right of your toe line, and turn your hands well to the left on your grip (right for left-handers). These adjustments add loft to your shot. To hit the ball your normal 7-iron distance, use your 4-iron.

Make your normal swing, but hold the clubface open through impact. When you block the clubface’s rotation like this, you create a glancing blow that puts sidespin on the ball. You know you’ve done it right if your clubface points to the sky in your follow-through.

This shot can get you out of trouble, but you must keep two things in mind. First, check your stance. The ball jumps hard right on contact, so you have to be angled correctly. Second, check the trees. This shot takes off much higher than your usual punch out, so look for overhanging branches.

Slicing off the tee is bad. But slicing from the trees can help you get back on track after a bad shot and save more pars.

3) Question of the Week – Controlling Your Short-Game Backswing

Q. Hi, Jack, I have a major problem controlling my backswing when I’m chipping or pitching. I can’t stop going back. When I do keep it short, I hit the ball so soft it just goes a little forward and in the wrong direction. Is there practice drill I can do to stop going back too far?

Marie Holleran

A. Thanks, Marie. Dave Peltz is a short game guru. He has worked with many Tour players. and written several books on the short game. When it comes to pitching, he has his students do this: Visualize a clock in your heads, with 12:00 at the top. Take the club back to 7:30 for a short pitch. Take the club back to9:00 for a medium pitch. And take the club back to10:30 on a full pitch. Work on this in practice until you’ve ingrained the three swings.

Here’s a recommendation for chips: Put a ball where you normally position it for a chip shot. Put your golf bag (or something else) about a foot or so behind the ball. Practice your chipping. Take the club back almost as far as the bag, and then come forward. If you hit your bag on the way back, you’ve gone back too far.

When you chip, use this swing for all your shots. For distance, change clubs depending on the chip’s length. Use longer irons for longer chips and shorter irons for shorter chips. This approach simplifies your chipping decision.

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 – Hit It Longer And Straighter
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/hit-it-longer-and-straighter.php

5) Article – Take The Guess Work Out Of Pitching
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/take-the-guess-work-out-of-pitching.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.