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How To Break 80 Newsletter

March 5, 2008

"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"
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In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Four Golf Tips For Generating Extra Distance
2) Curing Your Upper Cut
3) Question of the Week - Hitting It Fat
4) Article - Making Sense of Swingweight
5) Article - Creativity on the Golf Course

Jack's Note:

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1) Four Golf Tips For Generating Extra Distance
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PGA Tour pros are driving the ball out of sight. The PGA Tour driving distance average jumped from 260.4 yards in 1993 to 287.8 in 2003. That's a 27-yard increase in just 10 years, a giant leap even for professional golfers. Judging by the tournaments on television, the average driving distance for a professional is probably around 300 yards these days. And it's not unheard of for pro golfers to hit drives 400 yards or more.

Meanwhile recreational golfers—even those with low golf handicaps—struggle to increase their average driving distance even a smidgen. In the same 10-year period, for example, recreational players boosted their average driving distance from 193 yards to 205 yards—a far cry from the pros. Unfortunately, most recreational golfers have neither the time nor wherewithal to do the things necessary to improve driving distance dramatically.

But they can do things to generate extra yardage off the tee without investing a lot of time and practice. We offer some golf tips for gaining extra yardage below. Not all of them will work for everybody. But they will work for many. In the battle for lower golf handicaps, golf tips that produce extra yardage certainly can't hurt, golf lessons not withstanding.

Golf Tip #1: Learn To Hit A Draw
Many weekend golfers hit a weak fade off the tee. The ball starts off well, peaks at about 200 yards, and then drops almost straight down. There's little if any roll when the ball hits. On a really windy day, forget it. The golfer has no chance. The wind just drags his golf ball back. Hitting a draw off the tee adds distance to your drives. When a draw hits, it generally rolls more than a fade, picking up extra yardage and bringing the golfer that much closer to the green. The extra roll also helps make up for the yardage a player might lose on a windy day.

Golf Tip #2: Change Golf Balls
Among the biggest reasons the pros drive so far is the ball. Advances in golf ball technology assure the pros of maximum distance on each drive. When the majority of pros switched from wound balls to solid core balls a few years ago, their driving average jumped 6 yards in a year. Solid core balls enable you to hit farther but provide less feel. Today, however, you can find balls that provide both the feel characteristics of the wound ball and the distance of a solid core ball. Find the golf ball that's right for your game.

Golf Tip #3: Take Advantage of Technology
Club technology is changing the game dramatically. It's not only producing better and lighter clubs but more forgiving ones as well. That means you can swing a club harder, generating more clubhead speed, with fewer mis-hits. Take the new bigheaded drivers. Made from better materials, these drivers have more clubface area and larger sweet spots. The drivers also have lighter shafts. All this translates into longer, straighter drives. Matching the right shaft with the clubhead also generates extra distance. That doesn't mean you have to run out and buy an expensive driver right now. Just keep technology in mind when you do buy.

Golf Tip # 4: Take Advantage of a Launch Monitor
Not everyone can access a launch monitor. But if you can, take advantage of it. A launch monitor is a relatively simple looking device that's rather complex underneath. It measures a host of characteristics including launch angle, clubhead speed, ball speed, ball spin, distance, and trajectory, as well as angle of attack, face angle, and dispersion.

Launch monitors provide raw data on your swing. That's big, especially with three key metrics: launch angle, ball speed, and ball spin. By making adjustments to these metrics, you can increase driving distance. A launch monitor is also helpful in choosing the right club/shaft combination. That in turn will help you gain same yardage, cutting some strokes from your golf handicap.

Of course, none of these tips will help you drive the ball as far as a PGA pro, nor are they a panacea for all your swing faults. They also won't eliminate the need to take golf lessons for some people. But they can help you gain a little extra yardage off the tee. If you're serious about lowering your golf handicap, gaining extra yardage is something worth attaining.

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2) Curing Your Upper Cut
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It's common to see new golfer's uppercutting the ball. But veteran do it as well. If you find your middle- and long-irons shots are consistently coming up short and are out of sync with your short-iron shots, you may be uppercutting. Some simple adjustments to your posture and address position cure those tendencies.

Below are five tips on curing upper cutting:

Golfers who uppercut are often trying to help the ball in the air. They reinforce this notion by setting up with the majority of their weight on their back foot, the front shoulder inordinately low, and the back arm bent to an extreme on middle- and long-iron shots. The golfer must then spin out and fall backward, hitting up rather than hitting down on the ball. The result is a loss of power and direction.

Curing upper cutting is simple. First, lower your front shoulder low enough to allow you to turn it under your chin. Now, aim your shoulder like a gun sight parallel to the target line and distribute your weight evenly. Then, move the ball back more toward the middle of your stance, which encourages a descending blow instead of an ascending one. Make a smooth transition from the top of the backswing to the forward swing and aim for a full, balanced finish.

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3) Question of the Week - Hitting It Fat
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Q. Hi, Jack, I have a problem hitting my fairway shots fat (irons or woods). I usually end up with a divot behind the ball and facing left. I've only been playing a year and would like to lower my golf handicap. Any suggestions would be great. Your tips have been very insightful.

Thanks,
Walt Hilsee

A. Thanks for the question and the compliment, Walt. Hitting the ball fat is the result of an excessively steep, V-shaped swing arc. In other words, the clubhead doesn't travel parallel to the ground long enough through impact. When the bottom of the V falls behind the ball you get a fat shot.

To eliminate fat shots, take your normal address position. Now visualize a "U-shaped swing arc." Imagine your swing with a wide flat spot through the impact area. Take a mid-iron or a fairway wood and try clipping the top of the grass or taking a shallow divot just ahead of where you ground the club.

With a driver, place a tee just opposite your front heel, where the ball would normally be. Now, take your normal stance and try picking the tee out of the ground cleanly with the club. That will promote the sweeping action the longer shot requires.

Also, focus on completing your swing and the feel of coming through with your back shoulder extending forward, under, and past your chin. Keep in mind that ball position—forward for a wood, back for an iron—determines when and where the point of impact occurs. Also, keep in mind that the loft on the clubface will get the ball airborne. You don't have to help it.

Practicing these drills will help eliminate fat shots from your game and lower your golf handicap.

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/newsletter03052008.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Making Sense of Swingweight
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/making-sense-of-swingweight.html

5) Article - Creativity on the Golf Course
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/creativity-on-the-golf-course.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.