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How To Break 80 Newsletter
March 18, 2009
"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement
Newsletter"
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In this issue we'll discuss...
1) Boost Clubhead Speed and Distance
2) Stop Hitting Weak Drives For Good
3) Question of the Week - Getting The Ball To Hit And Sit
4) Article -
Five Checkpoints To Find The Perfect Slot Position
5) Article - Five Ways To Zero In On Targets
Jack's Note: Still trying to get your swing on plane? Get the #1 rated swing plane trainer used by the likes of Arnold Palmer, Mike Weir to name a few. And oh yeah, I've made special arrangements with the management so you can try it for fr*e*e for 30 days. See it here.
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1) Boost Clubhead Speed and Distance
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Clubhead speed generates power and distance. The greater your clubhead speed, the farther the ball goes. But you may be slowing clubhead speed and short-circuiting power by not shifting your weight on the downswing and keeping your head behind the ball. A deadly combination, these moves prohibit you from swinging your arms around your head. Learn to swing your arms past your head and you'll boost both clubhead speed and distance.
Here are four keys to boosting clubhead speed and distance
* Keep your head behind the ball
* Shift your weight to your front foot
* Swing your arms past your head
* Hit hard with your right hand
To swing your arms past your head, you must shift your weight to your front foot during the downswing without sliding latterly. You must also keep your head behind the ball throughout the swing. If you make a solid move onto your front foot and keep your head stable, you can swing your arms as fast as you want past your head.
Unfortunately, some weekend golfers keep their wieght back too long. They then throw their weight onto their front foot at the last second, prohibiting them from swinging their arms freely, costing them power and control. So learn to shift your weight at the right time.
And don't worry about when to release the club or how hard to hit the ball with your top hand. You can't release the club too early, if you shift your weight to your front foot and continue to turn your hips. And you can never hit the ball too hard with your top hand, if everything else is in order.
To generate more clubhead speed and distance, concentrate on shifting your weight correctly on the downswing and keeping your head behind the ball. These moves enable you to swing your arms fast past your head, boosting clubhead speed and distance trying to consciously muscle up. It's like coiling and uncoiling your body.
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2) Stop Hitting Weak Drives For Good
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A tight left arm at address produces weak drives. It "scrunches" your hands toward your body and pushes your left shoulder (right shoulder for left-handers) upward and inward, as if you were pushing it up to your front ear. This position leaves little room to swing the club and prevents you from freely extending your arms. It also forces you to fall back onto your right foot, causing weak toe hits.
Here's a five-step procedure to correct the problem:
1. Approach the ball from the side
2. Have the club in the left hand
3. Let your arm hang freely with the club
4. Place the clubface behind the ball
5. Add the right arm to the club
The key to eliminating a tight left arm is creating enough room to let your arms extend freely during the swing. To do this, stand further from the ball with both arms equally relaxed. Have as much distance between your left shoulder and left cheek as you have between your right shoulder and right cheek, and have your right shoulder lower than the left.
Here how to achieve this set-up: Approach the ball from the side, with the club in your left hand and your arm hanging freely. Place the club behind the ball by extending your arm, not by lifting your shoulder. Line up the clubface along the target line. Now add the right arm by lowering the right side, not lifting the left. This technique extends the arms away from the body and creates room to swing the club trough, producing better centerface contact and longer drives.
If you find yourself hitting weak toe hits off the tee, you could have a tight left arm. Have a friend watch you swing. If that's the problem, use the procedure described above to correct the problem. Once you've ingrained the correction, you'll find yourself hitting longer, straighter drives with fewer toe hits.
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3) Question of the Week - Getting The Ball To Hit And Sit
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Q. Dear Jack, My question is this: How do you hit a shot that hops and stops on a dime? Let's say, I'm 10 yards off the green and there's a sand bunker in between my lie and the hole. I have maybe 5 yards of green to work with and it's running away from me. I need to make the ball go over the bunker but land soft with no run at all. It is possible to do that and how would you go about it?
Thanks
Virginia
A. Thanks for the question, Virginia. Getting the ball to sit on a green is a great way for weekend golfers to cut strokes from their scores.
To get a ball to hit and sit, you need plenty of backspin. But first you need a clean club—with some grip on the clubface—and a good ball, preferably new. Ideally, you also need good fairway with dry grass. In addition, the green must be in good shape to hold the ball when it hits. A softer green works best.
To put backspin on the ball, hit downward on the ball's bottom half with a lot of force, striking it at a steep angle and making clean contact. Ideally, you want to “pinch’ the ball between the club and the fairway. That sends the ball upward with a lot of backspin.
Combine these factors—angle of attack, significant force, clean contact—in the right amounts, you'll put backspin on the ball and get it to sit when it hits. It takes practice to master this shot, but it's well worth it. It can save you a ton of strokes and help whittle down that 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
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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.
