===================================================
How To Break 80 Newsletter
April 1, 2009
"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement
Newsletter"
===================================================
In this issue we'll discuss...
1) Going Low Another Way
2) Making A Wedge Backup
3) Question of the Week - Gap Wedge Adds Precision To Your Short Game
4) Article -
Three Ways To Achieve Accuracy Within 50 Feet
5) Article - More Legs, More Power
===================================================
1) Going Low Another Way
===================================================
If you watch golf on television a lot, you've probably seen Tiger Woods hit a "stinger" —a low, penetrating shot. You may have tried to hit one yourself without success. That's not surprising. Hitting a stinger Tiger's way isn't for everyone. But knowing how to keep the ball low in the right situation, like on windy days, can save strokes. So you should know how to do it. Below is a non-Tiger way of hitting a penetrating low shot.
Here are 5 keys to this second way:
* Take a normal address position
* Move the ball back slightly
* Widen your stance
* Rotate your body only
* Swing easier using more club
Take your normal address position, but move the ball back slightly in your stance. Now, instead of narrowing your stance, as you do when hitting Tiger's stinger, widen your stance a little. When you swing, just rotate your body. Don't drive your legs. Use more club than normally, but swing easier.
Widening your stance levels out the arc at the bottom of your swing while leveling out the arc helps produce a lower, more penetrating ball flight. Using a club with less loft—like a 6-iron instead of a 7-iron—also helps produce a low, penetrating ball flight, while taking an easier swing puts less backspin on the ball. Backspin shoots the ball skyward, so less backspin means a lower ball flight.
Try both ways of hitting a stinger—Tiger's way and this way. Use the one that's most comfortable and keep practicing it until you've mastered it. Knowing how to keep the ball low when you need to, like on a gusty day, can shave strokes off your score.
===================================================
2) Making A Wedge Backup
===================================================
Play golf long enough and you'll eventually see someone hit a back-up wedge shot. That's where the ball hits beyond the hole and then spins backward toward the pin. While the need to hit this shot is rare, it happens more than we think. Since hitting the shot correctly saves strokes, it helps to know how to hit it when the need arises.
Below are 5 keys to making a wedge shot back up:
1. Use a wedge with extra loft
2. Play the ball back in your stance
3. Hit the ball with a descending blow
4. Make ball first contact
5. Swing hard but stay under control
New techniques in ball manufacturing prevent a wedge shot from backing like they used to. The old wound up balata balls used to spin a lot more than modern balls, the key to hitting a backup wedge. Today's ball manufacturers also have done a great job designing balls that achieve great trajectory and spin enough to stop dead with an iron—the preferred option.
But if you must hit a back-up wedge, start by selecting the right club. Choose a wedge that has extra loft, like a lob wedge, play the ball back in your stance, since you have to make ball first contact, and then hit the ball with a descending blow. You'll need a great deal of clubhead speed to make this shot, so swing hard. But stay under control. And be careful you don't the ground before the ball. You want to create a divot in front of the ball, not behind it.
Situations where you must hit a backup wedge are rare. But they occur. So practice this shot when you can. That way you'll know how to hit it when you need to.
=====================================================
3) Question of the Week - Gap Wedge Adds Precision To Your Short Game
=====================================================
Q. Good day, Jack.
When I look at golf distance calculators on the Web, they are all fairly in line except for the lob wedge (LW). My distances are: PW 110, SW 95, LW 60. I need to fill the gap between a sand wedge (SW) and lob wedge (LW). Any suggestions on how to do it?
Kind regards,
Theo le Roux
A. Thanks for the question, Theo.Many golfers use a three-wedge system to cover shots from 100 yards and in. They use a pitching wedge—with a loft of about 48 degrees—for full wedge shots, a gap wedge—with a loft of about 52 degrees—for mid-range shots, and a sand wedge—with a loft of about 56 degrees—for shorter shots.
If you combine these clubs with three backswing lengths—full, medium, and short—and three wrist angles (135 degrees, 90 degrees, and 45 degrees) you should be able to cover most shots from about 100 yard to 15 yards or so. The wrist angles are key. They produce the added distance on some shots.
For more precision, some golfers carry a lob wedge (LW)—with a loft of about 60 degrees. You can still combine the four wedges with the three backswings, but the lob wedge adds another degree of precision to your short game.
The distances you cover with your wedges depends on how well you them. Not everybody hits them the same. Visit the range to determine how far you hit each wedge while varying backswing lengths. That will give you an idea of how far you hit each club with each backswing length.
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
===================================================
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.
