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How To Break 80 Newsletter
April 8, 2009
"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement
Newsletter"
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In this issue we'll discuss...
1) Ball Under Bunker Lip
2) Conquer First Tee Jitters Forever
3) Question of the Week - Escaping A Greenside Bunker
4) Article -
Three Ways To Drain More 15 Footers
5) Article - Playing Smart At The Masters Pays Off
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1) Ball Under Bunker Lip
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Is there a worse lie for a golfer than being under a bunker's front lip? If there is, it's a mystery to me. Sometimes, it occurs after a good drive. Play enough golf, however, and you'll eventually end up there. Forget about getting this shot close. It's not going to happen. Instead, focus on getting out of the bunker in one. If you can do that, you may be able to salvage the hole.
Below are five keys to this shot:
1. Use a sand wedge
2. Open the club's face
3. Slant your body away
4. Throw the sand high
5. Use less lower body
Use a sand wedge for this shot and open the face before you take your grip. Take your regular setup for a bunker shot. But after you set your back foot into the sand, slant your body away from the green. This is key. If you set your body vertically as you would normally do for a bunker shot, you'll drive everything—sand, club, and ball—into the bunker's lip.
Your swing thought should be to "throw the sand high," so swing as if you were trying to "pop" the ball out of the bunker. Also, minimize lower body motion during the swing to maintain balance. If you lose your balance, you'll mis-hit.
In addition, don’t try to follow through. If you do, you could hurt your wrist or your arms. A complete follow-through isn't necessary anyway as long as the angle of attack—preset by leaning away from the hole at address—is correct.
Finding yourself under the lip of a bunker is no picnic. In fact, it's one of the worse lies in golf. But you can make this shot if you remember to lean away from the pin at address. Doing so presets your angle of attack and helps pop the ball straight up.
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2) Conquer First Tee Jitters Forever
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Belting a drive straight down the fairway is a great feeling. It really pumps you up. It's even better when it's on the first tee and if there's a crowd around. The buttons nearly pop off your shirt. Unfortunately, some golfers get first tee jitters so badly they shank the shot. What they need is a good pre-shot routine that relaxes them before they address the ball.
Below are five keys to a first-tee, pre-shot routine:
1. Identify the hole's shape
2. Choose your club wisely
3. Plan to hit the fairway
4. Take several deep breaths
5. Pick out a landing area
Start by taking a moment to identify the shape of the hole. Keep in mind that most of the danger zones on a hole are on the sides. If you hit the fairway with your first shot, then, you'll be off to a good start. So plan to hit the fairway, even if you have to lose some distance. In other words, chose the right club. Don't automatically opt for a driver. Sometimes a three-wood or a hybrid is a better choice.
If you go with the driver, make sure you pick out a direction and a destination. For the direction, aim at something you want the ball to go toward. It might be a mound, a tree in the background, or whatever. For the destination, pick out a tire track or a brown patch in the fairway from where you want to play your next shot.
Having chosen a club, face the hole and take several deep breaths to relax. Develop a clear picture of the ballflight in your mind. Then, address the ball and take a look at the target. See yourself hitting that spot. Now turn back to the ball and hit away.
You'll be surprised at how much better you'll get off the first tee by following a pre-shot routine. It calms you down before hitting and helps start the round the way you should.
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3) Question of the Week - Escaping A Greenside Bunker
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Q. Hello, Jack -
I have the toughest time getting out of bunkers. I put my weight on my forward foot, open the clubface, and follow all the way through. I'm not sure if I should come down steep and then follow thru or sweep it through. No matter what I try it usually takes me 2 or 3 shots to get out. Please help.
Barbara Botich
A. Thanks for the question, Barbara.Ideally, you want the ball to fly out of the sand and land softly on the green. To do this, you need to use a slice swing—a swing that travels on an outside-to-in swing path, with the clubhead held open in relation to the path. Thus, your swing is more of a sweeping motion than a digging one.
The only time you want to "dig" into the sand in a bunker is when you have a buried lie—what golfers call a "friend egg." To hit this shot, you must dig into the sand a little to get the ball out.
Keep in mind also that you can chip or putt your way of a bunker. To putt your way out of a bunker, you need a greenside bunker with a low lip and a clean lie. You also need at least 15 feet of green, since the ball comes out running hot and low. If any of these conditions are missing, use a wedge. The advantage of sand putt is that the club doesn't hit the sand before hitting the ball
To hit a sand chip, you need loft to clear the bunker’s lip and lots of green. You want to catch the ball cleanly when you swing, taking just a bit of sand with your shot. The key to this shot is raising your club on its toe, which makes the shaft more upright and lessens the chances of the clubhead grabbing the sand.
In addition, play the ball opposite your back foot and keep your hands forward of the ball, so that the shaft points at your lead shoulder. Also, make the stroke with fixed wrists, with your weight on your front foot. Fixed wrists allow the club's butt end and its clubface to move together back and through the golf ball, enabling you to get loft on the shot.
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.
