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How To Break 80 Newsletter
August 5, 2009
"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"
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In this issue we'll discuss...
1) Three Techniques To Sink More Putts 2) Swing Left For Soft Pitches 3) Question of the Week - Different Bunkers, Different Shots
4) Article - Gain More Yardage With Oversized Drivers
5) Article - Wedge Secrets
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1) Three Techniques To Sink More Putts
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Golf tips on driving say to visualize the ball's flight path before hitting. "Seeing" the flight path in your mind helps achieve it. Visualization works with putting, too. Talk to great putters and they'll probably say that "seeing" the ball go in before they putt helps them sink more putts. Or, they'll say they use some other visualization technique when putting.
Below are three techniques to help you sink more putts:
* Visualize the hole
* Putt to a picture
* See the ball path
Visualization banishes technical thoughts. By trusting in your stroke and concentrating on a target, you're more likely to achieve the desired result. When putting, keep the hole in mind. Even though you're looking down at the ball, paint a mental picture of the hole. By "seeing" the hole, you'll make a more confident and smoother stroke through the ball.
Visualization also helps on big breaking putts. With big breakers, hitting to the apex of the curve is critical. To do so, develop a mental picture of the apex and then putt the ball between the picture's borders. You'll be surprised how accurate you are with these putts.
In addition, visualizing the path of a putt helps achieve the proper speed and break to putts. Some golfers favor approach over "spot putting"—aiming at a target, such as a small blade of grass, and trying to roll the ball over that point. Depending on how hard you hit the putt that spot may or may not be helpful. Instead, visualize a railroad track leading to the hole and putt along it.
Here's a final tip: Use a CD to see if your eyes are directly over the ball when putting. Center the ball on the CD, then stand over it in your putting stance. If your eyes are directly over the ball, you'll see them on the CD's surface.
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2) Swing Left For Soft Pitches
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Good pitching is a fast way to chop strokes off your golf handicap. In fact, it's probably the fastest way to do it. When you pitch the ball close, you save yourself a stroke or two every time. By close, I mean near enough to where you have an easy putt. To pitch it close, you must know how to hit soft shots—the kind of shots that roll about a yard or so after hitting the green.
* Use an open stance
* Open the clubface a bit
* Make an upright swing
* Hold onto the club firmly
* Don't let the toe pass the heel
If you study good pitchers of the ball, like the 59-year-old Tom Watson, who came within a whisker of winning this year's British Open, you'll notice they all swing the club and the left arm (right arm for right-handers) to the left of the target after impact. That creates a nice soft pitch.
Using a sand wedge, open your stance and the clubface a bit. Then, make an upright swing. Doing this encourages the clubface to cut across the ball slightly, imparting sidespin, which helps the ball stop. The key is to hold on to the club firmly with your left hand after impact. Don't let the clubface's toe pass its heel the way it does normally.
To see if you're doing it right, check your divot after hitting the shot. It should be rather small and should point to the left of your target. If it does, you've hit the shot right.
This shot is a somewhat advanced. So if you're a poor pitcher, work on the basics before trying it. But if you're a good pitcher and you want to improve accuracy, this shot may be just the thing. Practice it to master it.
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3) Question of the Week - Different Bunkers, Different Shots
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Q. Hi Jack, I have the toughest time getting out of bunkers. I put my weight on my forward foot, and I open the clubface and follow all the way through. But I'm not sure if I should come down steeply and then follow thru or sweep it through. No matter what I try it usually takes my two or three shots to get out.
Please help.
Barbara Botich
A. Thanks for the question, Barbara. You didn't give us much information on the bunker you were in or the kind of lie you had. Was it a greenside bunker or a bunker that’s farther away? Does the bunker have a high or low lip? Was the ball buried in soft sand or was it lying on top of hard-packed sand? Without that information, it's hard to give you specifics on the swing. In shorts, different bunker require different bunker swings.
In general, if you're in soft sand and you have a low lip, you'd open your stance and aim the clubface toward the target line. You'd keep your wrists passive as you take the club away and the clubface open throughout the swing. On the downswing you'd sweep the club along your bodyline, hitting about an inch behind the ball.
On the other hand, if you're in soft sand with a high lip, you need a steeper angle of attack to pop the ball over the lip. While your set-up is the same, your swing differs. To create a steeper angle of attack, hinge your wrists in the backswing as soon as possible and swing your arms up instead of low and around.
In addition, as your body turns, sense that the club is “cocked” to the sky. Now, hit down and through about an inch behind the ball with extra force. The path of the clubhead should run parallel to the alignment of your shoulders, hips, and feet. The combination of left alignment and open clubface sends the ball straight while the angle of attack drives the ball up and over the lip, landing it softly on the green.
To practice the high bunker shot, try the head cover drill. Place a head cover a few inches behind a ball in a steep greenside bunker. Take the club back without hitting the head cover, hinging your wrists during the takeaway as soon as possible. If you hit the head cover, you know you didn't hinge your wrists fast enough.
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.
