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How To Break 80 Newsletter

October 8, 2008

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

1) Perfecting Your Pitches
2) Regaining Your Swing Cuts Strokes
3) Question of the Week - Getting Height on Sand Shots
4) Article - Using The Right Putter Sheds Strokes
5) Article - Wrong Scores Bring Rough Penalties

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1) Perfecting Your Pitches
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Making a good pitch shot means dropping the ball within a two to three feet of the pin —as I've said many times. But some players have difficulty making accurate short pitches (half wedge shots). When faced with a shot 50 to 70 yards in, they push it or pull it, leaving them a short chip to the green and adding strokes to their scores. Perfecting the short pitch not only eliminates the little chip, it also saves three to four shots a round—and maybe more.

Here are six keys to making the half-wedge shot:

* Take a slightly open stance
* Position your feet closer together
* Flex your knees slightly more than normal
* Think of coiling your upper body
* Target a specific quadrant of the green
* Make a balanced but short swing

Three things cause you to push or pull a short wedge shot: poor weight transfer, the collapse of the right arm (left for left-handers), and an incomplete body turn. Sometimes, golfers rely too much on their arms and hands to make a short pitch shot. If you keep your weight back, you hit a big hook. If you move forward with your weight, you produce either a push or a pull.

The best way to perfect this shot is to go to the practice range and hit balls until you master the shot. Work on hitting mini-swings to a target. Finish with your right arm straight but not tense, your left elbow pointing at the ground, and your belt buckle and chest facing the target.

Short Pitch Drill
This drill teaches you how to hit short pitch shots. Go out about 50 yards to 70 yards and take a chair or small bench with you. Sit on the bench and hit short pitch shots into the green. Pick out the quadrant you want to hit. Swing with your heels down to restrain lower body movement.

When doing this drill, working on pointing the club to the one or two o'clock position, not three o'clock position, at the top of the backswing. That will give you enough power to hit the green and stop the ball two to three feet close. There's no mistake about it. Mastering the short pitch shot is one of the keys to trimming your golf handicap.

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2) Regaining Your Swing Cuts Strokes
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Occasionally, everyone's golf swing is off. That's often due to bad timing—one of the keys to building a repeatable, reliable swing. In golf timing refers to synchronizing a sequence of actions. Here, you're synchronizing your turning body and your swinging arms, resulting in a smooth release of the clubhead through impact. When your timing is off, your golf swing and your golf game are off.

Here are the five key benefits of good timing:

* Control
* Accuracy
* Distance
* Consistency
* Rhythm

When your timing is right, your swing feels fluid and effortless. You're hitting the ball on the nose. And the ball is flying off your club. When your timing is off, on the other hand, your swing feels out of whack. You struggle to hit the ball solidly. And you feel confused.

Bad timing often comes from a loss of linkage. Linkage refers to maintaining contact between your arms and chest during the swing. Simply put, if your arms separate from your chest during the backswing and follow-through, you break this critical linkage. Breaking linkage ruins your timing and throws your swing off, resulting in that confused feeling.

Recapturing your timing is essential to cutting strokes from your scores. Here's one way to do it. Pick up two clubs, one in each hand. Short irons work best. Take your normal stance and mimic your normal swing. If you do it right, you'll feel the synchronization of your arms and your trunk. If you try to speed up your swing, you'll bang the clubs together.

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3) Question of the Week - Getting Height on Sand Shots
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Q. Hi Jack, I have a question I hope you can give me an easy fix to. I seem to have difficulty with some bunker shots. Firstly, I don’t seem to get enough height out of my bunker shots. That results quite often in the ball just clearing the bunker's rim and running across the green into opposite bunker or just catching the top lip and having to repeat the shot. Also, how do you correctly hit from a bunker when you are say 30-35 meters away from the pin.

Regards,
Phil Latham
Melbourne, Australia

A. That's a great question, Phil. To hit a high, short bunker shot: (1) move the ball forward an inch or two in your stance; (2) open the clubface a few degrees more; and (3) take a steeper swing. Also, try cupping your wrists a little during the backswing, which adds height to the shot.

When opening the clubface, don't grip the club and then open the clubface. Instead, open the clubface and then grip the club. It makes a difference. You're less likely to close the clubface at address the second way. And make sure you accelerate through the shot and complete your follow-through.

To hit a longer bunker shot, you must create a wide arc during your backswing, which you can do by keeping your hands as far from your shoulders as possible. Also, try moving the ball back in your stance a bit. This helps produce a slightly lower, but longer, shot.

Both shots require work to learn. But the work pays off in the long run. Mastering your bunker game chops strokes off your scorecard and 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/newsletter10082008.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Using The Right Putter Sheds Strokes
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/using-the-right-putter-sheds-strokes.html

5) Article - Wrong Scores Bring Rough Penalties
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/wrong-scores-bring-rough-penalties.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, go to http://www.howtobreak80.com/newsletter.htm

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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.