May 17, 2012

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

1) Tip: Beating A Downhill Slider
2) Tip: Five-point Checklist For Stopping A Chip
3) Drill: Time-Tested Drill Improves Ball-striking
4) Article: Avoiding Common Golf Injuries
5) Article: Hitting From Tight Lies

Jack's Note: Did you get a chance to read about the weight loss study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that promises to melt away body fat without diet or exercise?  Perfect for the busy golfer.  Check it out!

Also, you may notice some revisions to the format in today's newsletter/blog posts.  I appreciate any feedback you may have.  jack@howtobreak80.com

Go Low,

Jack

Here are five keys to making a downhill slider:

• Determine your target line
• Find the break point
• Lighten up your grip
• Move the hole
• Go in slow motion

Start by determining your target line. Look at the putt from the front and back as well as the sides. Do this as quickly as you can so you don’t hold up other players. Your goal is to find the break point—the point where the ball starts to slide.  Aim for that point.

Imagine the hole closer to you—maybe two thirds of the way down the line. Try to find a spot where you think the slope and gravity will take control of the ball the rest of the way. That’s your new hole.

Address the ball as you normally do but lighten your grip. Many golfers dislike these types of putts, so they tighten their grips without even knowing it. Nothing cuts off your feel for a putt more than a tight grip. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the tightest, grip the putter at a 3.

Swing the putter in slow motion. This softens the hit considerably. It also gives you the extra feel you need to deal correctly with downhill sliders. Some golfers hit the ball off the toe or choke down on the club to soften the shot, but these approaches can change the putt’s feel, so you may want to stay away from them.

Below is a checklist for getting a chip to stop fast:

1. Pick the right club

2. Keep the same setup

3. Hinge your wrists quickly

4. Pinch, trap, and cover

5. Pick the right landing spot

Picking the right club is key. You’ll probably want to use one of your most lofted-wedges. The more loft you use, the more backspin you can create. Backspin is what makes the ball check up when it hits the green.

Use your normal setup. Some golfers move the ball way back in their stances to try and create more backspin. That can make it hard to get the ball airborne. Try playing chips from one ball position—off the instep of your back foot.

Hinge your wrists quickly on the backswing. You need wrist action to impart backspin. You should feel as if you maintain your wrist set through impact. And hit down on the ball. Think pinch, trap, or cover as you swing into impact. If you trap the ball correctly, it’ll pop out with spin.

Pick a good landing spot. Since a spinning chip shot checks up after one or two bounces, choose a spot that’s a few bounces away from your target. Hit correctly, this shot will save strokes.

If your ballstriking is poor, try this time-tested drill: Next time you’re at the practice tee, pause for a second when you reach the top before swinging down.

This drill may take a bit of getting used to, but when you pause then swing down, you can swing as hard as you want. The ball should jump off the clubface.

Weekend golfers tend injure themselves because they’re either out of shape or fail to warm up properly. They also injure themselves because of bad mechanics. Even players with low golf handicaps can have bad mechanics. Bad mechanics often result from trying to do more than you can do or copying the swings of professional players, which few of us can do. We just don’t have their flexibility.

Below we describe some of golf’s most frequent injuries along with golf tips on how to avoid injury. These tips won’t cut strokes from your golf handicap. Some may even divert you from a swing’s ideal biomechanics. But they will keep you playing.

Lead Wrist Tendonitis

Some golfers lack the strength to lead the club into impact with the back of the lead wrist, as is commonly taught in golf lessons, creating wrist overload. Hitting the ground during the swing can flatten your wrist angle at impact, stressing the wrist’s extensor tendons. Both actions can cause tendonitis in the lead wrist. Rotate your lead wrist about 30 degrees away from your target—at about 1:30 position on an imaginary clock face—to create the slight cup you need in your lead wrist at impact to prevent injury.

Lead Elbow Tendonitis

This injury is similar to lead wrist tendonitis. But it’s the extensor tendons on the outside of the elbow jarred at impact that start tearing away from the bone. (A less common injury we see in golf lessons is tendonitis on the inside of the trail elbow, caused by repeated straining and rotation of this arm through impact.) To avoid lead elbow tendonitis, keep the elbow straight but not locked. Think of the arm as staying “soft’ from start to finish. The downswing’s momentum pulls this arm straight automatically.

Rotator Cuff Tear

Several parts of the lead shoulder are at risk in the golf swing. But rotator cuff injuries (torn cartilage) traceable to the backswing are the most common. Keeping your lead arm tight to your chest as you swing back often tears the labrum that stabilizes the shoulder joint. You feel pain in your lead shoulder. Turning incorrectly in the backswing is the culprit here. We teach golfers in our golf instruction sessions to turn more and swing less. In other words, when your body stops turning, your arms should stop swinging.

Lead Knee Injury

Your lead knee takes a real beating when shifting forward in your swing. Thus, your knee absorbs significant torque and compression, which can injure the medial meniscus. This injury can lead to articular cartilage degeneration and arthritis. In a correctly executed golf swing, the lead knee shifts early in the downswing. Thus, the knee has a line that’s vertical or leaning away from the target, not leaning toward it. To avoid inuring your lead knee, encourage your hips to turn more and slide less by rotating your left foot 20 or 30 degrees outward at address.

Strained Lower Back

One common injury is a strained lower back. (We hear a lot about strained backs in golf instruction sessions.) The torque created by the modern swing pulls the ligaments, tendons, and muscles between the pelvis and lumbar spine. The shearing effect also wears away discs. A stained lower back can disable golfers for several weeks, depending on its severity. Stained lower backs can shorten golf careers if players aren’t careful, not to mention its effects on golf handicaps. To avoid straining your lower back, turn everything in unison. Hips and shoulders should rotate back and through together.

A strained lower back is probably golf’s most common injury. The other injuries mentioned here are also common. To remain pain free, learn to execute the golf swing correctly.

Weekend golfers—even those with low golf handicaps—have a harder time with tight lies than the pros. That’s because weekend golfers tend to play them less frequently than the pros—unless they play a classic links course like Scotland’s St. Andrews regularly. A tight lie occurs when there’s little beneath the ball and the ground is firm. Tight lies are especially difficult for players who like to swing up on the ball. If you’re going to break 80 consistently and achieve a low golf handicap, you must learn to hit from tight lies.

Overcoming Your Fear

Many weekend golfers dread tight lies. If that’s you, you must conquer your fear of them to hit good shots from them. One way to conquer your fear is to have a “go-to” shot for these situations, such as the knockdown draw we teach in golf lessons. The knockdown draw is a lower trajectory, right-to-left shot that releases when the ball lands. (For lefties it’s a left-to-right trajectory.) Below are six golf tips we suggest at golf instruction sessions for a knockdown draw:

1. Take one club more than normal

2. Play the ball just forward of center

3. Aim right; swing down

4. Trap the ball against the ground

5. Swing from the inside

6. Plan to play the ball shorter

Take one more cub than normal when hitting a knockdown draw, so you can take an easier swing and grip down on the club. Taking a longer club makes up for the yardage you’ll lose playing this shot while gripping down provides better club control. Try to trap the ball against the turf on the downswing and aim right of your target. (Lefties should aim left.)

Crisp contact is a must on shots from tight lies. To ensure this, play the ball a little further back in your stance than usual, shift your weight slightly to your left side, and focus your eyes on the ball’s forward edge—the side facing the target. Set up so the forward edge is in relation to your stance. Stay focused on the forward edge throughout the swing. This almost guarantees hitting down on the ball. Commitment to the shot is vital. Take two or three good practice swings before hitting. Then visualize the shot. Imagine the ball traveling to the green. Plan for the ball to fly shorter than you’re used to and rollout to the target.

A Great Benefit

A great benefit of a knockdown draw, we tell students in our golf instruction sessions, is its forgiveness. To hit this shot, shallow out your swing, which creates room for error. Thus, you don’t have to hit the ball perfectly to make a good shot because the club stays down longer in the impact zone. To shallow out your swing, take the club back more on the inside. Dropping your back foot back an inch or two at address helps you set up on the inside.

If you’re serious about improving, practice hitting from a tight lies. You may not face them as often as the pros, but you must conquer them if you’re going to score with consistency. Hitting good shots from tight lies helps you break 80 and chip strokes from your golf handicap.

The right driving stance starts with positioning your feet.  This is one of the key driving tips.  Seek to keep a balanced body position in order to translate the power of the swing into the distance of the ball.  Your feet should be set wider allowing for greater balance.  That way, your technique will force a more efficient transfer of power on the ball.

The next focal point is the grip. Contrary to most beginner's opinions, your grip should not be strong.  Instead, lighten up a bit; relax.  Here's how you can check your grip.  Can the club turn easily in your hands?  If yes, your grip is good.  Driving the ball accurately is going to be a result of a proper grip.  If you're not getting the accuracy you desire from your drives, focus on your grip.

The next technical adjustment is going to be with your alignment as it relates to the target.  Here's an easy way to check if you are properly aligned.  Take up a proper stance, placing the club down to your feet.  The club will point in the direction of your alignment.  Feel free to step back and gain a bigger viewpoint on that alignment; golf is a game of inches.  Just a simple tip on getting used to properly aligning your shots.

Finally, you should master the art of draw & fade.  When driving, being able to adjust based upon particular conditions will increase your confidence, and, ultimately, lower your scores.  Get into your stance, then move your feet slightly wider.

Of course, there is much more to learn and understand about proper golf technique, especially as it relates to your swing.  However, spend some time focusing on these adjustments.  Once they are incorporated completely into your game, move on.  Keep practicing; keep learning!See you on the green!

The right driving stance starts with positioning your feet. This is a critical component to driving accuracy and power. Seek to keep a balanced body position in order to translate the power of the swing into the distance of the ball. Your feet should be set wider allowing for greater balance. That way, your technique will force a more efficient transfer of power on the ball.

The next focal point is the grip. Most make the mistake of using too strong of a grip. Relax your hands. There is quick way to determine if your grip is too tight. Can the club turn easily in your hands? If yes, your grip is good. Remember: the accuracy of your drive is greatly dependent on your grip. Unrelaxed hands will most likely result in less than desirable accuracy.

After feet and hands, focus on alignment. Align with the target. A simple test can help you gauge your alignment. Take up a proper stance, placing the club down to your feet. The club will point in the direction of your alignment. Feel free to step back and gain a bigger viewpoint on that alignment; golf is a game of inches. It's an easy way to correct any alignment errors in your drives.

Lastly, consider focusing your attention on drawing & fading your drives. Learning the proper alignment for each of these types of shots will improve your drives, and overall game. To accomplish this, set your feet either slightly left or right than your usual stance.

Obviously, this is not a complete guide to golf, or driving accuracy. Yet, these simple tips on driving will boost your overall game and make playing golf significantly more enjoyable. Good luck!

Pay attention to your feet. This is one of the key driving tips. The goal is to balance your body well for driving the ball far with accuracy. Focus on placing your feet slightly wider. With proper alignment and balance you can hit the ball further with less exerted power.

The next focal point is the grip. Do not grip the club too tightly. Use a confident, relaxed grip. There is quick way to determine if your grip is too tight. Can the club turn easily in your hands? If yes, your grip is good. Driving the ball accurately is going to be a result of a proper grip. If your grip is too strong, it will throw off your accuracy.

Next, align yourself with the target. If you need a simply way to ensure that your alignment is good, here's a trick. Prepare to hit the ball, in good stance, and set the driver down on the ground to meet your toes. The club will point in the direction of your alignment. Make sure to step away and get some perspective. It's an easy way to correct any alignment errors in your drives.

Lastly, consider focusing your attention on drawing & fading your drives. Adjusting your stance slightly will make the necessary adjustments to your alignment. You will need to set your feet either slightly left, or slightly right than normal.

Obviously, this is not a complete guide to golf, or driving accuracy. Yet, these simple tips on driving will boost your overall game and make playing golf significantly more enjoyable. Stay motivated!

Correct driving technique begins with a solid base; your foot position. This is a critical component to driving accuracy and power. Focus on a balanced body position with your feet solid for both the upswing & downswing. To accomplish this, you should set your feet wide apart; forming a solid base. This way, you align yourself to perform an upswing, sending the ball a greater distance.

The next focal point is the grip. Contrary to most beginner's opinions, your grip should not be strong. Use a confident, relaxed grip. Get in the habit of checking your grip. Check to see if the club can turn easily in your grip. If not, then you may need to relax your hands a bit more. Remember: the accuracy of your drive is greatly dependent on your grip. Unrelaxed hands will most likely result in less than desirable accuracy.

After feet and hands, focus on alignment. Align with the target. Here's an easy way to check if you are properly aligned. Get into your stance. Then place the driver down to your toes. The driver will act as an unbiased arrow, pointing in the direction your feet were aligned at. You can walk away to gain a greater perspective on where the club is pointing. It's an easy way to correct any alignment errors in your drives.

Finally, you should master the art of draw & fade. Adjusting your stance slightly will make the necessary adjustments to your alignment. You will need to set your feet either slightly left, or slightly right than normal.

There are many more lessons and incremental adjustments that can be learned to improve your golf game. However, spend some time focusing on these adjustments. Once they are incorporated completely into your game, move on. Keep practicing; keep learning!See you on the green!

Correct driving technique begins with a solid base; your foot position. This is a critical component to driving accuracy and power. Focus on a balanced body position with your feet solid for both the upswing & downswing. Focus on placing your feet slightly wider. With proper alignment and balance you can hit the ball further with less exerted power.

From your feet, move up to your grip on the club. Contrary to most beginner's opinions, your grip should not be strong. Use a confident, relaxed grip. Get in the habit of checking your grip. If the club can turn easily in your hands, then your grip is relaxed. Remember: the accuracy of your drive is greatly dependent on your grip. Unrelaxed hands will most likely result in less than desirable accuracy.

The next technical adjustment is going to be with your alignment as it relates to the target. If you need a simply way to ensure that your alignment is good, here's a trick. Take up a proper stance, placing the club down to your feet. The driver will act as an unbiased arrow, pointing in the direction your feet were aligned at. Make sure to step away and get some perspective. Just a simple tip on getting used to properly aligning your shots.

Once you've incorporated those techniques into your game, move on to using draws & fades. When driving, being able to adjust based upon particular conditions will increase your confidence, and, ultimately, lower your scores. You will need to set your feet either slightly left, or slightly right than normal.

There are many more lessons and incremental adjustments that can be learned to improve your golf game. Work on a few tips at a time. Small incremental adjustments in stance, grip, and alignment will show big results in lowering your golf score and making the game more enjoyable. Stay motivated!

Pay attention to your feet. This is one of the key driving tips. Focus on a balanced body position with your feet solid for both the upswing & downswing. To accomplish this, you should set your feet wide apart; forming a solid base. That way, your technique will force a more efficient transfer of power on the ball.

Once you've worked on gaining a balanced positioning with your feet, move to your hands. Do not grip the club too tightly. Relax your hands. There is quick way to determine if your grip is too tight. If the club can turn easily in your hands, then your grip is relaxed. Remember: the accuracy of your drive is greatly dependent on your grip. If you're not getting the accuracy you desire from your drives, focus on your grip.

After feet and hands, focus on alignment. Align with the target. Here's an easy way to check if you are properly aligned. Take up a proper stance, placing the club down to your feet. Look at the driver. Where it's pointing is where you will be hitting the ball. Feel free to step back and gain a bigger viewpoint on that alignment; golf is a game of inches. This is a helpful way to increase your accuracy.

Once you've incorporated those techniques into your game, move on to using draws & fades. Adjusting your stance slightly will make the necessary adjustments to your alignment. To accomplish this, set your feet either slightly left or right than your usual stance.

There are many more lessons and incremental adjustments that can be learned to improve your golf game. Yet, these simple tips on driving will boost your overall game and make playing golf significantly more enjoyable. Stay motivated!

How To Break 80 Newsletter

May 3, 2012

"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"

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In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Tip: Escaping The Junk

2) Tip: Punching A Hybrid

3) Question: Swing Easier For Better Ballstriking

4) Article: Match Stroke and Posture To Sink More Putts

5) Article: What To Pack For A Golf Trip

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1) Escaping The Junk

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Most of us miss the fairway more often than we’d care to admit. If we’re lucky when we miss, the ball lands just off the fairway or in light rough and we still have a shot at the green. If we’re not lucky, the ball lands in heavy, thick grass—the junk, as some golfers like to call to it—and we have no shot at the green. The grass here is so deep and thick it covers nearly all the ball. In fact, you can just see the top of it. Getting out of the junk is never easy.

Below are eight keys to escaping the junk:

1. Stand closer to the ball
2. Choke up a few inches
3. Aim slightly right of target
4. Play the ball back of center
5. Increase your grip pressure
6. Forward press your hands
7. Hinge the club quickly
8. Swing down sharply

This shot is resembles a sand shot except instead of sliding your club through the sand, you’ll slam it steeply into the back of the ball. You’ll need to make a few adjustments to your normal stance and swing as well.

If you can see the top of the ball, use either and 8-iron or 9-iron for this shot. If you can see only a small circle on top of the ball, use a sand wedge.

Stand closer to the ball, play it back in your stance, and choke up on the club while you increase your grip pressure. Choking up gives you a bit more leverage on your swing and increasing grip pressures prevents the club from turning in your hands. Aim slightly right of target and forward press the shaft. You want it leaning towards the target.

On your back swing hinge the club quickly. You want your wrists cocked by the time your hands reach your thighs. From the top, swing down sharply. You want to feel as if you’re pulling the handle down into the ball. Keep your legs quiet.

You’re goal here is to get the ball out onto the fairway. If you can do that, you’ve done your job.

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2) Punching A Hybrid

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Some of us are low-ball hitters. Others are high-ball hitters. Being a high-ball hitter is a problem if your drive lands just off the rough but under a tree. Your normal shot is likely to hit a branch and carom off into more trouble. You need a controlled, low flying shot that flies under the tree’s limbs for some distance. It’s the kind of shot that’s ideal for long irons, but you’ve replaced your them with hybrids.

Below are six keys to punching a hybrid:

• Stand behind the ball
• Select a target
• Address the ball with a narrow stance
• Shift your weight and grip down
• Make a three quarter backswing
• Turn back and through the ball

You can punch a hybrid from under a tree as long as you don’t add loft to the clubface.

Start by standing behind the ball and picking out a target. Picture the shot trajectory you want to hit and then address the ball. Take a narrow stance by setting your feet under your hips. Shift your weight forward and choke down about an inch on the club. These adjustments bring you closer to the ball.

Start low and slow and make a three-quarter backswing. Use a lot of body turn but try to stay centered over the ball. Staying centered is key to the shot. Now turn your back to the ball. Avoid any excess hand action. It can only get you in trouble. The ball will come out low and hot and travels about 75 percent of your normal hybrid distance.

Try making a few practice swings before hitting the ball. Check that the Vs of your grip, your clubshaft, and your back shin all point to your forward shoulder at impact. If they do, you’ll subtract loft from the clubface at impact, resulting in the kind of low shot you need to escape the tree.

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3) Question: Swing Easier For Better Ballstriking

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Q.

Hi, Jack:

I have a tendency to swing too hard, thinking that the harder I swing the further the ball flies. My iron shots are usually thin and to the left. Are there any exercises that I could use to slow me down and improve my contact?

Tim Brown

A.

Good question, Tim. It’s a swing fault many weekend golfers commit. When you try to swing too hard you disrupt your rhythm, timing and tempo, which in turn inhibits ballstriking. It also causes you to tighten your hands, arms, and shoulders, slowing swing speed. Instead of making solid contact, you hit the ball thin with little power or slice it to one side.

The key to generating solid contact is to stay under control and swing about 75 to 80 percent, which enhances rhythm, timing, and tempo. Do that and you’ll not only make better contact, you’ll also hit the ball farther and straighter. Below are two drills that help you slow your swing down, improve ballstriking, and generate power without swinging harder:

Drill 1

This drill improves tempo, timing, and rhythm:

Next time you’re at the practice range try hitting your irons only 70 percent of the distance you normally hit them. To do this you’ll need to slow your swing down and stay under control, enhancing rhythm, timing, and tempo. You’ll be surprised how much your ballstriking improves.

Drill 2

This drill teaches you to generate power while swinging easy:

Take your stance. Then put a coin on the top of your front shoe. Now take some practice swings. Swing easy. The trick is to make your swing without knocking the coin off your shoe. If the coin falls off, your front leg is collapsing or falling backward at impact. Once you’re mastered the practice swing, hit balls with the coin on the top of your shoe. Then hit some without the coin. Swing about 70 to 80 percent.

This drill forces you to brace your front foot against the ground at impact, creating leverage for power. It also helps you rotate your body through the swing and whip your arms through the hitting zone. Mastering this technique helps you drive the ball farther without swinging harder.

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.

But if you’re like most weekend golfers, you’ve had days where you couldn’t seem to sink a putt. On these days you often find yourself pushing or pulling putts. Overactive hands often cause these miscues. To be a good putter, you must neutralize your hands. Another reason for pushing or pulling putts is a mismatch between your posture and the path of your putting stroke. You must match posture and putting path to putt well consistently. If you look closely at some of our golf instruction DVDs, you’ll see what we mean.

Two Basic Postures

Golfers can assume one of two basic putting postures when putting—upright or bent. With an upright posture at address, your shoulders work perpendicular to your spine. In other words, they move “around” rather than up and down. This action automatically opens up the putter face during your stroke, then squares it coming to the ball, since it’s automatic, you don’t need to manipulate the putter during your stroke. Many great PGA players putt this way, including Greg Norman and Ben Crenshaw.

When putting from a bent posture, where your chest faces the ground, your shoulders move more “up and down” than “around.” With this posture your front shoulder moves down and your back shoulder rocks up during your backstroke. You do the opposite with your forward stroke. In other words, your shoulders move at right angles to your spine, like a pendulum, with the putterface remaining square to the target line. Jack Nicklaus and Dave Stockton use this posture.

Match Posture And Stroke

One key to improving putting, we tell students at our golf lessons, is to match your pos-ture at address with your putting stroke. To do that you must allow the putterface to move as your shoulders move. If you use a bent posture, then a pendulum like stroke is ideal, resulting in a square-to-square stroke path. If you choose a more upright posture at address, a more horizontal like stroke is ideal, resulting in an open-to-square putting stroke path.

Judging from what we see in golf instruction sessions, golfers often mis-match posture and stroke path. An upright posture with a square-to-square stroke causes you to pick up the putter, producing pulls and scuffs. Pull a lot putts and you’ll start making adjustments with your hands. That’s not good. It can cause you to lip-out putts. You want to neutral-ize your hands when putting, as we tell students in golf instruction sessions. A bent pos-ture with an open-to-square stroke, on the other hand, causes pushes. So if you find your-self pushing a lot of putts, try using a more pendulum like putting stroke.

If you decide to change your posture at address, you’ll need to change your putting stroke. If you decide to bend over more, you’ll have a more pendulum like stroke. If you decide to stand upright, you’ll have a more open-to-square like stroke. As we said before, this putting stroke path happens naturally. You don’t have to manipulate the club or putterface to achieve it.

The golf tips above will help you improve your putting—the quickest and easiest way to knock strokes off your golf handicap. When practicing, work on matching your posture at address with your stroke path. An upright posture requires an open to square stroke path, while a bent posture requires a square-to-square putting stroke. Matching your pos-ture with the right putting stroke will help cut down pushes and pulls when putting.

But you have to prepare well for the trip to make it enjoyable. You also have to pack the right clothes for the trip and take other accessories. Whether you’re traveling just for fun or to take some golf lessons, you can never be too prepared for bad weather, snarled traf-fic, lost luggage, stolen clubs, and so on. Since surprises are the last thing you want on a trip, make a list of things to take with you and check them off as you pack them. Below are some golf items you may want to consider for your trip.

Rainwear

No matter where you’re going you should anticipate the potential for rain, as we tell stu-dents in golf instructions sessions. Rain can happen at any locale. Many golfers have rainwear, which they carry in their bags, but not all do. Foremost, is a rain jacket. Look for one that you can easily convert between a jacket, vest, or half sleeves. Other features to consider on rain jackets are high storm collars, zippered hand pockets, elasticized waistbands, and a two-way zipper to release zipper-pucker.

Instructional DVDs

Whether you’re traveling for golf lessons or to play at a great course, you may want to take some instructional DVDs with you. You don’t have to take all of your golf DVDs just your favorites. They can remind you of golf tips that will help you play better. You can load your favorites on an IPod and then downloaded them onto a portable video player. The IPod should have at least 80 gigabytes of storage and allow you to play on 6.5 hours of video on one battery charge.

Extra Gloves

Another item to add to your checklist is extra gloves. Take at least two or three extra gloves, especially if you’re going to a hot or humid climate. Do you really want to put on a glove that’s still drenched in sweat from the previous day’s match? Buy gloves built to provide a firm grip in all weather and under all conditions. Also consider an extra pair of shoes and an extra hat.

Sunglasses

Most golfers who take trips to play or take golf lessons travel to some place warm and sunny, like Florida or Arizona. Sunglasses will save your eyes whether you’re on the course, out for a walk, or driving around. You want glasses with frames that are not only sleek and lightweight but also comfortable and durable. You also want sunglasses that block 100 percent of harmful blue light rays. Other key features are adjustable nosepieces, nonslip ear tips, and 100 percent protection from the harmful effects of ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B radiation. Also, don’t forget your sun block and insect repellant.

Rangefinders

If you’re going to play courses you’ve never played before, add a rangefinder to your checklist. Playing unfamiliar courses for the first time is hard, especially when you don’t know the yardages. Plus, you can’t always trust yardage markers, so consider taking a range finder with you. Some golf courses have rangefinders for their carts but not all. If you don’t own a rangefinder, get a battery-operated, hand-held rangefinder, so you can carry it right to your ball. Knowing exact yardages is a key to scoring well, as we tell stu-dents in our golf instructions sessions.

Putting Aid

Putting is often the first thing to go in your game. It’s also more difficult to putt well on unfamiliar greens. The easiest fix is to take your favorite putting aid with you. Take something that’s lightweight and easy to store, and that reinforces your putting stroke.

Golf vacations can be a lot of fun, whether you have a high golf handicap or a low one. They can include not only playing new courses and seeing the sights. But surprises are the last thing you want on a trip. So next time you take a golf vacation make a checklist of things you want to take with you. The list will help eliminate some common surprises.

Keep Your Head Still

This is probably the most popular of all “overdone” golf tips. This advice is generally given to players who pull up and top the ball. While you hear it a lot from players on the course, you don’t hear it in golf lessons. Why—because taken too far it’s bad advice. Keeping your head locked in place stops the body from turning toward the target. That in turn creates a cramped space for the arms on the follow through, spelling trouble. Instead, release your chin, sternum, and hips together. It’s a good thought going back, but after that forget it.

Turn Your Shoulders Not Your Hips

This common overdone tip is based on the idea that the more torque you create the farther you hit the ball. This idea is partly true. Based on our observations during our golf in-struction session, few golfers can complete a full torso turn while limiting hip turn. The rest of us just aren’t flexible enough. We can turn about 70 percent, and that’s it. If you want extra distance, you’re better off freeing your hips so you can turn your shoulders more. Like all the other golf tips discussed in this article, taken too far this advice leads to trouble.

Keep Your Legs Still On Chips

You want to keep your knees still when chipping. But the thought of doing that can “freeze” you, causing you to mishit your chip. When you rely only on your hands to swing the club during a chip, you create a jerky motion that can lead to tons of missed chips. Every shot you make requires synchronization between the upper half of your body and the lower. Instead of keeping your hips still during your swing, let your hips rotate back slightly at the start, then rotate forward to allow your knees to face the target, just the way they teach it in golf instruction sessions. (Check our video gallery for a golf les-son on the fundamentals of chipping.)

Stick Your Butt Out

This is a useful tip but going too far with it isn’t good, like all the rest. Posture is a critical component of a good golf swing. What’s the problem? If done in the wrong manner, it leads to an “S” posture, meaning you put too much curve in your lower spine. We see this a lot in golf instruction sessions with new players. An “S” shaped posture not only pre-vents pelvic mobility during the swing, it also leads to back pain. Make sure your posture is correct.

Below is an easy drill to help check your posture: Get into your stance. Then with one hand reach behind you and hold a club along your back. Make sure the shaft is in contact with your spine from your shoulder blades to your tailbone. Now check your setup. If there’s space to wiggle your fingers under the shaft, you have too much bend in your pos-ture and your butt is sticking out way too much.

Don’t over do these golf tips. Taken too far they result in mis-hits and bad shots, both of which can add strokes to your scores and your golf handicap.

Thus, each hand plays a critical role in the golf swing. If you slice or hook the ball or you hit shots fat or thin, chances are you’re doing something wrong with your hands. Learn-ing the role of each hand in the swing and how your hands synch up with the lower body helps you eliminate bad shots. Unfortunately, the hands’ importance doesn’t always come through when reading golf tips or taking golf lessons.

Different Strokes

Each hand does something different in the swing. The left hand (right hand for south-paws) controls the clubface’s rotational movement. That in turn controls the clubface’s direction. The left hand controls this function because it rotates more naturally from open to closed than closed to open. Putting the left hand in charge of this motion makes it easi-er to swing the club correctly and takes stress off the right hand as you swing.

The right hand controls your hands’ hinge effect. That in turn affects the shaft angle as you swing the club. It’s both easier and more natural to control shaft angle with the right hand than the left. Thanks to the right hand the shaft leans forward slightly at impact. Anything less and you’ll hit the ball fat. Anything more and you’ll hit it thin. The right hand should always remain below the left through impact.

Synch With Your Body

But the true source of power and consistency comes from the lower body, not the hands. Therefore, the hands must work together with the body. If they don’t, golfers mis-hit the shot. Two things key this union. First, as you start your swing, you must shift your front foot forward, just like they teach you in golf instruction sessions. If you swing without shifting your weight, your hands make an adjustment to correct your mistake. You may make the adjustment correctly once or twice, but you can’t do it consistently.

Second, as you shift your weight forward, you must keep your hips rotating. This movement opens up the torso to provide your hands enough room to do their jobs. Rotating the hips correctly also enables your hands to manage shaft angle. Not given the time and space to do their jobs, the hands must shift into overdrive to retime their movements to complete the swing. It’s a common fault we see in golf lessons. Rotating the hips means keeping them rotating until well into your finish position. If your hands and lower body work together correctly, you’ll hit solid straight iron shots.

Below are two drills often used in golf instruction sessions to teach players how to use their hands correctly when swinging:

• Impact Bag Drill

  Take your address in front of an impact bag. Position the bag just in front of your ball position. Make adjustments as you practice to suit the different clubs. With the club hinged hip-high on the backswing swing into the bag. Try to clip the bag at the base and while slipping the club slightly under it with a square-face angle.

• Push Board Drill

  Use a 2x4 board or anything long and heavy that that can be slid in a straight line. Position it directly in front of you at the normal ball position, with the board pointing toward your target. Now take a swing. You want to hit the end of the board and push it forward without using your arms. Use your weight and hips instead and push the boar in a straight line as far as possible with the clubface square and the arms extended.

The Impact Bag Drill helps you practice clubface rotation and shaft angle. The Push Board Drill ingrains good weight shift and proper hip rotation. Learn to use your hands properly during your swing and you’ll hit irons that not only will help you break 80 but also lower your golf handicap.

April 19, 2012

"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"
===================================================

In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Tip: Use “Dead-Hands” Chip For Downhill Greens
2) Tip: Throttling Back Can Save Strokes
3) Drill: Stop Pulling Putts Left
4) Article: Use Your Hands To Cut Golf Handicap
5) Article: Don’t Overdo These Four Classic Golf Tips

Jack's Note: I often get asked if the videos and tips on our site can be utilized by left handed golfer. The fundamentals in the DVD's apply to both right-handed and left-handed golfers. Although they are filmed using right-handed golfers. The left-handed person has to remember to do things in an opposite manner. Otherwise, the principals are the same.

One such golfer that uses our site picked Bubba Watson to win the Masters and also won some Free DVD's. Damon from Texas City, Texas sent in this nice note:

Hi Jack,

First of all allow me to say thank you for your web site. I do enjoy reading and watching some of the training videos that you send my way on occasion. I am excited to hear that my pick of Bubba Watson won the Masters. I too am a left handed golfer. And double excited to learn that I picked the winner in your contest that I entered. My choices of DVD's are listed below.

Pitching DVD, Seniors DVD, Hybrid DVD

I look forward to receiving them. I have several other DVD's by Bobby Eldridge.

Damon

Damon, your DVD's are on the way,

Thank you for being a loyal customer.

Jack

Trouble viewing links? Your browser may be the issue. We recommend using the Firefox browser. Click Here To Download. Some email clients also distort links: try to copy and paste web urls directly in your browser, or turn on images for emails.

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1) Use “Dead-Hands” Chip For Downhill Greens
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Nothing tests your short game more than a fast downhill chip to a green that runs away from you. You can use almost any club in your bag with a variety of swing motions to make this shot. Some golfers like to use a pinched pitch with a lot of backspin. But that’s risky. A pinched pitch doesn’t always provide enough backspin to hold the green. In-stead, try the “dead-hands” chip taught by Dave Peltz, golf’s short game guru.

Below are seven keys to hitting a dead-hands chip:

• Adopt a narrow chipping stance
• Play the ball back from center
• Raise your hands and bow your wrists
• Square your clubface to the swing line
• Pick out a landing spot and target it
• Swing with just your arms and no wrist cock
• Aim for crisp, clean contact with the ball

Adopt a narrow chipping stance, with your feet about six inches apart. Stand with 60 per-cent to 65 percent of your weight on your front foot to encourage a descending motion on your swing.

Play the ball back in your stance. To position it perfectly, start with your feet pointed squarely at the target line and the ball across from your back foot. Then open both toes slightly—maybe 20 degrees. You should be standing tall and very close to the ball.

Raise your hands and bow your wrists a bit to keep them firm through the swing. This also raises the heel of the club off the ground while the toe stays down. Square the club-face with the swing line, pick out a landing spot, and swing your arms back and through, aiming for crisp, clean contact. Use the club’s toe.

Whatever you do, don’t hinge your wrists. Using just your arms minimizes clubhead speed and shallows out your swing arc.

The dead-hands chip is easier to hit than a pinched pitch. It lands softly on the green and runs out a predictable and reliable distance. Use it to save strokes on a fast downhill green that runs away from you.

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2) Throttling Back Can Save Strokes
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If you’re like most golfers, you like to crush the ball from the tee. There’s no greater feel-ing in golf than blasting one down the fairway. Hitting a great approach shots is also sat-isfying, especially if it hits the green. But you must guard against being too aggressive on approach shots. Smart golfers know when to go for it and when to throttle back. Throt-tling back at the right time can save a lot of strokes.

Below are four times when throttling back makes sense from the fairway:

• Sidehill lies
• Fairway bunkers
• Uphill lies
• Into the wind

Sidehill lies are tricky, especially if you hook or slice. The hill’s slope increases that ten-dency to go right or left. To compensate, back off a little on the shot. Instead, take an ex-tra club, aim a little to the target’s left or right, and swing easy. You might even try taking an extra club.

Many weekend golfers often like to muscle their way out of fairway bunker bunkers. But solid first ball contact is all you want here. Take an extra club for the distance, choke down a little to ensure you don’t take any sand, dig your feet into the sand for stability, and make a controlled U-shaped swing.

Overswinging on an uphill lie often results in topping the ball. But you can avoid this mistake with a couple of adjustments. Make sure your shoulders are parallel to the ground. Add a little flex to your back knee. Take an extra club to compensate for the hill’s slope. And swing nice and easy along the hill’s slope.

While it swinging hard into the wind seems to make sense, doing so isn’t always smart. Hard swings create more backspin on the ball. That, plus the wind, could result in a bal-looning shot and lost yardage. Instead, take a longer club and swing easy.

Smart golfers know when to throttle back and when to go for it. Throttling back in the four situations described above saves strokes and helps cut golf handicaps.

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3) Drill: Stop Pulling Putts Left
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Pulling short and medium range putts left (right, if you’re left-handed) is frustrating. Missing a few of them during a round turns what could have been a good day into a bad one. It also costs you strokes, which could prevent you from breaking 100, 90, or even 80. But the simple pre-stroke drill described below helps you stop pulling putts left.

Take a couple of steps off the green. Stand over the short grass with your putter in hand, as you normally would. Now check your putter. Is it resting on the ground? If it is, lift it off the ground slightly setting the putterhead on the top of the grass. Now make a few strokes, brushing the blades back and forth.

If you rest your putter on the ground, you must lift it up to start your stroke. This jerky motion destroys your path and feel. Setting your putterhead on top of the grass amplifies your feel and encourages you to take the putter back smoothly, not up, for better results.

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.

April 4, 2012

"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement Newsletter"
===================================================

In this issue we'll discuss...

1) Tip: Split The Fairway In The Wind
2) Tip: Maintain Fluidity To Sink More Putts
3) Question: Eliminate Pulling With These Golf Tips
4) Article: Don’t Swing Like the Pros
5) Article: Approach Shots Could Determine Masters

Jack's Note: This is it – Masters Week. The world’s greatest pros are already in Augusta, ready to compete. You can compete this week, too, by entering and winning our “Pick the Winner” Masters Contest. Entry is Free and the prizes are great. But, you have to post your selection before the the first tee time on Thursday. Click Here and enter today.

Trouble viewing links? Your browser may be the issue. We recommend using the Firefox browser. Click Here To Download. Some email clients also distort links: try to copy and paste web urls directly in your browser, or turn on images for emails.

===================================================
1) Split The Fairway In The Wind
===================================================

Wind can plan havoc with a drive. Hit a ball too high on gusty days and the wind can push the ball back, costing you yards. Headwinds are the most treacherous of all. A strong headwind can push back a high drive anywhere from 15 to 25 yards, and maybe more. That’s a lot of yardage to lose, especially on long par 4s or par 5s. What you need is a low flying, low spinning shot that penetrates the wind that you can go to on gusty days.

Below are six keys to hitting a low penetrating shot:

1. Kick your heel into the ground
2. Mold the dirt kicked up into a platform
3. Tee your ball on top of the platform
4. Play the ball slightly back
5. Choke down on the club for control
6. Take your regular driver swing

If you’re not very accurate off the tee, a strong wind only adds to your problems. The turf tee shot described below increases fairway accuracy without costing you yards.

Start by kicking your heel into the ground when on the tee box to dislodge a good portion of earth. Then mold the earth into a platform on which you place your ball. The earth replaces a tee but it positions the ball much lower than with a tee.

To promote a low piercing shot, play the ball slightly back of where you normally tee your ball. Choke down on the club for extra control and make your normal driver swing.
Work on keeping the club low to the ground.

It should feel like you’re hitting an elongated punch shot, with your arms extended fully through impact. This shot doesn’t produce much carry, but you get a lot of roll. So try to pick a final target at your normal driver distance.

Hit correctly, a turf tee shot produces a dead straight drive that penetrates the wind and splits the fairway. Work on it in practice until you get a good feel for it. Then make it your go-to shot in the wind and it will save you a ton of strokes off the tee.

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2) Maintain Fluidity To Sink More Putts
===================================================

Ever see a golfer address the putt for a long time only to miss it? Studying a putt too long isn’t good, whether you’re a PGA pro or a weekend golfer. “Freezing up” over the putt kills the fluidity of your putting stroke, causing you to miss the shot. It shouldn’t take any more than eight seconds to putt after addressing the ball. After that, you lose the feel for the putt. If you want to hole more putts, more consistently, use a pre-shot routine that puts a premium on retaining the feel for the putt.

Here’s a seven step pre-shot putting routine:

1. Read the putt from three sides
2. Choose the target line to the hole
3. Replace your marker with the ball
4. Align the ball with the target line
5. Take your address/square yourself
6. Make some practice swings
7. Start an eight second countdown

Studies show that the best putters take the same amount of time on each putt. When you use your pre-shot putting routine, try to take the same amount of time to complete each time you putt.

Start by reading the putt from three sides—ball to hole, hole to ball, and then from the side. Choose the target line for the hole. Replace your marker with your ball and line it up with your target line. Take your address remembering to square yourself to the target line. Make some practice swings. Then putt the ball.

To keep flowing, incorporate an eight second countdown as part of your routine. The countdown takes place between your last practice stroke and your putting stroke. The countdown helps you eliminate ‘freezing up” over a putt.

The longer your stand over a putt, the greater your chances of losing the feel for it. Using an eight second countdown helps retain that feeling.

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3) Drill: Eliminate Pulling With These Golf Tips
=====================================================

Q.

Hey, Jack:

Your DVD was a very good investment for me. It helped me improve quite a few areas of my game. But I need one piece of advice, if I may.

Yesterday I played my first game in quite a few weeks. We’ve had rain here for the last two months and the courses are waterlogged.

My problem was with my 3-wood, both off the tee and off the fairway. I was line driving it to my right (I hit left-handed). The shot was powerful, but it went to my right like a tracer. This happened 4 times in 9 holes.

Maybe you can point me in the right direction.

Regards,
Ric Wickham

A.

Thanks, Ric. It sounds like you’re pulling the ball. The key factor, as we’ve written here before, is the clubface’s position at impact. If it’s too closed at impact, you’ll pull the shot.

You need to swing the club on an in-to-out swing path or change the clubface’s position at impact to correct this. Try one, all, or a combination of the five golf tips below. It’s often a case of trial and error:

1. Strengthen your grip
2. Close your body alignment
3. Close the clubface slightly
4. Straighten your left arm early
5. Encourage your left arm to cross over

Moving both hands to the right until you can see three knuckles on the back of your left hand strengthens your grip. The thumbs and “V”s between both thumbs and forefingers should be parallel.

Aiming your feet, hips, and shoulders a little to the left of the target closes the alignment of your body. Position the ball back a little in your stance as well.

Closing the clubface slightly after positioning the ball back keeps the clubface “looking” at the ball for slightly longer than usual but not enough to create a pulled 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.

===================================================
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

Click here to view this newsletter on the web

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article: Don’t Swing Like the Pros
...If you’re an average weekend golfer looking to cut strokes from your golf handicap, copying the swing of your favorite PGA pro isn’t necessarily smart...

5) Article: Approach Shots Could Determine Masters
...If there’s one course that illustrates how critical approach shots are to a good score, it’s Augusta National. This year’s event could provide a golf lesson in just how critical they are to the layers in the field...

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

If you compare videos of an average weekend player and a PGA pro swinging a club, you’ll see key differences in swing positions. Even weekend players who through studying golf tips and/or taking golf lessons acquire the right mechanics can’t always make up for their lack of flexibility and core strength. That doesn’t mean weekend golfers can’t have sound swings or achieve low golf handicaps. They can. But they must make adjustments that professional golfers don’t have to make. Let’s look at a couple of examples.

Dynamic Transition

Take the downswing. The biggest difference between the two golfers on the downswing is the pro’s dynamic transition. Thanks to his flexibility a PGA pro produces tremendous torque during the backswing. This torque is stored in the swing at the top. The pro unleashes this torque by starting his lower body toward the target before his backswing has finished, producing a great deal of lag. The lag has the potential for creating extraordinary clubhead speed—the kind seldom seen in golf instruction sessions for weekend golfers. It’s a lot like stretching a rubber band.

The weekend golfer also starts his downswing by moving his lower body. But weekend golfers don’t store as much torque in their swings as professionals because of a lack of flexibility and core strength, so they can’t create s much lag as a pro. Put differently, they can’t stretch the “rubber band” as tight as the pros can. This decrease in tension, combined with a less than dynamic transition, drains clubhead speed. Nevertheless, weekend golfers can achieve good power from their swings, if they make the right adjustments.

One adjustment is keeping the club on the proper swing path. When weekend golfers swing, a quick spin of their hips and shoulders force their clubs on a steep, outside paths. Starting a downswing with a smooth, lateral motion helps the weekend golfers stay more to the inside coming down, where they should be. This adjustment keys the weekend golfers’ power and compensates for his lack of flexibility and strength.

All About Flexibility

Another swing phase where a lack of flexibility and core strength hurts weekend golfers is the finish. It’s all about flexibility. With a stronger body and more flexibility, a professional golfer completes his finish by pointing his right shoulder (left shoulder for southpaws) at the target. The finish results in part from achieving the neutral centered positions the pros normally achieve during their swings, which allow professional golfers to add more body movement to their swings. More body movement means the pro needs to use his hands less during the finish, improving consistency.

Weekend golfers can’t rotate their hips and shoulders completely around like Tour pros. So their hands must play a more active role in the swing to make up for the lack of flexibility. But it’s hard to achieve consistency in our finish with active hands. Nevertheless, weekend golfers can still finish well. Instead of trying to force their cores to turn more than they can, weekend golfers should focus on staying balanced at the finish, and let their levels of flexibility and core strength determine their finishes. This approach also curbs injuries.

We all want to play like the pros. But should we? Weekend golfers who try to imitate the exact moves of their favorite professional golfers may be asking for trouble. They lack the average professional’s flexibility and core strength achieving key swing positions. Imitating the swing of their favorite pros can hurt not only weekend golfers’ golf handicaps but also their bodies. Learning to make the right adjustments to compensate for physical limitations can boost one’s game to the next level.