As a golf instructor you’re always dispensing advice. Sometimes when giving golf lessons or offering golf tips, you emphasize key positions in an effort to help a player eliminate a swing flaw. Players then obsess about achieving these positions and focus almost exclusively on achieving them during their swings. They also start thinking about specific body parts and where they should be. As a result, their swings get jerky and off balance. And they become a tangled mess of adjustments and re-routing.

Three swing flaws that often tend to entangle players of all golf handicaps are the following:

* Sweeping the club back behind you
* Swing becomes too upright
* Arms collapse at the top of the swing

In an effort to help you eliminate these flaws, we describe each below. We also describe drills designed to eliminate them and help you untangle your swing.

Club Gets Stuck On The Downswing
Among the most common swing flaw is sweeping the club back behind you during your backswing. This flaw causes the club to get stuck behind you in the downswing. As a result, your body races ahead of your arms on the downswing, forcing you to sling the club out from your right side (left of left-handers) to get it “unstuck.” In short, you’re pulling the club off plane. Ideally, you want to let your arms and chest move back together. That keeps the club balanced. It also lets it come back to the ball in front of your body.

To eliminate this flaw, try the One Arm Drill. Start by making some practice swings without the ball using only your back hand and arm. It’s hard to pull the club off plane when you do this. Centrifugal force works hard to keep it in balance. Try to remember the balance feeling you get when you do this. Try to keep the same balance after you add your other hand to the club. Also, retain the same grip pressure throughout the swing. After ingraining the feeling, try hitting some balls.

Swing Becomes Too Upright
This flaw affects players with high golf handicaps mostly. But you can find the flaw in the swings of players with medium and low golf handicaps, too. The flaw starts right at the beginning. It involves grabbing the grabbing the grip too tightly and then jerking the club back quickly, causing your swing to get too upright. From there the club tends to come down and back to the ball from outside the target line without much power. Instead, let the clubhead move back first. Meanwhile, focus on making a complete shoulder turn.

The Whoosh Drill helps correct this flaw. It’s a good drill to follow the One Arm drill. Grab the club by the clubhead end. Now make some baseball swings at waist height. This move is more natural and more intuitive because you’re not bent over. Try to feel your weight transfer back and through. Next make the grip end whoosh through the air early on your back side, then late in front of you. Change the whoosh point by altering when you release your hands and arms.

Arms Collapse At The Top
Extension creates power. The more you extend you arms during the swing, the farther you hit the ball. It’s a matter of physics. But extension can also create too much tension, if you’re not careful. Extending the club away from you during the backswing often causes your arms to collapse at the top. This narrows your swing and saps power from it. What you must do is relax your neck and shoulders at address. Then let the club flow back naturally. Let your wrists hinge naturally as well. Don’t force them to hinge at a certain point.

To correct this flaw, make a few practice swings over the ball before you hit your shot. Make the swing at full speed, so that the club whooshes at the bottom of your swing arc. Focus on making the sound of acceleration at the correct point, not making impact with the ball. After three or four swings, set up and hit the ball. Keep thinking about speed not impact.

These golf tips will help you create a smoother, more natural swing as well a more powerful one. In addition, if you’re going to add a swing thought, say something like “low and slow” in your head as you go through your swing. If you want to achieve a low golf handicap, you first must iron out the flaws in your swing. Otherwise, they will just get you tangled up in a big mess.

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 handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

In this issue we’ll discuss…

1) Achieving Power and Accuracy Off The Tee
2) Improving Your Shoulder Turn
3) Question of the Week - Ball Position
4) Article - Five Great Moments In Golf
5) Article - Untangling Your Swing

Jack’s Note:

1) Achieving Power and Accuracy Off The Tee
Every golfer wants power and accuracy off the tee. But those two things aren’t always compatible. Usually, golfers achieve one at the expense of the other. When they try really cranking one, they often belt it deep into the rough. When they try pinpointing one down the fairway, they usually drive it 20 or 30 yards shorter than they want. But you can solve the power versus accuracy dilemma, if you know how.

Below are five tips to generate power and accuracy off the tee.

* Swing at a controlled pace
* Clear your hips faster
* Allow your back heel to lift
* Extend the club down the target line
* Turn your head toward the target

If want power and accuracy off the tee, try this: First, get your swing under control. Instead of whaling away at the ball, swing at 75 percent. Focus instead on striking the ball solidly.

Second, clear your hips faster. Rotating them at the start of the downswing lets your arms fire powerfully through impact. But be careful! Speeding up your hips too much throws your swing off.

Third, let your back heel come off the ground. This helps you make a full downswing. Of course, if you can make a full downswing without lifting your heel, that’s fine, too. Just remember that Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson both let their heels lift up quite a bit.

Fourth, extend the club down the target line. Visualize yourself shaking hands with the target. Some players like to flip their hands through impact to get more clubhead speed. This move almost never works.

Fifth, turn your head toward the target. You want the clubhead to release naturally. To do that, you must allow your head to turn. When you hang your head back, you often hook the ball. Keep everything moving together. Turn your head and eyes with the club.

Work on ingraining these five tips. You’ll hit the ball farther and straighter off the tee, and solve the power versus accuracy dilemma.

2) Improving Your Shoulder Turn
Making a full shoulder turn promotes good ball striking. But many weekend golfers suffer from “Early Turn Syndrome.” ETS occurs when your hips and/or shoulders start rotating before your arms reach the swing’s apex. This flaw breaks the link between your arms and body, short-circuiting power. To drive the ball long and straight, make a full rotation.

Here are fives keys to making a full rotation:

1. Widen your stance slightly
2. Settle your weight on your back foot
3. Lift your chin away from body
4. Stretch out in the takeaway
5. Brace knees to support coiling

The back side of your body controls your turn. It slows the rotation of your knees, hips, and shoulders, and restricts the amount of early turn you can make. It also causes your arms and your club to move in ”sync” with your body. Your trunk’s big muscles then complete the backswing motion in tandem with your arms.

To cure ERS, take a slightly wider stance, settle your weight on your back foot, and lift your chin away from your body, creating room to turn your front shoulder underneath. Extending your arms in the takeaway pulls the left shoulder underneath, stretching the muscles on the front side as the body coils. Bracing your knees supports your body coil in the backswing.

Drill
Many golfers suffer from ETS because they lack a reference for how a full shoulder turn feels. The drill below helps with top-of-the-backswing and finish problems.

Take your setup with a 5-iron. Rest the shaft on your back shoulder. Turn so your back faces the target, with the club still on your shoulders. Now raise your hands in the air so your front arm is extended. That’s the position you want at the top of the turn. Do the opposite to feel a full follow through. Take your setup. Rest the 5-iron on your front shoulder. Turn your chest so it faces the target. Now raise your hands and extend the back arm. There’s your finish.

Practice these position a few times. Try to repeat them when you swing and you’ll eliminate early turn syndrome.

3) Question of the Week - Ball Position

Q. Hi Jack, You said this to Gary:

Ball positioning also impacts swing path. If the ball is too far back for a right-handed golfer, the clubhead moves on an in-to-out swing path, sending it to the target’s right. If the ball is too far forward, the clubhead moves on an out-to-in swing path, sending the ball to the target’s left. (Vice versa for a lefty).

Now this has me confused. I always thought an in-to-out swing path would send the ball drawing left, and out to in sends it to the right. When I try to fade a ball from a tee shot, I open up my stance a little, aim a little to the left, try to swing along my foot line, and put the ball back a little to ensure that my club face has not yet fully closed to square at impact. All that seems to work, but have I got this all wrong or something?

My confusion to one side, I too like your articles, although I think the mind is more the issue for me. I know I can play 9 holes in par as I have done it, but I cannot pull it off for a full 18 hole round. Do you have any solutions to this?

Cheers
Julian Long
Auckland, New Zealand.

A. Thanks for the questions, Julian. What you say about hitting a draw and a fade is correct—if the ball is in the right position. But remember I said to Gary, “If the ball is too far back….” or “If the ball is too far forward….” Those words are key—and why ball position is so critical.

If the ball is too far back and you have an in-to-out swing path, the clubhead never gets a chance to become closed before it meets the ball. Move the ball up two inches and the clubhead has a chance to become closed, producing a draw. If you move the ball too far forward and have an out-to-in swing path, the clubhead closes too much and you hit the ball left. Move the ball back two inches and the clubhead never has a chance to close too much, producing a fade. Try it out on the range.

As for your second question, you can’t focus on golf for all 18 holes. Your mind needs to rest. Try thinking about something other than golf between holes and between shots—what a nice day it is, how great your wife looked this morning, and so on. Then when it comes time to hit your shot, apply your full attention to doing it.

When it comes time to hit, try employing what experts call “soft focus.” Here’s how Br. Bob Rotella, noted sports psychologist, describes soft focus: “As Padraig begins his pre-shot routine, his mind is clear. He’s thinking about only one thing: his target. But his focus does not cause his jaw to jut out or knuckles to go white. It’s not grinding. It’s not that intense. Because he already knows that he’ll accept whatever happens to his shot, he’s relaxed

To defeat mental lapses, develop a mental routine and a physical routine before hitting. Use the concept of soft focus as the foundation for the mental routine. Use your pre-shot routine as the foundation for the physical. Think of things other than golf between holes and shots. Then turn your attention to what you have to do when it’s time to hit.
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

To view this newsletter online, please visit:
http://www.howtobreak80.com/newsletter02182009.html

Here are some of my recent articles:

4) Article - Five Great Moments In Golf
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/five-great-moments-in-golf.html

5) Article - Untangling Your Swing
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/untangling-your-swing.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

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.

The pros are good at all phases of golf. But they usually depend heavily on one phase to help them make the cut. That’s their “go to” phase. Take Brad Faxon. He putts as well as anyone. In fact, he led the tour in putting average three times from 1996 to 2000. But his long game and iron play aren’t quite as good, explaining why he hasn’t won more on the Tour.

Tiger Woods is good at all phases of the game. He drives the ball well and he hits clutch putts with regularity. But they’re not necessarily the “go to” phase of his game. That might actually be his ability to get the ball close from difficult lies. Yet many sportswriters and spectators seldom notice this ability. If we chipped half as well Tiger does, we’d cut our golf handicaps dramatically.

Everyone Misses Greens
Tiger is at his best whenever he can save strokes, whether chipping or putting. For him, a 10-yard chip that saves par is as satisfying as a 40-foot snake for a birdie. The key for any golfer is getting it close enough to have a good chance of dropping the putt. Often, these kinds of shots help him maintain momentum and boost his chance of winning a tournament.

Because chipping is a scoring shot, accuracy and control are critical. Getting his swing on the right plane is one of the essentials to Tiger’s ability to obtain both. He let’s his big muscles and shoulders control his swing. He maintains a nice smooth rhythm that allows him to catch the right plane. And he starts his back swing with his shoulders. That allows his arms and hands to follow, creating a little wrist hinge.

Chipping Uphill And Downhill
Whether Tiger is chipping uphill or downhill, he always levels the playing field by setting his shoulders parallel to the slope at address. If he’s chipping uphill, he plays the ball toward the middle of his stance. And he lets the club follow the slope on the upswing. Weekend golfers, including those with low handicaps, often try to hit down on this shot, sticking the club in the ground. Or, they try to scoop the ball off the ground.

If Tiger’s chip is downhill, he takes a different tact. He uses a more lofted club to control the roll. He positions the ball well back in his stance. He sets his weight on his front forward foot. And he places his hands ahead of the ball promoting first ball contact.

Four Chips Revealed
Where Tiger differs from many golfers is in his grips. He uses four grips, depending on the circumstances. He uses an interlocking grip for the basic chip shots, which he feels encourages his hands to work in unison. He uses an overlapping grip for those delicate shots around the green. With this grip, he can get a little looser grip pressure, which is important for these types of shots.

He uses the reverse overlap grip for soft shots—the kind of shots that do not release but go up nice and soft and stop right where he wants it. And he uses a baseball grip for a shot where he needs more roll on a chip. This grip allows him to get the toe of the clubface over a little better, putting some hook-spin on the ball.

The Takeaway
The four-grip approach is something Tiger developed through experimentation. Experimenting is something he loves to do. It stretches his creativity when it comes to shotmaking—a great ability to have on the Tour. Tiger is among the most creative shot- makers when it comes to the short game, if not the most creative.

If you’re serious about reducing your golf handicap and you’re not happy with how you chip, try Tiger’s four-grip approach. It will take practice to ingrain, but it can help you get close more often. You can also improve your chipping by taking golf lessons. If there’s one area in golf where you can quickly chops strokes off your handicap, chipping is it.

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 handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

Many American courses had no trees in the beginning. But over time maintenance crews started planting trees. This trend took hold and crews planted more and more trees. Pretty soon the “parkland” concept took hold. Today, nearly one in every 10 courses has some leaf reference in their names, like Oak Tree or Shady Oak, thanks to the many trees on the course. Given the benefits of trees, none of these course would dream of cutting down trees arbitrarily.

But as trees grow and mature, they can become health hazards. They not only endanger the health of the course but also the wellbeing of course’s golfers. On one course I know, a player taking a golf lesson barely escaped a diseased limb that fell. Problems like these are why some American courses are embarking on tree-removal programs.

A Non-negotiable Trade Off
Agronomy experts say there’s a non-negotiable trade-off between turf and trees on courses. Turf needs sun to grow and air to thrive. If trees are blocking these things, the turf suffers. Trees overhanging greens and tees create the most problems because these areas get the most foot traffic.

Trees on the south and east side of greens are especially troublesome. They block the sun for more hours than any other. Trees growing too close together are also a problem. They get in each other’s way, sapping nutrients from the soil.

Then there’s the safety issue. While healthy trees provide a buffer between holes, old and diseased trees pose real dangers. Falling trees or limbs can severely injure golfers. Players can’t trim their golf handicaps if they’re in the hospital. And they can’t take any golf lessons to improve their games. So they lose out on the pleasures of playing.

Pruning helps. Often, it’s a good first step to bringing a green or a tee back to health. It also helps air circulation throughout the course. If you see electric fans on a course, it probably has a circulation problem. Unfortunately, selective pruning doesn’t always get at the root of the problem. To do that, you often must cut down the tree or trees creating the problem.

Signs of Tree Problems
How can you tell if your course is overtreed? That’s simple. Look down. The answer is in the dirt. The turf’s health provides provide an important tipoff to a potential problem. Trees are especially toxic to greens. Greens under too much shade are subject to a general thinning of the turf. In extreme cases, no turf at all results. With holes located in shady spots, traffic around the hole exacerbates the wear and tear. Eventually, the turf loses its density and weeds invade.

Tees are also susceptible to tree damage. A tell tale sign is that only one portion of the tee is used—either because the shaded portion is in bad shape or the trees ahead eliminate the angle. Letting the light in either by pruning or cutting down the tree(s) gives the tee a good chance to recover.

Other signs that a tree or trees need to be removed:

* Exposed, above ground tree roots
* A general sense of claustrophobia
* Can’t see the rough from the tree line
* Too many overhanging limbs
* The dreaded “double hazard”

A double hazard is where you have a tree or trees blocking your approach shot from a fairway bunker. Any of these signs means that a tree or trees must be removed—and not just for the sake of helping players’ golf handicaps.

Trees are great. They’re aesthetically pleasing. They’re a natural part of the landscape. And they’re engines of the air we breathe. On courses, they serve many practical purposes, strategically and aesthetically. But they can damage a golf course as they grow and age. While trees should be preserved at all possible costs, sometimes they must be removed to protect the turf, the course, and the golfers.

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 handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.