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How To Break 80 Newsletter
June 13, 2007
"The Web's Most Popular Golf Improvement
Newsletter"
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In this issue we'll discuss...
1) Hitting The 3-Wood Off Tight Fairway Lies
2) Chipping Out of Deep Rough
3) Special Section - Course Preview - Oakmont to Prove a Challenge
4) Article - Ten Essentials to Solid Iron Play
5) Article - Course Management 101: Playing Boldly
Jack’s Note: At last, my favorite week on tour is upon us. This week’s US Open promises to provide a very tough test for even the best professionals and you can certainly look for the winning score to be over par. In his own words, Tiger Woods himself was quoted as saying “It’s probably the hardest U.S. Open course I’ve ever played.” N’uff said.
So, who do YOU think will win? Cast your vote on my blog and if you pick the correct winner of the event, we put you into a drawing for one of my DVD’s or books. The winner gets to pick any one of my products and we will ship it to you free of charge. Last time, during the Masters, only one of you guys got it right so I’m hoping you can improve your “batting average”. Go here to place your comments on your winner.
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1) Hitting The 3-Wood Off Tight Fairway Lies
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This year's U.S. Open features some of the tightest fairways on the PGA Tour. The average fairway width at Oakmont is 28 yards. While some of the tighter driving holes measure only 22 yards wide in spots. Sometimes those 22 yards really play 10 yards wide because most of the landing areas tilt and pitch toward the deep stuff. So you can expect to see players hitting plenty of 3-woods off the tee and from tight fairway lies.
Hitting a 3-wood off a tight fairway lie is more difficult than some players think. Since the 3-wood doesn’t have much loft some players try to help the ball into the air. This mind-set causes them to hang back on their right side and swing up on the ball. The move has the opposite of the intended effect: The club makes contact on the upswing and the golfer tops the shot.
Here are five keys to hitting the 3-wood from a tight fairway lie:
* Play the ball back in your stance
* Sweep the ball off the turf
* Hit with a descending blow
* Shift your weight to the front side
* Swing through the ball
Play the ball about an inch farther back in your stance than you would with your driver. This position lets you sweep the ball off the turf, rather than hit it on the upswing. Keep the clubhead level to the ground as it approaches the ball and past impact.
If you hit with a descending blow, you'll scrape the grass or even take a small divot. For that to happen, though, you must shift your weight to your front side and swing through the ball, letting your arms fully extend.
Think about keeping the clubhead traveling down the target line for as long as possible. This helps keep the clubface square. Try swinging your 3-wood at the same tempo as a 7-iron, or at about 80 percent maximum effort. You’ll hit the ball more flush, which translates into an extra 20 or 30 yards.
You may not be capable of hitting your 3-wood 280 yards like the pros. But it can still be valuable. By learning how to hit it more solidly off the deck you might reach some par 5s in two, setting you up for a birdie or even an eagle.
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2) Chipping Out of Deep Rough
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Among the changes at Pittsburgh's Oakmont Country Club, the site of this year's U.S. Open, is graduated rough. With this, the grass graduates from lighter around the edges of the fairway to deeper the father away from the fairway. Graduated rough means players will probably be hitting less from the deep rough than the light rough. Nevertheless, the deep rough will still be a factor, especially with short shots near the green.
The problem with chipping from deep rough is the grass, which wraps itself around the club’s hosel, delofting the club on impact. The grass trapped between the clubface and the ball also reduces spin, causing the ball to roll more upon landing, making it harder to control. Since this is a tricky shot, let's review some of the keys to chipping out of the deep rough:
1. Use a slightly open stance
2. Open the clubface wide
3. Play the ball forward
4. Hinge your wrists
5. Come through the ball
When the grass is really thick, you have resign yourself to the fact that you're limited in what you can do. Set a modest goal of getting out and onto the fairway in good position to hit the next shot. Trying anything more ambitious usually gets you in more trouble more often than not.
Take a normal but slightly open stance and open your clubface appropriately, creating loft. Play the ball slightly forward in your stance and hinge your wrists during your back swing. This creates a steeper angle of approach for the shot, which you'll need to extricate yourself from the lie. Now hit the ball. You’ll come out soft, and stop much quicker than you otherwise would.
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3) Special Section - Course Preview - Oakmont to Prove a Challenge
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Oakmont Country Club, the site of this year's U.S. Open, has a rich and varied history. Designed by founder H.C. Fownes, it's been the site of seven U.S. Opens, five U. S Amateurs, three PGA Championships, and a U.S. Women's Open. It's also been the site of U.S. Open wins by Jack Nicklaus (1962), Ben Hogan (1953) and Ernie Els (1994). And of course, who can forget Johnny Miller's final-round 63 here to win the 1973 U.S. Open.
Oakmont hosted its first Open in 1927, won by Tommy Armour, who said that the course forced him to execute each shot with "muscle tightening terror." This year's winner may not describe the course in quite the same way after the tournament is over, but there's not doubt Oakmont will prove a mighty challenge even to the best of the best. Having undergone some dramatic changes since the last Open was played here in 1994, Oakmont will demand a player's best to win the tournament.
For this year's Open, Oakmont's fairways will average a mere 26 yards in width—the same as Winged Foot a year ago. Gradient roughs going from toe deep to ankle-deep line the fairways. Bunkers and drainage ditches ranging from waist deep to shoulder deep to stand-on-your-toes deep pepper every hole. Gone are most of the trees that once lined the course and provided shade. The ditches and bunkers have all been excavating and deepening in preparation for the tournament.
Then there are Oakmont's unique holes. The par-3 eight might require a driver from its new back tee, 288 yards from the green, a full 300 yards from its back-hole location, which will be employed on the final two rounds of the tournament. The par-5 12th, with 17 bunkers, will play as a true three shot hole for at least two rounds. It measures 667 yards—the new longest hole in U.S. Open history. Then, of course, there's the famed Church Pews bunker between the par-4 third and par-5 fourth. There's also a smaller equivalent of the bunker left of the 15th hole.
A great deal of Oakmont's reputation is built on it's super fast greens, which also feature a collection of slanted surfaces, steep slopes, and gullies, that are tightly cut and pressed with heavy rollers. Like most U.S. Open courses in recent years, Oakmont's greens are primarily Poe annua, which usually creates problems in hot, humid weather. These greens are unique because they are "perennial" Poe annua—precise strains of which can't be found on any other country club.
Tight fairways, gradient roughs, unique holes, and super slick greens will make Oakmont an enormous challenge for this year's U.S. Open field. The winner will need to out think his opponents on this course and play virtually mistake-free golf. He will have to depend on accuracy over distance, whether driving from a tee or hitting off the fairway, and a superior short game to win. Good course management and precise shot making will be the order of the day. Look for the tournament to go down to the wire.
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/newsletter06132007.html
Here are some of my recent articles:
4) Article - Ten Essentials to Solid Iron Play
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/essentials.html
5) Article - Course Management 101: Playing Boldly
http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/boldly.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, send a blank email to break80ezine@aweber.com
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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.
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