A Word on Your Finish
The goal of the golf swing is to make solid impact with the ball.
I think that everyone would agree there. However, don’t get neglect
a proper follow-through because the ball is already gone. You can
actually correct many of the problems with your swing by analyzing
your finish.

Here’s a quick check to get you started. Step up to a ball, take your
regular swing, but hold your finish. Now look back at your forearms.
What you should see is an X. Your arms should be completely crossed.

The middle of your forearms should be where the X crosses. Not your
wrists, or your elbows, but the middle of your forearms.

Now, if you don’t see that X, it means you are blocking the ball, and
not releasing correctly. You’re also giving up a ton of power and distance.  

If you would like to get "PurePoint Golf" DVD, it comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee. You WILL drop 7 strokes. You’ll be learning tons of new techniques from the DVD and also in the bonuses if you act quickly.

Bobby Eldridge – Head Professional, PurePoint Golf - Scottsdale Country Club

This lesson is entitled, "How to Get Out of Bunkers." Everyone knows how frustrating they can be if you don’t know the proper mechanics to get out of them. But the bottom line is, for the pros, bunker shots are some of the easiest shots on the course.
These steps will ensure that you have the right mechanics for getting out of bunkers. Once you’ve read these steps, practice them and get used to hitting out of bunkers, and they will become just as natural as a regular short game shot. These steps will give you the solid foundation that you need for bunker success.

Here are the steps: (note: These steps apply to a normal sand bunker. Not wet or hard sand.)

1. Choke down on the golf club (Have your right index finger about an inch from the bottom of the grip). Choking down gives you the control with the club and also allows you to "feel" the shot rather than hitting it.

2. Narrow your stance a little and play the ball a few inches forward in your stance. This will also aid in controlling the shot, and it will contribute to higher ball flight.

3. Dig into the sand with your feet a little and get comfortable.

4. Keep your body completely still throughout (no twisting hips).

5. Start your swing with your arms and keep your swing vertical. The end of the grip butt should be pointed at the ball at the top of your backswing. (Don’t bring the club straight back, remember steep is better here!)

6. Your left arm should be parallel to the ground and fully extended at the top of your swing.

7. Then start your downswing at the sand focusing to hit 1 inch behind the ball. Don’t focus on hitting the ball, hit the sand an inch behind and the ball will get out every time!

8. Your arms and body follow the ball as it leaves the sand.

9. Remember steep angle into the sand is key here, however you don’t have to swing too hard, we are not blasting the ball out we are advancing it.

Drill:
Go into a bunker and take 3 clubs your pitching wedge, sand wedge, and a lob wedge(if you have one). Remember that you can get creative with shots; just because it’s a sand wedge doesn’t mean that you’ll "feel" the most comfortable or give you the best results. But I want you to notice the difference in design and performance.
Regardless, hit a few shots with each club and really notice the difference in how the ball comes out of the sand. Then choose the club that bests suits you. But remember on all these clubs swing steep and hit 1 inch behind the ball. You can even draw a line 1-2 inches behind the ball and aim for that line.
At home, office, or at the course take practice swings and focus on bringing the club up at a steep angle. Watch as your grip end points to the ground. And stop there – this is the position that you want to be in. A great way to see if the grip is pointed over the ball is sticking a tee in the grip handle. Do that a few times to ensure that you know where to stop the golf club and start your steep downswing. Then the downswing is easy! Just hit an inch behind the ball. Practice this for a few days then go have fun in a bunker!

If you would like to get "PurePoint Golf" DVD, it comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee. You WILL drop 7 strokes. You’ll be learning tons of new techniques from the DVD and also in the bonuses if you act quickly.

Bobby Eldridge – Head Professional, PurePoint Golf - Scottsdale Country Club

Here’s a really good tip that may help you to get rid of your slice. Best of all, it’s really pretty simple once you get the hang of it and understand why it’s being used.

Chances are that you have battled with a slice at some point in your golfing days. To be completely direct with you -  dealing with a slice really sucks. It hurts your golf game in more ways than one.

Luckily, it’s fairly easy to fix. I cannot claim that this small tip will completely cure your slice, but there’s a good chance that it will, and I hope it does.

When you come into the impact zone, there are really only 2 factors that can determine the "shape" of ball flight.

1. The ANGLE of the club face at impact.

2. The PATH the club is taking at impact.

I think you’ll agree, that’s really not that tough to understand. The tough part is explaining how to correct it, and keeping this e-mail short at the same time.

Here are a few things you should concentrate on:

Try to keep your leading shoulder "down" on the ball through impact. This is called staying strong through impact. Lots of times the leading shoulder (left shoulder if right handed) flies up before impact. Now just for a minute, think about what that does to the club head when it’s in the impact zone.

Golf is all about thinking and analyzing your shots to get better. A huge part of this game is understanding "why" you’re getting a certain result, and the physics behind that result. Thinking through your golf swing will provide huge dividends if you’re willing to invest the time it takes.

Get up from the computer and actually go though the motions slowly. Let your leading shoulder fly up as you approach impact and you’ll actually be able feel and see the clubface coming from an outside-in path. That causes a slice every time.

So what can you do to correct it? Well, for starters, try to learn to keep your leading shoulder strong. Keep that shoulder "down" on the ball all the way through impact, even after the ball is gone and flying straight down the fairway.

As you can see, the leading shoulder is still down. The triangle is still there. Most importantly, my body has NOT gotten ahead of my hands. This is a HUGE distinction. As you may notice, the left shoulder is actually higher than the right shoulder. So what do I mean when I say "leading shoulder down"?

You have to envision yourself from the back looking down on the ball. When I say "down", I mean that the leading shoulder and chest are still facing the ball through impact.

So even though it may seem like the leading shoulder is higher than the trailing shoulder, it’s still facing the ball at impact. NOT TOWARDS THIRD BASE in comparison to the ball. That would mean that you have let the leading shoulder fly up.

Hand action is huge in this game. You must learn to release your hands correctly through the ball. Meaning that you release the hands while the leading shoulder is still "down", or facing the ball.

If you are currently playing with the conventional swing method, it’s really easy to let your body get ahead of the ball. One of the many things you will learn in "The PurePoint Golf Swing" is how to avoid that trap.

Keep the leading shoulder down and let your arms and hands release through the ball and you will see the ball go farther and higher. This will take a while to get used to.

The key is to let your arms release through the ball, while your left shoulder is "down" on the ball. To do this you will need to rotate your forearms correctly, and use your leading ELBOW (not shoulder) as a hinge. So another way to explain this movement would be that your hands are still moving towards the target, but your leading elbow has almost stopped.

Another one would be to initiate the downswing with your arms. I’m sure that’s the exact opposite of what you’ve heard before. Starting the downswing with the arms is a tough thing to do.

You want the ball to go the maximum possible distance. So subconsciously, many people have the problem of letting their body get way ahead of their hands. That’s the number one slice-producing move among golfers today. It’s probably the toughest one to fix, because when you’re at the top of your backswing, all you can think about it crushing the ball.

Instead of thinking maximum distance, think minimize slice. Start the downswing with your arms. Get to the top of your backswing, and then the first move should be with the arms. Put this move together with keeping the leading shoulder down, and it will do wonders for
both your woods and your irons.

If you look at any of the really good players, you will see that they actually initiate the downswing by "pulling" the club down with their arms.  They do NOT start the downswing by twisting the chest towards the target.  That is a very important distinction to make.

If you would like to get "PurePoint Golf" DVD, it comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee. You WILL drop 7 strokes. You’ll be learning tons of new techniques from the DVD and also in the bonuses if you act quickly.

Bobby Eldridge – Head Professional, PurePoint Golf - Scottsdale Country Club