Welcome to YOUR Swing Support Center, a blog with tips to help you transition to your new straight leading arm back-swing. This blog allows us to share information which we find in articles by golf professionals or success stories submitted by GOLFSTR users. These tips have helped me and I hope they help you too.

Bill Curry, inventor of GOLFSTR

Archives for the ‘Swing Solutions’ Category

Take the Yips Out of YOUR Putting

Every golfer has the strength to putt and sink putts. The best putters read the break and match the right swing weight directly up their target line to sink every putt. Easier said than done. Even Cameron Smith can’t sink every putt but he does give himself an excellent chance by setting up correctly and swinging with the right swing to start his ball rolling OVER and DIRECTLY UP HIS TARGET LINE. So why do YIPS creep into YOUR putting stroke?


I recently read the benefits of the EyeLine Putting Alignment Mirror. Unfortunately, it can’t tell you the 3 most critical features to make putts: (1) How to read the break: (2) The amount of swing required to reach the hole and (3) How to avoid the YIPS. You need to start by practicing on a variety of greens with different roll speeds to build confidence. Great putters learn to feel the right swing speed to manage the break and power the putt with a confident swing into the hole. To do this you need to swing with your shoulders AND avoid the YIPS.


A Putting Mirror is an aid to help you setup:
1/ Square up your feet and your shoulders with your target line.
2/ Your eyes should lineup directly over the target line or slightly inside of that line.
3/ Your head should not sway with your putter backswing or follow-through.


What You Can’t Learn from a Putting Mirror:
A/ Learn to swing by rocking your shoulders
TO AVOID THE YIPS (using the LARGE MUSCLES IN YOUR SHOULDERS and not the small muscles in your wrists).
B/ Your putter must swing directly back (like a pendulum) and directly up your target line BY ONLY ROCKING YOUR SHOULDERS.
C/ Make a long enough putting practice swing WITH YOUR SHOULDERS to feel the power required to reach and pass the hole by 12 to 18 inches (to avoid a deflection from green imperfections as your putt slows down near the hole).

Tiger locks his leading wrist and rocks his shoulders to swing like a pendulum and avoid the YIPS.

Avoid the YIPS and shaking hands by locking your leading wrist flat and lining-up your leading forearm with the shaft of your putter. Only use your shoulders to swing your putter like a pendulum up your target line. GOLFSTR+ helps you practice by locking your leading wrist to eliminate the YIPS. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: Golf balls are like eggs – they’re white, they’re sold by the dozen, and a week later you have to buy more.

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Aging Golfers: “Cheat” Your Swing

Aging Golfers tend to slow down their swing and that can lead to more missed shots. (1) A slower wrist release for your heavier driver tends to create more shots that fade or slice. (2) Your irons are lighter, but your hip release gets out of sync with your swing and that results in more topped balls or miss-hits. If you are experiencing these two problems, I have some wonderful news for you.


Realizing what my aging body was slowing down, with a driver swing speed at about 80 mph, I decided to experiment by setting up for my driver and my irons to compensate for my slower swing. Yes, I decided to “Cheat” my swing so that I am now saving about 10 strokes per round. My golfing buddies are amazed at my game. Last week while playing in the Men’s Golf Association, I won the top prize money at $211 by winning my flight in Best of 2 Ball, a Closest to the Hole on a Par 3 and 2 Skins.


Of course, I am calling my new swing setup “Cheating” but I am really setting up with a slight modification to compensate for my AGING LAZY BODY. It’s not really cheating but I wanted to get your attention with this blog.

“Cheating” Setup for your Driver
I am definitely losing power in my arms and wrists, so I tend to hit more fades or when I try to swing faster I get more slices than distance. I know that I am getting more distance when I shallow my down swing at the top (with my flat wrist) but that is only making my fade or slice even worse. My solution is to setup with an open stance, with my leading foot back a few inches from my target line. [My swing from the inside to out is like throwing an underhand softball pitch with the wrist releasing close to my hip.]


Surprisingly, after my first 6 to 9 holes when my body is really loosened up, I minimize my open stance for my drive to avoid pulling my drives. Our bodies tend to loosen up as we play so it is up to you to sort out how much of an open stance your need for your drives as your game progresses.

This image illustrates an OPEN Stance. I use an open stance for my driver and swing from inside and up the target line for amazingly straight drives and to land in the fairway.


“Cheating” Setup for your Irons
During your transition at the top of your swing, your body should be shifting more weight to your leading foot, to ensure that you bottom out the arc of your swing directly after your club impacts the ball. Trainers and pros to this to compress their ball with more power. As I age, I tended to lose this weight shift forward at the top of my swing. I now “Cheat” my setup by adding a slight bend to my leading knee so that I am pressing forward right from the start of my backswing. I understand that I lose power by using this “Cheat”, but it gives me better control of the direction of my shots with very little lose in distance.

SPOILER ALERT: Performance Golf offers the “Power Joint Secret” to get 30 yards further: JUST KEEP YOU LEADING WRIST FLAT IN THE BACKSWING. That’s just one of the 6 Swing Fixes that you get with GOLFSTR+.

Using these two “Cheats” I’m getting more GIR’s and makeable birdie putts. Of course, I also focus on my straight leading arm and flat wrist backswing by practicing with GOLFSTR+ . Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com


David Letterman: Why Golf is Better than Sex #1: “When your equipment gets old you can replace it!”

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Make Every Chip Count

Are you one of those golfers who occasionally yips your chips? You know those short chips near the green when you want to reach the putting surface and roll out to the hole. How often do you blade your chips across the green or bouncing your club into the ground before you brush your ball with a weak result? Imagine the strokes you could save if you could make every chip count.


I am one of those golfers who tends to miss-hit my chips when the pressure is on to lift my ball out of deep rough with a very short run-out to the hole. Of course, I also stub those easy chips from a tight lie about 20 yards from the green. I have tried a few special chipping clubs that promise success but the weight of these heavier clubs have a different feel than my set of clubs, so my swing cadence is inconsistent and my results were poor.


Opportunity!
I found the perfect solution where I can use my existing clubs as well as the different lofts of each of my clubs. Danny Maude teaches the proper swing for chipping (the way Scottie Scheffler or any other pro chips), but he also provides this much simpler chipping method with a putting stroke. What could be easier to use for recreational golfers?


Learn to Make a Putting-Chip: By gripping down on any of your irons and standing with your eyes almost directly over your ball you can chip your ball from any lie to clear 1 to 20 feet of rough and settle on the putting surface.

Grip down your shaft so that your club is almost vertical and the toe is pointing to the ground (with the heel raised off the ground). The shortened shaft makes it easier to control the ball.


1/ For shorter chips with shorter run-outs, use your highest lofted wedge and for longer chips with longer run-outs you can select a lower lofted club like a 6 iron or an 8 iron.
2/ Setup with a normal putting stance with your feet close together but your hands will be placed on the lower end of your grip or below your grip so that your shaft is almost pointing vertically from your hands down to the ball.
3/ The toe of your club will be pointing on an angle down to your ball [Sorry about the image above as the grass is hiding the toe pointing down] as you will be swinging as you would with a putter (with a flat leading wrist) to lift your ball with the TOE of your club. Use a limited backswing to chip your ball and let it run-out 1 to 35 feet across the green.
4/ You will have to experiment with different amounts of backswing and follow-through with each of your lofted clubs to sort out what works best for the air time and roll-out that you want to execute.


The fun part is that you are no longer miss-hitting chips because you are able to rock your shoulders to impact your ball at the bottom of the arc of your swing with the shortened shaft of any iron in your bag. Practice your flat leading wrist swing while wearing your GOLFSTR+ exactly as you practice a putting stroke. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

David Letterman: “Why Golf is Better than Sex (#2): You don’t have to cuddle with your partner when you’re finished.” (This is not my idea)

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Control Your Brain and Body to Shoot Par

We all play this wonderful game to improve our golfing skills so that someday we may even break par. I’m sure that every golfer would like to achieve the same goal as we are all searching for that special combination that will help us get there. Last week I played a great round of golf and shot 1 over par on my back nine. My only thought was: “How did I do that and can I bottle that special feeling for all of my future games.”


My first 9 holes were mediocre at best with only 2 pars and no 7’s. So I started wondering why my game clicked into near perfection on the back 9?

-My drives were consistently going up the center of the fairway and always over 200 yards (and into 25 MPH winds).
-Approach shots were on target as my impact was with weight on my front foot and I finished in balance. (Only 1 approach shot went over a green.)
-I missed only 3 Greens In Regulation (GIR) where I chipped up to the hole for a 1 putt or hit out of a sand trap for a 1 putt SANDY. I could do no wrong.
-I missed one nervous putt for a 3-putt hole where I was not committed to the break.
Overall, my putting was excellent where I sank most of my putts under 6 feet

Every golfer wonders how Tiger Woods achieves the impossible. Confidence and Skill must be his primary motivation to play in the Masters. HE’S BACK!


I could do no wrong. So why was I creating so much success? Could it be:
-I was playing with 2 single handicap golfers who inspired my game?
-I ignored the fact that I was playing on a par streak and ignored my score?
-I focused on the right club selection and the full swing that I needed to execute my shot?
-I made a clean practice swing and duplicated that swing for each shot?


I was calm and relaxed so the only thing that I can attribute my success to was my CONFIDENCE to execute each shots and my SKILL to select the right club and the right target line. In my case my SKILL must be more luck when I am hitting on a windy day and landing on a reasonable lie. My next round was 2 strokes higher, but I know that I am on the right track.


I built up my CONFIDENCE by marking my scorecard with a “1” on the upper left corner for each hole when I landed my drive in the fairway and a “1” in the upper right for each GIR (or S/sand or W/water or T/tree or P/pitch). Based on a quick glance on my score card, I could easily see where my success was coming from. The more GIR’s I made, the more confident I became.


Most golfers have the ability to par every hole, but we need to use our personal focus on every swing and CONFIDENCE to make every shot count. Even when we miss a green or miss a putt, we can still recover on the next shot. I learned to correct my swing for 6 swing flaws with GOLFSTR+. Now I believe in my personal performance to keep lowering my handicap. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com


David Letterman: “Why Golf is Better than Sex #3: If you live in Florida , you can do it almost every day.”

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Stop Driving for Crazy Distance

If you want to improve your scores, stop trying to swing with speeds like the professionals. It takes a lot more effort than trying to swing faster. Crazy long-distance drives are not paying off when you play the game of golf.


Bryson DeChambeau proved to all of us that if you add muscle mass and work out to add acceleration power, you can increase the distance of your drives. But with all of his effort he is still hitting much shorter drives than the world record holders for distance. Those record holders are only landing a small percentage of their drives in-bounds. Trying to hit extreme distance with your driver is a crazy strategy, especially for most recreational golfers.

Scottie Scheffler is now #1 in the World Ranking. You can try to duplicate his swing but don’t try to duplicate his speed and distance.


GOLF Magazine issued an interesting summary of the driving distance for male and female recreational golfers. Knowing these distances should help you contain your efforts to hit longer drives. The average professionals are driving 300 yards but the longer they drive the further they also hit off the fairway.


Get Realistic with Your Driving Distance
Recreational golfers should be choosing tees which are appropriate for they strength and age. The Professionals don’t have this option. You can improve your scores if you control your driving distance and land more drives in the fairway.


Average Yards Driven by Level of Handicap

Handicap:….<6……6-12…….13-20……21+
Male:………240…….220…….200………75 or less
Female……200…….175……..155……..140 or less

The GOLF Magazine article highlighted the fact that longer drivers had lower handicaps. You will never lower your handicap if you don’t learn to control your drives and your driving distance.


We all want to improve our driving distance but don’t sacrifice your game by trying to hit crazy long drives. Move up to the right tees. Focus on driving to land more balls in the fairway and enjoy your game. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to improve your drives with a straight leading arm and a flat leading wrist. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

David Letterman: “Why Golf is Better than Sex #4: Your partner doesn’t hire a lawyer if you play with someone else.”

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Take a Putting Lesson from Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith may have set a record for 1 putt greens during 4 rounds of championship golf at The Players this year. His 42 single putt greens over the 72 holes played is an amazing record. On his final 9 holes he had 8, single putt greens. We should all try to learn from Cameron’s amazing putting technique.


Cameron uses a unique Scotty Cameron putter but you really don’t need that putter to make more putts. Every putter in the world can sink every putt. Golfers only needs to choose the correct amount of swing, on the correct target line and impact on the center of your balanced putter face to impart a straight putt with a forward roll (minimizing any bounce).


Cameron takes a careful read of the slope and distance by walking around his putting line and looking from above and below the hole. He does not use a consistent process where he uses a line on his ball to line up his shot. But he often just uses the Titlist logo to line up the direction that he wants to hit.
1/ He chooses a target point that he wants to hit on his putting line so that the ball will break and run down to the hole.
2/ He takes a few practice swings to feel the swing required to reach and pass the hole.
3/ He move forward to his ball and looks from his ball to his target point 1, 2 or 3 times.
4/ He takes a final long stare at the distance to the hole and this is where the MAGIC STARTS: In one continuous sequence, his eyes trace the line from the hole up to his target point and then back to his ball where his SHOULDERS swing his putter back and through his ball EXACTLY ALONG HIS TARGET LINE.

Cameron Smith visually traces his eyes back from the hole to his target point and then back to his ball where his shoulders swing his putter back and straight up his target line (in one continuous sequence).


During the back-swing and forward-swing with his putter, his head and eyes stay focused on his ball. He holds the focus of his eyes directly on the point where his ball is resting for a fraction of a second after the putter impact is completed. He must visualize swinging his putter directly up his target line.


Most golfers focus on their ball for many seconds before they swing. Cameron is not making that pause. He transfers his eye line to his putter back-swing line in one continuous motion without watching his putter back-swing. You can practice this motion with GOLFSTR+. It will lock your leading wrist flat so that all of your putting power comes from the rocking of your shoulders without any wrist action. Avoiding movement in the small muscles of your hands eliminates any tremor or shaking action as you putter makes it pendulum swing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com


David Letterman: “Why Golf is Better than Sex #5: Three times a day is possible.”

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Is Sugar Boost Destroying Your Game?

Have you ever wondered why your game has its ups and downs? Occasionally you play brilliant rounds of golf but more often than not, your score is well above your handicap. Why is it that you never know who is showing up to play super golfer or loser golfer? A few years ago, I started to pay attention to my sugar intake on the course when a PGA caddy mentioned in an interview that the pros are extremely careful about their fluid and sugar intake during a round of golf.


Recently I noticed that I have been scoring well in spurts followed by dry spells. That woke me up to pay attention to my fluid and sugar intake. When I realized that my game dropped off after eating an energy bar, I started paying attention to the eating and drinking habits of my playing partners. This was not a very scientific approach, but I did notice that anyone who ate an energy or protein bar immediately suffered a change in their game for the worse.


We all need a reasonable level of energy to play a round of golf. Unfortunately when your body is hit with an overload of sugar it must be adding a jolt your energy. You become invincible and tend to swing faster. Big mistake. Playing with 80% power is ideal. An overload of power just kills your swing. When your swing brakes down so does your game and and that crushes your mental attitude.


In summary, a sugar boost will overload your power causing mishits and resulting in a reaction to play more aggressively. Unfortunately your game will go down the drain.

Cameron Smith only made 1 poor drive during his final 18 holes to win the Players Championship. He did it with moderate sugar intake and ignored all the comments about his mullet.


Action Plan to Level your Energy while Golfing
1/ If you are going to eat an energy or chocolate bar just do it in moderation. Eat it slowly over a number of holes. Savor it and minimize your energy output.
2/ 1 beer may relax your swing but don’t get carried away. You know what multiple beers will do to your game and that will be the same result when you load up on sweats and energy bars.
3/ Plan on taking fruit or Gatorade to add electrolytes and energy in moderation.
4/ Stay hydrated with water as playing golf without water will zap your energy.
5/ Don’t get too excited when you birdie a hole as that boost in adrenaline will also destroy your mental balance. The success or lack of success on you next drive will tell you how wired you are.


Sugar and adrenaline will not help your game. If only we could all be as cool as Cameron Smith to play 8 single putt greens on the last 9 holes played to win the Players Championship. Practice with GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing fixes (including a flat wrist putting stroke) and remember that sugar overload and swinging at 110% will never improve your game. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

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Sink More Down-Hill Putts

Every golfer is faced with this decision in every round of golf. Knowing the correct direction your putts will break could save 1 or 2 strokes, especially for DOWN-HILL PUTTS. This problem occurs when you can see your downhill putt but you can’t determine which way your soft, 3 to 6 foot putt will break. Plumb-Bobbing is a great solution for all putts (down-hill, side-hill or up-hill) when the break is so minor that you need some help to read it. BUT DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME PLUMB-BOBBING IF YOU CAN SEE AN OBVIOUS BREAK.

SOLUTION: Using your putter as a Plumb-Bob, you can determine the correct break but it won’t tell you the actual amount of break which is based on the speed of your putt. FIRST: You need to build confidence in Plumb-Bobbing by practicing with your “CALIBRATED” putter and SECOND: You need to practice a variety of down-hill putts to estimate the AMOUNT OF brake that you can expect.

Plumb-Bobbing Only Works For These Conditions
1/ Consistent Slope of the Green: It only tells you the break of the green exactly on the ground where your feet are standing. So it will only be useful if you can see that the green extending from your feet, past the hole and up to your ball are all on the same plane [as a double break is impossible to read from one point when Plumb-Bobbing].
2/ Using a Calibrated Putter: You need to line up one side of the shaft of your putter with a door frame and rotate the putter until a known side of the shaft lines up exactly with the door frame. Your putter shaft is tapered so the correct side of your putter shaft makes a difference [ie for my calibrated putter, I close one eye to line up the (1) left side of my putter shaft when the (2) face of my putter is pointing directly at my target line. [Every putter will line up with a door frame differently as the putter head for every putter has a different weight.]
3/ Stand Above or Below the Hole with your ball Beyond the Hole: Your ball will break the most as it slows down near the hole. Your Plumb-Bob reading is ONLY measuring the slope on the green where your feet are planted (because you are only measuring the angle that GRAVITY applies to your putter exactly where you are standing).

How to Plumb-Bob
A/ Stand about 4 to 6 feet away from the hole and line the hole up with your ball (using one eye while closing the other eye).
B/ Now without changing standing position, hold your putter with 2 fingers in front of you and line up the calibrated side of the shaft and putter orientation with the center of the hole (using the same eye).
C/ If the upper end of your putter shaft lines up with the exact center of the hole and the center of your ball on the calibrated side of your putter shaft, then your putt should be a straight putt. If the handle end of your putter shaft lines up on the left or right side of the ball, then that side is the HIGH SIDE OF THE GREEN. Your ball will break from the high side back to the hole. So line you putt up on the high side of the slope.

You will build confidence in Plumb-Bobbing if you place 3 balls on a line across a slope above a hole (as in the image below). Plumb-Bob the break for all 3 balls and then putt those balls to prove to yourself that Plumb-Bobbing really works. Of course you also need to practice with a flat leading wrist to putt exactly on your target line. GOLFSTR+ is a perfect training aid to make straight putts. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

To practice Plumb-Bobbing, place 3 balls in a line across a slope above a hole.
STEP #2: Line-up the hole with 1 of the balls and then hang your calibrated putter to line up with the hole. In this test for ball #2 the handle end of the putter is on the left of ball #2 so that ball will break from that side and back to the hole.

David Letterman: “Why Golf is Better than Sex: You can still make money doing it as a senior.”

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Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

GOLFSTR+ is a training aid that has been available for many years to help golfers practice to improve 6 swing problems. There are now over 6,000 users of GOLFSTR+ and we plan to keep growing this number. We would like to thank the many users for their suggestions to promote and expand the applications where this training aid can be used.


Websites like Golf-Info-Guide by Thomas Golf have helped us promote GOLFSTR+ when blogging about exercises to rotate your straight leading arm to improve your backswing for a more powerful swing.
Right way to keep the left arm straight: https://golf-info-guide.com/video-golf-tips/the-right-way-to-keep-your-left-arm-straight-video/


Unfortunately, other companies have been stealing our graphics and removing our GOLFSTR logo to promote their products. There really is no other product which does what GOLFSTR+ does to help you correct 6 swing mistakes. Michael Breed, a former commentator on the Golf Channel, even called to say that “there is no other product that will give you 6 swing fixes and you can simply slide it in your pocket.”
If you see promotions using our graphics, please let us know. One of our early users tipped us off to a recent illegal use of our Octopus Golfer graphic on a Facebook and Instagram page which led to the removal and corrective action. We love to see others use our graphics as long as they help promote GOLFSTR+ as a unique brand provided by Innovation Unlimited Inc.

This graphic of the 6 Uses for GOLFSTR+ was designed and published in advertising to promote GOLFSTR+. We encourage anyone to use it as long as the brand name is not removed.

Thank you for your continued interest in GOLFSTR+. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Why Golf is Better than Sex #7: Foursomes are encouraged.

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Setup can be a Make or Break for Your Game

Have you ever wondered why you play a wonderful round of golf on one day and your next round is a disaster? Or how you birdie one hole and then double bogie the next? We all know that our mental outlook must share some of this blame, but have you considered the fact that slight changes in your grip, stance and ball position may be causing your problems.


Your best opportunity to hit with a longer shafted club for longer driving distance is from the tee box. The surface is perfectly flat so there are fewer variables to worry about. You want to hit your longest shot so your driver is the best solution as long as your driver is behaving properly on that day. Of course it’s not your driver’s fault if its misbehaving.


We all hit drives off a tee where the ball lifts off at the right angle and flies to an amazing distance directly up our target line while we pose in the perfect position wondering how we ever made such a perfect shot. For those perfect shots your grip and stance and ball position must have been in perfect harmony with your physical swing sequence which most likely is not exactly the way you see a professional golfer swing on TV. As a matter of fact every golfer (including the professionals) have their own characteristic swing to suit their physical strength and flexibility. Don’t be afraid to sort out the grip, stance and ball position for your body and mind.


Determine the Your Ideal Personal Setup for Each Type of Club
Sort out your best swing setup at the practice range and make note of them for each type of club. Changing either your grip, stance and ball position will also have an impact on each of the other parameters. Be ready to experiment to sort out the best combination for each type of club but don’t go too far from the norm.

Adjust your setup to adapt for your strength and flexibility. A straight lineup with your driver to your shoulder will tilt your shoulders. That will give you more elevation in your drives.


Grip: The basic grip for your driver, woods, hybrids and irons is to grip with both hands so that the V between your thumb and first finger point up to your tailing shoulder. Test the impact of a stronger or weaker grip by shifting the V back or forward when gripping each type of club.
Stance: Normally you should stand with a balanced pressure on both feet with a rearward shoulder tilt for your driver and level shoulders for an iron. You may find that you are swinging your irons like a driver and often hit the ground before the ball. Test your iron swing by placing more pressure on your leading foot because that is the position you want at the point of impact. You should also test the effect of closing or opening your stance by moving your tailing foot off your target line.
Ball Position: For your driver you should be lining up your ball off the heel of you leading foot and moving the ball further back to the center of your stance as you increase the loft of the club. You should also narrow the gap between your feet when you use your wedges. You are not looking for power with your wedges, but you do want to impact the ball before the ground

Don’t make drastic changes from the norm as they will only hurt your swing in the long run. Practice with your GOLFSTR+ and adjust to accommodate your strength and flexibility for 6 swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Why Golf is Better than Sex #8: It’s much easier to find the sweet spot.

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