Zip It To Rip It!

Any golfer who starts his downswing with the body, not arms or hands, will hit the ball relatively far. Because it is so different than what many golfers are used to, it initially takes some practice. It is also easier for a golfer who is more flexible in the mid-body and hips (not obese). Once practice makes it become second nature, it doesn't take any more practice than any other method of swinging.

Steve, a couple of things are relavent to my swing.  You hit on the first one with "let it fall".  Whenever I try for that little extra I can almost bet that I'm going to try to swing from the top rather than "just let it fall".  Of course only bad stuff happens when I do it.

Surge described my current swing to a tee when he used the term "smooth".  I think I've backed off too much in an effort to gain accuracy.  After I watched Surge's video I took the driver to the backyard and tried a couple of things.  I loosened the tension in my arms, concentrated on outward knee pressure, let the club drop to waist high and then it was "Katie bar the door."  Best tee finish I've had in months.  

I plan to play Monday with that approach and let the chips...err balls fall where they may.  This may take some getting used to, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Don,
Shipping of your new book to Holland is exeeding the basic price 2x by priority mail.
What are the costs by standard mail or DHL/UPS.
Looking forward to your info.
J.Bernet.

What kind of position will you be shooting for?

I like to call it " Fearless Golf" ( pinched that from the other site ) ie, just attack the
ball and then start making adjustments, I think that's how kids start playing.

Played 18 yesterday and one all the money, played to 16over, so scores coming down after my knee opp. late last year. picked up two nearest the pins, best score front 9, best score back 9, best score overall + 3 balls, bottle of wine and $150.oo bucks, thanks Surge, your'e a genius. 

Hmmm.  Never thought about the mechanics of skipping a rock from the top of the BUS.  Always practiced it with my right arm already at hip level.  Thanks for the analysis.

Steve:  Man you can pack a LOT into one day!!!!!!  Way to go - I don't think you need to worry about too many calories with all the things you are doing.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend and hit 'em straight!  R2

Objects and people in motion, tend to stay in motion until they are acted upon by an outside force......................................We can see that will be getting after it until the day they bury you. (Not so sure that even then it would be over for you.)    LOL.

Just had my 58th, and it's fair to say that motion and mindful activity is a game changer.  But here is a true confession:  a long distance run for me is anything over 40 yards.  I opt for tempo training and the water when it's cardio time.    

:-)  Thanks for your inspiring insights, Mr. Smith. 

Before purchasing a Swing Rite training device I too was a even paced swinger lacking any real zip in the downswing. Consider the training grip option to practice with a neutral grip and better feel some of the squaring of the hands through impact. 

 Swinging this device a dozen times before playing is a great way to warm up and improve your timing with the FUS. Thanks to Surge's easy to repeat swing and the Swing Rite I'm spending a lot less money beating balls at the driving range. 

 Being a Canadian I appreciate the comments on the cost of shipping to places outside the United States, but I've personally found this device to be well worth the extra cost. 

Cool. Hope some how you're blessed to get it. When I was 19 and was skiing up at Mammoth Mountain in Cal. I thought about just staying there and somehow persuing the whole mountain man/park ranger idea. Came close 25 years later when I became a part time ski instructor at Big Bear (in Cal) for two seasons. Great memories.
Well were not dead yet, who know what lies ahead.

Nice job, Neil.  Are your friends still talking to you ?  ;0))

 Well said. Slotting the club so the shaft and back fore arm are in line is an absolute must if a solid, powerful strike is to be achieved.

What helps me is to make sure that the club head at the top doesn't get too far forward of the body as seen from face on. This lets the bump start automatically so the club drops into the slot. If I try to force the bump I find my shoulders want to turn too quickly and causes an over the top motion.

The second idea once the club is slotted properly is to load the shaft horizontally in a manner that it unloads from the back bend from the slot to impact and then forward bends after impact. This helps get maximum velocity at and after impact. The players whose shaft kicks forward before impact will have the maximum velocity well before and a compensation needed due to the shortened swing radius.

By applying pressure from the trigger finger on the side of the grip staring at the slot through the forward mitt I find that it can help in minimizing small misses in the slot.

Any one else use these swing keys?

I was privileged to play with the best ball striker I have ever seen over a 25 year period, Johnny Bulla. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he didn't slot the club. You could pretty much count on him hitting every fairway and green. Amazing to watch.

With reference to "... swing AT the ball from the top ...", for me this tendency seemed to be agravated by the bump drills of 'skipping the rock' and 'throwing the ball' involving only my already dominant right hand.  My bump drill is now throwing a frisbee backhand with my left hand which reinforces the left arm leading the FUS.

Sounds good to me,,,,

That would be a great idea!!!  $34 bucks extra to get book to New Zealand seems a bit over the top.....

Interestingly put by both you and Steve SGW. I have had limited consistency when I work on the sequence to agressively. I have a simular ocassional issue that you mentioned of over doing bump and rotating early with the usual result of shoulders and over the top you mentioned. My simple cure is to make sure I don't get past 3/4's and into the SBG too much and then start with a lateral bump with no conscious effort to turn or rotate. As long as I keep things compact and the movements (angles) minimal I can keep it in the 'bowling alley' if I am correctly parallel left at set up. I reassure that now a days by laying down my club before each shot for alignment.(of course I pick the club up from my footline before taking swing). According to Surge few or no one does this though he highly recommends this to his students. If anyone reading this is among the minority that use this recommended pre-alignment method please speek up. I'll be interested to hear if there is even one out there.
KISS indeed.

Steve, I'm disappointed in you.  You're turning into a regular couch potato.  ;0))

I think skipping over the pond, is the best...I try and think about that all the time and it works,,,

Lynn & R2, I am hearing a bit of buzz around the camp such "bandit"
etc, etc. The big change has been the PLHR, previously I felt unbalanced when shifting the weight, but this week I just stuck to it and
while it felt strange/weird, it's starting to work. I didn't think I played that
well yesterday, topped the ball sometimes, but never went bush.
My short game was solid, ie 100M out and around the greens.

Next month I'll be in the states and have booked an all day session with Greg MacDonell and then off to see the Doc and get fitted.
Hopefully "EVEN BETTER GOLF WILL BE A FIT AWAY", lol.

I may have to give that a try. My right does have a tendency to take over (too much bowling when I was younger). I do a lot of practice swings with either my SwingRite, an old, over-weighted 7 iron I keep around, or a bamboo stick that's about 3 feet long, depending on what I'm working on at that moment. I try to do about twice as many with my left as with my right, to make up for the dominance of my right arm.

Swing hard, in case you hit it!I think I’ve had a good day when I don’t fall out of the cart.

Thanks Surge,   Have not been on here for awhile, so busy playing golf and helping with the Humane Society, (we all have our thing) and I miss being here.  I have been playing pretty good, try and remember ALL that I have learn here.   Can't believe some of my shots this year!!!   And my par's...After five years now, im getting allot of pars, even three birdies this year....But golf is such a humbleing game, you play well and then!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for all of your help,

up the tree,,,,in  a straight line,,,

marilyn

 Here is one you may find amusing,

 His name was Bubba, he was from Mississippi  ... And he needed a loan, So... He  walked into a bank  in New York City and asked for the loan Officer. He told the  loan officer that he was going to Paris for an International redneck festival for two weeks and needed to borrow $5,000 and  that he was not a depositor of the bank. The bank officer told him that the bank would need some form of security for the loan, so the Redneck handed over the keys to a new Ferrari. The car was parked on the street in front of the bank.\\
The Redneck produced the title and everything checked out. The loan officer agreed to hold the car as collateral for the loan and apologized for having to charge 12% interest.
 Later, the bank's president and its officers all enjoyed a good laugh at the Redneck from the
South for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral for a $5,000 loan.  An employee of the bank then drove the Ferrari into the bank's private underground garage and parked it.
 Two weeks later, the Redneck returned, repaid the $5,000 and the interest of $23.07. The loan officer said, "Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled.  While you were away, we checked you out on Dunn & Bradstreet and found that you are a Distinguished  Alumni from Mississippi State University, a highly sophisticated investor and Multi-Millionaire with real estate and financial interests all over the world. Your investments include a large number of wind turbines around Sweetwater, Texas. What puzzles us is, why would you  bother to borrow $5,000?"
 The good 'ole boy replied, "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $23.07 and expect it to be there when I return?"
 His name was  BUBBA....
Keep an eye on those southern boys!
 Just because we talk funny does not mean we are stupid.

That seems like a good alternate choice to me. I may even use it myself. For me though, I would have to think of it as throwing a low left hand Frisbee, as though skipping it just over the ground or pond.

Way to work out stud! Hey I agree with you 100% about wrong way and right way to rip it. I know that I personally get in the most trouble when I overswing as you and Robert discribed. It is always the case that if I keep the knees quiet and the swing only 3/4's I can rip as hard as I like and stay in control. I mainly focus on PLHR and finishing left while keeping the posture and spine angle back and through. As I tell my wife all the time, just hold your knees (they move enough anyway) and pre-load (that keeps her from swaying or moving off the ball) and finish left (that gets her all the bump she needs and on her front foot by swings end). And trust me she rips it! Surge would be proud.
Keep up your good work outs Steve. And 27 holes? What a day for you. I have been stepping my activity down the last few days to allow my left arm some rest and ice time. No work or golf for one week then I'll gradually kick it up to speed again.

I agree Marilyn. It can be done with either hand too, Frisbee wise that is. Forward throw with the right or a backhand throw with the left.

This is a great tip. Many thanks for all that you are doing for my golf. Having daily things to think about is absolutely wonderful, even if they aren't pertinent to my particular problem at that time.  It is all good for golf.
As an aside I'd love to have your new publication in my bag too, but I can't justify the $59 shiiping costs to here in the UK!  Mike H.

Richard, though I think I know how you feel, I would say you can have more zip if you keep it 3/4's and keep your lower body quiet. As Surge says "hold the body more and swing the arms faster."
I have found this can be done with zip and control. The following daily from a few weeks ago ties in nicely.

http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Da...

Steve, even though I'm playing better golf, still have a mental problem with the "let it fall" action
and believe that this could be the thing I need to do for that extra bit of power, which seems to
be the only thing missing in my game apart from a club fit and a couple of other minor weaknesses, which I need to work on.

As stated some time ago, I still think mentally that one has to have an amount of softness in the arms to do this, but with a firm grip ( ie 3/5 ) believe this tension does transfer to the arms.
I've tried "Leading with the Butt" and "Leading with the Elbows" to get the arms to fall, but lack
consistency when doing these. Currently, I'm work hard on your "One handed Drill" and concentrate on this thought during the FUS. Even trying to get the elbows back to the hip
on the FUS creates all sorts of issues for me as it disrupts fluency of the swing.

Hopefully, this is something I can sort out with Greg MacDonell next month, but any additional input would be much appreciated.
          

WOW how many eagles did he get on the first nine??? Must be couching the pro's !

i think the problem here is that for the average player its a trade off. yes we;d all like more 'zip' but in the attempt to get it  we lose control so we 'de-zip ' and maybe get a bit more control but lose distance .  i think  for the average player its impossible to have both. sad but true.

Steve, I think the appropriate term here is "work ethic".  It seems like we are losing it more and more with each generation.  It's an "entitlement" mentality that seems to be much more prevalent than it was in my day.  The world owes me, I want it now and let someone else pay for it.

Actually, I think the problem is what the average player does to try to get more zip, that pulls them out of the On On On swing they can make when they're not zipping it. Most of the time, it involves moving the upper body in the transition to try to gain that zip, and that will kill the consistency every time.

Wow,you did have an outstanding day. You' ll sleep well.

Neil, I agree on the grip pressure.  When I think I'm at 3/5 it's probably more like 4 and too much.  Last nite I lestened it with a few swings in the backyard and letting the club fall was much easier and clubhead speed felt faster.

For me it's going to be a process to determine what really is the right grip pressure.  Lighter grip pressure feels more like a natural swing and the tee finish was definitely easier.  When I get it right it is more a feel of swinging through the ball accelerating than it is hitting at the ball and stopping my followthrough  about eye high (both of those are issues that I fight).

The process starts tomorrow if the weather cooperates. 

 Steve, may I ask how old you are?  That is one heck of a regimen for anyone, let alone an old timer!  Keep up the great routine.

@ Mike same for me in Australia. I figure I could get that many pages printed on 10 cards and bound for the postage costs alone ************** how about a PDF down load please Tom Jans @ Swing Surgeon Marketing