I've been a golf pro for more than thirty five years and the one thing that I hear students say more often than anything is that they want to be able to hit the ball more consistently. Sure, some say that getting more distance is their primary goal but that comment is usually accompanied by a desire for more accuracy too. And, in my opinion, therein lies the rub. What type of swing can most amateurs use that will give them both distance and accuracy most consistently? Is it the rotary swing swing that has dominated golf instruction for the last twenty years or so or is it a more traditional vertical swing that was the standard when many of the players currently on the Champions Tour learned to play?
The inspiration for today's video tip came from this comment made by Jack Buter, from Grand Rapids, Michigan in an email he sent to DJ and me during our live webcast of The Surge Show.
"Surge,
I was talking to a teaching pro on the range a couple weeks ago. I asked him if he believed in rotary golf or vertical golf. He told me the golf swing is rotary because that's how you get power. He also said that if the vertical swing was so good we would be seeing a lot more pros using it. Based on what you have said, it appears we DO have a lot of pros who are vertical. I just want to find a swing that will be consistent. I don't care about how long I will hit it. I don't need the 20 or 30 extra yards...I just want to know WHERE I will hit it."
Jack's comment is typical of the kinds of aspirations many rotational swingers have when they begin to learn my limited turn, 3/4 vertical swing. In the years that have passed since I began my own personal journey from a rotational swing to a vertical one, I have come to understand the important differences between my old rotary swing and the vertical swing that I've refined into the Peak Performance Golf Swing.
Perhaps the most fundamental reason why a vertical swing is easier to learn, easier on the body and delivers fantastic distance and accuracy is that we swing entirely in front of the body just as our physiology is designed to do. By keeping our palms perpendicular to the ground throughout the swing we ensure that our hands and club head can get on to the aiming line much sooner than with a rotary swing and stay there longer while accelerating through impact. A study conducted at Cal State-Fullerton among rotational golfers who said they had a "very long backswing" concluded that a rotary swing, which relies on a " lag, drag, hold and block" movement, only gets on the aiming line for a fraction of a second before impact and is actually decelerating when the ball is struck. Is it any wonder, then, that all but the gifted few can manage to consistently hit the ball without slicing or hooking it? The truth is, that because a vertical swing conforms to the immutable laws of physics and of human physiology, it is far easier to control than a multi-plane rotary swing. And that results in more solid shots that fly straight to their target more often than not.
So, Jack, don't be swayed by the comments made by people like the golf pro you ran into. They really can't help it. They've been fed a steady diet of rotational propaganda by the golf media for the last twenty years that the rest of the industry, including the PGA, has bought into. What you will find, if you haven't already, is that you can hit the ball just as far with the Surge Swing as you can with a rotational swing. The only difference is that your rotary drive may end up 30, 40, 50 yards or more off target while a vertical swing will usually be found in the fairway, even when you don't hit it perfectly.
In closing, I would like to enlist the help of the Surge Nation in spreading the word about the many benefits of swinging vertically. All you need to do is convince one friend to join our daily email list and get involved in reading the blog for two weeks. My guess is that if they do that, they will come to see what most of you have already experienced--that by switching to the Peak Performance Golf Swing they can play better golf, shoot lower scores and do so without causing damage to their backs, knees and other joints. To me, that sounds like the perfect definition of true happiness.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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