At the outset, I would like to say that I mis-spoke at the beginning of today's video when I said this question came to me via Customer Service. Not true! Jennie Pook sent the question via our Facebook page which is a great avenue for getting questions to me. This being a family business, my daughter Kim is in charge of our Facebook page and other social media outlets and so if you post a question there she'll make sure I see it.
I liked Jennie's question because it describes something I see a lot in the students I personally teach and therefore the prescription I am going to give her should have widespread application throughout the Surge Nation.
"Hi Surge, I am an avid student of yours and have the PPGS videos. One problem I seem to have and can't resolve is on the downward swing I have the habit of throwing my body at the ball before my arms, especially if its windy. I sometimes also feel that my hips are in the way and I have to swing them round to move my arms - well that's the message my brain is receiving. Can you help please? Jennie"
Jennie, there are several possible causes of your upper body moving before it should in the proper sequence of movement in the Peak Performance Golf Swing. The sensation your brain is perceiving is no doubt accurate as what you describe is a swing that has poor timing--parts of it are out of sequence. But getting at the root cause of your problem will require some analysis on your part or through the keen observations of a friend who knows the tenets of the Surge Swing. Better yet, have someone video your swing from a face-on and down-the-line perspectives so you can judge for yourself which, if any, of these potential causes are coming into play.
- Alignment is wrong. If you have your shoulders misaligned (to the right of the target for a righty, the reverse for a lefty) the natural tendency is to turn past the toe line, sucking the club head into The Sacred Burial Ground. For most amateurs, there is only one road out of that hell hole and that's Over The Top. Your brain knows this and so it starts firing messages to your upper body to get a move on so that you can try to get the club head back on the aiming line in time for a square and solid impact. As you know well from studying my swing, we don't want the upper body to move forward until we stand up as fast as possible after impact. By the way, our Charlotte-based PPGS Certified Instructor, Mike Bartholomew, has invented what I believe is the most versatile alignment training aid I have ever seen and we will be making it avaialble on our website within a few weeks. Look for the announcement on "The B.A.R.T" or "Better Alignment Results Trainer". Anyone who wants a sneak peak of this amazing training aid can go to Mike's new website www.bartgolf.com/ Just click on the Video tab to see The Bart in action. The rest of the site is not completely loaded with content yet.
- Posture is wrong. If you are reaching for the ball, i.e. you are standing too far away and as a result your arms are extended too far out, you are not going to be Dynamically Balanced with your weight distributed over the balls of your feet. Rather, you'll feel the weight on your toes. If this is happening, then your brain is going to pull whatever levers it needs to pull in order to maintain your balance. This, more than likely, will cause you to turn too much and bring the club head around your body so as to restore your balance. The end result is the same as what I described above.
- Your are hitting down, not swinging up. Remember that in the Surge Swing that we never, ever hit down on the ball unless a particular specialty shot requires it. 99% of the time we want to nip the ball off the turf taking little divots, if any at all. That's why I stress that the portion of the swing that commences at the end of your backswing is properly called The Forward Upswing, not The Downswing as you learn when you try to master the traditional rotational swing. This is a lot more than mere semantics as it establishes an entirely different mental picture of what we are trying to accomplish. By swinging up we create a swing that acclerates through the ball with as much club head speed and power as our body can generate. If we hit down on the ball, swing mechanics require us to actually decelerate our hands and arms just before impact and by taking a larger divot we are sending some of the energy we develped in our swing straight into the ground and not into the ball.
- Even with perfect alignment and posture, you are turing too much. Needless to say, you could still be an SBG tourist if you are overturning your hips and/or your shoulders. If you want to avoid the troble described above, keep your foward arm in front of you, over your toe line and then just lift your hands to their vertical apex.
- Your forward knee is caving in, pulling your left side down and your upper body forward. This will result in the dreaded EBRT or End of Backswing Reverse Tilt as my long-time mentor Dr. Ned Armstrong termed it. Nothing kills your chances of hitting the ball square and solid like EBRT. For more on this, search "EBRT" in the search term box to the right.
Jennie, I am so glad you are enjoying the benefits of PPGS-hopefully this advice will help you fix this issue with your swing and that you'll soon be seeing nothing but Fairways and Greens. And please tell all your Facebook friends to check us out!
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
That's my buddy. I do not
That's my buddy. I do not understand it he hardly practices but is always in the mid to low seventies. He has been beating me again lately until last weekend I got him both days. I thought I was going to break into the upper 60's Sunday but missed a bird a par 5 and bogied 18 for 71 maybe this weekend. Hit 12 greens in reg Sunday the most I have hit in one round.
Booger, This game will drive
Booger, This game will drive us crazy. Here's what I know: (and this may or may not apply to anything you are doing! lol!!). The following statements are random thoughts about golf. The harder I try to 'control' my results the worse results I get. The bigger the swing, the smaller the results. Over swinging in an effort to force it there is always bad. It (greatness)comes and goes. I wish I could bottle it on the good days but find the bottle cracks and spells for no apparent reason. Keeping it 3/4's with a passive lower body, steady knees, and a posture that maintains a steady head leads to pure strikes and "Wow, that felt like nothing".
Any time I feel powerful and have an over active take over by my back/right shoulder it's going right and usually short. It only takes one great shot to make it all worth it and leave me thinking, "That was awesome, maybe I can do this!"
Every day, hell even every round can leave us wondering who we are and wondering if we'll ever have a good round or swing again.
-The next day and the next time out I feel like I will play well and break 80 one more time.
I love this game
I hate this game
Let's go tee it up!!! :)
I actually love the rain and
I actually love the rain and play better when there is a breeze.
Play on Marylynn!
George,The butt should be
George,
The butt should be pointing at or just inside your toe line as it goes up and as it comes down. The bump and transition down will cause a slight laying off of the club which will (possibly)aim the butt a little outside your toe line, but this must be controlled to avoid excess. The toe up to toe up area is exactly where the speed/release should be the greatest. Check out these several tips on release. I think you'll like them.
http://swingsurgeon.com/DailyV...
One of my friends and his
One of my friends and his wife both play and he is a very good player and she is average. She absolutely hates for him to tell her anything. When he does she totally ignores it, but she goes to a pro for lessons. Almost every time she says something about what "her golf pro" taught her it is something her husband has told her many times.
He just looks at me and shakes his head. ;-)
Read yours after I posted
Read yours after I posted mine and laugh at the same feelings we both have in common. Sometimes there is no reason or explanation for what happens. Golf is a lot like life. When we think we have it figured out we get struck over the head and find we seem to know nothing at all.
Marilyn;
Marilyn;
Is the head actually loose on the shaft. If so, you may want to be careful of using it in that condition. It's easier to break loose parts than solid fixed parts. I still have a hard time believing that your pro did such a poor job of fixing it in the past. We are talking about one of the most basic and easiest of repairs.Provided nothing is actually cracked or broken. It's a 10 min job to separate the head, clean both components and re-assemble with a good quality epoxy. I would ask for a free fix this time.
And its Scheels.....first
And its Scheels.....first time I have been there,,,will go back...played today and not so good...darn,,,was playing to fast with everything, oh, had some good shots, but allot of not so good ones,,,,to fast...there is always tomorrow,,,
Thanks Surge,,,
The ferrule is that small
The ferrule is that small plastic thingy that tapers from the club head to the shaft, They can often come loose and work their way away from the end of the club up the shaft. Right now I have a hybrid that is suffering from this and is about to have a shaft change.
Steve, Thanks to you & RM for
Steve, Thanks to you & RM for replying to my post. After much reflection last night I couldn't agree with the two of you more. The game & our performance does run in cycles.
I think, upon further reflection, that I got myself out of sync and was never able to get back in the groove.Then like Surge has said in numerous lessons,I lost that free flowing swing and subconsciously went to trying to connect the dots.That's why I mentioned going back to my old mantra.When I used that it wasn't so much a technical swing thought as it was a timing and rhythm key.It pretty much allows me to swing properly by keeping my conscious side occupied,my wacky golfing version of idle hands are the devil's workshop.If that makes any sense.
I also realize now that I wasn't getting my full, for us, shoulder turn and actually was to armsie. So in a day or two,after I recover from the physical beating I took from the round, I'll be back on the range getting it all back together. This morning I feel like I've run a marathon.
George,
George,
I just started PPGS last week. I have watched the videos and gone to the driving range. I also ordered the drills video. What have you found is the best way to practice/implement the changes to your game?
I just love it when I (or
I just love it when I (or anyone else) hit a bad shot and the players in the group "know" what caused it.
The usual suspects are "You pulled your head up" or "You peeked" or "You were too vertical" or "Your were too flat" or "You were way too quick".
I haven't figured out yet what their explanation is for the other hundred really great shots doing the exact same thing "wrong".
LOL
wow. a bunch of great tips in
wow. a bunch of great tips in one lesson. like getting a pizza with everything on it. haven't been here for awhile to say thanks, so, thanks Surge.
If I kept track of how many
If I kept track of how many par 5s I didn't birdie I would run out of fingers to count on very quickly. LOL
I shot a 75 at Capstone Sunday and played about as well as I can play outside of misreading a lot of putts.
(Never made a birdie).
With a course rating of 75 it was a jump up in difficulty for me.
Wasn't a normal round for me but was a normal score. Usually I would make more putts but also lose some golf balls on that course...So it comes out about even. ;-)
Well, it does not feel loose,
Well, it does not feel loose, but it has moved up some again, like a tiny bit, then a tiny bet again. Went to Springfield today and there is a Shield's there, the guy in the golf department said they could fix it, so, maybe take it down there? Did look at a Wilson driver, I really liked it, it was shorter than mine and felt good, but, didn't get it, $300.00, but if I really.....I would have gotten it???? Still looking at a all new set, later on. Looking forward to playing tomorrow and try to stay in line... Right now, I have Adam's clubs, they are five years old. Thanks so much for all your help and Surge really helps me....oh, did get three new golf skirts, glove and tee's, wanted shoes, but could not fine the ones I wanted, I want spikeless......????? Also, I want a GPS, but that will be later.....thanks again..... storms tonight in IL,,,,,,
Sounds like people I have run
Sounds like people I have run into. A couple of weeks I tried to help an old friend aim his putter better. He agreed with every thing I suggested but felt like he should come to the same idea the hardest way possible. Stubborn is as stubborn does. LOL
True. Another thing is many
True. Another thing is many of us can become expert advice givers on days when we are playing well. When we are playing s**** silence and mumbling to ourselves takes over. We go from all knowing to know nothings!
I am wondering if at some
I am wondering if at some time in the past the club was worked on and the bore was reamed out. This can lead to the epoxy loosening, particularly with off center hits. If so a shim can cure the problem. Doc may have some better words about this subject.
Same here. Even if something
Same here. Even if something is glaring off I just smile and keep the peace unless asked. However with family it's okay. My wife and I have a great rapport on the golf course. She learned everything from or through me and Surge so she wants and expects occasional guidance. Likewise she knows what I am working on with my swing and I appreciate her input. Too, my brother with all his natural talent was aiming 50 yards right off the tee. Been working on his alignment and he likes the fairway alot more often:) Looks like a great weekend on the PGA. Tiger and Rory were head to head all day. Good stuff!
Thank you!! that could be
Thank you!! that could be the problem,,,,
may take to someone else, see what they can do,,,,,
Ideally toe up to toe up
Ideally toe up to toe up relates to gravity and not the spine angle tilt towards the ball.
As to where the butt of the club should be pointing, it should slightly angle back onto a flatter plane that when dropped into the slot it is in direct line with the ball. This helps out with not only soled on-on-on ball striking down the aim line, but also with the pop tart into the FUS up to by the ear.
Played a really good round
Played a really good round this morning. Used a drill I used last year before I went to the course.
Hit every fairway but one and that miss was on the "good side" so it was fine. I had been hitting the ball pretty well lately anyway so I'm not sure how much today was the drill and how much it was that I'm just getting closer to one of my peaks (that usually go away after a while). ;-)
Since my swing is fairly different from anyone else the drill may or may not help anyone else but I posted it anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Thanks Surge, boy, hit the
Thanks Surge, boy, hit the nail on the head with this one!!! That for sure is what I do sometimes, my upper body ahead of my swing, I just hate when I do that. I also know, when I do that, it is hard to stop sometimes, don't know why? Well, I will keep working on my swing, im so much better when I go back and straight up the tree or for me, it is skipping the darn rock....Just wished I would have learn golf when I was REALLY young...:o)))))
Thanks,
marilyn
Ha ha! My general rule is
Ha ha!
My general rule is that I never tell anyone what I think they are doing wrong unless they ask.
Just beautiful, Robert. You
Just beautiful, Robert. You captured it quite well.
The truth here both sets us free and/or creates pain. LOL.
Laughed at a good part on this: please give me a kleenex....I felt felt some of your pain on this: please give me a kleenex.
There, my eyes are now dabbed dry. Now where were we?
The best way I found to
The best way I found to ingrain the proper motion was to work on the drills every morning in front of a full-length mirror so that I could see my knees, hips, shoulders, and feet and make sure I was in the right positions. I'd work through them slowly at first, then speed up until I could swing at close to full speed without a club.
Yeah I usually don't keep
Yeah I usually don't keep track. Those two holes are easy to pick out when you playing that good. The par 5 was a 4 footer for birdie just made a bad put looking at the hole before I hit the putt and 18 is a long par 4 had a 5 footer for par left to right break and missed it on the low side.
I can see that getting through that next hurdle into the upper 60's might be a little tough any little mistakes or magnified. That is the fun part of golf set are goals and try and succeed.
oh, still using my Driver and
oh, still using my Driver and it still needs to be fixed...maybe this week...
No, the head moves down just
No, the head moves down just a little and then a little, but, I will get it fixed...really don't know what a ferrol is...but, thanks for posting...
After today's fiasco on the
After today's fiasco on the course, I played a very soggy Bent Brook, I'm thinking that I am now the Charles Barkley of the PPGS nation. I let myself get frustrated early and never recovered.So this video, to me, is the oasis of the golfing desert I seem to find myself in at the moment.
I would like nothing more than to kid myself into believing that my abysmal performance today was due to last week's back injury,but I can't really say that and be honest.Today's round was probably the worst in ball striking that I've ever had.I did get a lot of exercise in during the round due to the soggy conditions, it was cart path only and I spent most of the day walking to the other side or the fairway and beyond,at times.
What really gripes my ying-yang is that I know this swing,have studied the manual,videos,dailies and the like.So why can't I tie it all together? I think it was a whole lot simpler when I went out to the range the Friday after Thanksgiving almost two years ago and was so ecstatic that I called my wife and told her how much I loved the new swing while I kept hitting rope after rope downrange.I see myself living on the range with my old mantra, "Thumbs up & down the line", until I find it again.
I guess it just goes to show how fickle this game we love is, my last outing before my injury I couldn't miss a fairway.Today I had to get the beverage cart young lady to show me one. ;)
It seems I couldn't be in
It seems I couldn't be in better company,Ma'am. Like the wise man once said, " Patience, Grasshopper!", and I'm sure we're both going to be on the top of our games soon.
I started PPGS the first of
I started PPGS the first of the year and have improved my swing and score over the past 8 months; During a lesson from the Surge (April 2012), he said with a vertical swing, to hit it further "we just swing our arms faster"; however, recently on the practice range I found I could gain distance by a "moderate" arm swing and a faster toe up (BS) to toe up (by rolling my arms) during the swing. Can someone tell me if this is the right thing to be doing with the 3/4 vertical swing?? Also, it seems to help if I think about leading with the butt of the club from the top of the swing".....Where should the butt of the club be pointing as you start the swing from the top?
May buddy that i play with
May buddy that i play with all the time hits fades with his irons which he plays pretty well but he starts losing his driver way right every time it happens his body alignment is way right and the ball placement is almost center of stance. He blames it on the graphite shaft in his driver and wants to go back to his 8.5 tietlist driver with x100 steel shaft in it. I tell him to correct his alignment and ball position and he would not have that problem. He makes the correction and hits it down the middle. I think he is getting senile he is 62 I have to tell the same thing every week.
Yes, I had a fiasco on the
Yes, I had a fiasco on the course today....then went to practice range did hit some better, but, boy....IM thinking after five years of this, I will NEVER SLOW DOWN. Just can't seem to....
Thanks,,,,
If you keep walking you WILL
If you keep walking you WILL get out of that "desert".
Some people are hard to help.
Some people are hard to help. There are a few that do ask for my advice that just have so many things going wrong that it's impossible to find a place to start. When they try something they get much worse because it's so different from what they are used to doing, so the motivation is to go back.
I love this game,,,today I
I love this game,,,today I hate this game,,,,,is it all worth it,,,
dam, dam,,,,
rain tomorrow, maybe that is what I need,,,,,,,
MarilynIs the actual head
Marilyn
Is the actual head loose or the ferrol loose the are two different things. Ferrols come lose from time to time and just need to be glued and pushed back in place unless it is cracked.
A great couple of days as
A great couple of days as mentioned to Deb below.
Here VERY strong winds at the moment and I mean strong!
Good for a laugh. Had 2 great days on the course Wed/Thurs [our time] Had a string of 5 straight Pars on day one. Then on hole number[guess the number?] Dead right 13th, the action of the day started. Ended up by hitting the 3 shot on a difficult par 5 high up the hill on a steep right to left slope. Next shot nearer the green near a small drain/creek. Whilst going to find the ball, the very soggy slope disappeared under my feet like a mini avalanche. It was then I took a break from playing [bad] golf on that hole, to perform some spectacular acrobatics, hahahaha. Knees, backend, hands and arms were caked in thick glutinous mud!!! Still played on. Dropped a wedge short, chipped it dead and a tap in.
Finished the round and played somewhat better once the body started to behave itself.
Sore back on day two, with sore left elbow and right wrist. A good cupping and a touch of Tiger balm and swinging like a teenager again.
Now can't wait to get out and about again. Come on weather, behave yourself, pretty please.
Hope all the clan are enjoying the tips as I do. My wife has been a great help, particularly in choosing interim targets and making me think more strategically. Hit them long and straight all Surgites.