Right Swing Plus Wrong Clubs Equals Trouble

Wed, 05/18/2011 - 19:05 -- Don Trahan

The Surge reviews the second day of the golf school at Golden Bear Golf Center in Carrollton, Texas, just outside of Dallas. He'€™s talking with Certified Club Fitter, Russ Ryden, who helped establish the Swing Surgeon certification program with director Lynn Griffin. Russ made quite a startling revelation about what can happen when you improve your swing and the clubs are wrong.

In their conversation, both Russ and Don agree that if your clubs are wrong -- weight, loft, lie, length '€“ when you improve your swing you'€™re likely to get worse results! The Surge and Russ go into some detail about adjusting your setup to your clubs '€“ and how wrong that is, especially if the lie angle is wrong. It can affect everything from alignment to your dynamic balance.

And alignment was, as usual, a problem to be solved for every student. So far, the number of students in all of the Swing Surgeon schools that had proper alignment remains the same: 0%

Find out how important it is to your game to have the right tools.

The Surge Squad!


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Comments

Boogm's picture

Submitted by Boogm (not verified) on

 Been there and done that, Dick...Josh mentioned the other day, and I not sure where he heard it from, that I needed to build him an outhouse so he wouldn't have to come indoors to answer natures call.
Boog

Steven's picture

Submitted by Steven on

Thanks, Surge 

Are there any fitters you would recommend in the UK?

Roy Reed's picture

Submitted by Roy Reed (not verified) on

T: Thanks very much for following up on this. I'll stand by and see what they come up with. I really appreciate your follow-up! Stay in touch. R2

 dragonhead's picture

Submitted by dragonhead (not verified) on

My Kiwi mate bought a new set of Taylormade clubs for Xmas. His philosophy, is " I can make any club work". Hahahahaha! Is it any wonder he is like a thirst crazed individual walking in circles in the desert in search of consistency?
Conformation in today's video. I saw the  light a long time ago.

Robert F's picture

Submitted by Robert F (not verified) on

Round two started. Missed his 23 foot eagle putt on the first hole by 6" for an easy two-putt birdie. Nice start, DJ. Keep it rolling true!

Boogm's picture

Submitted by Boogm (not verified) on

 Cerv,  While a tough decision for you I'm biased and would go with the swingrite. It is a fantastic training aid and if you do go that route. Go to Doc's website and order it off his page. It will be some twenty dollars cheaper. Swingrite lists them at $149.00 plus shipping, $129 from Doc covers it all for domestic orders to all us Surgites.
Boog

Jim-O's picture

Submitted by Jim-O (not verified) on

Hi
as a rule of thumb would you say that the PPGS requires clubs that are slightly more upright than normal "off the rack" sets?  I'm 5' 10.5" which would normally mean that standard clubs are ok but I've been fitted twice to clubs which are 2-3 degrees upright which on a chart should see me about 6'1" - 6' 3" 
The last Mizuno fitter said it was due to my vertical swing which I suppose stacks up - I just wanted to check to see if you guys had similar experiences..     

Steve R's picture

Submitted by Steve R (not verified) on

 Lesson, without a doubt. I thought I had the right set up and alignment, yet I was hitting terrible shots. I visited with Lynn and Greg in SC and they quickly saw what I never would have. A few simple adjustments had me hitting the ball straight. The swingrite is a great tool, but it does not have eyes and a brain.
Steve R

CervezaFria's picture

Submitted by CervezaFria (not verified) on

I don't think the Mrs. would be too happy with me if I did both. Who knows what I would have to buy for the Mrs. to make up for doing both.

She does deserve something though. She puts up with me and takes care of everything on the home front. Maybe I should send her Robert's way when she goes to lake Mead with her family this summer.

T Medley's picture

Submitted by T Medley (not verified) on

Let's hope for a few birdies on the back. Wish we could actually watch, but at least we have shot tracker.

Robert F's picture

Submitted by Robert F (not verified) on

Put your mouse over the Golf Instruction tab at the top of the page, and
from there select the Instructors and Fitters item from the drop-down
menu. From there select your region and see if there's anyone nearby.

Lee Martin's picture

Submitted by Lee Martin (not verified) on

Great start DJ

Hopefully now he will be buzzing with confidence and with those greens being a tad softer in the morning can get some more approach shots nice and close. Some excellent putts to take away from round 1, it'll come Deej we are all willing them in for you. I can't wait for round 2 ...... GO DEEJ

Ron Woodke's picture

Submitted by Ron Woodke (not verified) on

You have a seven almost 8 min. video here And you do all the talking your guest talk for less than 1 min. so why do you even have a guest on if you are going to do all the talking If he is there for particular reason let him talk about why he is there

ggrossi's picture

Submitted by ggrossi (not verified) on

stupid question, what is remote fitting and how do you go about setting it up with the fitter

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

 Yes, you could probably play a round of golf with a twenty pound sledge hammer too.
Just not a very good round! ;-)

T Medley's picture

Submitted by T Medley (not verified) on

 Dick, I loved being at my Grandparents farm house when I was a little tyke. They had a galvanized tin roof that the rain sounded so good pounding down on. I remember my Granddad catching water off the porch roof into his tin cup for drinking. Things very common then, which we tend to frown or even gasp at today,  Yet they managed to live through it. Truth be told, there were probably less germs and dirt in the roof rain water, then in our chemically cleaned and  processed tap water we drink today.
 I have a closed in patio, porch, at the rear of my house. Some refer to them as Florida rooms, because they are mainly glass panels and windows to let the sun in. Anyway, it has a painted aluminum roof and happens to be partially off of my bed room window. I still love laying in bed and listening to the rain on the roof during night time storms. I also get the blessing of traveling back in memory to the old farm house time after time. It can be very soothing. 

Robert F's picture

Submitted by Robert F (not verified) on

Jim-O,

Vertical swing or not doesn't change the lie angle of the club at impact. The impact position for anyone using the Surge Swing is pretty similar to anyone using any other type of golf swing. The path taken to get there isn't particularly relevant, only the reaction of the club head to being swung. Also, height alone is not a useful measure. You need to know your wrist-to-floor length as well (in fact, it's more important than your height for determining what clubs will fit you best). Lie angle may also depend on the stiffness of the shaft and the amount of toe-down effect in your swing as the only lie angle that matters is dynamic lie angle. Reading off a chart isn't fitting.

Dick Lee's picture

Submitted by Dick Lee (not verified) on

 Cerveza

Stop making yourself crazy about it.

Just do both, and get it over with.

You earned it pal,
Dick

Amos's picture

Submitted by Amos (not verified) on

 Dick Lee:

    That sounds like my Grandparents houses!

    Amos

Amos's picture

Submitted by Amos (not verified) on

 Captainrd:

    Speaking as on a fixed income also -- I reccomend "easing into it"  a few clubs at a time.
    I bought a Driver from Doc Griffin by "remote fitting". It is BETTER (and was also CHEAPER) than the OEM clubs from the "big names".
    I hope to contact Doc later this year regarding new irons.

    Keep hitting them STRAIGHT and LONG

     Amos

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade (not verified) on

Steve,
I noticed www.premiumgolf.co.uk seemed like they may be able to help you. 
Steve, the only thing i would add is that this site appearantly fits you to specification BUT they then have them made and sent directly to you from the source(ie., Japan). So you''d want to make sure you are given an excact primtout of what your fitting dtermined- lofts,lengths and lies so you can have your clubs rechecked by a fitter to see if they indeed do match your specs. Otherwise you are much better off tracking down a fitter who assembles them personally so you can be sure of every detail.

Okay Steve AND OTHERS LOOKING FOR A FITTER OUTSIDE OF THE USA:
I looked through my saved favorites and came accross the AGPC website.
Go there and follow the menu options for AGCP members and fitters worldwide.
For Englad I found Damian Donnelly.
His website is www.golfdiagnosticks.com and his e-mail is damian@golfdiagnosticks.com
Good luck and I hope this helps.
Cheers and PMG- play more golf!

MikefromKy Go Bama. Go Irish's picture

Submitted by MikefromKy Go B... (not verified) on

Don
Another great video reminding us of how properly fit equipment helps our swing. 

T Medley's picture

Submitted by T Medley (not verified) on

Nor did I get an email notification of your reply to me.  As for Disqus, If I click on you only or everything, they are fine, but replies to you, brings up no activity, then I have to refresh the page to get everything or you only to show again. It must be a glitch in the reply portion.

Dick Lee's picture

Submitted by Dick Lee (not verified) on

Surge Nation

Here we go again.  We are having an evening of eventful weather.  I think most of it will miss us, but the folks just a couple of miles west and north of me are getting it good.  Some areas have gotten 4" of rain, golf ball to silver dollar sized hail, and 60 mph winds in the last 3 hours.

Just sitting on the patio smoking a cigar, working on a report, and watching the light show.
Dick

Lynn42's picture

Submitted by Lynn42 (not verified) on

 Dick

Sounds like I should not be complaining about all my rain.  Stayed dry all day today so I got a chance to mow my hay...err grass.  Figured I'd finally get a round in tomorrow and then it rained tonight. :0(

Moon is finally out, so we shall see

Lynn42

T Medley's picture

Submitted by T Medley (not verified) on

Keith, I actually asked that same question almost a year ago and received this reply from Doc Lynn. Here is also a video link on which should come first, Fitting or Swing Lesson. Also a link to his site, which explains what to look for or expect with a good proper fitting by a citified, qualified, fitter, even if he is not a SSGS fitter. Just explain to them that you are using a more vertical less turn swing because of personal and physical reason, and want to ensure it will be taken into account.

Fitting video
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Ho...

Docs fitting site,  Explains a proper fitting process
http://tmgolf.sports.officeliv...

Blog comments from July 2010
·                    
JLynn. I understand the folly of waiting until your swing gets better to be fitted. It's kind of like being too sick to go to the doctor. My question in regards to proper fitting, of a complete set of clubs is, does proper fitting make a difference in regards to your swing type,
such as a flat rotational swing versus the PPGS swing. If my clubs were properly fitted for my old rotational flatter swing, do they need to be re-fitted for the PPGS swing. If they do need to be fitted differently for the PPGS versus the standard used rotational swing, how do we deal with a fitter who doesn't know about or believe in the PPGS method of swing or fitting. If he fits us for what he thinks is a proper swing, (i.e. flat rotational) will the fit still be proper and improve our PPGS swings. Also, Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this blog, most of us really appreciate the helpful information you provide.

Reply from JLynn
·      The dynamics of the swing should be similar. The plane of the swing is the thing that changes. If you find that you are making more ground contact with the toe of the club, then you may want to have the lie adjusted up as that would indicate that the clubs are too flat. This may be the one thing to look at otherwise you should be ok. The key is the phrase PROPER FITTING. I do hope that is what you got. That would mean more than lie, flex, length, and grip. If you want an abridged version, I'd go for lie angle, shaft length, and the shaft
frequency.

Boogm's picture

Submitted by Boogm (not verified) on

 Ken, no disrespect intended.... "this fitter" ,made me lmao, happens to be the Director of Club Fitting Operations for Swing Surgeon Golf. Again, not in  disrespectful tone, but that would be like calling Stephen Wilcox & George Babcock  "those boilermakers"  :)
Boog

dgaines's picture

Submitted by dgaines on

Not stupid at all.

If you contact Doc at http://tmgolf.sports.officeliv... he can tell you what you need.
Video of your swing, some data that you need to get from a launch monitor, a few simple measurements. He can set you up.
Great solution if you can't see him personally.

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

Probably not any better than anyone else Robert.LOL
There is one out in the barn and last year I would get it out and swing it into a stump behind the barn for 30 minutes just for exercise. So far this year all I have done is walk by it and think that it looks a lot heavier than it did last year. ;-)

Boogm's picture

Submitted by Boogm (not verified) on

 Now has shot-tracker on the 46" monitor as my class starts a drawing assignment, Go DJ!!!!!

Robert F's picture

Submitted by Robert F (not verified) on

For those interested in following DJ's round with Shot Tracker, he just stepped up on the 10th tee, his first for the day.

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

Just found out that one of my oldest son's best friends, who spent a lot of time at our house while he was growing up. was living in Joplin and he is missing and they can't find him.
Say a prayer for the missing. The fire chief was reported as saying today that there are still 1,500 missing in Joplin.

Edit: The friend of my oldest son was finally able to communicate with friends and family that had been trying to contact him and he is fine. He was missed by the storm but had no way to communicate and had been helping with the aftermath.

dgaines's picture

Submitted by dgaines on

How are you feeling tonight Dick? I hope there is progress. I imagine your good enough to type and smoke a stogie.

Lynn42's picture

Submitted by Lynn42 (not verified) on

Robert

I follwed him on tracker today and thought he did well.  The wind came up for the afternoon guys so most of the scores were not as low as the A.M. starts.  Got my fingers crossed for him with the morning start tomorrow.

Lynn42 

dgaines's picture

Submitted by dgaines on

I actually had an appointment with Russ at Golden Bear in late January when I was in Texas on vacation. Unfortunately the night before snow and ice hit the Dallas Ft. Worth area and shut down most of the city and certainly the outdoor golf for the next several days. I had also wanted to play the TPC at Los Colinas but the Packers had the resort completely booked for 2 weeks.
Great trip other than that.
Now it is thunderstorms and rain in Southern Michigan stopping me from a fitting.

Some day I will get fit...

Boogm's picture

Submitted by Boogm (not verified) on

Ken, no disrespect intended.... "this fitter" ,made me lmao, happens to
be the Director of Club Fitting Operations for Swing Surgeon Golf.
Again, not in  disrespectful tone, but that would be like calling
George Babcock & Stephen Wilcox  "those boilermakers"  :)
Boog

Roy Reed's picture

Submitted by Roy Reed (not verified) on

Surge:  Very interesting blog today.  I do have a question about club loft.  I'm wondering if  there is a current "standard" for club loft in the irons and hybrids.  I've seen new sets of clubs that have all sorts of odd lofts between clubs, and some sets that claim to have the same degrees of loft between clubs.  It seems to me that the various club manufacturers just sort of "make up" whatever lofts they want, so they can claim their clubs are "longer" than their competitors.  Anyway, thanks for the school update and for all you do for the Surge Nation!  R2 

Keith Kent's picture

Submitted by Keith Kent (not verified) on

 Thanks Guy's, I am working on getting a new set of fitted clubs( on the wife that is!) I went in  American Golf  which includes club fitting in with the price of a set of new clubs. I didn't ask lots of questions as I am not in the know so don't know exactly what they call fitting.
Anyway it is early days in the process, so like you say I will research before I take the bait!

Boy do I wish I was near you guys, I so do trust Don and the team and I don't even know them! But I feel like I do!  

Ted G. 's picture

Submitted by Ted G. (not verified) on

While watching you talk about club fitteing in the background of the viseo was someone hitting a driver with the worst swing I have ever seen. If the ball traveled straight or even 100 yards it would be a mircale. Take a look. 

T Medley's picture

Submitted by T Medley (not verified) on

 Ted, We all had to start somewhere, for all we know that could have been his first time at a driving range. I think we all looked fairly ugly when we started out.  Perhaps he is just a beginner. One thing is sure, He is on the range, where he belongs, and not on the course backing everyone else up. I give him credit for trying to learn at the range and not on a crowded course.

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade (not verified) on

Roy, you are absolutely right. there are no standards for lofts. Also the shafts, even though labled S, R, or whatever flex are very often off by qite a bit. When they do frequency testing to check each clubs "actual" flex it can vary measured by number, ie you may be best fit for 5.0(regular) yet one club in your bag may be 5.5 (simi stiff) and another 4.5 (simi senior). As for lofts, I belive the recommendation is that they be at least 4 degrees different from club to club. But as Surge and Russ said, they may be nearly identical in loft even though the are say a 5 iron verses your 6 iron. That's another reason some comment that they hit thier "" club the same distance as thier '''' club. Length only accounts for 20% of your distance while loft accounts for 80% for the distance difference.Remember, even if your club says ie., hybrid 23* R, it may not really br accurate. What all this means is that we should have all our clubs checked for loft difference from club to club along with the shafts and lies.This is how we can make sure there is say a 10-15 yard variance in each club we reach for. Of course lofts and lies are relatively cheap to adjust and all should at minimum get those checked and fixed. Shafts, well that gets you more into a full fitting and more $$.

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