Club Position at Address

Have you checked your Spam or Junk Mail folder, Bill? It's possible that your machine or ISP believe the emails from SwingSurgeon.com are spam so you may need to whitelist the addresses to ensure that your newsletters aren't getting blocked on the receiving end.

Bob,

With the driver, I think Surge recommends what I do--hover the club head behind the ball rather than soling it on the ground. This not only ensures that you're lined up the correct distance from the ball, but also prepares your hands for where they should be when they come back through.

Doc, Thanks for the video but thank you more for the report on Vaughan, absolutely wonderful news! Now that I'm off that out of town job, yet still working every day, I am looking forward with much eagerness for the 24th of June. I can't wait to meet you and finally get fitted for clubs that actually fit me and my swing. With the Surge Swing and properly fitted clubs I'm sure I'll once again be enjoying this game as I did as a fourteen yr old when I first fell in love with it.

Thanks again for video and update on your darling bride, may the Lord continue to bless her, you and your family,

Boog

Dick,

I hope being a country SA isn't a bad thing. I resemble that remark.

LynnF

I guess I'll need to do another video. It does not matter how the toe looks at address. Clubs are made to sole flat but they don't have to for whatever reason primary reason is shafts that are too long or hand position at address. The lie angle is derived by what happen as the club comes through the impact area.

Hey T, I checked out the clubs on Wishon's site , very nice. I hope you get them back soon and enjoy playing them. I'm really anxious about my fitting with Doc later next month. I tried to set Doc up with a joke about red headed clubs but I guess I didn't get up early enough and he zinged me back. The comment & his response are deeper down in this post by now.

I really don't care what color my heads( or shafts,for that matter) are as long as they are the proper tools for my game,as I'm sure they will be.

Happy swinging,

Boog

just hit the ball

Yes the Spanish players were very emotional over the sad news about Seve and I was worried that Pablo Larrazabal, whose in contention for the Spanish Open, was going to totally lose it with his out of control "Latino heat". - Craig S from NZ's "West" island

Those with more specific technical expertise on the precise numbers can give you better information, but lopping an inch off the driver can change it by several swing weights. It's possible that your driver simply wasn't the correct swing weight and MOI for you in the first place, and your actions "fixed" it. I would recommend that you try adding some lead tape to the club, though. It can be easily removed if it makes things worse, but my guess is it will help. You can search for Don's post from about a year ago called "Magic Dust In Golf" for more information about lead tape and how and where to put it.

Seriously? It's been raved about by everyone! TMan, it's the only swing aide I recommend. What else do you need to know? LO LOLOLOLOLO, ouch, I hurt myself and wet myself!

Kevin

Are you saying Doc was the fastest swimmer?

Dick

Thanks Doc for covering that subject. It makes sense that our dynamic swing will bring our swing more upright or flat depending on our swing anyway. That's why it's the dynamic measurement that determines our lie through the impact area and not weather it's set toe up or not. It seems reasonable that we would set up with everything level and perpendicular with the clubface lines faced level toward our target. If we come through too upright or too flat than the clubs need adjusted. Golfers need to know it is a fairly inexpensive fix but can dramatically effect weather we pull or push our shots.

Making it shorter will stiffen it unless weight is added.

My point of view what am I missing? If you are properly fitted, during the swing the toe droop happends and the club is flat, if you say that the clubs were meant to be level at set up and then you swing then toe droop will cause the toe side to hit first . In an extreme situation like somone buying off the rack clubs in which the shafts are normally very week, and very unstable and toe droop from here to china, as long as the lie angle was adjusted dynamically on a board and then on turf, impact will be level considering a consistent swing. In the other hand If I use an extra stiff, there will be little to no droop because I simply cant load it that much but again if the lie angle was adjusted correctly, the club will level during impact.

So your comment of clubs were meant to be soled flat, in my mind is not correct, if you are fitted taking the correct posture for you, may or may not be level, all this just leads to be fitted correctly, take your normal posture, disregard if the club is soled perflecty level or not and trust that your fitter did a good fitting you with consideration of all the dynamics Doc mentioned.

But after all my blabbing I am always open to learning thanks Doc

Hi Dick,

Maybe Doc would like to use "Company Store" for his tempo phrase.

Bob

Amen, Do not feed the animals or poke the bear. It always seems like fun, Until someone gets hurt. Somebody always gets hurt!

or perhaps and illustrated book, Doc. Akin to Dick & Jane, maybe with Static Sally & Dynamic Dan?

Good news about your wife, Doc. Enjoyed the video on club sole lies. Doc Griffin fitted me and made a set of clubs for me about 3 weeks ago. Clubs arrived and they are well made KZG irons of 7, 8, 9, pitching wedge and sand wedge. The 4, 5, and 6 irons are Hybrids. Because of my swing characteristics, Doc made the lie angle 2 degrees upright. I am short in stature (5' 4") and most people would think that I would need a flatter lie, but Doc determined, through testing, that I needed a lighter more flexible shaft (ladies) and a more upright lie. I have only used the clubs one time for 9 holes (due to a back problem, not related to golf) and the irons were very smooth and shots were crisp and straight. The ball (a ladies ball, as recommended by Doc) appeared to travel further than with my old set of clubs, but I am still in the feeling out process of the new clubs. Doc also re-shafted my 12 degree driver with a shorter, lighter (ladies) shaft which I am hitting straight and longer than with the previous shaft. At Doc's recommendation, my only fairway wood is a 7 wood. It is a big change for me when I am used to carrying a 3 wood and a 5 wood. In the 9 holes that I played so far, it has worked out O.K., but I still may opt for a 5 wood sometime in the future. Thanks, Doc for the good service and the quality of your product.

Frank Caruso

Actually I thought I was addressing the soling of a club and that it does not have to have the toe up. If the toe is up, then it's probably due to a shaft that is long. I sure didn't know I was getting into someone else's turf as I wasn't even discussing long drivers. I also believe I said it doesn't matter how you sole the club at address that the toe down affect is going to take over regardless and having the proper lie angle is the most important aspect. Maybe I missed something in my own video.!!!

Interesting. thanks for your response. I can see how taking weight off of the grip end would change the over all weight and also changing the center of balance plus a couple of other things but why would that require weight at the head? I know this is close to rocket science and certainly don't understand that but I'm willing to try.

Coach

My sticks look great. That is, as long as they stay in the bag.

When I try to hit a golf ball, they turn into little ugly licorice sticks.

If I were still in Florida, I might think about donating them to one of the artificial reefs.

I am excited for all you folks who are getting fitted and new sticks.

I can't wait until I can be there myself.

Until then, I will just have to live through all your reports,

Dick

Boog

That is a cross over between Johnny Cash as the man in black and TEF. Doc looked like he was about to start crooning at any moment. Throw some sideburns and sunglasses on him and you got yourself a pretty good start for Elvis.

Did you know that Johnny Cash was a scratch golfer?

Dick

Doc,

Correct me if I am wrong, but as a sequence of events, I see it like this. At address, one assumes the proper setup posture and has the club statically soled flat on the ground. When one swings to the top of the backswing and does the bump, the extra flex causes the shaft to load which would have the effect of initiating a dynamic toe-up effect (if the club were frozen in that position and returned to the address position). As the club is swung down to impact position, the club unloads, returning to a level position because of the dynamic toe-down effect. Is this confusing enough?

Kevin

Thank you sir and I look forward to working with you in June!! Blessings to you as well!

Hello Fellow Upright Duffers!

Time for an After Action Report. I got to play at Eagleglen on Elmendorf AFB today. All temporary greens, but they were well manicured, so I was able to putt. That was a real pleasure. They probably wont have the greens ready to play for several weeks. They are seeded with 18th Green Bent, and are not doing very well at all.

Anyway, I had a snow man on the very first hole, and thought I was gonna be in for a long round. However, I remembered my squirrel and dumplings and parred the next three holes. The worst I did after that on the front nine was a double bogey on the par 3 eighth hole. Oh! I forgot to mention that I played the front nine without a putter in the bag. I forgot it in the car, and had to substitute a 4 rescue in it's place.

The back nine was pretty good, but I should have baptized my ball prior to the 15th hole. I hit a terrific drive, then proceeded to attempt a five wood shot from an ugly lie. Hit my ball into the creek and ended up with a bogey. I also found water on 18 when I hit a fat wedge into the creek for another bogey. Other than that, I played pretty good golf.

One benefit of temps, is that I never have to worry about three putts ;0)

Tomorrow, I wont get a chance to play. I'm cooking Mother's Day lunch at the Legion Post. Roasted Pork Tenderloin and Fried Chicken are the main entree's. All Moms eat for free, so fly on up to Anchorage and enjoy a great day of food and fun.

Hit'em Long and Straight,

Bob

Hey, My new fitted driver is going to be a red head. Most red heads have a little fire inside them. I hope mine does.

Robert, we'll be anxiously awaiting your after-action report as well about mid-June. My wife( did I mention she was red-headed?) is telling me now that she hasn't seen this much excitement out of me since early spring in '81 as our wedding date loomed closer and closer.

I tell her, just like then, I can't wait until I finally get them in hands. Of course, she slaps me now, just like she did way back then. :)

Boog

Facappr

Glad to hear the new sticks are working for you.

Hope your back situation is squared away for you soon.

Let us know how it goes when you get back out there.

Dick

Ok, I'll say it again. The head is not designed to sit toe up but if it does for one reason or another, it's not an issue.

As for what you see on TV it is also a bit misleading as to what is actually there. To see the lie of the club correctly you'd have to be directly infront of the head and that shot isn't happening. I'm also not saying that some of the Pros don't have the toe up a bit. I'm sure some are and it's a result of shaft length and lie. They are not forcing their hands down to make the toe come up.

The point of the video was to respond to a question about do you have to address the driver with the toe up and the answer is NO.

Thanks T medley. I'll look that up to see just where the weight should be placed.

Boog

You are the man. A slap only stings for a couple of seconds.

That is a price worth paying,

Dick

Lynn

Wouldn't have you any other way.

Dick

Gencomm

I can agree with you on that. I think sometimes at the beginning it was easy to have too much going through my mind with a big check list.

Once I learned to be better at doing what Surge says, Feel the Swing, then Swing the Feel, it made life easier.

Golf like life is simple, if we let it be,

Dick

Dick,

I got to thinking (There I go with that dangerous stuff again) and I'm not sure Doc is old enough to be TEF. But, he could be a chip off the old block. There is a strong familial resemblance.

As for the whistling past a graveyard, I couldn't whistle - I was too busy running ;-)

Kevin

Thanks T man! She is indeed my "miracle".

Why does don insist on having the nose over ball

Shortening the shaft at the butt end has very little effect to the stiffness of the shaft. However, to answer your question more completely, shortening a shaft raises the vibrational frequency which correlates to a stiffening effect. But as mentioned, 1/2" does little.

Gencomm

Who you talking too?

Shortening the shaft also changes the relative stiffness of it among other things. Adding weight to the head returns some of those characteristics. What you're looking for in the end is the MOI (or Moment of Inertia--over-simplified that is the relative difficulty in altering the course of the club head around an arc) that best suits your swing mechanics. Seeing a professional qualified fitter is the best way to find that answer and get a club that will best suit your swing, but for those who can't see a fitter, a certain amount of trial and error can get you a reasonable result.

Well, we can not forget the Swingrite. I figure the two should work well together. Now, go dry yourself off.

Hey Ronnie, that is cool you were able to see DJ and all the PGS greats at the tournament. Hope you're well.Nice to see a note from you.

Surge Nation

To all our sisters out there in the Surge Nation who are moms, I want to wish you a very Happy Mother's Day. I know that I never got the chance to tell my mom how glad I was that she was there. I hope you know that even if your kids don't always say it, they are blessed to have you in their lives.

I hope all of you get an extra phone call, card, flowers, diner, or candy tomorrow. You didn't think I could do a whole post without working food and snacks in there somewhere, did you?

To my brothers out there, make sure you tell the moms and grandmoms in your lives how special they are to you.

Last, but not least, you other mothers out there, and you all know who you are, have a great weekend.

Hope those who are playing have great rounds, and we want to hear all the details.

Dick

Kenny,

Excellent questions to which I also would like to hear the answers. I often feel the need to try to get that little bit extra out of my approach shots and end up missing the green. I would think that, from listening to some of what Doc says, that properly fitted clubs swung with the same tempo are best. I try to swing all my clubs the same, allowing the differences in loft and length take care of the distance between them. Years ago, when I was playing with whatever I could get my hands on, I had to swing each club differently. Surge's videos of swinging through the bag show him hitting every club the same except for slight changes of ball position.

Doc, I do listen to everything you say.

Kevin

It is great to have the idea confirmed that the act of swinging the club must bring it through the ball slightly toe down. I think that your balance also has to compensate by moving slightly back towards your heals. If your balance didn't shift to compensate for the centrifugal weight of the club you would, I think, pull yourself forward onto your toes. Watch a Scotsman swinging the hammer in athletics where the weighted ball is on a rope. The effect on a golfer is much less, but must surely still be there. Mike Henton.