Finding Your Correct Muscle Tone

Every once in a while, I get a message from one of my students that makes me just a teeny bit envious, and today is one of those days. Ed Lindsay, who was a student at a one-day Performance School that we held back in April, wrote me with an update on his improvement since then.

"Well, I shot my age again yesterday. Since the school on 4/13, I have worked diligently and now think I have the Surge Swing close to right. As you will remember, I thought I had been doing it correctly for a year and a half until I met you. My distance has improved; on the par 5, 500 yard 18th, I was on with driver, 3-wood, 9-iron. (I had a 10 footer for birdie and just missed it.) My biggest problem is TENSION. When I can keep all my muscles loose, with no tightness, I can hit any shot. I'll wait for my next report to you until my handicap gets down to single digits."

Isn't this great? I can't recall exactly how old Ed is, but he listed his handicap at 15.0 when he registered for the school, so he's probably well into his eighties. I have a dream of being able to play well enough as I get older to be able to consistently shoot my age too. So my hat is off to you, Ed. May you continue to play well and enjoy the game for many years to come! Since you are using the body-friendly Peak Performance Golf Swing, you won't have to stop playing due to a swing-related injury.

For today's tip, I would like to focus on the part of Ed's message where he talks about muscle tension. I believe that using words like "tense" or "loose" to describe how one's body should feel at address can lead to confusion as these kinds of words can mean different things to different people. As you have heard me say before, the posture we want to have at address can be best described as being in an athletically-ready position, just as a tennis player is when waiting to receive serve. In terms of what your muscles should feel like at this point is something that only you can properly describe for yourself, but it will be somewhere between "tense" and "loose". And don't forget, being too tense is not the only thing you need to think about. The opposite state, i.e., being too loose (or as I like to call it, "noodley") is equally problematic. If we don't have enough muscle tension throughout our body we won't be able to keep our lower body still, or put enough power in our swing to hit the ball properly.

If you don't have a sense of what this feeling is like, one way to get a sense of it would be to walk around and then climb a set of stairs. Pay particular attention to how your leg muscles feel when standing at rest, walking and then how they feel as you climb the stairs, which is closer to how they should feel when you are in an athletically-ready state. Once you have this feeling identified, you can translate that to how your hips, shoulders, arms and hands should feel too when you are at your address position.

Keep it vertical!

The Surge

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Surge......ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ Ã

Surge......
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ I play with a gentleman...who shoots his age about 80% of the time.ÃÂ I played with him
on thursday and he shot an 81 on our 18 hole course.ÃÂ By-the-way, he is 87 years young.ÃÂ We all hope we can just be playing golf when we are 87 year old.ÃÂ His name is Jay.ÃÂ He plays from the Senior tees and we don't cut him any slack either....or should I say he doesn't cut us any slack.ÃÂ We all joke that we want to be like Jay when we grow up.ÃÂ Most of us are in our 60's and 70's.ÃÂ I myself am 72 next month.ÃÂ I had a 85 on Thursday and Jay beat me by 4 strokes.ÃÂ His handicap is 10 and mine is 13.ÃÂ I am striving to reach the 70's this years....that is strokes not age.ÃÂ LOL.....

ÃÂ Unless they've changed

ÃÂ Unless they've changed the rules those that fall under MDF still get paid last place money.

ÃÂ Jon,

Yes, the outward pressure on the knees does keep your lower body still--that's what we want. That's also why we Pre-Load Heavy Right during setup. By putting 70% of our weight on the rear leg, we've already accomplished a weight shift before before we swing.

To me, this is just another example of why PPGS is simple to learn--fewer moving parts!

As to the degree of flare, everyone has a different amount based on what their body is capable of doing comfortably. Don just says a "minimum" of 30 degrees. He is so flexible that he can turn his forward foot 90 degrees from the aiming line and still hit it 250 yards straight down the middle.

Tom Jans

Thanks - remember seeing this

Thanks - remember seeing this one a while ago - I should bookmark a few of these.

As you said, "one of the best

As you said, "one of the best swings" if not the best swing but for a rotational
swinger,ÃÂ but on this site we are vertical, like comparing oranges with apples.

I noticed that on shot

I noticed that on shot tracker he was anywhere from 15-30 yards off on is distances with his second shots of the 150 y variety. Of course there is always more to the story than we know, (conditions of the lies and turf/club interaction) but that's awefully challenging when one can't seem to dial in there proximity on the approach shot. Something all golfers deal with but toughests when it's your livelihood. Maybe next week better things will come. He actually did make afew clutch putts but they were to save par on 17,18.

ÃÂ We have a gentleman in my

ÃÂ We have a gentleman in my Monday eve league who turns 90 this year. Unfortunately he is closer to 60 for 9 holes, but I hope to be scoring 60 for 9 at that age myself. Just to be as healthy as him and on this side of the sod would be great. I'm ready to go if I get the call, but I sure hope it doesn't come for a while. I keep changing my number just in case.

I had a chance to see how the

I had a chance to see how the shaft goes into/over the hosel. Believe it or not, I left mine in a hot truck bed, with a hard shell bed cover for just a few hours and the epoxy bond broke. I had to re-epoxy it. If you do decide to bend it any, heat and bend the shaft and do not bend it to close to the hosel. There is actually no hosel to speak of, just a protruding solid piece/tit/shaft, that is part of the casting. The shaft just slides over that piece with a little epoxy.

Interesting that Ed said

Interesting that Ed said "when he kept his muscles loose", but as Don said we aren't
able to measure our muscle tone, so we all have to experiment. I for one am going
to try "being loose", as consistency is my biggest Boogie Man.

I believe you are correct.

Report from Chicago, I'll.

I attended my long awaited PPGS golf school at Cog Hill on June 13 with Surge and Dave Seeman. One word: Awesome! What you see from the dalilies from both is what you get in person. Both are very personable and dissect each individuals swing. They appear to be comfortable teaching partners.

Alignment, PLHR and too long of a back swing were my biggest culprits. Completing the FUS another.

I previously completed my on line lesson with Dave. The in person lesson confirmed what I needed work on. My only regret is that I can not see Dave on a regular basis.

Bringing what we learned in morning to our 9 hole scramble began tying concepts together. Our intended 9 hole scramble turned into 12! Had the opportunity to play with both Surge and Dave during scramble. Both gave you immediate feedback of attempted shots. After the scramble Surge spoke at length about experiences on tour with DJ. His story about Vijay and club rep was hilarious!

It was a experience that I will not forget. The group of attendees were fun to be with. It was a beautiful day at Cog Hill, action packed and a tremendous value for the experience gained. You walk away with a complete "prescription" from PPGS! Hopefully will be able to attend 2/3 day school in future.

Thanks again to Surge, Dave and Dave's wife, Cathie!

Phillip

Not to say it's not an

Not to say it's not an effective putter but obviously it's a bit cheap. But what the hey, I put better (usually) with my old janky putter (still not sure where I got it) than I do with my. $175.00 two ball Odessey Belly.

I have been playing golf for

I have been playing golf for a long tme, and have had many lessons.ÃÂ Thanks to Don and the PPGS, I finally have a good idea of what I should be doing, and it feels great when I get this old body to do it correctly.ÃÂ Getting better all the time.

RM

Took pic with both Surge and Dave.

Fantastic experience!

Still need to send to Surge.

You know his general email?

Phillip

Philip,Super to hear about

Philip,
Super to hear about your experience with Surge and Dave. Nothing like meeting and learning in person. i still have points that come back to me from my two in person lessons from Surge at the two tournaments I attended.
Just wonderful teacher with Surge and his team.
Hope you took plenty of pics for the memories:)
Keep us informed of how the lessons help you in the coming days.

Sorry about the spelling

Sorry about the spelling goofs. On my not so smart phone and can't correct or edit at the moment.

Ray,That's wonderful stuff.

Ray,
That's wonderful stuff. Keep up the good playing. You inspire us much younger kids. I'm only 55. Sure as hell hope I am alive and playing golf like Jay at 87. Heck I shot an 81 today so not sure if I'll reach Jays stats. Hope burns eternal:)

You could e mail it to Doc's

You could e mail it to Doc's site and he could forward it to Surge with your message. Or send a message to customer service thatÃÂ you would like to know the best way to forward the pic to Don.

Nice playing Booger!! Wow,

Nice playing Booger!! Wow, those were some nice drives and sounds like you contributed a couple of neat approach shots and good putts. Thanks for sharing and sounds like life is good pal.
PMG!

Waht spealling gouf's

Surge,

I have gotten very familiar with your teaching terminology and listun very carefully for any new gems.Sometimes it's just a quick phrase. Today I sat up in my seat when you said how you have a three step process as you get "muscle tone " ready to start your takeaway;

One is the grip(firm to the elbows)
Two is the wide knees
Three go

Yes Don I was listoning and will work on this next time out.

For those that want to make sure you catch this one it happens between the 8:20 to 8:45 point in the video.

To all, nup, being loose didn

To all, nup, being loose didn't work, ball going all over the place, LOL.

Hi Tom,You are so right about

Hi Tom,
You are so right about the pre-load right. We found that Cindy had not been pre-loading enough in her set up and it was resulting in a sway of her head and body as she moved into her backswing. often it was what Johnny Miller calls the 'sway and stay' as she would the end up on her heals and never get to her front foot in the follow through.
Now she is doing much better. Lately our key thoughts in her set up have been, 'pre-load right and then finish left' with weight on that front foot and in balance. Worked like a charm with her new clubs last night.
On that note, yesterday was her first go with the new shaftsÃÂ I put together for her. A softer shaft with a low bend point and her trajectory and ball striking was great yesterday as she shot an 86!
Really proud of her and glad to see that it seems I got her shafts right now along with length, lies and lofts and over set make-up. She's happy with 'em so far. Fun stuff.
Have a great weekend and go DJ go!!

What is MDF? ÃÂ Is that the

What is MDF? ÃÂ Is that the second cut?

One thing I liked about Ben

One thing I liked about Ben Hogan's swing was that he kept his feet at about 45deg and he was head was pointing behind the ball. I saw this on the cover of Ben Hogan golf balls and incorporated that into my swing. This was long before PPGS. Now with Don's help I am more consistent than ever, and this video on the proper tension makes a lot of sense. I just need to do what I did in track or probably football to get ready for a throw or a play. Thanks again Don!

What I have a question about, is with the feet at 45 or so ->> \__/ ÃÂ <<-- it seems to prohibit a huge weight shift, and I can get back forward easier. PPGS with the slight outward pressure on the knees feels about the same. Should I keep the feet at the angle or be more parallel? Perhaps 60 front and 30 on the back foot? When I do the 45 thing my irons get really solid (considering other factors as well).

Thanks and down the middle!
Jon

ÃÂ Robert;

Please help my failing memory. Did we did, or did we didn't, get ourselves brand new putters. Now the real question. Did the Hindsight come with a head cover or not. If it did, I'll have to scour the house. I finally got around to putting a 2-thumbs grip on mine and took it to the course. I kind of like it so far, but I'm not sure about replacing my Nike Method with it. Any way, did we did, or did we didn't, have a head cover, come along wit it.

PMGÃÂ and don't forget to rhyme.

Don, can u please explain how

Don, can u please explain how Ben Hogan could turn his hips massively on the back swing and have arguably one if the best swings ever?

ÃÂ Yes. In this case it

ÃÂ Yes. In this case it means the second cut. Can mean that a player withdrew for some reason after making the cut.

Means: Made the cut, did not finish.

Jon:ÃÂ The Surge teaches

Jon:ÃÂ The Surge teaches that we should flare our feet about 30*.ÃÂ And in a video a few months ago, he showed that increasingÃÂ front foot flare can improve the whole swing process.ÃÂ I personally flare my front foot about 45* from parallel and it makes for a very consistent swing.ÃÂ ÃÂ So to answer your question, useÃÂ the foot flare that works best for you and gives the most consistent results - it willÃÂ be different for each of us but is within PPGS parameters.ÃÂ R2

Sweating the cut at the

Sweating the cut at the Travelers. Even is T70 right now, with one guy on the course at that score who could move the line. Assuming even makes the cut, though, DJ is going to have to come out hot as there will almost certainly be a third-round cut as well with 89 players at even or better right now.

Flexibility

T:ÃÂ Thanks so much for the

T:ÃÂ Thanks so much for the video reference.ÃÂ I didn't get a chance to look it up last nite, but figured you would have it handy.ÃÂ You da man!!!!ÃÂ :-))ÃÂ r2

ÃÂ Surge, great dailies the

ÃÂ Surge, great dailies the last couple of days.I especially got a lot out of the one concerning your college player and the transition from PLHR to FUS. I have been working on that most of this season. I like the idea of pushing off (up) of the trail leg to get off my right side and hope to have it properly incorporated into my game soon.
The motif, Down-Up, will be with me on the practice tee the next couple of days.
ÃÂ Golf outing update for last week, I played on the Local's team last Friday at RTJ Oxmoor. Our team consisted of a "B" player, I was slotted as the "C", a "D" and lastly our anchor, who probably would grade out around "H". The kinda guy that plays once a year and learned how to play chopping wood in Bibb County and could give C. Barkley a run for his money for ugliest swing.( I love him,though, he is a great guy).
So we played a Scramble, and we played it straight up, bought no string,mulligans or the like and shot a natural -5,somehow between us we were playing to a 7.2 index for a net 59.8. We were the low or is that high team on the totem pole and lost by 19. It was, however, one of the most enjoyable rounds I have ever played on the Ridge course.We started on the 12th hole (5 par) and birdied. Parred through until the 16th(ÃÂ 170 yd.3 par) where I hit a 5 iron with a 5 yd cut to within 7' and another birdie. We closed on 18 after my drive found the fairway 270 yds. down range and I made a 25' downhill four foot left to right breaker to give us our third bird.We only made one bird on the front side on #8. My best drive of the day came on #6 where I cut the corner off the dogleg across the ravine and hit another 270 yarder that practically plugged when it hit the fairway,just hopping out of it's pitch mark, leaving us about 115 to the flag.Sadly we just parred that one as both the B and I slid both our putts to the high side of the hole.We concluded our round by making birdie on #11, where we had a 6' downhill putt after an approach from 121 yds out. My pw was dead nut but a half club short but B laced his 9 iron just above the hole.It was a most enjoyable round.
ÃÂ Happy golfing everyone!
ÃÂ

ÃÂ Life is indeed good, my

ÃÂ Life is indeed good, my friend!

He was extremely flexible,

He was extremely flexible, perhaps even double jointed, and he grooved that swing over many, many, many years. People have been successful in golf with all sorts of swings. The question here is what swing can we use that won't kill our backs and will improve our accuracy over the army golf most of us have spent our lives playing before we found Don.

Also, I think many would say that Byron Nelson's was more arguably the best swing in golf, as he was the most consistent golfer in history. His swing was turn and lift (though he did turn further than PPGS terms).

Yes. It means "Made cut Did

Yes. It means "Made cut Did not Finish." DJ needed to get under par to play the final day and he just could not get birdie putts to drop when he had them so he was one of the 20 players who made the Friday cut (or rather, Saturday cut, since the second half of the Friday rounds was played on Saturday) but didn't get to play Sunday.

ÃÂ Jon; Here is the video

ÃÂ Jon;
Here is the video Roy mentions below. It may be helpful to you.

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

I'm gunna say no cover. As

I'm gunna say no cover. As far as mine. I know it is designed as it is purposely and in theory it makes sense but when I practiced and played with it I had (have) this urge to bend both the lie and loft a little more neutral. Afraid I may break it. It's just sooo different.
You are reminding me I need to give it another 'opportunity' as my old faithful has let me down lately.

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Finding Your Correct Muscle Tone

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