Barry Sinclair, of Western Australia, sent me this question asking for an explanation of why many golfers have difficulty hitting their longer clubs well.
"Seem to hit my irons well ( just a beginner) but when it comes to the woods, it all goes haywire. I wish you would come to Western Australia so you could give a coaching session here. What would you suggestion be on my woods to get a straighter shot?"
Well, Barry, before I get into explaining how you can control your driver and other long shafted club, let me say that we are in the plannig stages of sending our very first PPGS Certified Instructor and PPGS Certified Club Fitter to Australia this coming November in the form of Lynn "Doc" Griffin. As you may know, he is our Director of Club Fitting Operatons and is a Top 100 International Master Club Fitter. What you may not know, is that he is a very good player and an exceptional teacher. We believe he wil be in-country for about two weeks but just where he will be is still under discussion. So I would ask that all Aussies update their account profiles to list their City, State and Postcode. That way we can perform a census and send Doc where we have good concentrations of Surgites. It's my hope that Doc wil be able to meet with Australian golf professionals while he is there to explain how they could become certified to teach the Peak Performance Golf Swing.
Now to answer your question. The anwser lies in your knees, most likely since they act as our levelers and swing stabilizers. As you probably have learned, this one of this swing's major principles is this: "Golf is a game of angles. The fewer the better." That's why we want to put firm outside pressure on our knees to quite the lower body all through our backswing. Most amateurs get juiced up when the longer clubs come out and feel they have to put some extra muscle behind their swing. What happens is they bend their forward knee collapses inward, creating a cascading set of swing errors that cause you to turn too much, swing past the toe line and bringing the club to parallel or beyond. When then happens the most frequently traveled road out of the Sacred Burial Ground is the Over The Top route. The likely result? A big fat slice and because we are using longer clubs to make the ball fly farther, the ill effects of the outside-in swing path are magnified.
Watch the video for a good visual of what I am talking about. If you learn to drive your swing by controlling your knees, then you wil soon progress to become a fine golfer.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
Comments
Quiet Knees
How timely is this daily video. Today I was updating my swing notes and one of the main ideas was to remind myself to keep the lower body quiet by keeping the proper outward pressure on the knees.
Missing videos
Good blog again surge. Looking forward to rooting on DJ in the Fall series:).
The new site looks great I like the comments section. I still do not have access to the videos I purchased from before the upgrade, customer support answered my email but no luck yet.
Take care all - hit em well.
Jerry - Warren, MI
Your Videos Are there!
Jerry,
What videos are you missing? I just looked at your account and you have 8 products loaded.
The videos have moved. They are no long under "My Account". Click "Videos" in the menu to get access to the videos. If you own the video you will see the video. If you don't own the video it shows you a teaser video and a method to purchase it.
Teaser Video's
I like them, good idea. I may be one of a select few who actually have hard copies of the original Foundation Manual and 4-disc set, purchased years ago from ebay. Don't even remember what I paid for them. I have a majority of the others in my digital account but am now tempted to get the originals in digital copy too. It is nice to have some downloaded to portable memory devices.
Missing videos
Brady:
Thanks for your help - I got them. One question - on the old site looking at the swing instruction video we had access to the revised videos and several bonus videos. Are these going to be added?
Thanks again,
Jerry - Warren, MI
Missing Videos
Hi There, Great site by the way!
I have been a member for about 3/4 years now, and have experienced missing videos during all of the moves including the latest move.
No access to my previous purchases whatsoever, please can you help as I use them as reference points when things go array.
My previous purchases were the PPGS including the foundation manual, bonus videos...chipping, pitching and putting, and I also purchased the DJ Driver Video.
I have contacted support but no news as of yet.
Keep up the good work
Regards
Dai
Your account that you are using
Your account that you are using here has Situational Shots and the PPGS Foundation Swing Series. So you should have access to those right now.
We can find the rest of those purchases and make sure you account is up to date. Just please be patient as we get to everyone in the customer service queue.
Limited Turn
Hi Surge
I've been an avid convert student for some 4 years & my game has vastly improved and much more enjoyable now, thanks to you.
One issue I did have was sometimes during a game I would find myself putting the club into the "catchers mitt" by using my hands only! therefore no shoulder turn. I have remedied this by making my first movement in the backswing by turning my shoulders until my right shoulder is level with my right heel. (I'm right handed) This has taken out the temptation to use my hands & wrists.
Not sure if you would agree with this or if it might help others!
Keeping it vertical!!!
Mike
First Move
Hi Mike,
We've discussed this sort of thing a few times, and I'd say you're pretty much in line with what Surge has said. He thinks about starting the swing with his right hip and shoulder moving straight back, slightly, from the toe line. That starts a one piece takeaway (as defined by Surge, though others understand the term differently), where the triangle of the arms and shoulders move the club away from the ball, and the arms rotate in the shoulder (and only in the shoulder), to lift the club to the catcher's mitt. From there, it's lift up to the top, bump, and go. ;-)
A young Robert Fleck
Cool new pic Robert. You look about 22:) Can't upload a pic at the moment. Long story short, my laptop bounced off the floor and I temporarily lost hundreds of pictures and tons of info. Yes the hard drive is history. This is in part why I have commented less lately. Was using my smartphone and am borrowing Cindy's ancient computer right now. Fun. How's your game lately? Looking forward to the Fed Cup tomorrow and the Ryder next week.
It's the sepia filter. Hides
It's the sepia filter. Hides the gray hair. ;-) When I can get out, the swing is overall going well. Just waiting for the overseeding period to pass at National so I can get back on the course. As I mentioned elsewhere, I did go play the Cloud Nine course at Angel Park. Mad at myself for missing two birdie putts inside five feet.
Over seeding every where!!
Cindy wanted to play today (with me as coach and caddy only as I'm still out with shoulders) but it seems most courses, at least on our side of town were over seeding. Didn't know that cloud nine was available.
BTW, have you seen a way for us to be notified of responses without searching a particular days blog??
That does appear to be a draw back to the new system. Maybe I am missing something.
Not so far. I'm using the RSS
Not so far. I'm using the RSS to get a quick read on comments and have them appear in my Mail program, but it doesn't show any order or structure so it's not like reading conversations.
Yeah, there is a lot of overseeding going on. Even Muni is closed until October at this point. I've just been doing range time at Desert Pines right now. Cloud Nine was a couple weeks ago, and may well be closed for overseeding now, though the grass looked pretty full and healthy, except where all the idiots forget to fix their pitch marks on the greens. I think my round was half-an-hour longer than necessary because I kept fixing other people's pitch marks. :)
Ball position
I notice with the driver your ball position is almost central, with the 7 iron behind center. This could be camera angle of course, but is certainly not as the camera is not forward of your position on the mat. Its perhaps even back from center which would imply the ball position is even further back than it appears.
Of course the ball does not have to be played off the left heel, ( with the driver ) but perhaps you could explain why you prefer this.
Ball Position With Driver
Surge has never played the ball towards the middle of his stance with a driver. It's the angle of the shot. He plays the ball off his left heel. I've seen him hit enough balls to be sure of that.
I knew looking at that video
I knew looking at that video we'd get at least one comment like this. ;-)
Control your driver with your knees!
Serge, Thanks for your timely reminder. I really like everything that you have done with your website. Regards, Roy
Hitting Irons in the Rough
I know we are to always hit up on the ball and not down. I do a good job if on the fairway but seem not to make good contact if in the rough. In the past I would hit down to get the ball out. When hitting up in the rough I seem to make weak contact. Should I be making an alignment adjustment?
By the way, you have really helped my golf game overall.
USERNAME CORRECTION, THANK YOU
I have noticed that someone has corrected my username from email address to my old/original username. To whom ever it was, BIG THANK YOU. I also Now have the ability to further edit/change it and have, to my full name. Thank you again. I now await the coming RSS Feeds with the ability to track the latest and most recent comments and replies separate from the dailies pages. Apologies for my earlier frustrations, I know you are all working very hard, and believe me, it is appreciated by ALL.
Now, finally on video topic, Thanks for this video Surge. Being a long time slicer, with the still occasional banana ball, I will be giving my knees special attention in future rounds.
RSS?
You mean this??
https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/comments/feed.xml
:)
Goggle RSS Feed has arrived.
Yes, I mean exactly that. Thank you for the reply post. I was unaware. I once was blind, but now I see!!!!!!!!! It is like old times again!!!!!!!!!
You know you can now track what blogs you comment on now?
Did you know you can also track all the blogs you comment on now?
If you go to "My Account" you will see a tab called "Track".
Check it out. It looks like this.
Tracking my comments
Excellent.
Amazing Grace by Il Divo complete with bagpipes
Loved this video on the knees. It was like a clip around the ear for me after yesterday's practice ; - ) That is more than likely why all the clubs in the bag behaved well except the 3W and the driver. Early on, the driver behaved, then on trudging up hill in the soggy conditions pushing the trolley, not so good at all. The 24deg Rescue gave me a clue [I thought] when I hit on shot which soared and struck a branch 60yds on the flight path. What a 'WHACK' sound it made,ie, POWER! Trying out the new grip procedure, figured I had been 'Popping up' too early to see the results of the new tip! Silly boy. The next shot with the same club in hand I nailed to pin!Normally would have used a longer club.
Terry one of our favourite songs by the tenors and pipers.Not the wailing wannabe famous singers who marmalize it hahaha.
Keep on trucking DH
This might surprise you....
Very good stuff, Don. We knee-ded that one.
I had a great opportunity to play 9 holes with an LPGA Senior gal, who is also an instructor. Off the tee, I was fine. But inside of 100-125 yards: she pretty much owned it.
At setup, she would FLARE her knees, then return them to a more neutral position, but clearly not the "conventional" lower body/leg set-up.
Surprise surprise. I didn't see that one coming. +++++
I asked if she might have few thoughts about my swing.
She was good with the 3/4 turn, but picked up that I sometimes did not always complete the turn. Her input was simply this: "You have a pretty good swing. Two things: Remember to complete the turn. And continue to work on your tempo."
Tempo must be that important. She could have mentioned ANY number
of my swing faults, but she was talking...tempo.
So a question for you, Don.... (And my PPGS friends) :
Can you talk about how to develop and improve tempo?
How do you measure tempo improvement and success?
Who are some good examples to look at?
(Don being an obvious choice)
Tempo [Control your Driver With Your Knees
Simply Golf, Everyone has their own recipe as it were, for this. I have used all sorts to slow my naturally aggressive nature in most sporting things. Some use the "Blue Danube Waltz" as a guide. Me? I used the old Scottish song, "The Skye Boat Song", which seemed to slow me down in no time. My present ploy, is to say, "UP AAND DOWN".That is Up in the Bus, the AAND slows me down and then I can whip the club UP through impact to the high finish and recoil. Finding what suits you when playing around with Messrs Tem-po and Ti-Ming is, in the end best worked out by you, with what you are comfortable with. Hope others weigh in to help
Good Luck with your mission.
Tempo tunes from around the globe
Thx DH.
Messrs Tem-po and Ti-ming have been invited
to my backyard tee for some iced tea and a
little bit of small talk. Good suggestion.
I'm sure from their wisdom, something can be worked out.
Tempo
Tempo is like a fingerprint. Everyone has their own tempo that is correct for them. I think it is important to work on the rhythm. Tempo is time function. Rhythm is a way to perform. Find what is your comfortable tempo then execute it rhythmically.
There really are no examples to say that watch this person or that person as far as tempo. Again, tempo is like your finger print. Take a look at Ernie Els and then look at someone like Nick Price. Two entirely different typos. Where the golfer gets into trouble is when he gets out of his natural tempo and rhythm. He either speeds up, which is the most common, or gets really slow. The result is going to usually be a bad shot as it throws timing completely out the window.
There have been studies that show that there is a common tempo among tour players. I really found that interesting. Tempo again is elapsed time from take away to ball contact. I see so many different swings on tour it's hard to fathom that there is a common thread that one can say that the desired tempo is this.
The key is find what works for you and that you are comfortable with. I have noticed that tempo almost is an indicator of personality and demeanor. For example, my driver tempo is 1.28 seconds. That's pretty long. My demeanor is quite laid back and "southern" if you will. While a much more "high strung" individual will usually show a much quicker tempo say in the .9 range. Not quite scientific, but I've done enough fittings that I have noticed that tendency.
I think with tour pros, what
I think with tour pros, what they talk about being the same is the ratio between the time it takes them to get the club from the ball to the top of the backswing, and the time from the top of the backswing back to impact.
Tempo Thoughts II
Doc & RF- As I was reading your thoughts here, it occurred to me that my tempo is influenced (too much) by the setting, course and people around me. And it usually goes in the direction of becoming too hurried, which of course leads to any number of problems. At the moment, a hurried FUS happens to be my single biggest problem, and can't seem to make much headway. +++++
Steve Smith's thoughts on simply letting the club "fall" from the top have also been helpful. My baseball past (even though it was decades ago) works against me in some ways. A ball, quietly sitting on a tee, is quite different than a pitched fastball, and I hope my mind can somehow make the distinction.
It's interesting that with PPGS, arms generate a good deal of the speed.
But in my case, it seems the arms actually need to become more passive,
at least during the initial drop. (When my arms a bit passive, it seems to help with release as well.)
Thx again, Doc and RF, for your input.
Thanks again, Doc
The "finger print" analogy is very helpful.
Hands, Knees and Bump[sy daisy ; - ]
Control Your Driver With Your Knees! Just had a swing session on the mat. It was well worth getting a little damp doing it. A couple of weeks ago, thought it strange that my left knee was giving me a modicum of grief after playing, razzle-frazzle. I thought too much activity with the front knee during the BUS may well have been the problem. So just had a swing and noted a much more stable base for the Backswing only. Another thing I checked on, because my ball flight with the driver has been lower than expected! Think my conclusion on that was correct. Setting up the club from behind the 'ball position' facing the target I made sure that the club was sitting in it's natural lie. When I kept it there and moved around to the address position, noted the butt end was pointing towards my left hip!!!!! Eureka! Took the grip with my left hand and completed the swing. The green 'burn marks' off the mat, were on the middle tail end of the sole. Now in my simple mind, that may mean that the club would be approaching the teed up ball on a rising track? Tomorrow may answer that question.
Love the new site even though still exploring it!
Doc doing double duty.
Congratulations to Lynn on becoming a certified instructor. In Vegas he watched 2 of my swings, gave me a simple tip thought and I hit my next driver 20 yards further and straighter. Now if I can only remember to do what he said everytime. lol
Dan
Instructor
I guess it must not be common knowledge that I'm a certified PPGS instructor and have my master teaching professional credentials as well. I was one of the first 3 original PPGS instructors aside from Don, going on 3 years now. (Greg McDonnell, Derek Hardy, and myself).
Thanks for the "pat" and write it down!
Thanks, missed not posting,
Thanks, missed not posting, could not log on!! Darn,,,but hope this will work?
I have been golfing pretty good, just have to remember all the things I have learned!! :o)) Did go over the top today a couple of times, when I should have went under the ball??? I just hate when I do that and I do that when I hurry....golf is NOT a hurry game....
Thanks Surge,
Marilyn
Thank you
I appreciate the time and effort in responding to my email and i hope other will benefit as i have
Again thank you
Barry
The Surge Swing
Came across this 2 days ago. After years of trying to come up with a consistent swing, the simplicity caught my attention. Have always had problems with my wrists. Went to the range and tried it. The irons were amazing. The driver not so much. Played in my seniors group yesterday. Had a great day, got an honor score, and made some money. Today I cut an 2 1/8 inch off my Burner. Now the driver works! I am sold. My wife and I will be going south next spring for one of the schools Thanks!
Welcome!
Welcome to the site! We are glad you found us! We have some daily videos plus a product video, PPGS Driver Swing, that talk about how to swing the driver under the PPGS system. Use the search tool to find the daily videos, here is a link to a search on driver swing.
golf tees
Hi Don just a quick question regarding Golf Tee's, on the course I play here in Albany, Western Australia, Australia, the front nine are all par 3's. They range in size from 115 metres up to 160 metres and depending on the prevailing wind you can go from a Pitching Wedge to a 7 Iron or even a Fairway Wood on the longest hole to reach the green. My question is I always use a 1/4 inch tee to hit my Tee shot for all these holes, that is my preference, but should I be just hitting off the ground instead. I look forward to your thoughts. Regards Michael Ackrell
If you have the opportunity
If you have the opportunity to use a tee, use the tee. You guarantee yourself a clean lie.
I agree with Robert.
I agree with Robert.
Arnold Palmer or Jack N. I cant remember which one said that anytime you can Tee your ball Tee it you get cleaner contact. Watch teeing the ball to high with irons it will cost you distance and add loft. Irons just above the grass.
I know Ben Hogan said it.
I know Ben Hogan said it.