I'm somewhat of a sucker for alignment questions because that's the biggest area golfers struggle with. Today, I'm going to talk about getting aligned parallel left of your aiming line. But, I'm not just talking about getting your toes parallel left.
Tom Carbone sent in a question regarding his shoulder position in the setup. He wondered if the toe line and the shoulder line were similar and how to fix where his shoulders are aimed because he's continually seeing his shots go to the right. The one thing that you have to realize is that whenever I talk about the toe line, I'm also talking about the knees, hips, shoulders, and eyes.
CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW MY BRAND NEW ULTIMATE ALIGNMENT VIDEO
Enjoyed the daily today as usual, but wanted to ask a related question. Don, you always compare aim line with toe line. What about the shoulder aim line? I think my toe line is closely parallel to the aim line, but I continually drift into a situation where my shoulders are aimed right (closed) of both my toe line and target line. How often do you see this? Any quick fixes you can suggest?
By the way, what is really weird is in putting, I have the opposite problem - toe line parallel to target, but shoulders open and aimed left, causing misses left.
Tom Carbone
Normally, whatever problems someone has with long game will show up in their short game and putting. It's interesting that Tom is having the opposite problems. Nevertheless, I love alignment questions because the number one Surgism for it is "alignment, alignment, alignment...don't play golf without it!"
The other Surgism I always say regarding alignment is that "90-95% of all swing problems arise out of alignment." So, if 95% of all problems occur because of poor alignment, it's logical to say that alignment is pretty darn important!
Let's try to clear one thing up that I think a lot of you may not understand. Any time I mention any line (toe line, knee line, hip line, shoulders or eyes) that means I'm talking about all of them. If I refer to the toe line, it means I'm talking about the toes, knees, hips, shoulders, and eyes as a group. Tom says he gets his feet lined up properly but his shoulders are a bit shut. So, if the shoulders are shut, that means the hips are shut. Both DJ and I struggle with this as well. I think it's direcly related to the master setup position in which the right arm (back arm) is lower than the left arm (forward arm). This helps us lift the club up better, but if we tend to pull the elbow in too much, it's very easy to let the right shoulder go back which pushes the left shoulder out. This will effectively have you pointed out to the right.
Your shoulders have to be relaxed and down so that you can lift your arms up, but if you get the back arm too far under it can close the shoulders. This is something you always have to be careful with.
Remember, toe line means the toes, knees, hips, shoulders, and eyes are all parallel left of your aiming line. Whenever I reference toe line or whenever you think toe line, you want all your lines of all your critical parts to be parallel left. If any one of those parts is not where it should be, your alignment is not correct.
If you really want to have great alignment, you should check out my newly produced alignment video. Never before have I gone into greater detail about alignment. This video is a must have!
CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW MY BRAND NEW ULTIMATE ALIGNMENT VIDEO
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
Thanks Surge so much! Got
Thanks Surge so much! Got out today, walked nine holes, 40 degrees, so had to go, we do have a little snow out there also.
I also find if im to far away from my ball, my ball will always go right, seems like it is so much better when im closer, is this possible, to be to far away?
I hit some really good shots today!
Thanks,
Distance from the ball
Marylin: Yup it's possible to stand too far from the ball. I recall that Surge said we need to have our weight centered over our ankles/arches at address. If the ball is too far away, our weight will be out near our toes because we are "reaching". If our weight is near our heels, there's a good chance we are standing too close to the ball. In either case, bad things happen. Just one more thing to work on as we try to gain some swing consistency. Anyway, glad you could play today. Enjoy the balmy weather (we made it up to 18* today). Hit 'em straight! R2
Thank you, going to try
Thank you, going to try keeping my weight centered, hope that will help me. yesterday when I was playing, it was cool and I played with winter gloves on, :o(..don't like that much either. I only had three clubs with me, five, pitch and putter. Today, they say snow! Maybe try and get out this morning before snow.
Thanks again and Happy New Year to All!
shoulder alignment
Just discovered that a weak grip, holdover from rotational swing, was causing
open shoulders as well as a harder time getting to upright club position. A
slightly stonger grip gave me better set up and easier path to the 12 o`clock
position. Wonder if this makes sense to Surge and others.
Paul h
What is weak?
Hey Paul,
OK. This is opinion and not according to anything. LOL
I think a lot of people have problems from each person having a different feeling of what is weak, neutral and strong. The weaker my grip is the more important it becomes to try to forceably time the rotation of my hands back to square at impact. The stronger my grip is the less I even have to worry about it, and can pretty much just hit the ball and it's going to go where I want it to go.
Taking it further I think the position of the left arm is a problem for most and was for me until I changed it. The swing is much easier if the left elbow is pointed more or less down the extended toe line so that the inside of the elbow is not really visible from a front view (like looking in a mirror). From that arm position what would normally have the appearance of a strong grip is actually a neutral grip in relation to the arm.
With the arm in that position it seems like the easiest thing in the world to just go to the toe line and lift and let it fall back down toward the toe line like a left handed karate chop.
Click this link and click the magnifying glass in the upper left corner and then click the + sign in the upper left corner a couple of times. Study the grip and the left arm position closely. That is identical to what I try to do with one exception. I also move my right thumb to 12 o'clock. Don't ask me why but it just works better for me.
P.S. I also have very easy power with the left arm in that position. Especially with irons. They go distances I would have never thought possible from a 57 year old.
What is weak
Picture looks like what I have tried to do. Noticed the grip from on of Surge`s daily videos. Understood the shoulder but was suprised how easy it was to get in backswing position with stronger grip.
Have known good players who had right thumb in both on and to the side of shaft. I think you are correct with personal preference or maybe old habit.
Paul H
I can identify
Paul, Steve shared some great thoughts for you and I do understand exactly what your saying and it makes perfect sense to me. In fact I think that many golfers are more likely suffering from your challenge of having their shoulders open at address and therefor they are predisposed to come over the top and across. The grip as Steve alludes to is just part of the problem. It would be helpful for you to study two things in particular.
One is the "master set up" position best highlighted in the revised video series. Also when you set up get into the habit of not turning your body to take that last look at your target. What happens is we then open the shoulders and they are still open when we come back to the ball to hit our shot. So even if our feet are aligned correctly out shoulders are open. If you have trusted friend have them watch you from behind and down the line to varify it. Learn to keep the back shoulder back, down and soft. Sounds like the opposite of the lesson of todays video. In away it is. But it for the opposite problem. The first time I met Don Trahan in South Carolina this is exactly the cure to my open shoulders problem Surge gave me. He pointed out that my shoulders were open at address. Gave me a similar prescription I gave you just now and it changed my game. The slice has rarely ever appeared again.
It is a tendency of mine that I still constantly monitor.
Oh, one more thing, buy the alignment video. I actually have all of his collection and recommend it all if you want to make the best progress.
I can identify
Thanks for the comment ,I bought the alignment video yesterday. Have been able to get into the correct setup but it easier and more natural with the grip and arm position in Steve`s picture. The arms and club seem to go into correct backswing without the effort it used to take. I have enjoyed the PPGS for a little over a year and being 75, with 64 years of a rotational swing it has let me play five days a week without hurting something all the time.
Sounds good Paul. Yes those
Sounds good Paul. Yes those pictures are amazing and you should be sure and look through all of them. The pictures seen in the manual for the PPGS swing were selected from among those taken that day along with the one Steve passed along for you. I hope you look through all the photos given on that link. If you haven't yet, notice the arrow on the far right of the picture and just start clicking. It is likely the most complete detailed group of photos we will ever see of Surge and every angle of his swing with wedges, mid irons, fairway wood and the driver.
Surge says the same thing every time
Anyone who has ever heard Surge talk about alignment has to have heard him say the toes, knees, hips, shoulders, and eyes are all on the same line. That is alignment. Anyone who is having an issue understanding that idea needs to go get the Ultimate Alignment Video. There is no way you can misunderstand that video. It is the best $20 you will ever spend to help you understand alignment, ball position, and set up of the PPGS.
I have my copy ordered and it
I have my copy ordered and it should be here (on a dvd) this week.
I find myself always aimed out a bit to the right, instead of dead straight.
You are going to love it
Bruce
I hope you get as much out of the UAV as I have. I have probably watched it 6 or 7 times already. Every time watch it, I get something I missed the other times. Surge has said it a million times, most of us aim right. I can't wait to get to try this new info on the range and during a round.
Love your picture. The F-14 Tom Cat has always been one of my favorite war planes.
Happy New Year,
Dick
agree cowboy
And for that matter, Surge stays on course on about anything. No pun intended. He explains everything, not just the PPGS swing, in a way most golfers should understand. I've watched and listened to so many of his videos these last 3 years. If your a avid golfer, you can't help but hear and read other teacher's thoughts and ideas about playing this great game. So many of them had me, before Surge, twisted in a knot trying to understand what the heck they're talking about. Don has got me to a point where I actually understand what they're saying. I agree with them sometimes, sometimes not. Surge has given me the gift of understanding the game. How valuable is that?
Surge is worth his weight in gold
Robb
You make an excellent observation. Surge has a way of breaking down any portion of the sit up or the swing in a way most people can understand. In my years of teaching and instructing, I have found several people who knew a lot about what they were teaching. The sad part is that a lot of them just could not teach others what they knew. Surge has a natural talent for teaching. He breaks the lesson for the day down into sections we can digest. He also does a great job of showing you what he is talking about. A lot of people, especially men, are visual learners. You can read me something all day, and it probably won't soak in. Let me see you do it a few times from different angles and I can probably come pretty close to doing it. The other thing Surge does well is that every time he covers something on a daily video he finds a little different way to talk about it. The great thing about doing that is each of those different ways will work for different people. How many times have we read peoples comments who have been on the site for a year and suddenly something Surge did or said in a daily video struck a cord with them.
Surge does it all, and he does it all well. I consider myself blessed to have found him, and all the members of the Surge Nation.
Happy New Year,
Dick
yes and yes
About men. My teaching pro buddy was playing a round with me on a golf trip and I told him I was riding the heck out of a tip he told me last year. It was something about the right hand motion like hitting a nail on the side of the ball with a hammer. He said 'you know that works for men, but women don't get a thing from it. I tell the women it's like you're swatting your 2 year old on the bottom.' That fascinated me.
Happy New Year
Swatting
The dilemma is that you swat a kid on the butt with your palm facing the butt. You hit a nail to the side with a hammer with the palm facing up.
It's why I am much better at driving a nail than playing golf.
I KNEW I should have swatted the kids more often. Hahahaha!
Good point, Steve :). I try
Good point, Steve :). I try to be careful about mentioning tips on here because it's confusing enough. A bunch of Surge's advice for me is locked in now, like posture and staying out of the SBG. I'll ride a swing thought or two for quite a while because it seem's to lock things in. and then not.
I seem to remember Don saying something about skipping stones on a pond. A bunch of ways to say close to the same thing.
Congratulations Surge
Surge,
As you know I have avidly followed and practiced the Peak Performance Golf Swing for 4 years now and I have never regretted purchasing any of your quality teaching video lessons. However, the new Ultimate Alignment Video may equal or top any you have made! I have had it for a few days but I was just now able to watch every segment from beginning to end. Loved it. Really enjoyed your fresh ways of emphasizing the importance of and how to better be parallel left of the aiming line with our feet.
There was so much I appreciated about the whole presentation. I would even say it may be your over all best video lesson of all time. Everyone should buy it and study it carefully. $20.00 for this invaluable addition is a steal!
Thanks again Don. This is really excellent. I think you are getting better with age!!
Robert Meade
PS. If every one would buy, study and practice the directions given therein for alignment I think you'd have lots of golfers finally getting it right at your lessons and schools!
One thing for sure
I have the videos downloaded to my computer and I'll be putting them on my iPad for viewing. One thing I have discovered for sure, the ball always goes where I'm aimed. Unfortunately, I'm not always aimed where I think I'm aimed. I had a few great examples of that when I managed to get in a round in California with my father and two of my brothers. Almost every shot, I stood in my nice T-Finish watching the ball fly straight away from me, but a few too many of those shots, where I finished and where the ball was flying to was a good bit right of what I intended my target to be. Every time it happened, it was because I'd shortcut the alignment procedure. I had not picked my spots and visualized my H. Trying to align yourself from beside the ball will almost inevitably result in being lined up right of the target (or left of the target for left handed players).
Must be nice ;-)
Wish I could say that. Maybe some day when I actually become a golfer. LOL
I'm sort of like Happy Gilmore when he said "I'm a hockey player but I'm playing golf today" except it's baseball, football, or basketball for me.
I can hit the ball anywhere from right to left to down the middle no matter how I line up. I can do it on purpose or accidentally. The accidental ones are the problem. ;-)
I can unintentionally hit a
I can unintentionally hit a pull every now and then, but almost every time I miss to the right, I find that it's exactly where I was aiming, and where I'm facing when I finish. I can throw in an occasional fade, as well, but that's when I decide I'm going to crush the ball and my wrists get flexy on me. 9 out of 10 times, when I just lift the club up and let my arms fall from the top, that ball is going nice and straight. 4 or 5 out of 10 times, it's actually at my intended target. ;-)
Target Golf
The last time we played Ron said he was going to hit the cart path with his driver off of the tee 4 times. He hit it 3 of 4 and was mad that he missed by a yard or two the other time.
So even though I can't do it at least I get to watch somebody that can. LOL
What is weak
A Spanish pro told me a long time ago that it is difficult to hit a hook when your right-hand thumb points at 12 o' clock, even more so when your stretch the thumb.
Thumb
That's funny! I thought I invented it (not really). There is probably nothing that hasn't been tried at one time or another.
I can actually hit a hook by closing the face more or hit a fade by opening the face more (as usual) but I have more control over what the ball does either way, and most importantly (for me) it turns something hard into something fairly easy. Seems I know where the side of my thumb is at all times even at high speeds.
I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else because there are way too many players doing just fine without it, and it does decrease lag. So happens I'm not concerned with lag (or the power it supposedly provides) anyway.
When something is easy I get sloppy (always have). That's probably why I am never at my best unless I am in trouble and have a tough shot and really have to focus and not let all of the mechanics fall apart.
Driver Lenght 43 1/2
Don,
Need a point of clarification from you or Doc Griffin. Both you and Doc. Griffin speak to that the lenght of your driver should be some where between 43 to just under 44 inch. My question is how do you determine the true lenght of your driver, is it from the butt end of your staft to the point of your shaft or is it from the butt end of your staff straight down to the heal of "bottom" of your driver head. The ladder make more sense to me, since I'm an not expert in this area I would your view on this.
Thanks
Peter Crocitto
from San Antonio, Texas
Club length
Hey Peter,
You measure the length with the club soled flat on the floor and measure from the floor up the bottom side of the shaft, and if there isn't a grip on the shaft you cut 1/8 inch shorter so when the grip is installed the grip provides the other 1/8 inch.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/236441-how-to-measure-golf-shaft-length/
The 43" to 44" that has been mentioned is just a rough estimate. What you actually need depends on your swing and your wrist to floor measurement.
This chart narrows it down a bit more.
WTF.......Driver length
29-32.......42.5
32-34.......43
34-36.......43.5
36-37.......44
37-38.......44.25
38-39.......44.5
39-40.......44.75
This is a good video Doc did. One thing that was misunderstood at the time was when Doc said you measure the wrist to floor "at address position, or Atten Hut". Of course he meant standing up straight and "address position" in the military sense and not the golf address position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-Sv7k2V8xpw
Thumb
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the you tube link. It clearly shows where the right thumb is
I do that only when I start hitting hooks.
Happy new year to all surgites.
Some days it is good to be me
Surge Nation
Today is one of those days. When our schedule gets changed by someone else, we can be ticked off all day, or we can adapt and over come. I had a home inspection scheduled today. So, I could not go with Donna to help move our daughter, who is a high school teacher, into her new classroom. I was not really looking forward to doing the inspection today. It is cold and rainy here in the heartland today. But, it is always good to have work. The realtor called at the last minute and asked to delay the inspection until later in the week.
I was sitting here trying to find something to do. I figured it out pretty quick. I would just watch the new alignment video again. That was going great, and then the door bell rang. Could it be a late Christmas package. The mail carrier handed me the box and could not help but laugh as I was just about doing cartwheels across the snow in the front yard. Yep, my full set of carrots had arrived. My new Enlow grips are now out here in the man cave with me.
My old dog, who was snoring while sleeping on his heated pad next to my chair in the man cave, keeps waking up and looking at me while I am playing with the grips and taking practice swings. I don't think he understands how great today is turning out to be. But he is a dog and does not play golf, so he wouldn't know.
Happy New Year,
Dick
Every Day is good to be me ; - )
Happy New Year Dick,
Great that you have your new 'toys' and the video to keep you in good spirits. Happy New Year from a dour, grey and very windy Wellington New Zealand. Golf is no fun when the wind is so strong, that even with my low profile [hahaha]you have to fight to stay upright hahaha.
A very quiet and peaceful New Year apart from that. If I can't play, I will swing on the back deck mat, or indoors, or watch PPGS videos, or read......etc. All in preparation for the next visit to the hallowed turf. Picked up a HUGE pearl of wisdom from one just the other day. To be tried on the course, but I have no doubt that it is the answer to my prayers. Just an 'off the cuff' remark Surge made, which sparked across the synapses in my febrile brain and Yeeeeeeha! Eureka! Driver to be reconfigured back to what it was and we shall see what we shall see.
I had my life 'caddy' check something for me, to confirm a possible flaw in my new 'swing' and was over the moon with her confirmation.
Every Day is good to be me, to be blessed with such a diligent caddy, Surge and the members of the Surge Nation.
Happy Hogmanay Dick to You and Yours. DH
Enlow Carrots
Dick: Glad you got your carrots today! I put them on the rest of my sticks last Friday and today, I put one on my new 34" putter. They work great, and look pretty darn cool, too! Be patient with your old dog - maybe he'll learn to play golf if you can find him some bone-shaped grips. Take care, and hope you have a good New Year. R2
Nice carrots
Dick, have you put your new carrots on your sticks yet?
Was trying mine out today at the range and so far I like 'em. Just getting use to my lower hand feel. Especially the thumb and index finger. Feels at bit like a baseball bat. Fun stuff and think they'll be fine.
Glad you got your xmas gift:) My wife says every day is Xmas for me:)
Happy New Year Surge Nation
I am going to be taking care of head of house duties this evening. If I don't get a chance to get back on the site tonight, I just want to take this chance to wish every member of the Surge Nation a Happy New Year. I thank you all for your friendship and support during 2012.
I look forward to many happy evenings sitting around the man cave and sharing stories with each other during the new year.
Keeping it vertical, and glad to be a part of the Surge Nation, in Oklahoma
Dick
Happy, healthy New Year All
Happy New Years Surge Nation
Here's hoping all are safe time tonight and having a good New Years Eve.
Here's wishing birdies, pars, fun days golfing and hopefully and above all good health in the coming days of 2013 to all!
Peace,
Robert and Cindy Meade
Easy Power vs Hard Power
Near impact: Front arm triceps vs. deltoid. Triceps is going to win that fight every time. The more the arm moves out from vertical near impact and the more that arm rotates counter-clockwise at impact, the more the work load is transferred to the deltoid.
What the triceps can do with very little effort (and seemingly no effort at all) the deltiod has to work for.
It's why you would never ring a church bell by pulling it away from your body and the farther out you went the harder it would be.