Today's video is courtesy of a recent lesson I had with a student. This particular student was turning way too much into the sacred burial ground, which as you can imagine, was causing all sorts of issues.
The problem of turning too much and getting the forward arm into the Sacred Burial Ground is that swinging straight down from being that deep means you're swinging inside and out, which will hit the ball dead to the right.
We know that to hit the ball solid and straight, the club has to approach the ball on the aiming line, hit the ball on the line square to it, and leave on the line accelerating, known as on-on-and-on. So since we're all trying to hit the ball relatively straight, we know that we have to get back to the aiming line. From inside, the only way back to the aiming line is we have to start turning our shoulders, which pulls our arms back out. Unfortunately, once we start doing that, the arms and club tend to keep going and they'll get outside the line. Now we have an outside to in swing, which causes you to hit pulls. If you try not to do that and you hold on, you can begin opening the club face up and start slicing, hitting blocks, and everything else!
So the key becomes that to have a consistent, on line impact, with the club approaching on the line, be on the line and square to the line when you hit it, and make the impact get a square shot and through, you need to have your arms no farther than over the toe line in the swing.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
shoulder turn
Good lesson, was turning to much also.
Great reminder today. I catch
Great reminder today. I catch myself going into the sacred burial ground late in the round. Won't' to get a little more distance.
8:44 of pure gold
Surge
Great reminder of the basics of our swing. I think folks can too quickly dismiss or just not think of how important the basics are. That is why the dailies are so great. They point us back to the basics of the set up, and each part of the swing.
For those who think the dailies get too long, I would ask this. What part of today's video could be removed and still accomplish what Surge was trying to get across to us? NONE OF IT. That is why we love Surge's style of teaching. He takes his time and drives his point home. Yes, parts of it are repeated. That is just as it should be. No matter if I was teaching Marines, police officers, fire fighters, or my students in college, they were all told this little secret. If you hear me say something more than once, you should probably make a note of it, as it is important, and you will probably see it again on a test or practical. When Surge repeats something, we need to make note of it. We will certainly see or hear it again in a lesson, or at the very least, while we are playing a round.
While todays video was not long enough to warrant pop corn and a root beer float, it was great to see it before I head out to get in a couple of hours of practice. Every part of the set up and swing are important.
Learn them, live them, and swing them,
Dick
Will keep this one ringing in
Will keep this one ringing in my ears that are found on each side of my thick skull today as I play.
3/4's and limited while not in the SBG it is for me too!!
Working on fixes
It's cold here today but I decided to work on a few of the many things I do wrong with my golf swing.
Number one was always the huge difference between Surge and I in relation to the ball at set up and impact from a face on view. (Another one of those things that I do completely wrong but am good at doing it the wrong way for some reason).
After getting a new face on video and cutting out a picture at both set up and impact, and doing the same from a face on of Surge, I put a box around our heads and extended a line from the left ear side of the box to the ground on all pictures.
As I expected my head moves forward about 5 inches from the start of my down swing to impact. As expected Surge's head is stable enough to hold a glass of water on his head.
Not as expected is where our heads are at set up. The line down from my left ear hits several inches behind the ball with a 7 iron. The same line for Surge hits just in front of the ball.
Also not as expected that line Surge has at impact just in front of the ball and mine at impact are virtually identical.
Also not as expected MUCH more of Surge's lower body is well ahead of that line at impact than mine is, even though our heads are the same. His hands are also ahead of that line at impact more than mine.
An interesting study because there is so much involved (this will take a while).
Thats a lot of lines
Steve
I have not touched a club in almost 3 months I probably have forgotten how to swing by now. Its been to cold to practice for one. Hopefully I can get out in the next week or two. I wanted to take a break but not this long. The ranges is setup with heated tees with the back of them to the west keeps the wind off but the front to east is open. I cant force myself to go over when its 30 or below I guess old age is catching up.
Really interesting
Cool stuff Steve. I'll bet that all of that fraction past the left ear line to ball observations adds up to crisp ball first contact. Like Furyk, keeping the clubface square with the on,on,on club head through that all important contact area to and a several inches past the ball usually means a well struck ball every time. be interesting to see what else you learn. you always add some informative observations about Don and DJ's swings.
?????
I have no idea how it's going to work out but I intend to see how it feels to move my head forward a few inches at set up and see if I can keep it there without it feeling too bad.
Edit: I might be able to fix the head if I work at it but letting the lower body get that much in front of my head isn't looking very promising and will probably never happen.
parameters
Thanks for posting the pics. Have fun with working on things to improve on. Each of us have different bodies and adapting the PPGS framework to them can be a challenge like working out a puzzle.
Positions
Pretty sure my head is going to be in the same place at impact no matter what I do. That just seems to be the natural position for it to be.
Edit: As I thought not having my left ear, belt buckle, and the golf ball in line at impact is going to very hard to fix (don't know if it's worth the trouble for me).
Interesting Stuff
Steve, you got me started thinking and we all know how dangerous that is...lol. Back in my rotational life when I first started playing I was having problems with accuracy and distance with my irons.
I spent about 2 hours one day tinkering with my stance, hitting a 9 iron determined to find something I could reliably hit with consistent contact and distance with accuracy. What I stumbled on was a narrow stance, a very upright BUS and FUS to what I now know is a T finish. It was very easy and repeatable with predictable results. Why I ever got away from it beats the donkey doo outta me.
I guess like a lot of guys I was looking for that extra few yards and got into a lot of bad habits. Your post reminded me that it was some of the best ball striking I've ever done. It had a lot of what Surge teaches and, true to form, yours truly was guilty of overthinking..AGAIN. You just triggered an aha moment. If my weather ever improves I'll let you know the results. Thanks, I owe ya one.
Mechanics
The hardest thing to do in sports is to try to "fix" things when you are doing fairly well as it is.
Bump
Hi Surge, I have been following your dailies for a couple of years now and today I hit my lowest score ever of 78 on our par 70 course. I have been playing in the mid 80's more or less consistently for a year or so. I am 68 and a 16 handicap and only really started playing seriously about 5 years ago when I moved into semi-retirement which allowed me to play 3 times per week instead of just once.
Anyway, the reason for this comment is that the clincher today was that I hit everything straight, especially the approach irons, whereas I have always had a marked tendency to pull left. I finally worked out that in bumping I was opening my left hip too early, resulting in a swing parallel to the hips instead of down the line.
Thanks for all your advice
Dave
Hampshire UK
Congrats Dave
Great news Dave. Sounds like you discovered something that is a game changer for you. So often turns out to be one part of our set up or swing that makes a huge difference.
Way to go and thanks for sharing your success with us.
One Way to Limit the Turn
If my goal while making the BUS is to get an upright club with the butt of the grip pointing at the middle of the rear foot, a good limited turn is easy to achieve. Because reaching this top of backswing position with vertical palms involves the hands there is a lot more feel involved and it is easy to repeat. Limiting the backswing turn this way, also makes getting to a nice upright Surge T-finish almost automatic.
My driving and general shotmaking has improved dramatically since using this simple swing thought to help limit the turn.
One Way To Limit The Turn
Thanks for you tip on limiting the turn in the BUS. No doubt I am guilty of such a crime of late. Will give it a go and see what happens. DH in hot, sunny and breezy NZ
Good day
66* and sunny in Las Vegas today. Had a good day golfing. Late tee time- 1:30pm at the very challenging Silverstone golf course. A tough track I rarely play but at a price of $25.00 on Golf Now I had to "GO PLAY"!! Cindy had to work so I was paired up with a young guy and and a senior. They both were decent players. I one putted my first three holes. First hole, a par 5, left my approach short left and after a 20 yard chip drained a 15 footer for par. Second hole, a par three, I caught my pitching wedge a groove high and it landed just short and then made a slow painful roll down a hill into a lake. Chipped my drop to less than 3 feet and tapped in for a 4. Third hole was fun. Hit a good drive and only had 112yards left. Hit my 9 iron 113 yards and had a 2 foot tap in for birdie. Forth hole on in reg, a two putt par. Five was a 520 yard par 5. Drive was down the middle but only like 220 yards. Tried to set up a good third with a 6 iron lay up but sprayed it right and short. Still had 195 over a trap by the green which was on top of a hill. Chose to hit my 5 wood and purposely aimed to the left side of the green away from the flag and bunker. Hit it square and solid. Ended up about 210 yards which left it on the back left of the green. Safely on but had about 75 feet down a slope to the hole. Left my first putt 10 feet short. Ugh, three putted for a bogie 6. Was only one over after 5 holes. Wheels came off for a moment at sixth where I had a double bogie 6! Seventh hit nice 9 iron to pin high 20 feet on this par 3. Easy par right? Wrong. A three jack after my first putt up the hill was 9 feet short. Bogie 4. Looked like a bad putting day developing but wait ...............
Next hole, #8, par 4. Good long drive. second shot a nine iron at the pin and just rolled by. Made the 25 footer for my second birdie, Yeppy!! Bogied #9 and finished with a respectable 40. Played the back 7 with par,par,bogie,bogie bogie,par,par. Just barely played those seven because of darkness. So was looking like another 40 and possible sub 80.
A lot of things are going well with my game right now. Putting is still my biggest challenge. If, or shall I say when my putter gets figured out sub 80 rounds should be the norm even on tougher courses. It is good to know where the ball is going most of the time.
Sacred burial ground
Hi Surge
I have been concerned about going into the sacred burial ground so I stood about 6 inches from a wall behind me and when taking my swing I grazed the wall several times. Am I going into the sacred burial ground or am I standing too close to the wall. Thanks for all your great advice and support. Regards Jim Robinson
Butt on a wall
You should be able to stand with your butt touching a wall and make a back swing without hitting the wall.
You could probably even make the full swing without hitting the wall with the shorter clubs but with a driver it would be hard to do because the club lays off a little on the way down and would also be likely to hit the wall in the follow through.
I would consider it a back swing drill.
https://swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/butt-wall-drill
SGB
Steve, my way of not getting into the SGB is to stand in front of a reflective glass door, side on and see where the club should be at the top of the BUS, from there I just lift directly to this point from the tee position. I always had trouble trying to visualise the two separate movements of "into the mit" then "up the tree". To me this awalys felt like a two part process, whereas from the tee to the top was one piece and it limits the turn automatically.
Is this something worth pursuing with.
One Piece to the Top
Neil,
Once I got the hang of the pieces of the puzzle, I went to visualizing three points in space; the same two you are talking about plus a third - the T-finish. I concentrate on getting the Master Setup, then getting to the top of the BUS, and then to the finish. So, if it works for you, it is definitely worth pursuing.
Kevin McG
Those three
Kevin,
Those three are good ones to key on for sure. You could call it under, up and up. Under -a simple reminder of the Master Setup and getting the back forearm soft and under. Under is a reminder that the back arm needs to be below the front arm and shoulder to. Up in the BUS and Up in the finish.
Three good thoughts.
BUS
We all have to find our own way in the BUS. I've gone back and forth between several visualization techniques myself.
I know exactly what you mean about it being easier to just think of going from the ball to the top (I've done it myself many times). It even works fairly well, but not as well as the arc past the toe line and up to vertical or across the line like Surge does.
Going straight to the top will almost guarantee that the club will be laid off a little and almost guarantee that we will want to make the same path back down to the ball that we went up on, which creates a very steep approach.
To arc it to the top almost guarantees a vertical club and a drop into the slot and a shallow approach through impact.
Surge makes it look very easy but it's the hardest part of the swing for the rest of us. For me the two worst things I can do are go straight to the top or play connect the dots with the catcher's mitt and the tree. If an arc comes naturally for you on the way up what you are doing may work but the club head always went in too straight a line to work for me.
BUS
I don't go "straight to the top." I have practiced the intermediate points - in-the-mitt and up the tree, with forearm rotation - sufficiently that I no longer have to think of them. I take my hands from the MSP to the top of the BUS in a fluid motion without thinking about how to get there. Then it is just a matter of getting to the T-finish. If the three positions are correct, everything in between should be correct. Fewer angles, fewer thoughts!
Reply
My reply wasn't to you Kevin. The way the blog is set up sometimes it's hard to tell because it puts two replies to the same comment under each other.
To all of the above.
I just can't get the motion of the BUS as part horizontal and part vertical, to me personally it feels like a re-verse arc to the top of the BUS. I don't have
problems with keeping the club near vertical at the top and it's easier to feel
or check what the forearms are doing in the BUS also. I'm still work in progress on "Butt to the Ball", which has increased my distance, so I'm working on accuracy now, can't do to many things at once, have to take them one at a time.
vertical swing
Steve,
I also do the butt on the wall drill for a vertical lift, but by accident I discovered another way to check the vertical lift. I practice a lot with a weighted steel donut on a 6 or 7 iron to try to increase my swing speed. I was outside swinging the donut and after a few minutes I stopped to catch a breath. While doing this I swung the club(with the donut still on it) and paused the swing at the top of the backswing and looked up to see if I was vertical, I was, then the donut started to slide down the club shaft, Ah ha. So swung again but this time I purposely laid the club off a few inches and guess what the donut did not slide down the shaft. Tried again vertical and the donut slid down the shaft. So now when I want to check out my vertical swing I just put on the donut and swing away.
Hal,
PS: showed this to Don and he liked the idea.
Doughnut
That does sound like a good idea Hal. Maybe even the start of a great idea if the doughnut's ability to slide fit the correct swing, and only the correct swing.
Depending on how easily the doughnut slides down, when it slides down, if it slides down if the club head goes across the line at the top like Surge and DJ, if it slides down when at the 1 to 2 o'clock position face on at the top, and if it does would it also slide down with the club laid off to 11 o'clock at the top from down the line view?
Of course the answer to most of those questions would depend on how tight the doughnut is. It's one reason I could never use one of those doughnuts as a weighted club training aid but my son could use it just fine. It always slid down at the top with my swing and stayed down until the release point where it would slide very hard back down to the club head.
Worth exploring but complicated. Maybe even a two part sliding training aid could be made with the ability to slide when past vertical toward the toe (which would take care of the correct 1 to 2 o'clock from face one) but not slide when past vertical 90 degrees from the club face (which would take care of the incorrect 10 to 11 o'clock laid off club).
Donut
Steve, my donut only slides down the shaft when I swing the club to a vertical position and pause for a moment. If the shaft is laid off any at all the donut will not slide down the shaft. and you are right it will depend on which donut you have.
Hal
Raspberry please
Dick didn't seem to be around so I thought I'd share which donut I'd like please:)
Sounds like Harold and Steve have a million dollar idea. Count me in if you need an investor. Where do we send our $50.00 to, Ha ha ha! No really I do think that is an interesting concept and wouldn't be surprised if Surge now does a daily on it as a training tool idea. Maybe we could design it so if it slides down to our hands after the pause at the top we get to eat it.
Back Foot in the finish position
Hi,
I can't remember any "daily" focusing the back foot in the finish position.
I observed that my back foot is not vertical in the finish position, the heel is turned way outward rather. This may be a sign for to much turn in the follow-through.
I tried to focus on putting the back foot on the tip of the shoe having it vertical. This was my swing thought from the beginning of the FUS.
And it turned out to be very helpful. It facilitates a proper weightshift and balance throughout the swing. And it leads to the desired high T-Finish.
This might be a tip for those who have problems with their balance too.
Thomas
Great lesson
Surge I took a one day school on Jan 14,2013 in Bonita Springs with Dave Seeman what a great time he is great teacher and a one day school was a great way for everyone to make sure they have the proper alignment and get the proper swing plane for a 3/4 turn PPS.Everyone should do a one day school to get started in the right direction.Next time I might be ready for a three day school but right now I am properly aligned and have the knowlege of where my swing needs some help and what to practice for improvement
Phil
Phil needs to go buy a lottery ticket this week.
He is definitely the luckiest person on the planet right now (and that last putt proved it).
Slow Mo
Here's a slow look at the arc to the top for anyone that doesn't have a slow motion player on their computer.
The key is the arc, both on the way up and the way down. Trace the path of the club head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfvm1pgeqTA
And this one is just for fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvxSnz6yy3s&feature=share