Though the title suggests it, I'm not referring to the origins of the universe in today's daily video. The Big Bang Theory is actually the term I use when talking about the transition and the bump in the Peak Performance Golf Swing.
A lot of golfers swing to parallel and, many times, beyond. When using the PPGS, your backswing should only go up to 3/4. Alexander van den Bergh is having trouble swinging too far past the 3/4 point and is looking for some tips to eliminate this error from his game.
Can you please advise me what to do? My upswing remains higher than it should [and] my club is almost horizontal at the end of my upswing. What helps (but not enough) is I do my upswing slower and straighten my left arm. Have you any other advice/drills which could help me to shorten my upswing?
Thank you very much in advance,
Alexander
In this case, I believe that horizontal means that his club is parallel to the ground at the top of his backswing. A lot of times, people wonder why this happens. It's usually because their left arm breaks down near the top. So, what causes you to break down?
There's an old saying from years ago that you should keep your right arm tucked. However, if you do that, it makes it hard to keep your left arm straight. You can't play golf like this because you're basically hugging yourself. With a correct PPGS, your back arm has to end up at a right angle. If it collapses past a right angle, you're collapsing inward and losing your extension which pushes you forward.
The whole key to getting a 3/4 backswing is that you shouldn't try and stop at the top of the backswing. Instead, you should be transitioning at the top of the backswing. You ring the bell at the top, then transition with the bump (BANG!) and fire. That's why I call this the Big Bang Theory.
You have to know that when you make your transition, you have to be holding on firm with both hands. You've got to be in control of the club, not the other way around. If that's the case, the club will just keep going up and past parallel. You need to find out where the top of your backswing is. Once you have a better understanding of where it is, you can start working on getting to a good, solid 3/4 position.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
Big Bang Theory
I adopted your Peak Performance swing two years go and have experienced a renaissance in my game. I have struggled
the last two days on the range hitting weak shots right or snaps left. The Peak Performance Swing has many "thoughts and principals" that are ALL related.
I was getting into the Sacred Burial Ground and didn't know it, but I had the mental memory to get back in the groove.
Todays lesson with the towels and 90* right arm (back arm) bend keeps you "up the tree" and out of the "burial ground". Another thought is the elbows are parallel to the ground at both the back and forward swing.
Getting fitted for sticks tomorrow from your certified fitter in Pennsylvania.
I am very confident I will be a single digit handicapper soon. My handicap has dropped from 19 to 12 since I started using your Peak Performance Swing.
Thank you so much,
Frank Veri
age 65 years young
big bang and FUS
Hi Don:
Good video today. Slowly, the bits and pieces I have captured from you and Derek out here are sinking in and my golf has never been better. One thing I still cannot do is maintain the right angle on the right arm on the start of the FUS: I cannot get the back elbow near the right hip when the right arm is about parallel to the ground. (it feels like it is, but the video clearly shows otherwise) Yours. and that of every other pro, has their elbow nicely tucked in front of the right hip at that time - and you then go from there to nearly straight at impact. I'm sure that accounts for speed / and distance differences.
No matter what I have tried over the past decades using your and many other golf swings, my right arm straightens very early, well before impact. WHAT IS THE SECRET? All us hacks want to know!
Louie
elbow woes
louiek the best explanation I have heard was from Steve Smith who stated that he doesn't hit hard until the club drops down to hip high after the bump.
Most players who don't do this try to hit from the top too early which causes all manner of problems with distance and accuracy. No secret really, more a timing issue.
The Key is the Straight Leading Arm
If the leading arm (left arm) is straight in the 3/4 back-swing, your bent lagging elbow will allow the wrists to hinge and form the 90 degree angle. Keeping the leading arm straight is the difficult part when we were all raised to swing a baseball bat before we learned to golf. Guess what, this is not baseball.
You need muscle memory or a brain trainer to remind you to keep the leading arm straight. You need to do this swing over and over to learn it. GOLFSTR.COM is a brain trainer to help you get there. You can wear it for 18 holes as a trainer for your brain. After you see the results your brain will finally groove this motion (not a baseball swing). If it was easy you would have done it long ago.
Drop
Surge says it in this video and many others, and Steve Smith and I probably repeat it at least once a week each: Let your arms drop from the top. Don't swing from the top.
Drop is nearly impossible for those that do not do it
Sounds odd, but.... this falls into the category of "easier said than done". I'm convinced that if you are able to do it, you learned it when you first started or / or you just have that innate ability. All good players and pros have it, the 99% of us can't seem to get it. It is something I have strived for to do for at least 25 years and hundreds of lessons later and hours upon hours of practice, it still is not there. Every time I think I had it mastered, a simple video check shows that I have not changed one bit. It is very discouraging for both me and it does frustrate instructors. And I have never seen a before and after video of someone that learned it. (well one, and he says it took him two years, and daily training.) And is it very easy to do in slow mo - so it's not as though my body won't let me.
Thanks and I will continue to find this magic bullet.
Down or out
This may seem like an odd question, but when you set up and start your BUS, is your back elbow pointed down toward your toe line or out behind you away from the target? I'm thinking the latter is probably true, so your right arm will tend to fold later in the BUS, and release earlier. Have you worked on softening your back upper arm to let the elbow droop?
Power assist to the club drop
I'll borrow from another PGA instructor who is on the Web on this idea of "when" to apply force in your down swing of the club/arms. Think of your swing arc as a kid on a swing.
When is the best time to push him in order to increase how high he swings forward or up? Not when he reaches the peak of his back swing. He'll get turned or twisted on his way down. You wait until he starts to fall some, then give him that nice shove pushing him thru the bottom of his arc - where the ball & ground are. Then watch him/it go up, up, and away!
Applying power
Good description!
Nice progress
Frank,
Solid progress. I have followed a similar path since adapting Surges coaching.
I have gone from about an 18 to an 8/9 as of late. After pretty much becoming comfortable with my swing and how far I hit each club, particularly the scoring/short irons I have turned my attention almost exclusively to the game around and on the green. Working hard on my putting and getting better all the time at getting up and down with the occasional chip in happening more frequently. It's around the greens where my scores are becoming much better. Short game from 100 yards in is where it's at. My goal is to be a consistent 4-6 handicap by mid-summer.
Keep up your progress and good luck to you!
Confused
I've been monitoring this site for years, and have purchased material from the shop. I was always under the impression that the transition phase was called BING-BANG, not BIG-BANG. I would swear that Surge says "bing-bang" in his presentation. I'm not being critical, just wondering if at my advanced age my hearing is starting to go, kind of like my wife says it is. Bing-bang makes more sense than big-bang, somebody set me straight. Mike
Bing Bang
Your hearing is fine. Ha ha!
Whoever wrote the article title might want to have their's checked though.
(Just joking).
Ding-dang
For me it's usually more like "ding-dang!!"
thanks for help - working on it
Thanks to the "haves" who have responded to help this "have-not". (I will incorporate the "swing" thought next.)
I have been working extra diligently taking tips from all of your input. It is a matter of timing and sequencing, holding off the power until in position - and is continues to be easier-said-than-done for those of us who don't have it. Focusing on these feelings:
1. Relaxing my right arm / elbow, kind of letting it "dangle" - through the first part of the FUS. Seems to reduce the "hit" impulse. It may be, that now my reflexes don't have time to turn on the power before it needs to.
2. My bump is good - so I'm focusing on turning my belt buckle - while feeling a stretch in my back - before letting the arms/hand/club follow. With those thoughts, it's extremely more difficult to commit to the FUS than you "haves" will ever know. But, this is the delay period that us "have-nots" lack.
3. Finishing facing target with belt buckle, into T-finish.
4. Doing all of that while not forgetting "catcher's mitt / tree". YIKES!
I'm looking through my decades of index card personal notes because it sure seems I've been down this path - but probably dropped these kind of drills in favor of the next "secret".
I will persist - I am taking it to the course, again with flashes of success, and I'm still shooting in the low 80's so can't say I had to step back. Will hold off taking a progress video until I am consistent through a round.