T-Finish: Hold or Recoil and Relax?

Wed, 04/17/2013 - 12:00 -- Don Trahan

One of the key elements of the Peak Performance Golf Swing is how we finish the swing. After swinging up to a solid T-finish position, the next step in the swing is to recoil and relax. This enables you to maintain balance and always finish with your body pointed at the target.

Fred, a Surgite from Pennsylvania, wondered why a lot of tour professionals hold their finish position and whether or not recoiling and relaxing was essential to making a good swing.

Surge, I know you advocate swinging up the tree to the finish, recoil and relax. I notice that many of the younger touring pros – Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Rickie Fowler and others hold their finish. What enables them to hold their finish rather than recoil and does this matter?

Fred, Lancaster, PA

The reason they hold their finish is simple. It's because they want to or because that's what they've been taught. But, DJ and I believe in recoiling and relaxing. In order to hold your finish, you've got to use your muscles to stay posed at the top, which can cause you to lose your balance. This can eventually lead to hitting big pulls since you're leaning in that direction to hold your finish.

The reason I recoil is because it helps keep me in perfect dynamic balance. It also pulls me back to face the target, which is a good way of always knowing where it is. It also takes the pressure off of your back, which is important for any players who struggle with back pain when they play golf. 

The best way to stay focused and on target is to swing up, recoil and relax, and the club should be pointing right at your target. You'll see better results and get much better feedback as to where you're aimed if you utilize these methods.

Keep it vertical!

The Surge

If you can't view the YouTube video above try CLICKING HERE. You must allow popups from this site for the link to work.

Comments

Robert Fleck's picture

Submitted by Robert Fleck on

Hi Surge,

I love the recoil and relax, but in addition to showing us when we finish aimed at the target, it can show us just how off the target we were in the first place. I know when I've screwed up my alignment sometimes when I finish my swing and I'm looking perfectly down the line of my ball flight, 30 yards right of my target.

For others who set their bodies even more severely right, I'm sure the fact that they can't reach a good t-finish and recoil could be another sign that they've had to wrap their bodies around their misalignment to try to get the ball to the target.

cinderpile@comcast.net's picture

Submitted by cinderpile@comc... on

Watched your explanation about Holding your follow through . But I kept thinking about how Gary Player finished his swing by taking a step toward the target. I find that to be very helpful and relaxing. Bill

Robert Fleck's picture

Submitted by Robert Fleck on

The famous Gary Player "walk-down-the-fairway" finish is sometimes good in practicing to ensure that you're actually releasing your weight and power from the right side in your swing. In actual play, it may be a bit more problematic. You note that Player himself didn't really use that finish except when he was really ripping into a drive. His iron shots were very controlled. The important thing is to get through the ball and remain in balance.

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade on

Mr. Fleck:)
Hey pal, hope Texas is treating you well. If your able to play some golf it must be alright. I think you make an excellent point about the T finish. In my case I go a lot by where my belt and chest is facing at recoil. It shows whether I over turned as I fight not spinning out left on ocassion. While it is an indication of over all alignment it is more telling of if my shoulders stayed aligned and square through impact. For my feet I'm better dropping my golf club by the feet after words to see if that part was right.

On another note, you mentioned the greens are fast on your new course. Faster than old muni in Las Vegas, eh? Smoother too?

Robert Fleck's picture

Submitted by Robert Fleck on

I've seen cow pastures smoother than some of those greens at Muni. ;-) The course here, Riverchase, has greens almost like putting on a pool table. Down hill, you keep thinking the ball looks like it's going to stop, and it just keeps rolling.

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade on

Robert, one of the things you may want to try one of these days is a "heavy" putter. The heavier putters tend to slow our stroke down and help control distance better. Maybe you can find a deal for one on e-bay or on sale maybe used some where. When I tested all of my 6 putters in head to head competition it was interesting to find out that it was my heaviest putter that I controlled the best.
Just a thought. Of course knowing you, either way you'll practice and play enough to get better with your present short stick one way or another.

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

Still looking for the magic bullet for the shaft to cover my right forearm but not much luck. Seems some of the things I try either make it worse or let everything else fall apart. Funny thing is that while I am actually hitting balls it feels fine but any look at the video shows it's actually pathetic.

For some reason I can hit the ball just fine with the most awful swings imaginable.

Closest I come to getting it right is in actual play on the course when I'm not thinking of anything but hitting a shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MExIyCZ-yY

ronniethebogieman's picture

Submitted by ronniethebogieman on

Would the angle of the shaft in relation to the right arm depend on your release point ? Some people release early, mid, and late depends on the individual.

Ron

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

Yep. Some people get the shaft to that position very early and hold it until very late, and others get to that point very late and release it early, but almost all (or all) good players get there sooner or later and are able to hinge the club off of the back forearm through the ball.

My problem is that on many of my swings it never gets there at all, and actually hinges off of the left forearm with the right forearm fairly irrelevant to the mechanics.

ronniethebogieman's picture

Submitted by ronniethebogieman on

If it is not broke why fix it. You seem to be a good player. I am just a weekend hacker that shoots in the mid 70's.

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

Mostly because every single good player in the world can't be wrong, and that's the ONE thing that they ALL have in common...And I don't have that in common with any of them.

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade on

All I can say is to me any way your swing is looking good Steve. It is a bit subtle but one thing I notice in this swing (you just posted) your finish just looks more in control and smooth. In some of your past vids from say two years ago you kind of popped up at the finish just a tad. Not sure if I explained that right and it was just a thought to say whatever feeling or action you're getting now sure looks even better. Looks like you have the weather now to get out and play there. Does that golf course green up as the warmer days come? Looks rougher than the beat up muni I play here every week.

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

Yeah I'm working on that, in fact it goes hand in hand with the other problem I'm trying to solve. Once I solve it the other will take care of itself.

The Bermuda will probably be green next week, it has greened up a lot this week. That course (not my usual course) is actually in very good condition and is a very nice course to play, except that getting through holes 3 through 5 will test your religion. That tee box in the video may be a little misleading.
http://aircastlegolf.com/photos.htm

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade on

That course is like Augusta compared to the muni here. Beautiful course.
Are those mainly redwoods that seem covering the hills there? I can see in part why they called it sweet home Alabama.

Here's some pics of the Las Vegas Golf Club. The oldest course and the muni I play most frequently. It is one of the only left where it is still allowed to walk if you choose to. We normally walk with our carts. These pics will give you an idea why I have a challenge putting. The pic of the par 3 #12 looks like the green has a bad case of acne or is a test site for bombing. I often spend 2-5 minutes just repairing ball marks and gashes on my line before putting. Still a fun golf course and the price is right. Normally $11.00 in the afternoon. Come July it is easy to get on as it soars past 105 degrees:)

http://www.lasvegasgolf.com/departments/photo-galleries/las-vegas-golf-club-13231.htm

That is our normally diet but fortunately we spring for a nicer course every few weeks. There are plenty around here. It is such a joy when i get to play plush, fast receptive greens like we did at Falcon Ridge a couple weeks backs when I shot even par.

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

No Redwoods here. A mix of pine, cedar, and hardwoods.

It's a shame the greens aren't better on that Muni where you play. I don't mind too much about course conditions but I admit I do like good greens. On bad greens it comes down to luck as much as skill. Keeping the greens really nice is one thing all of the courses around here do really well.
Hmmm...Maybe that's why I am a good putter. Ha ha!

We are playing Saturday at Canyon Ridge. I haven't played there in a while but it is the most beautiful piece of property on the mountain, and right along the brow.
http://www.canyonridgegolf.com/

shortgamewizard's picture

Submitted by shortgamewizard on

I was looking at you You Tube post of Apr 3, 2013. something that I noticed that may be something to explore is compared to the other positions showed your spine angle is higher.

Explore the angle of the shaft covering the right fore arm with the angle of the spine.

The hips and legs can get in the way if one stands too tall. Dave Seeman showed me how my swing wasn't working because of standing too tall and when getting into a deeper tilt it gave room for the arms to swing.

The conundrum is the BUS being vertical and the bump dropping the arms to a flatter plane from which a vertical FUS. I had a teacher in the early 70"s who taught this move and one of the keys was to not have too much arm rotation in the BUS.

Good luck and interested in if either point helps.

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

I can already answer that. That swing was from 2 1/2 years ago and I have looked at thousands of swings since then with every spine angle in the book (and then some) and none of them cover the right forearm, except for an accidental fleeting glimpse every now and then, and none anywhere close to enough to stay down and release the club like the pros do.

The swings on my U-Tube page are just a few snapshots out of thousands and thousands of swings and not too much can be read into any of them, and especially when I am working on something. I'm liable to try anything when I'm trying to do something including intentionally overdoing something to get the feel of it. What you see on the course is what happened to be working the best at the time. What you don't see are the hundreds of balls I hit before I got there with every spine angle in the book and weren't working as well.

People message me all kinds of things about those swings, "too much turn", "not enough turn", "too straight up", "too bent over", "too much wrist cock", "no wrist cock", "too deep", "not deep enough", "too vertical", "not vertical enough" ect. ect. ect. ect. It's actually funny sometimes. Do they think those are the only swings I've ever looked at or that I am too blind to see what's on the video? LOL
Worst of all is that half of those people admittedly can't break 80 but are "swing experts".

The only swings that are "real swings" are the ones from on the course and except for the iron shots none of them have too much in common...Except of course what I'm working on now. On that point they are all pathetic.

I have something else to try tomorrow that I just discovered that I think may be the answer but will have to hit some balls and see. I found a guy on U-Tube that is working on the same thing and his drill just might work, but will probably take a whole lot of swings for it to feel right and trust it...If it works at all. He's a full turn rotational guy but it looks like what he's doing would work with less turn just fine, and might even make the club more vertical at the top.

Will find out tomorrow.

SteveO's picture

Submitted by SteveO on

When I go to the dome my target (spot) is first a dot about 10 inches in front of the ball with the ultimate target (where I want the ball to hit the ground) at about 90 yards out within a 6 foot span (or 3 feet on either side of the center line).

Regards...
Steve"O"