Whenever I discuss the impact position, I usually include my thought process of swinging up to the T-Finish. However, that doesn't mean I'm hitting up on the ball. It's merely a thought I use to keep me from moving my whole body forward during the transition.
Doug Boone sent in a few questions and one of them was on the subject of hitting down on the ball. He says that I claim that hitting down on the ball is not required. Well, that's not true. In fact, I do hit the ball with a descending blow and I take small divots because of it.
Surge claims that hitting down on the ball is not required. I thought every player's goal was to strike the ball first and then take a nice thin divot, meaning that the player delivered a descending blow to the ball. I don't know of any good player who does not hit the ball as I described. Again, physics at work.
Doug Boone
I've never said that hitting down on the ball is not required. You have to be somewhat hitting down to get on the ball. I believe that we do hit down and there's still plenty of people out there that hit the ball well without taking huge divots. The key question is how descending should the blow be?
The thought process of hitting down on the ball tends to trigger a forward movement of the entire body. That's why I came up with swinging up to the T-Finish. We're not hitting up on the ball; we're swinging up after impact. You must have a descending blow, but the downswing is free so you shouldn't work to hit down on the ball.
Watch the video and you'll see what I mean!
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
Hitting on the Toe of the Driver
I have no problems with any of the clubs except the driver. However when I perform the upswing to the T finish with a driver, I somehow am swinging the driver slightly inside the aiming line and thus catching the ball with the toe of the driver. This usually results in a high fountain ball or a push to the right. The only way I can correct it on a regular basis is to set up with the ball inside the sweet spot on my driver. What am I doing wrong? I do not have this problem with any other club.
Could be?
Could be you are coming over the top?
Could be that you get away with it with the shorter clubs and are still able to get them down the line through impact without hitting them fat because they are shorter?
Could be that the driver is long enough that you would hit the ground behind the ball unless you pulled it out to in through impact?
Could be that you are taking the concept of a "vertical swing" way too far and swinging the club head up and back down in a straight line toward the ball from the top?
Almost certainly is that you are not letting the club fall toward the toe line (butt end first) long enough (if at all) to start the forward swing.
If you let it fall far enough from the top before swinging AT the ball you will have no other choice but for the path of the club head to be in to out coming into the impact zone where it will square up through impact. Of course there is a point where if you let it fall too far you won't be able to square it up at impact and you will hit a straight ball to the right.
Letting the butt end of the club fall toward the toe line (even a few inches) before making any attempt to hit at the ball can fix almost any out to in problem.
And then there's this...Where the left arm never does swing out away from the toe line all the way to impact. (And we would all like to be able to do).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE4Nad6wzUI
Thanks Steve
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comment about the importance of letting the butt end of the club fall toward the toe line to start the forward swing. I know that you have made this same comment many times and I hope that the Surgites in the choir have been listening. This thought has helped to transform my swing. Thanks again for your help.
I do have my own way of trying to do this move and maybe it could help some people, if I describe it.
I focus on swinging the butt of the club not the club head during the later part of the backward upswing and the transition to the forward upswing.
My whole effort while doing the backward upswing is directed to getting the butt of the grip pointing at the the rear ankle bone with palms perpendicular. This gives me a consistently upright club with very little thought required.
From that top of swing position, I think that the crucial move that you describe to the toe line, is more or less automatic, because I'm thinking of where the butt of the club is pointed, before the lower body bump triggers the falling of the arms.
It may sound like there is too much thinking and visualization going on here, but it is an easy move to groove with a little practice.
Dave Everitt
Butt end first
I do say that a lot. I hate to but that's where most people go wrong (no matter what kind of swing they are trying to use).
Even with a rotational swing those mechanics are the same.
Left arm down the toe line=club head aproaching from the inside
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcuLMYk6H8c
Hitting on the Toe of the Driver
Just back from a second swing session on the golf range mat on the front deck. As it is still wet from the constant rain showers, it is easy to see exactly where the clubs 'bottom out' etc.
The second session was on the mat only after having watched the video, and reading the comments.
Surprise, surprise, the 'skid marks' through the target ball area [had there been a ball there], were to start with off the toe of the club!!! Not normal for some time for me to do that.It took no time at all to figure out the cause of the problem [for me] was the position at address of the right elbow.In my case, my rear elbow. It was not turned at the elbow itself with the crease facing straight upwards, and if viewed from behind would if a line were drawn through it, bisect the forearm of the leading arm. As soon as this was rectified, it was back to straight through the target area on the sweetspot centre face of the driver. My driver was shortened a short time ago and now performs much more consistently. When I am set up correctly of course ; - )
The position of the elbow to me is excellent in aiding the lift in the BUS and vital in 'skipping the rock' through and up to the T finish and recoil.
I too don't have any trouble with other clubs. Hope that you find the solution. One of the Surgites will come up with the answer. DH
Heels
A second question taking a different tack than Steve. I'm not going to talk about the club at all. When you swing the driver, where do you feel your weight? Where does your weight start and where does it end up? When I hit toe shots, it's almost always because I got my weight too far back on my heels and trying to swing the club through, my body counterbalances further onto my heels to keep me from falling over with the momentum of the club. This is especially easy to do if your driver is too long, as you have to swing it much more around yourself rather than letting it drop and swinging out through the ball (okay, yes, I did mention Steve's part as well).
Grass on the face when hitting wedges?
No matter how hard I try I seem to always apparently hit my wedges a touch fat showing grass on the face. I am an eight handicap and been playing for 60 years since I was 10. I have been using the surge swing for about 2 years.
Grass
I don't think getting grass on the face of your wedges is a sign that you're hitting them particularly fat. You will almost always get grass in there. That's why the club has grooves on the face, to give the grass somewhere to go. Unless you're hitting off of hard pan or pulling up and thinning the wedges, you should see some grass.
Pump.
I too hit fat often with wedges, nearly all of them at times. Steve's previous comment mentioned feeling bringing down the butt of the club. which is sound advice. I just have to remember it.lol
I have also heard of a 'pump' drill which teaches to bring the arms straight down, also keeps lag. I think it has multiple purposes and can help with fat shots . Seems similar to ringing the bell.
Hitting Down
Thanks for your comment on hitting down. I have been formulating a question for a week bout the same issue couched in different terms.
Playing recently after essentially a two year layoff I was "shocked" to hit as many good long shots as I did with acceptable distance for a 67 year old after a layoff. Often a player with years loses distance with the 3 iron 4 iron long before he does with a wedge. But I fell FAR short on about 4 115 yard gap wedge shots, and realized I was losing lag in a big way. On the practice tee I had to emphasize my weight move forward to both delay my release AND to move the swing center forward to assure a descending blow to the ball. Suddenly I was 30 yards longer with my 52 degree wedge.
Surely the swing center is intimately related to the bump, to lag,and to the descending blow.
Many thanks for the service you are doing senior golfers. I am 67 and still enjoy the game. Charles from North Carolina
Big gap
Pardon me, Charles, but maybe the issue is erroneous expectations. You got longer hitting the wedge the way you describe because you were making it a 9 iron, not a gap wedge.
Thanks, Robert
I read you loud and clear on your comment. I have played for years with people who are thrilled to hit 150 yard wedges . . .
But my issue was a 4 iron about 12 - 14 yards shorter than a 3, right on down to a 3 iron about 15 yards shorter than a 5 wood and up to a 175 6 / a 165 7 / a 155 8 all followed by a 130 yard 9 iron and a 110 yard "10 iron" (4 degrees weaker than my 9 iron) and a pitiful little 90 yard 52 degree gapper.
BTW, my club heads are about 25 years old and are not "juiced for distance". I have a 40 degree 8 iron.
The issue was clearly a loss of lag. I still took a very shallow divot with the wedge and gap wedge when I hit it correctly.
BTW, I love the shallow divot. Sergio is a heck of a player, but a non superman need not try to hit it that way. I could not help bu notice Tiger on the practice tee at Augusta hitting half wedges with nary a blade of grass coming up. Pretty darned sure he hit the ball below bottom dead center, though.
It requires such a tiny difference to maintain lag, as you clearly understand from your comment.
In my case, all it took was getting up just a bit more on my front foot at impact. No harder swing whatsoever . . . Thanks for your observation.
Charles