Hello Surge Nation! Have the golf courses been kind to you so far this summer? I'd be willing to bet that some of you just hesitated when thinking about the answer, which means you're probably not entirely enamored with the current state of your golf game. It probably doesn't help seeing Rory McIlroy cruising to the career grand slam either. But, there is good news. It's still July, which means you've got plenty of time to improve!
Because I want to see you shoot your lowest scores of the year, I'm going to talk about the definition of a true vertical swing. There may be other golf instructors out there who claim to teach a vertical swing. But, I would challenge each and every one of them to look at my swing to see what really classifies as vertical.
I've enlisted my old friend (the dictionary) to help me explain exactly what "vertical" means, purely from a vocabulary standpoint. As you'll see in the video, the definition takes me on a meandering path of similar terms. These are the definintions in which I call upon when I teach the Peak Performance Golf Swing.
Along with today's lesson, I want to remind you that The Champions Tour is a great resource to watch some truly great vertical swingers. Tom Watson is one of the best examples I can think of. If you have any questions about the longevity of a vertical golf swing, just take a look at Mr. Watson's finish at last week's British Open. Pretty good for a 64 year old!
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
Verticle Swing
Surge .. I have been following your instruction for several years now. Do I have it down pat .. probably not. I was recently given a 3BAYS GSA pro swing analyzer. It is a little device you insert into the end of the club and you can view your swing path on your smart phone. I have not used it yet. Do you have any experience with this device? If you do, can you show what your swing looks like with it.
Best regards
Wayne Derbyshire
Pain Free
Surge:
Great video - hope you are healing well. I have now used your swing for about 5-6 years. I hit it more consistently than I used to, but the bonus is the lack of pain. I used to use a strong grip with two knuckles showing. For several years my left wrist used to hurt - my pre round routine was 2 advils and bengay for the wrist. 3 weeks after changing to your neutral grip with thumbs at 1 and 11 the pain was GONE. Last year after having an issue with hip pain I got an MRI and found out I have a herniated disc. So far it has not caused me any major problems. But I guarantee that I would not be playing if I was using my old swing. Last weekend I had two rounds planned - but my friend dropped the second round after having serious pain issues with his back. It was painful to watch him play Saturday. I keep selling him on what and why I am doing with your swing. I cannot say it enough - your swing method has been a blessing to me. You talked about shooting your lowest score - last wednesday I tied my best 18 (+9 79), and saturday shot +3 38 just missing my 9 hole record.
Fellow Surgites - play well everyone and stay healthy.
Jerry - Warren, MI
Good play
Congrats on the good play Jerry. Way to go!
Golf on:)
Thanks
Thanks Robert hope you and Mrs Meade are playing well too. Just need to eliminate the occasional braincramp and the +9 will be toast. Suppose to play 6am at Plumbrook tomorrow but the weather looks dicey. Got a great practice session Wed at Maple - in 2 1/2 hrs I played only 9 holes but got a ton of short game work in plus still hit 2-3 balls every hole. It is nice to have a course like this close by - 54 holes, $10 twilight all you can play. It is not a country club but it is always in decent condition. Hopefully my friend Ted will be OK to play tomorrow - as said earlier back was bad last weekend, he went to his doctor, hopefully his treatment helped.
Hit em straight - both of you :)
Jerry
DJ - Good round :)
DJ:
Nice comeback after the two bogeys. A great start, go get em in round 2!!!
Jerry - Warren, MI
Vertical??
I'm an avid PPGS'er- so I'm not trashing anything, just trying to further the science & our understandings. Take a look at your swing at 5:53 in the video. Definitely not vertical as you're discussing. Proposition: "perfectly vertical" is not essential, maybe not even desired. Comment?
Almost Vertical
I think that we can look at perfectly vertical as a worthy ,if not essential goal. For a former, very flat plane swinger, like myself, having a mental picture of my swing being vertical is important, even if it is in reality " almost vertical". In a dynamic motion like the golf swing it is easier for me to visualize 90 degrees than say...89,88, or 87 degrees. In this video he was talking and demonstrating at the same time and was less than vertical. When it comes to taking a real swing with shorter clubs, Surge gets very close to and sometimes slightly beyond the perfectly upright 12 o'clock line.
At 5:53 you are look at a
At 5:53 you are look at a loose example. Don isn't performing a swing to hit a ball. Listen to what Don is saying in this type of example. He isn't performing a perfect swing in this case. Perfect swings at many different camera angles are in our product videos, which you have access to as a paid member!
Dropping in
Always a good reminder, Surge. And vertical is as seen down the line. Don't think that means that the club stops going up when the shaft is vertical from a face-on view. We've beaten that misconception to death for all the years I've been following Surge's teachings (and that's a good few years now).
I know I don't drop in very often anymore. I am getting myself back out to the range and occasionally the course these days. I uploaded a new video of what my swing looks like now (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmMYcfHhIBM&list=UU9bSgAO5ZgfXBJU4RDtps4w ), and comparing it to ones from a couple years ago, there are some major improvements in posture, but mostly you'd note a major improvement in my health. ;-)
Hope you're back up and swinging soon, Surge. DJ had a rough end to his round today, but I'm looking forward to him having a great round tomorrow and Sunday.
Great to see you sir.
Robert:
Hope all is well - great to see you post, look forward to seeing you here more.
Jerry - Warren, MI
Dropping in
Robert,
Watched your swing. You really are looking great! Dallas seems to be treating you well. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will more often. Using the same iron set from your Vegas days?
Irons
Yep, still all the same clubs as I've had since Vegas, though I'm feeling more and more the need to see Doc for ones that actually fit me. So far I just have the driver he made me. :) Finished my long game practice yesterday with a DSP drive--dead solid perfect. Straight as an arrow all the way to the end of the driving range at the course I practice at, right where I aimed it. I put the driver back in the bag and went to work on my short game after that. ;-)
Fabulous seeing DJ's round today, too. Love all the birdies. He's in great position for a high finish, though the leader himself seems to be trying to run laps around the field.
dj
hoooray !! finally birdies BUT no bogies 63. well done DJ.
DJ
Nice comeback today -8 63. Got my fingers crossed for another good round on Sunday.
DJ
Quite a round and only one off the lead:)
63
yessssssssssss! birdies BUT no bogies 63!. it had to happen eventually. well done DJ!
Back Pain
Surge,
I just saw Joey Sindelar on the Champions Tour Learning Center talking about how his back pain led to him giving up the game for a while, lose 50 lbs and came back to the game after seeking out the stack and tilt guys Mike and Andy. He said he "looked all over" seeking a solution. You are a Master PGA Instructor if he looked all over how could he not find the PPGS? Is there a some black balling going on here...are we here in the PPGS Nation getting snubbed?
I attended your Teachers Certification and once I decided to get out and play more in local USGA and District events with substantive performances, others began to take the PPGS seriously. Thank You for your dedication to the cause.