Don's Drill To Master the Bump

Tue, 08/23/2016 - 14:00 -- Don Trahan

Master one of the most critical movements in the Peak Performance Golf Swing - The Bump. The bump is a small lateral shift in the hips that is a part of the chain reaction of events that leads to square and solid ball striking. But this small movement is often a difficulty for students. Some students don't perform the bump at all, while others bump too much.

After a few schools this year, I recorded this video to provide a drill to help you Master the Bump!

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Comments

Kevin McGarrahan's picture

Submitted by Kevin McGarrahan on

The drill is very simple. Stand in a doorway with the outside of your lead foot (left for righties; right for lefties) against the door jam. It works best with your heel against the jam. Get into the proper PPGS Master Setup position. Make your backswing (BUS). When your forward upper arm touches your chin, bump your forward hip against the door jam. Do NOT slam your hip against it, just bump it.

jaodell's picture

Submitted by jaodell on

Exactly. This is not a drill, just a demonstration of the bump.

davidgraves@17001.org's picture

Submitted by davidgraves@170... on

Don, I have been using the Peak Performance golf swing and have enjoyed it. This summer I have been consistently scoring in the upper 70's and I am thankful for the scores. However, the one problem I have is consistently hitting my driver. Some drives go left, some go right and I find myself being off balance in the follow through. Any suggestions? My normal ball flight is fairly straight and I have a difficult time drawing a ball.

Polo's picture

Submitted by Polo on

I think that is a good question. I started trying the ppg on iron shots this weekend and hit them better than I have in a long time but the driver not so much, which I have hit well before. I am wondering if hitting the driver takes a different type of swing than the irons and fairway woods?

Kevin McGarrahan's picture

Submitted by Kevin McGarrahan on

Polo,

In general, you should be able to use the same PPG swing with every club. The problem with most people and using the driver with the PPGS is that the driver is too long. Don and Doc both recommend drivers that are much shorter than the modern standard of 47" put out by manufacturers. Type "driver length" in the search box in the upper right corner of this page and you will find a lot of information on this subject.

I recently got fitted for a 43" driver by certified fitter John Huheey in Lebanon, TN, and it is the best driver I have ever owned. In my last three rounds of golf, I hit every fairway except one; 41 of 42. I could tell that I hit almost all of the shots dead center by the sound.

Polo's picture

Submitted by Polo on

Thank you, that makes sense and helps a lot. I just purchased a driver but will keep that in mind next time. I'm just starting on the ppg swing and will keep working on It for non driver shots but your comment helps a lot so I don't have to figure out why it does not work on the driver.

Kevin McGarrahan's picture

Submitted by Kevin McGarrahan on

What I did before I got my new driver was to choke down 1/2 inch at a time until I started hitting the ball more consistently in the center of the club face. Then, I marked (with a magic marker) where the little finger of my top hand was on the grip so that I could grip it in the same place every time. I am still doing that with the rest of my clubs until I can afford to have them cut down by my fitter. I ended up choking down between 1-1/2 and 2 inches. Once I got really close, I finagled a bit more 1/4 inch above and below the original point. I only had to change from my 1/2-inch mark on one club. Once you have your driver marked, you can either get it cut down and re-balanced, or keep playing with choking down. Lydia Ko on the LPGA is #1 in the world and chokes down on all her clubs.