Today's daily has to do with posture and dynamic balance. In the Peak Performance Golf Swing, the hands should hang directly underneath the chin area when setting up over the ball. You shouldn't feel like you are reaching towards the ball. But, one Surgite by the name of Wm Meagher wanted to know if reaching could help the problem of coming over the top when hitting the driver.
"Recently I have been over the top with my driver creating a lot of slices. I've tried to keep my hands below my chin. I noticed fellow golfers stretching out with their drivers. Their hands are in front of their head. I tried it and it seemed to fix the over the top and created a straighter drive. What are your thoughts?"
Well, I think that if you are having to compensate by reaching towards the ball, there could be a problem with your setup. More notably, your posture and balance. You'll see in the video that in order for me to end in a dynamically balanced T-finish, I've got to have proper posture before I take the club back. Remember, what happens at the end of your swing started because of the beginning of your swing. Take a look and I think you'll find that a slight adjustment to your setup could get that driver straightened out, without having to put your hands in an awkward position.
Keep it vertical,
The Surge!
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Comments
So maybe your bad lies are
So maybe your bad lies are saving you from hooking your irons like your driver. :)
ÃÂ In addition to what
ÃÂ In addition to what Robert and TM said, and may be said in the links he provided (I haven't checked yet), the biggest flaw in using a pull down to initiate a bump is that the bump happens before the club reaches the top and is the beginning of the delivery. Not a response to an action.
Doesn't sound like much but there is a huge distinction between the two.
Pulling down after the bump and the completion of the last little bit of BUS would be fine IF we have everything perfectly in line, perfectly balanced, perfectly timed, and perfectly transferred. We all probably do it to some extent on those occasions where we are trying to really hammer the ball. It is probably also why we better be on the top of our game when we do because more often than not we end up not hitting the ball as well (or as far) as when we just relax a little and not get in a hurry and LET the club fall from the top.
I am not thinking about expending any energy AT the ball with my arms until my left arm is at about 7 o'clock. Until then all the arms are doing is falling. From that point on I am powering through the ball on the way to the top. The bump and ensuing arm fall are like a gathering of momentum to get in position for the explosion up to the top.
Pulling down initiates an explosion down and that's not what the PPGS is all about and one better have their ducks in a row if they want to be a consistent ball striker doing it.
You mention Power: Yes the
You mention Power: Yes the movement forward does feel that it gives us the power, but the power is over the right leg, that is why PPGS has 90 percent of the weight on the right side, to have any power in any golf swing rotational or not, you have to be on and over your right leg in the back swing and feel the resistence, then the bump to the leftÃÂ is the start of the swing, the hips have to clear inÃÂ all swing techneques and there has to be some kind of tork from the ground upÃÂ for power, how much is up to each individual, the bump just helps start the clearing ofÃÂ the hipsÃÂ so theÃÂ handsÃÂ can come through, and that comes from everthing being stable from the ground up, PPGS ask for the feet to be flared out and pressure on the outside of the knees, it is just another way to add tork fromÃÂ the ground up. ÃÂ D.J. was experimenting with the left foot flared out a bit more and I think Steve Elklington gave him a tip and it worked.ÃÂ Now the question above is aboutÃÂ how to stopÃÂ slicing, slicing is from over the top move, the bottom of the body can move forward but the head and centre of the chest has to stay behind the ball until after contact because momentum will bring everything to the top, Faldo's tip is for a trigger release, it is theÃÂ moving of the left arm away from the under the chin, when the same left arm gets to the bicep your looking at 2-3 inches maybe , so when the left bicep in under the chin that actuates a signal to fire through the ball, This helps the left shoulder stop from bailing out to the left, helps keep everything square above the ground, Hogan and Nelson believed the trigger to be the right elbow coming down and ÃÂ touching the hips on the downswing that trigger was to not let the left shoulder bail out to early, to stop pull hooks to the left. Don says bump the left hip and pertend like your skipping a stone on the water, when do you start skipping the stone, where is the trigger???? you have to find your own trigger or release mechenism, it is a little different for everyone, Faldo's tip helped me find mine, I just added it to the almost vertical swing from the surge.
Surge, The reminder that our
Surge, The reminder that our finish tells alot about our swing is so true. As ususal todays lesson has many timely reminders.
Now here is some good news to report. I got off work early and it was beautiful out so what was I to do? Of course play golf! Shot my first 77 today, a life time best after 40+ years of golf. 39/38. Actually most thrilled about my front nine as it is by far the tougher of the two. I started out with four pars. The 3rd and the 4th at Los Prados are back to back par fives that seem to always give me trouble. Not today. On the green in reg on both. On #3 I had a 60 foot putt that slide by about 7 feet but I made it. #4 is the real toughy as the small green sits up on a hill that seems to repel balls off. Hit a seven iron that held it's line and left me aÃÂ 35 footer that nearly went in. Fun.
Only bad hole was #7 where I doubled a par four after laying twoÃÂ just off the fringe in the rough. Got too cute with a chip that did not get on then rolled a putt well past and you know the rest- missed the come backer and took a 6. Came right back with pars on both #8 and #9. Continued to play well on the back.
Of course as I observed the other day, when we play well I think it is easier to recall holes where we could have done better. I missed all my birdie putts but the good news is I had 10 chances, three from inside 15 feet that just didn't drop. Not complaining at all.Had two one putts and no three putts all day.ÃÂ Fun day and a real confidence builder.
Side note: I adjustedÃÂ the lie on myÃÂ Adams Redline 7 iron that was 61* to 63*(more upright) and it made a positive difference. I had been leaving it consistently right of target andÃÂ after adjusting it more upright hit it straight and long todayright where I aimed. So farÃÂ I feel that lie does indeed make a difference.ÃÂ
I'm not sure I'm following
I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying. In my experience listening to Faldo as a commentator on TV, though, he's a major proponent of a full turn, at least 90*. Not at all a fan of the limited turn vertical swing.
Beyond that, I can't follow your description of timing the release. Which bicep are you talking about getting to the chin?ÃÂ
Yes, we want to keep the swing center (the point where our head and shoulders meet) stable and behind the ball through impact, and allowing this to get ahead of the ball will inevitably lead to pushes and push slices. However, part of the power comes from getting the center of gravity to move forward to start the FUS (that's the bump, where you shift the weight forward from the ground up).ÃÂ
ÃÂ Oscar,
ÃÂ Oscar,
That is because we do not Pull the club from the top. We believe in gravity, Therefore, we allow gravity to work and initiate the FUS by letting the club free fall from the top into the proper slot to THEN initiate the full power of the swing. This is all initiated and caused as a secondary action of ringing the bell and the forward bump, (When done properly).
A lesson in gravity
ÃÂ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
THE BUMP EXPLAINED 24
FEB 2012
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Da...
It's all in the bump
Surge 27 Feb 2010
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Ho...
TIMING
THE BUMP 10 JAN 2012
http://swingsurgeon.com/DailyV...
One time I took so many shots
One time I took so many shots on the 19th hole that nothing mattered for several days.
TThe disappointing thing is I
T
The disappointing thing is I played well the last to weekends 78,79,75,76 maybe I need to lay off the full swing practice for a while and just practice 100 yards and in including putting. Sometimes it seems the more I practice the worse I get. ÃÂ
The power comes from shifting
The power comes from shifting the weight from the right leg to the left leg, while keeping the center of the swing (the point where our head meets our shoulders) behind the ball. In PPGS it is not so much torque (which is used in rotational swing theory, as torque is a rotational force), as increasing the angular momentum of the club by creating that imbalance that then pulls the body forward with the club. The advantage in the PPGS method is that the majority of the forces involved are on a plane that runs parallel to the target line.ÃÂ
As for what trigger times the release in the PPGS, the physiology of the body takes care of it by allowing the arms to swing naturally in front of the body around the neck. Your arms will naturally rotate to square when they get in front of your body. Depending on your own physiology, you may need to adjust the ball position slightly forward or back so that the hands naturally square up through the ball for a given club, but because we're resisting excess wrist flex, there's no concern with actively timing the release.
Mr. Wm Meagher, It seems to
Mr. Wm Meagher, It seems to me that if you are already stretched out to reach the ball it would be difficult to come over the top as you would havfe to stretch even further to get beyond the ball from over the top. The problem I struggle with is sliding forward with my body and head as opposed to just the bump. When I slice the ball I know that I have not kept my head behind the ball and have moved forward, thus leaving the clubface open, causing a slice. I have to focus to keep my head behind the ball at impact. Perhaps have a friend watch you to see if this coujld be a part of you problem.
My short irons need to be a
My short irons need to be a little more upright but my misses are almost always left. In other words my misses are from other factors besides the lie angle.
Comes in handy with the ball below my feet though. Then the divots are flat.
Get some video of your swing.
Get some video of your swing. I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that you have a reverse weight shift in the BUS and the right leg is straightening out. When that happens, and you try to bump forward, the back knee collapses and the weight goes back instead.
Could be...Who knows with my
Could be...Who knows with my game. Of course the clubs I hit the best are long irons and the lie seems to be right with those.
Mamma said there'd be days
Mamma said there'd be days like this. When making the swing improvements I'm sure you'll have days where you'll be stuck between the old and new and lose the feel Mike. It'll come back around again. Don't get too down about it. Your great round the other day shows it's there just needing a bit moreÃÂ consistency with what your working on. I too find that swinging more crisply and with more zip (I prefer that over the thought of "hitting it harder") seems to produce straighter longer more precise shots. Swinging 3/4's does not have to mean backing off on swing speed. Even if I have a 50 yard pitch over a trap I still have to swing with a firm, positive 1/2 swing and good finish to have a chance at pulling it off.
Hang in there Mike. Some days it's golf and others it's flog.
ÃÂ You aren't saying that
ÃÂ You aren't saying that most of your weight is still on your right leg at impact, are you?
Can't say what anyone else feels but almost all of my weight is on my left leg by impact. In fact if I wanted too I could hit the ball without much trouble with my back foot off of the ground at impact and my upper body still behind the ball. No way I can hit a ball with most of my weight on my back leg at impact without losing all power, scooping at the ball, and falling backwards from the force of the swing.
There also isn't a whole lot of hip clearing and the slight amount that has turned by impact doesn't get anything out of the way for the swing, and isn't necessary. In fact the slight opening by impact actually puts the right hip more in the way of the elbow but not enough to present a problem.
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