One-Piece Vertical Takeaway

I live about 20 minutes from the course in the picture and it has no ice plant. The climate is too hot and dry unless extensive watering via drippers are used.

Drill: Top of Backswing
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Ho...

You might also use the Cactus Drill for the top of your BUS and FUS
http://swingsurgeon.com/DailyV...

Surge,  Sorry for doing this, but could you please repeat this lesson, demonstrating the swing with the camera to the right of the body so the line of the start and upswing can be seen from the side, ie as though one the ball trajectory is away from the viewer.  In the initial takeaway, do the hands go straight back to the right, rotating the hands so the club shaft ends up in line for the vertical lift. Previous instruction seems to direct one to have two separate movements, firstly rotating to the toe line and then lift up.  Demonstrating your swing from the right side in slow motion should clarify how you do it.

Terry, glad to hear you got a good report when getting the hard cast. Steady healing is always a good thing.
It has been a strange winter hasn't it. Just hope this doesn't predict a dry summer with lots of fires out west. Was beautiful here, 66* and sunny. Did play golf with the wife. Great day.  We're going to meet my son and his girl friend for dinner tonight. Pizza and beer. Someone has to do it.

And once you grasp what you need to do comes the hard part of putting it in to practice!
Like most things that are done well it looks easy, take that 14 year old I watched the other week, every ball straight even playing for a draw etc. He just had the ability and has had the practice from a early age to swing the club the same every time.
I said to the coach, I am waiting until he hits a bad one, I waited 30 mins and it didn't come, not one.

We were there at the same time, though I was there for a longer time. I was there all of 67 thru 69 in Airborne Weapons Fire Control ( F4 ). They kept forgetting to cut my orders for Nam, and I didn't remind them. I  took my wife out in the mid 80's on a business/vacation trip and it had already changed a lot by then as well as the resorts of Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead. Unbelievable growth for what were once quaint little communities in the 60's. I recently discovered they built a large federal prison on the old base site. I was watching NCIS LA, and they mentioned it, then Googled it and sure enough it's really there.

I see what you mean. At the top of Surge's swing the club is not vertical and gravity is pulling on it. I don't know if he realizes this. It isn't like that when he demonstrates it in slow motion.

Keith,

I just looked at your swings and, I must say, it was like looking at myself a few months ago. So, I'm going to offer a few suggestions, for what they are worth.

1. For a few moments during each day, sit is a solid chair that doesn't move and do the next two steps.

2. Keep your chin up so that your ears remain in line with your spine. Sit up straight and put your hands on your knees. Then bend forward at the waist without dropping your chin, but allowing your elbows to bend. This will help you get the feel for bending forward in the setup while keeping your spine straight. Then when you practice your setup, try to attain the same feeling.

3. Sitting in the same type of chair, sit up straight and put your hands together in front of you inline with your sternum. Point your nose at a point in line with your hands. Keeping your nose at that point and not allowing anything below the waist to move, rotate your shoulders - without moving your arms - until your forward arm is pointed 90* to where your nose is pointed. If you turn correctly, you should be able to do it with no tension. If you don't turn properly, you will feel a lot of tension in the area of your shoulder blades. Doing this  exercise will give you a really good feel for the 70* limited turn.

4. Once steps 2 & 3 feel comfortable, combine them - bend at the waist, keeping the spine straight, and make the 70* turn. The only thing to add then is the slight rotation of the forearm to keep the palms perpendicular to the ground.

5. Then, start working on doing all of this from the setup position, keeping the lower body and head as close to still as possible. This will take a bit of practice - I took 48 days at 1-2 hours per day - but it really worked.

I hope this helps. Like I said, my swing a few months ago looked just like yours and I didn't know which way to turn. Now, I'm really comfortable with my swing and am hitting balls much longer, straighter, and with fewer off-target hits.

Keith B do you hit with your trail hand? I have been taught not to use my trail hand except to hang on to the club.

LOL,LOL,LOL  :-)))  R2

I have definately been experimenting with my grip lately. I have gone from a somewhat strong grip to a really strong grip and now settled back to a much more nuetral grip. I have found that formerly the nuetral grip was usually yeilding a slice. Now after learning how to draw the ball and not swing from outside in and across the ball I have moved back to a really nuetral grip and yet am not slicing it but rather hitting it pretty darn straight to a little draw (sometimes:). Square and solid is my goal not long. So as a result I am seeing more drives in the 240-250 range rather than the 275 yards but less often in the short grass.A few weeks ago I had one swing off the tee that produced a draw and an ocassional long drive, to a more compact 3/4 swing that stays more vertical in the BUS and has me finishing with my belt buckle at the target. I think I am rolling my hands less both back and through. I have even less wrist action than ever. "No wrist action is no wrist action." Now the putter is going better so i am really looking forward to the coming days of golf.

SGW,

I think you may be onto something.  You just made me realize I may be extending my hands too far rather than just letting them hang straight down at address.  That would certainly account for my off center toe shots.

As you rightly said it is very often the basics that we lose track of and it's the simple things that lead to bad habits.  If my rain holds off tomorrow I'm headed for a backyard session.

Thanks for sharing the thoughts.   

T.,
Hows the hand coming along? I know it's a long road until significant improvement. Pain down to a reasonable level?
 Hope you're making steady improvement.

I would never go rotational as I cannot go 90* anyway but I feel I need to start feeling a correct swing but how can you if you are not getting consistent results thus don't know if what you are doing is right, this is my predicament.

Rusty

Yes, we must lead the flock to greener pastures.  But, sometimes you also have to single out one and have a cook out.

Now I am hungry.
Dick

Robert

I am part Scottish and part American Indian.  I like my liquor, but I can't handle it well.

Dick

Thanks for your feedback.

On a completely unrelated note, I have been trying to convince my son that it would be better to be a timelord than it would to be a wizard.

Keep up your wizardry.

Hi there

I am ALGORE are you crazy. What global warming I just keep getting rich off a made up ponzi scheme. LOL

Bob, the 3/4 swing refers more to how "far" we swing the club back in the BUS rather than a "position".    The typical "full" swing where the club reaches the horizontal at the end of the backswing moves the club through an arc of about 270* looking face on.    The 3/4 swing moves the club ideally about 200* - 210* (it is not an exactitude like 202.5* or 12:45 on the clock) or to around the 1 o'clock position.   If you swing further than 1 o'clock then the swing starts to lose efficiency due to the clubhead dropping sharply on an elliptical arc after this point which then has to be "lifted" up again on the FUS. 

In regards to the club pointing at 12 o'clock down the line this refers to keeping the club and hands (edit: also the balance centre line through the arches of the feet) as close to the same vertical plane as possible during the vertical lift phase of the BUS.  This reduces the gravitational effect or "leverage" of the club against the hands and allows for far better control and also to swing faster during the FUS.

It was interesting that when I was watching the Hyundai Tournament of Champions that most of the guys were using the 3/4 swing for their short iron or finesse shots, that says something.

IM heading out again today!!  It has been a great week weather and golfing.  :o)))

IM hitting the ball pretty well this week, just trying to remember everything the Surge tells us!  The best for me is, heavy right load!!!   I have been walking our course all week, no carts, find with me, walking is better anyway for now!!

Have a great Super Bowl weekend,  I don't care who wins! 

Thanks,
marilyn

Robert,

The hand I hope is healing well. I am to leave the entire dressing package on and intact until my 1st follow up visit on the 2nd. At that time they will remove the stitches, check for proper alignment/healing and put a hard cast on. The pain is at a tolerable level, except for those out of the blue, who just stuck a knife in my hand moments. I am definitely re-thinking having the other one done next year though.

 PMG

I thought I had seen his swing in the past.

Agreed big time. Several teaching pros in the local section of the PGA have told me it is the best they have used.

That said some one out there is always looking to come up with a more affordable and better app.

Don't know where this post will show Steve as your recent post to me doesn't have a reply option, I have logged in to disqus.

I have viewed your video and you seemed to have those hips under control, and yes you get up the tree very well too.
The only thing I notice is your arms seem lower down at the top(over the shoulder) not between shoulder and soft part of neck, if they was higher would you be more vertical, you would certainly be closer to the toeline, is this just a case of lifting just that little bit more just as you bump?

Don't take this as me being picky :-) I am just interested in the mechanics of the swing and what puts us there. 

http://www.pgatour.com/golfers...

I must have the name confused, or we just called it the wrong thing. It was a dense shrub with small frosty looking leaves, and it didn't need any attention or extra water. It did just fine along with the Joshua tress and cacti. hitting into the rough was always an experience out there.

Thanks for the reminders Surge. Perhaps one of the more often misunderstood points about the vertical backswing is that it is one peice and smooth and not two moves. it all happens together.
Philip had asked about how I like my new Hindsite putter and after todays play I can whole heartedly say I give it and A+. Had 8 one putts today. Yes four of them were due to chip shots and shots out of a trap that left me with putts of 3,2,2 and 1 foot. However the other 4 were 25,22,7 and 6 feet. so very happy with the putter. Was fun to see that many go in today. The short ones were in part inspired by chips after seeing the new Kenny Knox short game vids. Was especially tickled with a shot out of the trap from about 45 feet to 1 foot. Followed Kenny's directions to a T. Still have alot to improve on but have to say that this putter has a home in my bag now:)

My bad. I actually was thinking that Disqus was posting replies with the comment replied to. Right now it is so all over the place that it just posted your comment I am replying to above the one about the Irish music which was 47 minutes after. A pretty Disqusting (sic) state of affairs.

I grew up in Appalachia as a young kid. A holler way outside of Hazard KY where the hill people would come down to the store in sleds using the cricks as freeways.

If I remember my music history correctly the Irish/Scottish music came from the old country in the post 1650's waves of immigration. The hill country in my youth spoke a dialect of English more in line with the English of Shakespeare's time with a hill country accent.

Steve
When doing this today the feeling I was getting was one the left arm stays straight without forcing it the hands at the top of the BUS were about 2-3 inches lower than my right shoulder were I want them and when I let the arms fall from the top it falls straight into the slot  with the bump happening in response and the weight moving to the outside of the left foot were I used to get it at impact. Nothing feels forced and it feels like it is going to be more powerful through the ball and up through FUS.

I will have to watch not turning the left shoulder down to much I just need to take a pill not the whole bottle. I will get more video this weekend and post it.
 Every thing feels loser not tight or forced. 
I have always had a nack for correcting swing faults fairly quickly with the proper fix suggestions I do not see this being all summer to fix this. I have this wrote down on a index card and in my bag already for future reference. .   
Thanks

Can't reply below you Russty. Anyway that was my poor attempt at humor. I knew you meant south of the equator. I was trying to play off Steves words of head scratching verses the 'down here' (as in below the belt). Sorry mate, bad American sense of humor:)

Surge: You always talk about ball striking,BUT IS THE GAME NOT ALSO ABOUT PUTTING?  When will you talk about PUTTING, the most important part of the game.

Phil DeGiulio
Denton, TX

In the face-on view, if you swing the shaft to the 1 o'clock position and let it go, the shaft should fall on the soft part of the back shoulder between the base of the neck and the shoulder joint. The farther past 12 o'clock in the face-on view you go, the more tension you put in the BUS and, IMHO, the more difficult it is to just "drop into the slot" (inside the target line). Surge has said that the ideal swing would have the shaft perfectly vertical and that he "fights" having it get laid off at the beginning of the FUS (downward part). So, it should theoretically be possible to drop into the slot without laying off.

See my response to Robert Meade above.

Steve

Which VLC player do you have that allows you draw lines on the video?

Dick, aside from a large dose of Irish, I have the rest of the UK in my line with Scottish, English (my name is Meade that's way English) and I have some American Indian of Oklahoma origins from my Grandma on Mom's side. A lot of  potential for drinking but I fortunately can't stand the head aches from even more than a clouple beers. Rarely drink much nowadays.

It is not good for man to be alone, but it is quieter.