Releasing Your Head Early In The Forward Upswing

Congratulations on 50 years, John! Enjoy the cruise!

Neil mate, I delayed my pop up for a nano-second, with the result of much more solid ball striking. I was popping up like a ballistic missile out of a silo. Still trying to work on a cheap video camera.Special offer finishes today. Keep it long and straight in Oz. PS 3W and 5W now much better than my driver. yeeeeha.

A very interesting thought Charlie.  Learning to relax those neck and shoulder muscles while taking deep breaths can really help in a pressure situation. As you say a lot of us probably have too much unneeded tension in our necks while trying to keep a steady head.  That extra neck tension could cause enough shoulder tension to affect the flow of the whole swing.

T Medley--I had to learn to relax my neck muscles in order to keep my nose behind the ball.  Being a bit tense by nature, it seems that I tensed up the muscles in my neck, so when my torso turned, my head went with it.  I'm hoping to get to the point where my neck is so relaxed that it lets intertia still head keep it there and let the torso turn under it.  Mostly theory, but it works at times.

Nice points Steve and the rest. I like his positions - no wasted motion. I agree with the lack of wrist-cock as well - just don't see it  - at least in that photo. With the speed he generates and the resulting lag, and having the shaft and right forearm in sync, he has a tremendous power base. I also like how the left arm is down the line in the later pictures.

This is one area I am not going near, in the early days I was tempted to lift the head to look. But now it just seems right and natural to be in the set up position at impact and the right shoulder comes through which activates the head to pop up in to the finish.
I fail to see how it doesn't just happen and how anyone can keep the head there too long or move it forward early, both these seem forced and unatural. 

Robert--I'm well, but my golf game has suffered. The five months of not playing caused my handicap to go up five strokes, and I can't seem to get my game back. At first, I couldn't understand why I couldn't get it back. I think I have it figured out now, and it relates to Kevin M's post about Surge's seven second rule of remembering the feel of the practice swing. when I was at my best, I was playing every day, and I could remember my swings one day to the next, like sayig a poem from short term memory day after day. But if the poem isn't put into long term memory and you lay off for a long enough time, you can't recite it because it wasn't in long term memory. So, when I couldn't play for five months, I couldn't get it back because I didn't really have it. The swing was only in short term memory instead of long term memory. I tried to come back at the same point that I stopped playing, and it didn't work. I finally realized that I have to simply my swing to a point that I can find it in long term memory. This is all based on research I'm reading about concerning what's happening in the brain as a movement is "ingrained." According to research with elite athletes and elite musicians, the brain activity goes from the upper lobes in amateurs to the lower rear part of the brain in experts, and the activity area is condensed, as if the actions are boiled down to their basic essentials. But, understanding it and doing it are two different things. Luckily, I like a challenge.

Thanks for describing your routine.

Yes Steve you are correct great players only come every once in a great while. Patrick Cantlay may be the next we will see when and if he turns PRO.

If you look at the postings from an editor's point of view there is an incredible amount of typos. Most of the time my computer catches them, but every once in a while a correctly but improperly used word slides in.

I think the best answer is that we want to keep our nose pointed AT the BALL throughout the swing, which means that AT IMPACT the head turns and comes up to face the target, since that's hopefully where the ball is going.

For what it's worth dept.  The clubs you mention are the low end equipment that Wilson made.  The shaft is a very low quality and there is no real comparison to another shaft as there is a lot of variance from one of these clubs to the next.  Shaft flex is really of not much consequence.  The flex from one company to another varies greatly and who knows just what STIFF is?  A labeled flex is also just a measurement of vibrational frequency of the shaft at the butt end using either a 2.5" or 5" clamp.  Here's another instance of nonconformity in the system.  Without knowing what clamp was used, you won't have a real picture of what the shaft is.  The smaller clamp will give a softer reading than the 5 " clamp.  So, you could get two different readings on  the same shaft by using two different size clamps.  What a professional club fitter looks at is the entire shaft profile as it applies to the dynamics or swing characteristics of the player.  The fact that you have a 94mph club head speed, not swing speed, is not enough information to even begin to have a discussion about proper shaft selection for you.  What is your tempo?  What is your release like? Where do you load the shaft?  What is your spin rate?  What is your launch angle?  What is the loft of the driver?  What is your angle of attack?  I hope you have the idea at this point.  There is a lot that goes into a proper shaft or driver fitting.  It would be advisable to see one of our certified fitters or use our long distance fitting form if you want to get specific information.

Dave, I knew I had to work hard to relax my arms after I went to a sports camp and had the the tenseness in my arm muscles measured with a muscle noise measuring device.  I was off the scale.   It took me awhile, actually years, before I realized that this also applied to the muscles in my neck, shoulders and back.  I try to relax them in prior to swinging by the usual breathing techniques, but I didn't realize how much I was tensing them up during the swing.

In one of my last rounds, I was running out of time as I started the 18th--the course was closing.  It was a long par 6 with an extremely wide fairway with no danger.  So, to speed up, I just walked up to the ball and swung away with no time spend on refining the alignment.  I had my best drive and fairway hits in the round. 

Other than the obvious--no time to tense up-- I'm still trying to figure out how much of this experience to take as a lesson, other than the obvious reduction of the time between setup and swinging.  My best guess at this time is that preventing the muscles from tensing up even a little bit can change the path that the club swings compared to a smooth practice swing.

Did not see and I do know the feeling. However, I take solace in the words  of a wise man:

" We all hit them different distances, at different trajectories, with different spin."

OK, I admit it: greening it from 265 yards with a 3 iron would be sweet. We can only dream.

Looking up makes no sense to me.
Problem with that theory for me is that other ball sports the ball is mostly moving. What sports has a dead ball situation where you don't focus on the ball?
Most ball games you look at the target, then the ball and strike or have a overall awareness and skill of the area surrounding you for you to be able to not look at the target at all. 

I'd venture to say that you've done what you can for yourself and you probably should seek some professional, individual help to get you moving on the right track. Not everyone can take video and written instruction and convert it to their own actions. Look to see if there's a PPGS certified instructor in your area, or try to get to one of Surge's golf schools or one of the tournament events where you can interact with both the professional instructors and other students of the PPGS. It will do more for your game than another two years of frustration working on your own.

No, it's not.

Thanks Amos, I may give the Wilson Hope's a test run next spring.

PMG

That means that you respond in the body of a Reply email. That's what I'm doing here. I press reply to the email notification of the comment and type my response. It is then posted as a reply to whatever comment I replied to.

Tom, Luke Donald's coach [even Nicklaus commented] put down his success to his short game. While injured he chipped and putted, and nigh on wore out the practice greens! My strong suit at the moment is my pitching, chipping and putting. Hmmmm! The nano-second delay in popping up as mentioned to NeilOz above is magic.
Once set up for a putt, pitch or chip, I now NEVER look up until the ball is looooong gone. YOU CAN DO IT, if I can you can. Go get 'em Tom.

looking up makes sense, as with other ball games we look at our target as we hit, not just keep the eye on the ball, going to try this as any improvement will help

Thanks, going out today, will try that for sure!   As I said before, just don't know what my big hurry is???  What a game I love.

m

Amos:  What Bridgestone do you normally play?  I'm playing the e5 and if you're using the same ball I may try the Wilsons.  My daughter uses them with great success most of the year.  R2

I think it's very important to have that uninterupted flow that you describe when stepping into the shot.

 I use a similar preshot routine  for all shots including putting. If I take a practice swing it is always from a place behind the ball, before stepping into the shot. My only waggle is a slight firming of the grip ( a stationary press ) before starting the takeaway, and my only tempo thought is to match the speed of the BUS and FUS like a metronome.  Both of these swing thoughts are ,borrowed ones from the Golden Bear, Jack Nicholaus.

 My actual time over the ball once at address is probably about half that of the other 3 guys in my foursome . There is none of that freezing over the ball at address. I do take more time picking a good tee up position and intermediate target though, so it probably all balances out.

I think that " nose at the target " will be more of a worthy goal than an actual swing thought. It's kind of like Surges'  " This is where I want to be " at the end of the swing.

 

This is something I am going to try.  After 40 years as a very successful Archer, the last 30 + with only one eye, my right eye, due to an archery accident (not an arrow in the eye) I don't have a problem with worrying about Dominant Eye but do have a problem with following and seeing the golf ball.  It is only the last year and a half that I have concentrated on golf, the last twelve months working on the Surge Swing which is going very well.
I am experiencing some neck problems at the moment probably due to conventrating far too hard on the ball and not letting the club do its job.
Will be away from golf for the next three weeks due to a long overdue ocean cruise with my wife to celebrate our fiftieth anniversary.  Happy Christmas to all the Surgites and other golfers out there.  See you all in the New Year.
John Thompson

Kwiles,

I would like to be of some help or hope to you. Your comment is very vague in what your possible problems or problem areas might be. Can you be more specific with particular problems you are having. Are you keeping the ball in play from the tee and suffering around the greens, or perhaps the reverse. Maybe it's fairway or rough that causes you the most problems. Pick a specific area of the game which seems to be the most trouble for you, and let us know what is going on with it. We may be able to offer some helpful advice to one part of your game which could also help other parts. Try to work on the area where you suffer the most first, then move on to another area, but, one at a time. It is too much, to try and improve everything at the same time and will lead to failure and discouragement. Let's just try to get one part of the puzzle working first.

PMG

He will be playing the Masters and U.S. Open, was offered a exemption to the British Open and Northern Trust in 2012. I would like to see him win one of these majors as a ameture.

"no reason to doubt"....

#2 is definitely a terrific position, whatever type of swing you're using. Note that the club face precisely matches the tilt of his upper body at that point.

At your age, I'd even suggest trying a light weight ladies flex shaft and a driver with at least 12* or more loft.

Thank you, ok, NAB, will try today, yesterday, I also hit allot of fat balls, trying to hard, I think, or maybe dipping, not staying in line.    Well, today is a new day, so we shall see.

thanks for your help.
m

Todays' video was a good reminder that keeping the nose pointing at the position of the ball to long after impact is as bad as lifting the head before impact.  Keeping the head down after impact, with the "right ear on a pillow" is a non-Surge rotational swing move, that I used to do.  I think that Annikas' head movement, before impact, would be too hard to time for most people. The Surge swing is a relatively easy swing to time.  Introducing an early head. move might eliminate a key advantage that it has over other swings.

One of the habits that I developed from the rotational swing was keeping my head down too long after impact. I've always had a very steady head, and  that works well for the BUS, In the Surge swing, however, the nose has to follow the ball after impact so a good T finish can be achieved.

A great thing about the Surge swing is the simple visualizations that he gives you to help the brain direct the body through the swing. ..  Surges' "nose at the ball " image is great way to keep a steady head until after impact. 

Being a visually oriented player I may need another swing thought that will help me remember to get my head facing the target at the completion of the T finish.  Something like " nose at the target " might work?  It should be a good way to get those shoulder and neck muscles that Surge talks about in the video doing their job.
Oh well..., something else to work on over the winter. 
. 

I started using this method for keeping my head rock steady for putting and short chips. It may ,sound ridiculous, but maybe that is part of the reason that it works so much better than anything else I've ever tried. If you can use this visualization while putting it will help eliminate that temptation to look early. It even  helped to improve the release of my putting stroke .

  I probably should keep gems like this to myself.  A few months ago I gave this tip to one of our foursome, who had everything for a great game, but a good putting stroke, because he could not keep his head still. To bad for me , he can put now to. Ha ha!

Anyway, here it is. ..A very simple image. .After setting up with your eyes parallel to the target line,and before starting the backswing imagine that there is a small hook in your right ear ( could be a cuphook or a fishhook ). Someone or something is holding that hook and if your head moves early it will be painful. It seems that the thought of pain is a pretty good teacher. ( Kind of like a conditioned reflex )

My stroke actually improved because my body had to find a way to make the putting stroke without "hurting" the " hooked ear."

For every important put, and I guess they're all important I say to myself  " Hook in the Ear " as a reminder to keep a steady head,.before making the actual stroke.

Before dismissing this as a joke give it a try.  Who knows it may work for you to.

Steve, this topic in going to invite many varied responses as can be seen
already. Anyone who is a beginner/learner will naturally want to look up
early to see where the ball is going. I know in my early years this was
prevalent, but now with PPGS, later lag with more clubhead speed I stay
as late as possible, with improved results. The "Pop Tart" terminology
is misleading at times as it gives the impression of coming up quickly through the shot which is difficult to judge when you have good speed.
I say, release first then "PopTart", my videos shows the club parallel to
the ground in the FUS, when my head is looking at the target.      
 

Did do better yesterday, my drives were better and all, tried to keep my nose on the ball, it was some what cool out, but, feel better.  Thanks for all of your help.   Golf is such a mind game, thinking of a table of cards I need to get out and gifts to wrap does not help!!!!!  Doing cards today, but, going out and playing some tomorrow.    IM thinking my little bump was a little to much also, keep body still, Marilyn.   I still topped the ball about five times out of 13 holes!!!!!!!   dammmmmmmmmmm 
Well, tomorrow is another day and I will worry about that then, better get the cards done!!

Thanks for all of your help,

marilyn

Cool pics and video Steve. So balanced and athletic. You're right, he's fairly darn vertical going back and like all great swings has that right elbow "in his right" pocket a milisecond before release.

Ah ah, the editor is watching us, better I start
proof reading my blog from now on, LOL. 

Leon,

It would seem that your swing might be better fitted to a senior flex shaft than a regular flex. Generally speaking, the slower our club speed, the more need for a more flexible shaft, which will release better with the slower swings.

 The best thing for you to do, would be to get your club head speed properly checked and they will be able to recommend the proper shaft you should be playing.
Good luck.

PMG

Adaptation....I am staying NAB long after the clubhead has gone through. Too long, I know. Hanging around is part of my detox program. I was far too anxious to see where the ball was going, and was doing a sneak peak on every shot except when putting. Not good. When combined with standing up AFAP, well my friends, that was just plain ugly.  
So my current tweaking is simple: just allow my head just go along for the ride as the club and trailing shoulder come through. I seek to lose the fixation on the ball and simply bring give it a quiet, athletic swing.Now if someone can enlighten me on the topic of  overcoming golf-ball fixation, that would be most welcomed. Let if go....Look for my new book "Fung Shui For Tee Box"....sure to be a top seller.  

I haven't looked it up yet, but I remember Surge saying that after 7 seconds, we start to forget the feel of the practice swing. You had a good practice swing, stepped up and swung the feel without having time to forget the feel. That is a great thing for the PPGS. Keep doing it all the time.

Hello, fellow Surgites.....   Played in the local Xmas cheer today.  Thanks to the Surge swing, played great long balls all day long... duffed a lot to chips... but still scored very well and  came away with a great result and prize for the day.  Stick at it guys, this swing is definitely the one to keep you on the short stuff, and putting for birdie and par.  

This is an incredible swing, Steve. +++ Quiet, athletic, and complete. +++
There are a number of elements here that can be seen in PPGS framework,
but I'm really stunned by the (lower-body) quietness.

Tiger....are you watching?