Jerry Lester left a question on the blog a while back that I would like to address in today's daily tip. Jerry is no golf newbie. He's had a rotational swing for years and is having difficulty with the FUS as you can see from his question:
"Don,
I continue to have a problem with the FUS and, when tied to your "simplified" video, it gets worse. [See The Surge Swing Simplified] Though I am not a beginner (long time rotational swinger, divot in front of the ball - irons), your FUS becomes a "scoop--help it up-- swing" - much like what one sees in beginners. Thus I (and I believe many former rotational swingers) can't get the transition out of our minds! It just doesn't register. A few shots hit "thin or bladed" and I am right back to "down and through".
Jerry"
As is often the case, Jerry got some immediate help from his fellow bloggers, including this one from an anonymous source:
"If you feel like you're scooping the ball then your hands are being too active. Your divots should be in front of the ball with the Surge Swing, but shallower. [Editor's note: You divot should start under the middle of the ball and extend a bit past it. Instead of digging under the grass, you want to nip the ball off of it, tearing a few blades from their roots.]
Have you videoed your swing? You are not trying to lift the ball up though that is a consequence. You may want to go back and try Surge's Towel Drill regularly. I bet there is too much hinging going on in your swing when you want a smooth pendulum motion, not a lever motion."
Whoever left the comment was on the right track. The two big clues to figuring out what Jerry's doing wrong are found in his his statement that his divots are in front of his ball and that he's a long-time rotational swinger. That means that he's learned to transition his weight to his forward side by initiating his downswing with a rapid rotational turn of his hips and shoulders as fast as he can do it. Rotational swing theory calls for players to "post-up" by snapping their forward leg straight and rotating their body around that pivot point while keeping the forward foot firmly anchored on the ground. As we've discussed many times before, the human body is not designed to withstand the damage caused by these extreme torsional forces. This rapid turning movement also drives your upper body forward and that's why you see divots that start well past the ball. Why? Because of the steep angle a rotational swing takes before impact and the resulting need to create lag, your hands get well ahead of the ball at impact resulting in a fairly deep divot.
With the Peak Performance Golf Swing, we give you parameters within which a player can adjust the swing to fit their unique physical attributes. But one of the very few absolutes, where there is no tolerance for an adjustment, is that we never, never, never, ever move forward in our swing until impact. That's why we setup PLHR, flare our feet and put outward pressure on our knees--we want to keep our lower body still until we initiate the FUS with The Bump. Then, right after impact, we want to stand up as fast as possible. Jerry didn't mention it in his question, but it's quite possible he's creating a reverse weight shift in his swing and that's what is giving him the feeling of scooping the ball up. Again, our Mystery Commentator's suggestion that he video his swing would help Jerry confirm if this is what he's doing wrong.
Finally, the Towel Drill is an excellent drill to help you get the feeling of swinging vertically rather than rotationally. The object of the drill is to get the towel to extend fully at impact and then stay extended throughout your forward swing before landing on your forward shoulder. If your swing is too rotational, or if you get in front of the ball before impact, the towel will just flap around and it will never end up on your shoulder. Check out the end of today's video to see me demonstrate the proper way to use this drill.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
Jim,It sounds like me until I
Jim,
It sounds like me until I learned to trust that the club will actually hit the ball without my trying to help it too.
Watch the Surge's backyard
Watch the Surge's backyard swings on his daily blog. ÃÂ He gets to the finish you describe before starting the recoil and relax pose.
I play with a guy who does
I play with a guy who does the same thing , and I do it now and then. I believe it happens when you try to hit the ball too hard & you use your domminant back arm to do it. this will put you on the back foot every time. Practice swings are good because theres no ball & less power involved. Tell your mate to try a bigger club and softer swing
I adopted the Surge Swing a
I adopted the Surge Swing a year ago. I have had some success, most notably playing without pain in the lower back and right knee. Plus, I am driving the ball better and my iron shots are a lot more consistent. Occasionally, on my FUS I hit my back with the shaft of the club I'm swinging. This occurs with driver on down to mid irons. Am I swinging too hard, too fast or swinging up too much?
Surge, that was a brilliant
Surge, that was a brilliant analysis of scooping cause. Bet that's going to help a lot of scoopers. It couldn't be any clearer.
As I watch your videos, I see
As I watch your videos, I see the ball is nearly at your right heel. Well back of the center of the stance.ÃÂ I have been taught to place the ball either in the center or slightly forward, toward the left heel (for righties).ÃÂ Is this observation accurate, or is it a matter of camer angle when filming?
Surge, Where did you get your
Surge, Where did you get your new hitting mat? I too have a backyard driving range and would love to get a mat like that. What's it called andÃÂ how much does it cost?
I would bet he is trying to
I would bet he is trying to control the impact position instead of making the swing and making timing changes to get the ball go where desired.
To bad it's 11:29pm here now
To bad it's 11:29pm here now,there is something I would really like to check in my swing. I'm not to worried about it being dark, but where I go, Honey goes and should I be wrong in my hypothesis, I would hate for her to run into the neighbor's electric fence in the blind. I'm such a nice guy I guess I can wait until tomorrow afternoon.Hmmm, I need to prioritize here or something.
I'm shure that if the subject
I'm shure that if the subject of the day was ball position Surge would make every effort to get the right information accross. However this is an informal FREEÃÂ lesson and Surge is just hitting a few balls in the back yard to show people the swing . If anyone needs technical information they should buy the videos and manual. If they dont wont to pay for anything they can use the search box to review past FREEÃÂ lessons.ÃÂ Surge is giving these dailies out of the love he has for the game and helping people. I dont know anyone else who gives so much FREE information, when he does'nt have to. How much effort would you put into something if there was nothing in it for you?
Jim, I reckon your buddy has
Jim, I reckon your buddy has too much fear of miss hitting the ball and therfore is
manipulating his swing rather than concentrating on the swing, and not ball.
The trick is to actually forget about the ball and just do the swing, from BUS to FUS.
Once you get into this pattern, then and only then you start working on a path to
correct the mechanics. I continually swing in front of a mirror without a ball, so Iv'e
ingrained the swing process without a ball. I still don't have all the mechanics yet, but
I am now hitting someÃÂ good shots. My mates are astounded that I can just walk-up,
set-up and hit, which is a by-product ofÃÂ "No Fear", good luck.ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ
WP:ÃÂ Interesting questions
WP:ÃÂ Interesting questions !ÃÂ ÃÂ For me the whole rock-skipping and pop-tart motions of the FUS has been a work in progress.ÃÂ Three things helped me tie everything together:
ÃÂ 1) Using the Swing Rite and Swing Tech training aids;
ÃÂ 2) Ingraining the "feel" of the motion by using aÃÂ slow motion swingÃÂ drill ---- palms perpendicular, split-hand baseball-style grip to learn the feeling of theÃÂ back hand rotating over the front hand after impact;ÃÂ
ÃÂ 3) Lots of practice with various swings ( 1/4,1/2, etc).
ÃÂ I've finally learned that if I can keep my lower body quiet, remember to go "in-the-mitt-up-the-tree-toe-up" on both the BUS and the FUS, andÃÂ let the FUS start with the bump, everything just seems to fall in place.ÃÂ ÃÂ
I agree 100% with you and Steve that the motions require incredible timing, but that timing is something we can learn with patience and practice and water and rocks. lolÃÂ Anyway, just more stuff to think about while the snow piles up.ÃÂ :-(ÃÂ Hit 'em straight if you can find them!ÃÂ R2ÃÂ
SurgeIn your videos it always
Surge
In your videos it always looks to me like you have the ball positioned right of centre when you set up. Is that just the camera angle or an adjustment that suits your swing?
Deb:
Deb:
Yes, it makes sense. That is one of the reasons for Surge putting so much focus on swinging up and not down. Of course the club must go through the ball and skim the earth, but we do not hit down into the earth or at the ball.ÃÂ As you have so rightly said, our focus is through toward our target and a full t finish and not hitting at the ball.
ÃÂ When the bump is properly executed, the rear arm will drop into the proper slot/angle to allow this throwing of a rock motion.
Good luck and PMG
Andy, you realize that unless
Andy, you realize that unless you specifically ordered a DVD to be mailed, the videos are all online only? Even if you did order a DVD, you should still be able to sign in to your account (using the email and password you set up when ordering) and view any ordered videos in the My Videos selection under the My Account tab at the top of the screen.
There is something about
There is something about scooping the ball that I think is purely psychological.ÃÂ A buddy of mine takes perfect practice swings, getting the weight from his back foot to his forward foot on the FUSÃÂ just right.ÃÂ But every time he hits a ball, his weight stays back on his back foot and he tries to scoop the ball up, leading to very inconsistent results.ÃÂ I've pointed this out to him time and again, and he's aware of it, but just can't seem to stop doing it.
What is it that makes the brain and the muscles so resistant to the correct actions when the ball is present?ÃÂ Any suggestions?
R2:
R2:
ÃÂ I like the way you think. Now, to find the necessary time for practice. My biggest problem with practice is, I would have to quit playing so much and instead practice. What to do??
ÃÂ Hopefully, I will get a lot of inside time this winter with my Swing Rite and Swing Tec aids. Along with carpet putting and chipping.
PMG
PAUL: Proper ball
PAUL: Proper ball placement
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Ho...
Try thisÃÂ suggestion for
Try thisÃÂ suggestion for your videos:
Your new site is great- whereÃÂ the viewerÃÂ can see you making full swings to show your lesson.
Note that there is a large tree behind your back. It might make a lot of sense to move your
mat slight forward to your left so that your head and sternum (center) is directly lined up with
the tree trunk. When you make your swing this will show your axis of rotation being maintained.
To your credit, you are doing this quite naturally, so it should not be a problem.
George
I ordered a video for 34.95
I ordered a video for 34.95 on October 5 and I have been charged but never received anything
can you check this out.
Andy Karabinos (dadkarabinos@juno.com)
I have one that I bought from
I have one that I bought from from Golfsmith.ÃÂ It is 4 ft square, and costs about $90.ÃÂ I use it all the time on my patio to warm up before playing and just to practice.
Thats camera angle Paul. If
Thats camera angle Paul. If you wont to see [ball position] then type that into the search box up to the right a bit
Andy,
Andy,
95% of our customers order "digital access" products which means that you watch them online or download them to your computer. If you login to the site, look for a tab in the main navigation bar that says "My Account". Hover your mouse over it and a drop down menu will appear. There should be a tab there that says My Videos. You can get access to your purchase my clicking on that menu button. If you want to download the video so you don't have to be online to watch it, then you should actually click on the My Account tab and look for the tab called Product Downloads. That will allow you to download the video to your computer.
If you ordered a physical DVD (an extra cost to cover DVD replication and shipping & handling) then you should have received it by now. Please send an email to our Customer Support staff with the details of what you ordered and they will help you sort it out. BTW, if you did order a physical DVD you still have online access and download privileges so you can watch your video before the DVD arrives in the post.
Best,
Tom Jans
Director of Marketing
Jim Wile:As 90% of the brain
Jim Wile:As 90% of the brain's power is devoted solely to balance.Perhaps your buddie's brain is dead against him losing balance? This video should help him. The David Seeman 'bump' drill might be worth a try for him too. Good luck
T:ÃÂ I'm with you - I would
T:ÃÂ I'm with you - I would much rather play than practice.ÃÂ But with the crummy weather coming fast, Looks like I'll get some serious indoor practice time.ÃÂ Keep playing as long as you can and, as always, hit 'em straight!ÃÂ R2ÃÂ
Where can I find clubs like
Where can I find clubs like that ?
Ball position could be solved
Ball position could be solved by having white lines running through the mat and toward the camera at both the front and back heel and even in the center of the stance for the viewers to see!
I've never seen that towel
I've never seen that towel drill before so I had to jump up and try that. It's pretty cool and like the visual of seeing the towel stertched out at impact. Cheers,
Greg C
Event organizer & Tournament Director for www.bcgolfpages.com/meetup
This sounds like a good full
This sounds like a good full finish to the swing with relaxed wrists with the shaft of the club just coming to rest on the back of your left shoulder. If you are hitting the ball well and achieving a good T-Finish with the back of your right hand (assuming you are right handed) near or touching your left ear and the elbows high and level to the ground and body facing the target your swing is probably just fine. You might experiment with firming your grip pressure a bit or at least keeping it more constant throughout the swing to get a little more control of the club in the follow through. ÃÂ You have to have a reasonably firm grip with both hands in the BUS to achieve the desired position of the club at the top.