What's Your Surge Swing Look Like?

As a result of taking Surge's survey I made a video of my swing to try to answer some of the questions.  I was surprised to see that I was going way to far back with my backswing as the club shaft was at about a 50 degree angle and the club head was forward of my left shoulder.  The question I have is how do you "feel" that you have gone far enough?  After trying to correct this I had my wife watch me and it seemed that I was feeling a really "short" backswing when I was doing it correctly.  Any suggestions as to what other people feel at the end of their backswing?
 
I am going to post this on the Forum too as this Daily Video is getting dated and maybe people have moved on from this section of the blog.
 
Jerry

Are you serious?

We use a system called DROP BOX.  It makes it easy to transfer files.  You can also use a system called YOUSENDIT.  I suggest Googling both.  They are free.  The DROP BOX is what we currently use and it is easy to do.

Hi Surgites in Europe, I am in Spain at the moment and some of you would like videos of yourselves
Why not come down to me, if you have not recieved the info on the winter Schools please contact me it will certaainly help your understanding
Regards
Malcom Swingsurgeon Europe

Seeing how I'm not working again, Steve, it's going to be a long three days and that just aint chili bubbling!

obtw, Steve, espn is showing the Roll Tide-War Eagle documentary next tuesday night.Should be a good show.

Richard, no disrespect intended, but "in one of your blogs, you could show your swing in slow motion." Since moving his dailies to the backyard driving range,Surge has indeed shown his swing in slow motion a time or two. I'm sure our resident archivist could probably point to the correct date in which that occurred but I am unable,nor have the time at the moment to look for you. So knock yourself out,my friend, it's there all you have to do is look.
Happy Golfing

ROFLMAO....priceless....wiping away tears so I can type!   BTW if anyone knows how to do this can they let me in on it - just kidding!

I will definitely get round to getting my updated swing video done and answer the questions.

I am a perfectionist and can always see where improvements can be made and I am sure Surge can too, but I am finding some comments a bit annoying now especially when they SHOUT.

Everything we do is a progression and so is this for all of us and I include Surge and Co in this, I cannot think of anything else that I have done or any other sites that I use that give so much as Surge.
To get someone like Don to respond and interact as much as he does is amazing I think and shouldn't be under estimated. Even though he is endorsing his products and website he is giving a lot more than many others would even concider.

And that Don I cannot thank you enough for as it is a lifeline for a long distance Surgite! 
Best Regards
Keith Kent 

Hey Surge Nation,

 

I have been doing this swing for a few years now, but I
still have times where my slice returns and a few rounds of high scores comes
back to haunt me.  When this happens I
first check the “Big A” (alignment) and review my PPGS manual.  The daily videos are often helpful and I
often get back on track with bits of the videos wisdom of the day or even a
comment made that is not the “subject of the day”.

 

My question is; are there other training devices that we can
use in harmony with the Surge Swing.  I
only see the “Swing Tech” trainer endorsed. 
But many times on these blogs I see the “Swing Rite” being talked
about.  Also, I some times use my Matzie
trainer.  I am thinking of buying my Holiday present for myself early this year (officially
from my wife of course).  Does Don or
anyone have some suggestions on the SwingRite vs the Swing Tech?

 

CJ

Randy:  I lived in Marquette from 1977 to 1983 then moved to Charlevoix...... and I know how long winter lasts up there!  I feel for you.  I lived over on M-28 near the Chocolay River and some times along the lake shore it seemed like it never warmed up til the last week of July.

Jerry

Surge, I'm excited about taking the swing survey and I hope to get some video done tomorrow. It's been a while since I videoed my swing and that went unpublished. ;-P  (for you,Dan)
I have more confidence in my swing now and may even post it to tube and let the Nation have a  look see, I know I'm far from spot on but would welcome the critique of my fellow Surgites.
Thanks for  putting this together, it will be good to see for myself again where I'm lacking and be able to key in on those areas.
 Note to Whiners: Surge has no control on the sun, wind and swaying branches in the backyard so please refrain from commenting about the glare in the camera lens.
Perhaps, if you were to drive over to Inman and pay Surge a modest fee he will let you sit by the camera and watch a taping.
Happy Golfing

The problem I have is with the one liners that are not constructive at all, you can feel the tone they was intended. Some just pop in, criticise and go without actually really looking around, you can tell this by the mundane questions they ask.
Personally I think Surge should try and sell his products more, as I am sure most just think the videos are the learning tool and have no intentions of buying anything.

I have said before that I think Surge should have a two tier blog, one that shows snippets and tasters and the main one where you have to log in and access is only granted once you have made a purchase, this would then seperate the serious from the light surfer.
Regards Keith 

Thanks Doc, I will make some videos and look forward Surge reporting on the results of the survey.  I am sure lots of us are making the same mistakes.

Steve and other Surgites,

I just submitted my survey and had some difficulty with it in that I swing left handed and was not sure some of the questions accomodated lefties.  I know that the demographic section asks for that info, and maybe Don and those reading/interpreting the surveys have ways of taking that into consideration.

I'd also like to note that I have found videos of my swing to be incredibly revealing, showing me rather emphatically that "feeling" the Surge swing is far from actually performing it.  Before I took videos, I was pretty sure I was doing most of the swing correctly.  To my surprise, I was not.  The videos have given me some very good feedback for what to work on over the long winter here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Our local courses won't reopen until late April at the earliest. Until then it is work with the mirror and maybe some indoor videotaping, and, of course, Surge's daily videos and other great stuff on the web site.

I'm looking forward to reports on the outcome of the survey.  Great idea!

Randy Freisinger

Sue we have thoughly enjoyed and appreciated the efforts of you, Peggy and Dave in letting us learn along with you. Thanks for being humble and allowing us to see your swings and indeed improvements. Seeing these real life lessons adds a lot to helping all of us. Thanks and I wish you continued good golfing!
PMG

Hi Jerry,
Thanks for the comments.  You most surely know about UP winters. I live in Houghton, on the Keweenaw Peninusla, which makes matters even worse given our annual snowfall, usually around 250-300 inches. I am familiar with the area where you lived, and I have also been to the Keys. I like living in the UP, but the winters are a trial and now that I am retired we try to escape at least part of the winter.  We may well be in the Keys this March in fact. Our son went to the University of Miami so we were in the Miami area almost every winter for a week or so and went to the Keys as well as to the Everglades. As winter flirts with us right now, Key Lime pie sounds inviting.  Thanks again for connecting.

one of the things that this blog proves, although not related directly to golf, is that "You can please all of the people sometimes; you can please some of the people all the time; but you cannot please ALL of the people ALL of the time.

Surge, I for one am very happy with everything you do for us, even though a few are only happy when they have something to complain about. Keep up the great work you do for the game of golf.

Boog, ya SGW actually motivated me to finally order GITK the other day as he said it was his favorite. Shows we need to be careful what we suggest, lol! because someone may actually liston and apply our ideas. Most of us are wide open to suggestion and certainly can decern when others truely have our best interests at heart. That's why we love this site and our big Surge family. We proverbial "kids" usually reflect their Daddy so it is a completement to Don as our golf Daddy. Who's your daddy? lol!! Don't know if Surge would laugh, cringe or take that as a compliment.....He's a young 61 so maybe just big brother would be more fitting :)

I took the survey but after submitting it took me back to the original screen.  No confirmation that it was received.  How can I tell if it was received on your end?

Sue, like Robert, I want to thank you along with Peggy & Dave for allowing us the pleasure of watching your Lessons over the summer.It was a treat and I thank you all.
Continued success on your game, Ma'am.

Doug,

I am quite sure that Don would be more than happy to do as you ask IF you are willing to cover the costs of a full professional video production unit on a daily basis. These daily videos would then approximate the cost of a daily TV show. Can you do that for all of us so that we can continue to receive these daily tips? Please?

Robert, about listening & applying to things on here. Yeah, we have to be careful..lol, shhhhh and I'll let you know how I like something that should be coming from the UK in a couple of days. On to the Surge relationship, I would have to go the big brother route myself or since I come from what once was a huge family, a slightly older uncle, lol.

They are both excellent training aids.  The Swing Rite is more portable.

Randy:  I lived in Houghton for a while too, went to Da Tech in '68 to the spring of '70.  Winter even lasts longer there than in Marquette.  A friend that I worked with in the DNR retired to his home town near you, Copper Harbor.  The golf season must be pretty darn short for you.  As I recall there was only one golf course in the Houghton/Hancock area, which was Michigan Tech's course, south on US 41.

Jerry

Surges new mat, new podium, (lovingly gifted by Harold, thanks Harold:) are both improvements and the video idea great too. I need to update mine also and hope to do so soon.
Played 18 today at the Palm Valley today,a challenging hilly course. The reseeding is fully grown in now and all is nicely green. Thier greens are fast and it took me 7 or 8 holes to adjust. Finally started dropping putts at 9 and 10 for pars, had an opps hole at 11 and then a string of pars with a couple of bogies mixed in to shoot a 45/41 for an 86. Nothing to write home about but I was pleased with several areas of my game over all. My driving was good. 11 out of 14 fairways with the new draw the ball method I'm sticking with now. Had one measure 271. Most were in the 235-250 range.(long for me- my average was 225 as a fader) Again this excites an old slicer like me! I am experiencing some inconsistency because after a cool draw off the tee I normally go back to my more vertical straight to slight fade shot and have to get back into a different feel.
To assist learning more "shots" I have adapted a new practice routine of switching between fades and  draws to straight while hitting maybe 3 or 4 shots each way with one club and then switching to another club and repeating the proccess. My goal of course is to get better at being able to shape a shot on command.
Now it seems my middle game needs more attention. If it isn't one thing it's several!

Sue and Peggy:

 My thanks and appreciation to both of you for allowing all of us to share a bit of your lessons on video. Best wishes to both of you in your progression with this system.

PMG

Thanks Doc,

Just ordered it on Amazon for $129...  I am still interested in Swing Tech, but will wait until after the holidays.

CJ

Hi again Jerry,

So you know Houghton.  Right you are that the season is short. And you know Tech as well.  I taught there for 32 years, in the Humanities Department (I know, not where the real action is.  Actutally that changed quite a bit starting in the late 70s but that is another story).  The course you refer to is Portage Lake Golf Course, owned and operated by the university.  I'm guessing that it has changed quite a bit for the better since your days here.  It is a pretty decent and reasonably priced place to play and has seen quite a number of improvements.  Not a terribly difficult course, but a nice setup and playable except when the black flies are pesky, which can be much of the summer. Some days you feel as if you could use a transfusion from blood loss!

There is also a decent course in Calumet, and another one in Copper Harbor at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge--a more difficult course in my view.

Anyway, it's nice to know you understand the weather here and the short season.  All courses here are closed, snow is in the forecast for this week, and Don's video today about playing the game in one's head is a timely one.

Keep hitting them straight in Florida.

Robert, congrats on the FIR count, my friend. Seeing on how I'm offf work and the hall has no idea when things will break open again. I hope to see some improvement in my game before winter sets in.I carried Honey outside for three practice sessions today, I didn't feel like making the drive to the range so I let her chase foamers around the yards.I'm working on my transition and getting into the slot and tinkering a little with my grip. I'm hitting a lot more hooks lately.I'm not milking the grip during the swing but when I firm up my lower forearm muscles at address I've noticed that it closes the club face a couple of degrees and trying to find that happy medium.It seemed to be working by last session.
 Not that I'm ditching PPGS or Surge, I had a gift card to burn from the bookstore, but I picked up a copy of McLean's Slot Swing yesterday and read it last evening. Some good stuff in there.Though it's nothing we haven't heard before...from Surge,lol. He uses the skipping rock drill, talks of the club being lite at 3/4s because it's easier to swing and his key is a lateral shift, and he used the word bump once, to start his downswing that allows the right elbow to "free fall" and get the club into the slot. Nothing new but it kept me busy.The figure 8 drill from the other day is also covered.
Happy golfing

Hello Sue, We are all in the same boat so don't worry about your swings and being as you are in the videos you are sticking your neck out to be picked apart which is brave!

Good luck with the pair of you.
Regards Keith Kent

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the comments on the right hand/left hand issue.  I will trust that Don and his staff will figure out how to make the translations.

I am pretty much the opposite of you:  I do everything right handed but play golf. I was taught as a kid by my left-handed brother to swing a baseball bat from the left side.  In my 20s someone suggested that I should learn to golf right-handed for several reasons, course designs, equipment, etc., and so I tried.  It felt so unnatural that I gave up golf and didn't play again until my mid to late 40s. And I vowed to do it from the left side. I have been pretty obsessed since then with the game, reading all kinds of stuff in books and golf mags. And hitting lots of balls just for the sheer pleasure.  Golf is really a kind of quest for me--to find a consistent and repeatable swing that brings the pleasure we all know of hitting a ball cleanly and straight.  A lower score would be great, and I hope it comes, but mostly for me it is just the intrinisic joy of the chase.

I enjoy your posts on the blog.  Keep them coming.

Answered my own question.  After you take the surver if you go back (while logged in) to the survey analysis survey box it says "Already participated" on the bottom.  I would suggest might want to have an interim screen that says "Thank you for submitting your survey" or something along those lines as it is a bif confusing otherwise.

It would be really helpful if, in one of your blogs, you could show your swing in slow motion.  it would to see the subtle timing of the arms legs and hips in the surge swing.  Richard senior

Booger, Surge encourages us to read good golf books. You may recall it was a blog subject about 6 months ago and we disscussed many different books we've benifited from. I just ordered two last night, "Extraordinary Golf: The art of the possible" and "Golf in the Kingdom." Golf in the Kingdom is a classic I have been meaning to get for a long time and E. G. is about learning to focus on each shot better. Both are recommended as inspirational. I need some extra inspiration once in a while. Like yourself I have no intention on bailing on Surge. Just an avid reader and studier like yourself:)
Happy reading my friend. Though not a Bama fan, what the heck I'll pull for 'em this week just for you and the Stevenator.

Richard, Just a little tip on freeze framing a video clip on Don, I do it on every one he
sends on the blog. As he sets up and just before he starts the BUS, freeze the video
ie "pause" then rapidly double click and you will see Don's actions, step by step.
It takes a bit of practise, but you can trap/freeze the actions then check his club and
body actions. The bump is shown quite clear as is other facets of his swing.
Likewise you could download "V1" software and import any video and break it down 
to  any degree you want, good luck.
   

A comment regarding the survey.  I looked over the survey questions but have not actually taken the survey yet.  However, I do have one comment and that is a "Comment section" should be added to the survey.  For example, the survey asks about your set up and whether or not you keep you feet parallel to the target line, or do you open up your left foot (for right handers) to the target.  In my case I keep parallel (feet flared) to the target line with my Driver through 6H, but open up my left foot a bit more to the target for my 7H through PW.  The survey as written only allows one answer to that question.  Just a suggestion to give the Surge a better idea of what folks are doing.

Jerry

CJ, my swingtech has just arrived via the Surge, so I can give you my impression in a
few weeks. I found the "swingrite" more of a tempo tool and also gives feedback on
improving lag, but I still don't think it's a correction tool, others disagree, that's why this
game is very hard to master.  

Yes I almost forgot about those pesky black flies.  When they are around it must be pretty hard to concentrate on your swing and shot.  I have a bit of an alergic reaction to their bites and I do not miss them or the UP at all.  I live in Arcadia, MI in the summer and we really do not have any black flies to speak of at all, maybe just for a day or two.  I see on the Weather Channel this morning they have snow in the forecast for the western UP..... I am playing golf this morning, just going to do 9 holes.  I prefer to be sweating in a pair of shorts golfing, or fishing then freezing my butt off in Michigan during the winter.

Jerry

THE DRIVING RANGE SET IS LOOKING BETTER. BUT HOW ABOUT PANNING THE CAMERA MORE SO WE CAN SEE THE FLIGHT OF THE BALL AND MORE OF THE NET?

Sue dear lady, The video of you and Peggy with Dave Seeman and the 'unorthdox bump drill' has given me a real boost. Brilliant ball striking the day before yesterday. Bliss I called it. Today a few more holes. Not as good but after scolding myself, went to the practice hole and had it going well when we left for home.
Hope you prosper on the course, you and Peggy. PMG and Succeed.
Regards from a sunny, but very, very windy Wellington, New Zealand.
Surge is a gem without equal as far as I am concerned. It is an honour to tell everyone I meet about his site and about the PPGS.

You just did, and I am right there with you.

To make sure we are all on the same "page"  I am referring to question 8a on the survey.

Didn't even realize they were available from Amazon.  The price is good as that's our delivered price.