Bill Munoz is 88 years-young and playing tournament golf again thanks to the Peak Performance Golf Swing. Here's the question he sent in via Customer Service recently.
"In setting up for the swing, do you preset your weight to the right foot, or do you do so when going up on the backswing and up the tree? I am 88 and had to give up golf a few years ago due to back and hip problems caused from the rotational swing. After subscribing to your lessons, the pain went away..Now I am playing in tournements once again...THANK YOU SO MUCH!"
What Bill is asking about is one of the cornerstone positions in a solid setup: PLHR or the Pre-Loaded Loaded Heavy Right position. And since "Pre" means "before", it has to do with the setup phase of our swing. The PLHR position is a critical step in the never-ending battle to ensure technical excellence in the setup because without "TE" in the pre-phase, we cannot achieve technical excellence in our swing.
Remember my main Surgism "The Setup Determines The Motion"? This is far more than a catchy pnemonic device; it is a description of the principles of Newtonian physics that the Surge Swing was built around. Paraphrased, Newton's First Law of Motion states that "A body in motion stays in motion, in the direction that it was put in motion, unless acted up by an outside force". If you setup with a neutral weighting or even one that places more weight on the front leg, you are forced to begin your swing with an immediate weight shift to your back leg, which in my mind, opens up many unnecessary opportunities for swing error due to the complexity of stopping your rearward movement at precisely the right point in the swing and transitioning your weight back to the front leg in the Forward Upswing. All too often, the momentum generated by this superfluous move leads to over-rotation and improper torso and/or lower body movement that makes it difficuult or impossible to deliver the club head square to the target line prior to impact.
So Bill, follow the KISS principle and pre-load your back leg before you begin your backswing and you'll be well on your way to achieving technical excellence in all phases of your game.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
ÃÂ I can't speak for how
ÃÂ I can't speak for how anybody else does it but for me it's simultaneous. As I accordion down into my stance I naturally load onto my right side.
I don't even think about it. The higher I want my ball flight the more I am loaded right and the more spine tilt I have. The lower I want to hit the ball (or the more I have to go down into a bad lie or rough) the more my weight naturally moves to the left side at set up, and I don't think about that either.
Get video of your swing and
Get video of your swing and more than likely you'll see that your right leg is straightening in the BUS, rather than flexing to accept the load. When that happens, the release of the right knee in the transition causes your weight to fall back, not go forward.
The whole day was my treat.
The whole day was my treat. We normally don't play for anything but on our last hole and drive off 18 Craig said "If I out drive you, you buy us a beer in the club house and if you out drive me YOU buy us a brew."
Kinda like "heads I win, tails you lose." I was buying regardless:) He did bang it about 310 so it was on me regardless!
Great video and reminder of
Great video and reminder of what works! I'm entering a tournament this weekend playing some of the best golf of my life, thanks to Surge. Funny thing, I mentioned the ppgs to a group I had organized on Monday and a couple of the guys piped right up saying, "Does that swing styleÃÂ really work?" What I got from those comments was that the Surge brand is becoming known and people are questioning what they are doing, or not doing. Of course I had to say thatÃÂ am living proof! In a year my handicap index has dropped from 13 to 8 and my last six games in a rowÃÂ have been in the 70's, plus the added bonus of feeling like I could have done better because I left shots on the course. My point is these tips are golden and Surge and DJ's training vids are gold. Again, thanks Surge.
Nation & Smith.....Can the
Nation & Smith.....Can the PLHR set up have elements with a baseball flavor?
Or is this just too much effort and a....stretch. (forgive the lousy pun.)After the club is squared, grounded, and set behind the ball, I step intothe batter's box. My right foot and leg will become the driving force, soI want to be sure that my right side is nicely anchored and grounded and ready.Once set, I now lightly step in with my left foot, and gently ground it. This cannot be asextreme as a George Brett baseball stance, but it has some of that influence.Not sure what the ratio is left and right, but clearly the trailing leg has the load.(A personal note: now I've gone the circle from just slightly PLHR to much, muchriding on the rear leg.)Hmmmm. Not so sure that I need to be that loaded for my short irons.Wait, did I just say "loaded"? ÃÂ And is that how I will look if my PLHR setup look like this?Your thots, all. I do like the baseball parallels.ÃÂ And as usual, it's about the results.
ÃÂ Most of the players I see
ÃÂ Most of the players I see in our games do the same thing (even pretty good putters). As I have said before they just don't have the discipline to not be just a little bit hole conscious and it opens the shoulders every time.
LOL....sorry T, but I think
LOL....sorry T, but I think Robert picked up a stroke on both of us here. Never really thot much about the "Heavy REAR" thing, but that could be an issue for some. Please pass the chips and dip.
Just received my copy of the
Just received my copy of the PPGS Swing Book.ÃÂ After reading it twice, I think I have a defective copy because PLHR is not mentioned at all.
Can you throw a ball? The
Can you throw a ball? The mechanics of weight transfer are the same. If you try to throw without transferring your weight you won't be able to throw very hard (or accurately).
Thanks
Thanks
I know what you are saying,
I know what you are saying, Neil. When I first started the ppgs I couldn't PLHR and worked on making the swing from a neutral central position. Because it is such a transition from one style swing to this swing, I felt like making the correct backward up swing and the follow through was my priority at the time..... and I'm okay with that because I started hitting the ball much straighter instead of slicing or fading. Keep working at it and as you become comfortable you can start shifting your weight.ÃÂ Now it's automatic to PLHR and feels completely natural. A friend got a 'medicus' driver, the other day,ÃÂ so I gave it a try out of curiosity. I kept swinging it harder and harder but it stayed together without breaking. Further proof to me that the Surge is right on with his methods.
Gotta get a new abbrev. PLHR
Gotta get a new abbrev. PLHR may have the lefties feeling, well....left behind. ÃÂ It may not be PC, you see. ÃÂ How about just "PL"? (The word "loaded" carries a lot of.....never mind. I''ll quit while I'm behind.)
Did you watch any of the
Did you watch any of the final day of the RBC Canadian Open? Garrigus kept having that exact problem. His whole upper body would come out of the putt.
Yea, I knew when I wrote it,
Yea, I knew when I wrote it, somebody would pick up on that END of it. We could just add another L to the end to signify Leg, instead of buttocks. Either way, I don't see the need to change it from PLHR, and doubt if Don does either. I think the majority of us are fed up with the PC society anyway. They need to get over it already and grow some skin.
Edit: JIC, somebody tries to catagorize the THEY for me. I mean ALL the thin skinned folks who take offense to any and all self percieved slights. That is the they, whom in my opinion, need to toughen their skin a little, and get over it already!
You are correct. I got mine
You are correct. I got mine today and no PLHR. The only thing close is on page 9, item 8, which mentions Right leg "loaded."
I also noticed that on pages 5, 7 and 9, Don's wrist angle has changed significantly from what it was at setup (page 4, 165*). On page 5, I measure 228*; on pg 7, 270* (or 90* depending on your point of reference); and on pg 9, 263* (or 83* depending on POR).
PLHR might work for the golf
PLHR might work for the golf swing but we shouldn't compare to throwing a ball or hitting a tennis ball. ÃÂ In those movements, a neutral position is almost always the start of the motion. When there's a runner on base the pitcher may have his weight set back earlier but to get the most fluid action those guys 'get to the top' with a move from neutral to loaded right.
Randy, perhaps you are doing
Randy, perhaps you are doing what Jonny Miller calls it "sway and stay". That is, when a golfer is fairly nuetral on both feet and sways back onto the back foot which likely gets the upper body and head moving too, then stays there- never transfering to the front foot in the forward swing. So you may be doing that. In the PPGS we PRE-load right that way we are already there and have only one way to go and that's forward. My guess is you are not really pre-loaded even though you think you are. I posted the following video the other day but here it is again;
http://swingsurgeon.com/DailyV...
Hope this one helps you understand the feeling of really being PLHR and then springing forward in the FUS. Make sure you have enough flex in those knees and do most of your PLHR before you sart your swing and then finish with all weight on the front foot.
Here's another really great one that answers your delima. Just start on the back foot and finish forward. Focus on your finish.
http://swingsurgeon.com/DailyV...
A word of caution for anyone
A word of caution for anyone trying to use a Medicus with a PPGS.
The Medicus is not a good indicator of a proper PPGS in the first part of the takeaway until the club head reaches the toe line. The problem that almost every one of us have is trying to keep the palms perpendicular to the ground on the way to the tree, and even going up the tree. The Medicus actually promotes letting the palms rotate in the direction of travel because that's how the hinge is designed. Once it reaches the toe line and it's all lift it works just fine.
I can swing a Medicus just fine without it hinging as long as I go very slow at the start of the takeaway but that is not proper PPGS and I wouldn't use it.
I wish Surge would do a daily on the Medicus because every so often somebody recommends it and so far the only people I have heard say that it is not a good tool for the PPGS are Doc and myself.
P.S. Surge might have a different opinion...But I doubt it.
ÃÂ As long as it gets you in
ÃÂ As long as it gets you in the right position...Like golf, baseball players have many stances. The best I can remember George was a little more spread out than we would want in a golf swing and had the shoulders more closed than the hips making a little bit of an X factor.
So happens that my baseball stance was pretty much identical to my golf stance, weight distribution and all. The only adjustments I have made is to flare the front foot. Being loaded on the back leg is the only way I know to stand with a bat, golf club, or ball in my hand. How much? I don't have a clue other than to say that there isn't much on the front leg.
Personally I do (or did) get in trouble equating the golf swing too much to a baseball swing and now prefer to think of my swing as a throw instead of a hit. The lower body mechanics are the same and in the end my right big toe is in control of the swing or the throw. (Sounds crazy but it's true).
Problems I have in golf (and probably always will to some degree) are the urge to have palm up/palm down at impact, and open the shoulders at impact. (Both staples of any baseball swing).
Speaking of George: Not a bad golf swing for an over the hill baseball player. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
ÃÂ Don't know why, maybe I
ÃÂ Don't know why, maybe I was busy, but I never watched any of that tournament.
It doesn't surprise me. I think it's a bigger problem than most people realize. By the time it gets really bad, enough for other people to notice, it's been going on long enough to have developed other unwanted compensations for it. Then those interfere with a correction to the problem.
Ron and his wife were telling funny stories about his putting last week. They had some good ones. One was running into one of the guys on the Champions Tour in a restaurant that he had played against many years ago. (I can't remember who it was). When Ron introduced himself the guy said "Oh, I remember. You were the guy that could hit the ball better than anybody but couldn't putt a lick".
Another was one his wife brought up where he played in a US Open qualifier and after hitting every green but one, but shooting 8 over par, he tied the handle of his putter to the bumper of his car and drove 100 miles home dragging the putter.
I have been working real hard
I have been working real hard on getting my rear to go the other way. I have a little less room to swing, with the butt on the wall drill now. I have nothing against big butts. I just don't want one permanetly attached to me.
Yep. I'd recommend writing it
Yep. I'd recommend writing it in yourself as Item 0 on Page 3. :)
There is no way I would ever
There is no way I would ever throw any ball without being pre-loaded heavy right unless I was off balance for some reason (like a defensive lineman in my face).
Great truths about growing
Great truths about growing old:::
1. Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2. Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3. When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4. You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5. It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6. Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7. Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
Very cool Harold. Thanks for
Very cool Harold. Thanks for filling us in.ÃÂ Congratulations indeed Don!!
PLHR=Pre Load Heavy Rear, no
PLHR=Pre Load Heavy Rear, no need to change the initials, just the last word from right to rear.
Why is it that most of the
Why is it that most of the PPG tips are given using irons. I can hit my irons well. However, I am having trouble with the longer shaft clubs. Namely the driver and 3 wood. Why can't we see tips given using the driver. I think this would help most golfers. I understand that the ball doesn't know what club your are using. But I do and swinging through the ball is different with a driver.
Joe
Garrigus, you may or may not
Garrigus, you may or may not remember, switched from using the shortest putter on tour (something like 28" or 29") to a broomstick putter this season. Saturday, he putted lights out. Sunday, he had 13 straight pars after missing his birdie putts on pretty much every hole. Birdied one, bogeyed one, and needed a birdie on the last to get in a playoff, but he missed it by about four inches short and right.
I have done just that with a
I have done just that with a black sharpie in the open space to the left of the picture on pg 3. I hate to whine, but I too was expecting a little more for our money with these booklets. I would have liked to see the majority of the Foundations Manual included in them, even if black and white. A little thin for what we paid for them. Just my opinion. Please don't jump on me for stating it.
True that. ÃÂ When a batter
True that. ÃÂ When a batter sets up, is it not the trailing foot where the digging in takes place, getting ready to load up that leg?
I have seen pitchers with a neutral stance, and bunters with weight forward. I guess it depends on one's objectives.Tennis is more neutral initially. But any prep for the swing, the body must be moving. ÃÂ As the player runs, ÃÂ plants, and turns, that pivot foot (and leg) is becoming increasingly loaded. It isn't always pre-loaded, but....we have seen players with good footwork get there early, and when they coil up, that rear leg has got a load on it.
That probably qualifies as the tennis version of PLHR.
LOL.ÃÂ Some times the truth
LOL.ÃÂ Some times the truth hurts. Heres a few more from a birthday card my wife got recently
1. People call at 9 pm and ask " did I wake you up? "
2.People no longer view you as a hypochondriac
3. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
4. Thing you buy now won't wear out.
5. You can live without sex, but not your glasses
6. You get into heated arguments about pension plans
7. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge
8. You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room
9. You sing along with elevator music
10. Your eyes won't get much worse.
11. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off
12. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.
13. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either
14. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size
ÃÂ ÃÂ These are the perks of being over 50
ÃÂ Great video Surge.My
ÃÂ Great video Surge.My cuestion is: ÃÂ The "Pre- Loaded Heavy Right" comes before or after the accordion effect?
ÃÂ Thanks
We could say PLBL - Pre-Load
We could say PLBL - Pre-Load Back Leg.
ÃÂ The daily tips are just a
ÃÂ The daily tips are just a demo. Surge said the other day he usually picks a 7 iron because the trajectory matches the target on his net.
I agree with you that having the same swing with every club is easy to say and hard to do (for most of us) but Surge makes it look pretty easy.
There are videos available with he and DJ hitting a driver and 3 wood.
One note: If your clubs are too long it will probably be much harder to make the same (or close to the same) swing with the longest clubs.
On PGA.com, they just posted
On PGA.com, they just posted a tip by PGA Teaching Pro Eric Hogge on the proper shoulder turn.ÃÂ He used a few terms and points expressed by Don.ÃÂ Now, if he would only go all the way to PPGS.
I certainly would have liked
I certainly would have liked to see a few more things in here, like the grip close-ups. I also would have preferred a comb binding over the wire spiral binding, but that's a minor quibble. I don't feel that I didn't get my money's worth, but I would have preferred feeling like I got a lot for my money.
I do like the added notes pages and Surge's Diagnosis and Prescription form at the back.
LOL-pitchers AT BAT are
LOL-pitchers AT BAT are neutral. That was intended to be funny. On the mound, they have the rear leg loaded up....
just ask the pitching rubber.
Numbers 12 and 14 are me for
Numbers 12 and 14 are me for sure. ;-)
The thing I notice most is that ALL distances are much longer.
A pitchers mound is a long way from home plate. The center field fence might as well be in another universe. A 12 mile hike seems like it is across the state. Takes a few steps to get loosened up enough to walk straight after a 50 mile drive. Running a mile used to be a warm up. Now it is a workout.
Oh, a basketball goal used to look like it was barely over my head. Now when I walk under one and look up I think it can't possibly be the correct height.
Almost got completely embarrassed yesterday. I was walking in the road and a car was coming. There was no shoulder, only a pretty deep ditch up to the pavement. Since it wasn't a very wide ditch (or so I thought), maybe 10 feet, I decided to just hop across the ditch to get out of the road. Almost didn't make it. Whew! That would have been embarrassing to have been sprawled out at the bottom of the ditch.
Arturo, if you watched Surge
Arturo, if you watched Surge's demonstration carefully, you'd see the answer is before. He sets his weight over his right arch and then accordions into his address position. After the accordion, when you already have the knees set with outward pressure, trying to shift the weight back would most likely cause you to sway out of position.
Having recently made and
Having recently made and mostly consumed a banana cream cheesecake, I may have a different definition of heavy rear. ;-)
Have you tried the search
Have you tried the search block yet. Try entering Driver, or Driver Swing, and see what you get. I'm sure there are some lesson tips there to be found. Good luck
Played 18 today too, also at
Played 18 today too, also at muni. Kept my shoulders square enough to drain a 15 foot down hill slider on the 4th hole for an eagle 3 on that par 5!
That's the good news. Didn't sore well over all. Had a 44 on the front and came home with a42 for an 86. The painful news was that I opened up my back nined with 5 straight pars. Played the next 4 in 6 over, ugh!!
Only felt like I only pulled two putts today so being aware of sqaring up better just before stroking it has helped a bunch.
Oh, getting back to # 4,ÃÂ I hit an okay drive leaving 210 yards to the pin. Hit my 3 wood to just 15 feet and was thrilled to see my putt start on line and pour in. That's only my 6th eagle in 50 years. Thing is 4 have happened since Surge and the PPGS. 3 of those 4 have come in the last 3 months.
Fun stuff:)
Was playing with my older Brother Craig so that made it all the better.
I don't know if I got my
I don't know if I got my money's worth but I bought 3 books today for 3 classes and a $30 manual for another class.
Total $613.
Evidently books are high.
Just got back from an 8 mile
Just got back from an 8 mile walk and I guess it sucked enough oxygen out of my brain to not pick up a joke.
;-)
Is what you are saying is
Is what you are saying is kind of the opposite of the stack and tilt?
How do you make the coil on
How do you make the coil on the back swing with your method. Iam 68 years old and learnt golf in the late fifties. In those days we had very few teachers in India and I learnt from various low handicap ameture golfers and Ben hogans book POWER GOLF.
So the swing I developed was around the body keeping right upper arm close to chest on the back swing so as to make the coil. With your up the tree back swing i dont feel the tightness. obviously i am doing something wrong. Can you help.
Thanks
ton
Great athlete, George Brett.
Great athlete, George Brett. Vision, timing, contact....but alas, his baseball stance looks nothing like what is found here. I think the pine tar is missing too.+++++
Your comments on "a throw" v "a hit" are very interesting. Is your motion from over the top, side arm, ÃÂ or ___________? ÃÂ ++++ I concur on the lower body mechanics. I've have actually practiced the side arm motion a bit to remind to bump and clear my hips, and to drive forward with my knees, etc. When throwing, they just sequence and fire without any thought.ÃÂ ++++But put a club into may hands and a ball on the tee, and that changes. Ugh.
Hi there Dono,A quick answer
Hi there Dono,
A quick answer to that question would be (if you havnôt already) to shorten your driver shaft by about 2 inches, and your 3-wood by about 1,5 inches. If the ppgs is working well with the irons, I can almost guarantee that this will "do the job" and that you wont lose any distance. At least I didnôt
Good Luck
Nick
PLRH is an excellent point an
PLRH is an excellent point an dI really enjoyed this lesson, but...ÃÂ Should I pre-load heavy right the same for all irons?ÃÂ Even the wedges?ÃÂ I have been loading most of my weight on the forward (left) foot for some of my 56/60 degree chip shots, especially short ones and short out of the sand.
Kevin,I just searched pga.com
Kevin,
I just searched pga.com and couldn't find that tip or teacher. Could you post that tip here for us?
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