AIM THE NAME
It probably doesn't come as a surprise that I enjoy playing lessons with low handicap golfers. Because they want to knock that five down to a two or three, they can present more of a challenge. That's what I thrive on! But sometimes, even for the low handicapper, the answer to a nagging problem is so darn simple.
A few weeks ago, I was out with Phil, a solid five who could, at times, drop down to par. Due to his schedule, the weather and my schedule, I hadn't seen him in well over six months. One of the many good things about the Peak Performance Golf Swing is that once you've got the fundamentals down, your visits to the pro are mostly for touch ups.
'Surge, I've been playing pretty well, but every so often I start playing Army golf. Left into the rough, right into the rough, left into the rough. It's like I have an alignment problem,' Phil explained as we approached the first tee.
I told him I'd take a look.
He set up properly to the ball but then started his waggle and was focused on the target in the distance. He was literally waggling himself out of alignment. Phil's diagnosis was right and I had the cure — and it's a cure for every golfer, from the Weekend Warrior to the Tour Pro.
I asked him to hold up.
'But Surge, I haven't even hit it,' Phil said, a little pained at me.
I walked over to where he had teed up and picked up his ball. Phil is something of a golf nut, too. I could see he had used one of those plastic ball markers, the kind the pros use on the Tour, to draw a straight line around a portion of the circumference of his ball. Todd, DJ's caddy, marks DJ's balls with one. I draw mine free hand over the type of ball (like the PRO V1 or PRO V1x) on my Titleists between the two arrows.
So I set his ball on the tee so his line on the ball matched his aiming line.
'I do that when I putt,' Phil informed me.
'Which is good,' I said. 'But think about it. Your putts are measured in inches and feet. Your drive is measured in yards! Hundreds of yards! So to stay square on your drive, tee your ball with the line on the ball on the target line. Then keep your feet, hips and shoulders parallel to the line on the ball.'
'That simple, huh?' Phil said.
I gave him my trademark 'Surge smile' (some call it a smirk).
Phil addressed the ball, did his waggle, then squared himself to the line on the ball. His drive was like a frozen rope, right down the middle.
The Surge!
P.S. You guys (and gals) are the greatest! Within minutes of our posting a tip, you respond with hundreds, often thousands of comments! Keep them coming! But if you want the “real deal,” check out our DVD special and get on the road to the pain-free Peak Performance Golf Swing.
P.P.S. We're at the Verizon Heritage now. Weather is great (so far). Kind of old home week. DJ grew up on Harbour Town Golf Links.