Athletically Ready Arms

Amos, thanks for another exciting after-action report, congrats all around. After my fitting I plan to keep a detail log book to monitor my game and progress. I did manage to get in some time with my swingrite this evening, trying to loosen my back up some from indoor snafu of last Friday and after a couple of swings I could feel the back easing up and getting back to that tolerable pain level. I hope to be able reach the 27 putt range one day.
Boog

Tech Crew, I have been wondering about all of the 2010 lost video instruction. I know Don't likes to do fresh videos, but what about just using one or two a week of the 2010 videos as the daily posts and let Don have a little less new ones to film each week. I also thought about perhaps having two videos post each day, the new one and an oldie but goodie from the long ago past of 2010. It would save a lot of work from trying to attach each one to it's original post, and would still eventually put them all back into the archives and reference-able to others seeking situational help.

Oh, there's a typo in one of the links, Robert. It should be www.scratchgolf.com You dropped the r accidentally.

I understand completely, as a majority of the people I play with use carts because they have to. I feel Like Robert F, walking provides the interval between shots that gives you the opportunity to set up a rhythm and gives you time to think about your next shot. I enjoy walking, and always ask if it's possible to walk when I play new courses, but some courses do not lend them selves to carrying because of the distances between greens and tee boxes.

Congrats, Kevin, sounds like the swing is going your way.Continued success!

Good game Amos. I just got back from my fitting and am still catching up with every one. Glad you're playing lots of golf and hitting some shots well. It's fun is'nt it?

With left knee problems, the weight transfer would be a real major issue. Do you use a knee brace at all? You may want to keep your stance extra narrow no matter what to minimize leg stresses, and also eliminate the problems with reverse weight transfer and/or hanging back on the right foot.

Been for a nine hole practice with my boy, Spence. My putting is really improving and actually getting more consistent especially from short putts, so not many silly mistakes that can soon rack up as we know! Had a good practice chipping around the 18th green and sort of clicked with set up etc so limited the bad shots that shoot off off the green.

As for my driver I didn't start off well with it and sent them right, then after a few holes they got better, on the 16 th I hit 3 drives that were good on the trot. On the 18th I hit the best shot I ever have with the driver, it went long,straight with a little draw! Which was a peach to look at!
Shame I cannot replecate that hit, I tried straight after as I thought I had a feeling but the hit was a bad one!
So some positives but my driver is still very hit and miss!       

Club fitting report.                                                                                                                   (I opologize ahead of time if I go a little long but I wanted to give you the fullest feelings of my two day experience with fitter Leith Anderson) You'll also notice that I am going to include many of the web sites for the components I chose for those curious to look closer.
Okay gang, I had been looking forward to this custom fitting for new golf clubs for a long time. My wife Cindy accompanied me on the trip to see Surge/Lynn certified and approved  fitter Leith Anderson in Palo Alto California just south of San Fransisco. We met at Palo Alto Muni at 8:45am for 9 holes of golf first. This is something that he likes to do with players coming from out of town if possible. My wife followed in her own cart, didn't play this time but was very supportive and also took pictures and videos. It rained off and on and was cool(mid fifties) but though a little wet, it was great. He kept things very casual as he observed my swing tendencies. He was tactful yet keenly observant. Leith is 66 years old and it became clear early that he was a sage ol' guy and a fairly good golfer too. He actually was interviewing me about my golf and goals in such an unassuming friendly way that it was like having that likeable uncle talking to you while playing a the game together.He made me very comfortable. He quietly parred nearly every hole as we slogged our way through wettness of the grass and air. I did'nt play too well but I made two long putts and hit a few shots fairly well.
   We felt comfortable and he spoke freely saying a couple of things that hit home. First, I was'nt as vertical as Surge teaches and my backswing was too deep. He soon noticed and observered my release was what he called too violent from the top and early. He clearly was supportive in knowing  what Surge teaches and that I wanted to be vertical and 3/4's. This was the start, I would learn alot more about my swing soon.
   Some reading this may be wanting me to speed up the story and tell you what clubs I'm getting. Okay here it is. I'll go back to the fitting in a minute.
I'll start with the wedges and work my way back to the driver,
58* Scratch(SFU)1018 forged wedge www.scratchgolf.com graphite shafts(will update which asap)
53*           "
7-pitch Vega forged VC01irons www.Vega-golf.com Marix 5.5 shafts
4-7 Adams redline hybrid irons www.Adamsgolf.com
Adams F11 fairway woods 15* and 18*(3 and 5 woods) Voodoo VS shafts 65gr.
Driver(s) Nickent 4DX Evolver with interchangable shaft technology 9.0* and 10.5* included will
be 7 shafts(you read that right) 3  Aerotech Steel fiber 65gr. r/s/x and 4 Adila shafts r/s/x and one extremely soft flex for training a later release.
  Some of  you may be saying wow and others are asking why?!
Back to the fitting for explainations.
  So after the nine holes of golf my wife and I followed him to his original golf lab that is still in full use and I met his fellow craftsman and assistant Clint busy working on building clubs. I've never seen so many golf clubs, shafts and club making tools, etc. Too cool. www.calgolflab.com   
Then we were off to his new lab that he is still working on. OMG amazing if you love everything golf. Yes there were monitors and radars and measuring gadgets for sure. There was also a huge synthetic putting area built for his partners at AimPoint for teaching and practice. You know, the guys who are behind the technology for the aimpoint putting lines we see on TV that show how ones putt should roll?! www.aimpointgolf.com One seperate large room had what had to be over 50 full sets of iron heads displayed and available for fitting. Beyond describing so I won't. I took photos. Among them were the Muzunos,Muiras, and Vega irons that I was interested in. Then we went to the monitors and I was measured for all the typical specs. He observed that I was" leaving alot on the table" as far as potential swing speed and length because of my early release. I need to get that whoosh!! at the bottom and not wasted at the top. We both agreed that my swing was in the midst of change and as I improved and learned to swing correctly, my shaft characteristics and loft needs, etc. would change too as I worked to be more consistent. That's why he recomended and I loved the idea of multiple shaft choices and a couple of loft options as I practiced with the Nickent driver with interchangeable shaft technology. Without giving you $$figures I will say he made the driver/shaft package attractive and fair. I love the concept.
The Adams F11 fairways are awesome.
The Adams redline irons are high tech and super forgiving and playable which will aid in the long/ mid iron area. The Vega irons 7-pitch are amazing and satisfy my 'desire' for forged'- sweet! They are in the scoring zone and I liked their 'feel' better than the redlines from 7-P. Scratch Wedges? I hit a variety of wedges and liked them best.
   Finally ALL of my full set are graphite and everyone will have Jumbo Max (exta large) grips. All aiding my painful hands. They felt good too. www.jumbogrips.com
If you got this far, thanks. Ask me anything about this and I'd be happy to answer.
BTW I have the 7 irons in both the Adams and the Vega because of gapping needs. The Adams is strong 31* and the Vega is a more traditional 35*.

Great 55 year old minds think alike:)

Getting the clubs coming in from the inside is my biggest problem for sure and obviously the longer the club the more the problem raises its head..
I did have a practice hit yesterday and tried only to concentrate on keeping the club inside on the FUS and it felt very strange indeed, it wasn't a very good swing but the resulting shot was ok. As soon as I struck the ball I had this feeling of oh no bad shot, looked up and it was ok!
 I am gonna go to the range sometime and work on this inside stuff, I am going to have a thought that I am actually hitting from 4 clock  through to 10 oclock if a clock was on the floor in front of me.
This might help who knows, I need to try something, when I had a lesson the pro said this was my fault and his fault fix was that I need to get the club on the toeline on the FUS before impact (which I knew anyway)and to do this I need to turn my hips more. If I sort of think about this and force the hip action I seem to be all over the place as unfortunately my hips don't move independently to everything else! Which I think pulls the legs, torso, shoulders and arms all over the place. 
Might be going to the course again today! Think I have been 5 times this week! I couldn't have improved so much without my golf gold membership, it would have been a strain paying for a round once a week and then after left with the feeling of wanting more!

What is just the best is having the option of just saying " shall we go for a round" or back nine , I have even just been for 4 holes late in the day with my two kids.
Cheers Keith

Roger

I'd be willing to bet he's the same man.  And, for purely selfish reasons on my part, I'm glad he stuck to golf. ;0)

Lynn42

But that one beautiful drive proves to you it's possible, doesn't it?

Boog, I left lots out of the story. I'll tell you more over the coming hours and days. It was an experience of a lifetime. Of course after losing my Dad 5 years ago and my Mom this year. Every moment is precious to me. More events are becoming a big deal. I am very blessed and I know it. BTW, how is Josh. Are you teaching him some golf?

Terry, After reading your improvements from Thursday it is so true that "a better game IS just a fit away". I will be  in golfers 'hog heaven' for quite a while I'm sure.

So sorry, Dick. May everyone make their goodbyes and his passing be as easy as it can.

Have you tried a longer putter to keep you standing a little more upright?

Charlie, When I read your posts, I am always reminded of the movie, A Beautiful Mind. You have a marvelous mind for breaking things down to their mathematical statistics. I wish I were that clever at figuring out the why's. All I know is, it does, what it does, but not Why it does. Thanks for the insights and keep them coming. 

Kim:

  DJ is NOW on my prayer list -- along with Dick's son's Dad

   Amos

T, I believe that was a tad bit of southern sarcasm Kevin was dumping on  Mr. Wilson. Seeing how the Surge swing is 70 degrees with very little hip turn and Mr. Wilson was getting a 70 degree difference with a  lot of hip turn or something there about.

 You got it, Boog.

Who knows Keith, maybe you'd play well and really have fun in a tourny. Go for it!

Robert F
10-4.  Knee Brace always in bag, employ as needed.
Narrow stance, wide knees, limited turn, 3/4.... you know the drill.
God sent by the apostle Don T.

I am taller than you by a couple of inches and use a 38 inch putter bent as upright as is legal under the Rules of Golf.

A couple of advantages to this setup. First I can track the butt end movement parallel to the aim line easier as it is just below it. I don't worry about the putter head once it is perpendicular to the aim line. Second the shaft angle when extended goes up through the base of the neck/top of the shoulders. This helps reinforce a single plane radius.

As to the stroke itself I try to create the longest radius possible by eliminating wrist action. Essentially I pull the ball going back with the back hand and then pull it through with the forward hand. This quiets wrist action without losing feel. This can be hard to learn as the hand that is not dominant needs to be strengthened. It takes a while to get the muscles in shape.

Swinging and lining up parallel to the aim line with a perpendicular putter head is the key to make putts. I spot aim between a foot and four feet down the aim line depending on where there is a discoloration of the green on the aim line. It should be visible within the field of vision when looking at the ball.

Once over the ball and lined up I do the pull-back pull-through the ball stroke and spectate. I don't try to make the putt, just hit it down the aim line with the square putter head with the speed I think I need for each putt. The usual result is picking the ball out of the hole more  than my buddies which leads to picking the cash out of their pockets.

Putt em straight and straight!

Stretch

You have my sympathy and condolence.

Yep!
It rained up here in Anchorage today, but it was a dry rain ;0)
Bob

Robert, I know it's expensive, especially after the new clubs, but, I can highly recommend the Swing Tech training swing aid. I believe you will get high recommendations from R2 as well, along with Doc and Surge. I think it, along with my new sticks and the Swing Rite are all helping to make the difference in my game improvements.

I think the issue at question here is whether you're talking about at address or heading into impact. You don't generally want to force an angle anywhere in the swing, but at the transition the force of the club's momentum closes the angle a little bit between arm and shaft. That's where Don and DJ get close to 90 degrees rather than the 110 degrees or so from setup. Speed comes from maintaining that angle as much as possible until you release through impact. Pushing against that change at the top often causes early release. Not resisting properly gets the wrists too flexed and makes it hard to control the release.

Also, the question of "flat left wrist" is the angle between the back of the hand and the top of the forearm. That should remain as close to 180 degrees as possible through impact (at release, the right wrist flattens and left folds for the lift to the T Finish).

Kim, Give him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

100 degrees with the upper body sounds painful.

Dick, It's a comforting thought that he got time to say good-bye to all of his love ones. My condolences to his fine family.
 I would like to think that as he left this TDA for his permanent deployment that SSgt Earl William Holliday, USMC after processing & glorifaction, was escorted to his corner station by MSgt. Carl M. McCloud,Sr,USMC and was offered a crisp salute for service well done.

Semper Fidelis,
Boog

LOL, T, you crack me up!!!

It certainly does, I have done it before so I know it is possible, its just a case of can I be consistent enough with the driver to improve my scores.
Going to the range now to work with the driver!
I will post later of my progress. 

Update for DJ watchers, he withdrew today. Hopefully we'll hear what happened and whatever caused him to withdraw is not a long-term problem.

Thanks Robert

Oy. Hope they get it dealt with quickly and he feels better soon.

SGW:

   NOW thta is funny!! ROFLMAO

   But some of us could not WALK 9 holes regardless of the weather.  I probably could walk and play 9 holes, but it would be an "all day event"  LOL

   Amos

Inconsistent Kevin? You and me both. That is what we strive for eh? Hit it where we plan more often.

Steve and Terry, Good day guys :)
I really enjoy the specific reminders you both are highlighting. Thanks T for those two links. I agree we need those old post and videos all the way back to June 2009. Sure hope all is restored. Also Steve you are right in my case. NOT getting vertical in the first place combined with not enough bump and therefor not enough secondary spine tilt and too much shoulder and right side dominance all contribute to that over the top outside in and slice right or ugly yank left. This all goes with then not keeping my head behind the ball until impact.Ugh! So that is why I am determined to get vertical, not just vertical but as Steve says what feels exsagerated and even past the line at 12:30 as the reaction down can more naturally be to automatically be slightly inside IF I bump and get that tilt. So please Steve and Terry, don't stop pounding these points home. Maybe they'll get past my skull and into my backswing and forward move.

Robert, what a coincidence, I have just finished watching(again) the short game series while my apprentices were out in the rigging yard developing a rigging plan for tomorrow's practical exercise. Amazing, the little things you happened to have missed in a previous viewing. I can't wait to get home and try them out in today's yard work.

Staff Sgt. Holliday, I was Cpl. David Robert Darrah 1694820 and the USMC had rules or commendments that had to be followed. God also set up commands that must be followed,  please take alook. http://www.saviorleadme.com/

Hello CJ,

It may sound like a sales pitch, but I highly recommend that you click on the banner on the right hand side of this page and buy Surge's Putting Secrets video.  You will be absolutely amazed at how much better your putting will be.

I played 18 today at Elmendorf AFB.  Even though I hit the self destruct button more often than I would have liked, I still had a pretty decent round.  Thanks mostly to my short game and the fact that I only had 27 putts.  Best round putting I have ever had.

Tomorrow, I play in a skins match, and if my putting is as good as it was today, I should clean up.

Hit'em Long and Straight,
Bob

Hi all,

Keeping my arms ready started a discussion about putting this a.m.  Mostly how bad my putting is...  I stand 6'3" and never aligned well on conventional putting.   I have been trying "Side Saddle" or "Face On" putting over the past week.  Like the Surge Swing, it is very different from the rest of the golfing world.  Any advice from the Surge or the Blog? 

CJ