A few weeks ago, I held a three day golf school at Old South and, as I always do, I drove the +5 hours from my home and arrived mid-afternoon the day before. I had arranged to meet with my Head Instructor, Greg MacDonell, at the clubhouse. So imagine my surprise when I walked into the pro shop to find that a young man from Finland had just inquired if I was around to teach a private lesson because he was having problems with consistency. Talk about serendipity!
As it turned out, Sammi Jokela is a very good golfer--a 4 handicapper--who switched to the Peak Performance Golf Swing just this past May. He's also a lefty who is about 6' 3" (1.9m) tall. When you consider that the Finnish chapter of the Surge Nation has one of the shortest golf seasons in the world at about four months, it is remarkable that he has mastered the Surge Swing so quickly.
When we got out to the practice tee I asked him to warm up and then just hit balls for a while so that I could evaluate his swing. Despite very good swing mechanics, Sammi was hitting a lot of toe chubbies, heelies and thins and they were landing either right or left of the target I had given him. Yet every once in a while, he would hit some really pure shots, ones that were long and straight.
Sammi's inconsistency was caused by two setup problems that are often overlooked by players. The first had to do with his posture; he was putting his weight back on his heels which was causing balance issues as he began his FUS. A good way to check your weight distribution is to see if you can easily lift your toes when at address. If you can, then your weight is too far back. Conversely, if you can easily lift your heels then your weight is too far forward. The ideal weight distribution point is over the arches of your feet. Sammi's mishits were the result of his improper posture.
His other problem--hitting balls left and right of the target--was caused by the #1 setup problem I have mentioned innumerable times on this blog. That's right, Alignment. The Big "A". I waited until he hit a really good shot that was off-target and before he could move his feet I asked him to lay the club along his toes and then step behind it and check his aiming line. Sure enough, it was not aligned parallel to the target line. I gave him some tips on how to use an alignment aid on the range to ingrain that sense of lining up parallel left of the target. It wasn't long before Sammi started consistently blasting shots straight at the target.
Sammi also told me that he's a pilot and that he often can take his clubs with him whenever his job takes him to warmer climates. So I expect that by next season, Sammi's regular playing partners are going to be in for a big surprise because his already low handicap is going to be headed further south! PMG, Sammi.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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