Today's video tip is a bit of a cautionary tale for those of your who are trying to incorporate much or all of what I teach into your game. I recently saw a tip from a well-known rotational swing instructor, and in it he made a comment about the club rising vertically in the T-Finish.
"This is usually the better player trying to hit the ball from the inside or down the target line where the club gets too vertical in the follow-through."
What he's describing here is the hallmark of a vertical swing where the player's swing path gets the club head on the target line sooner, and keeps it there for a longer period of time, than does the flatter arc of a rotational swing which only is on the target line a millisecond before and after impact. What he holds up as a swing fault is actually why I believe a vertical swing is far superior to a rotational one.
As you've heard me say a thousand times before, the Peak Performance Golf Swing is the only swing that is 100% based on the immutable laws of physics and human physiology. Dr. Alistair Cochran, in his book, Search for the Perfect Swing, said that certain things have to happen in order to hit a good golf shot:
- The club head must approach the ball ON the aiming line
- It must strike the ball while still ON the aiming line
- And leave the point of impact ON the aiming line, swinging at the player's maximum speed
- The club face must be SQUARE to the target
- And the club must strike the ball SOLID (more or less on the sweet spot)
This is the essential description of the underlying physics of a good golf swing and it's why I talk so much about my Surgism of On, On, and On, Square and Solid. Dr. Cochran goes on to say this fundamental truth about the nature of the golf swing:
"To achieve the accuracy required [to hit a good golf shot], any such system just has to be as simple as possible. If it isn't, no player can begin to control it consistently enough to produce anything like championship-standard golf.
One key to the perfect golf swing, then--and, in all probability, to the differences between top-class players and duffers--must be the maximum possible simplicity in operation compatible with generating full power from almost all the active muscles the human body has at its call."
This is something that the top-class professional players we watch every week on TV have done. They've spent years doing everything humanly possible to eliminate error from their powerful swings so that they can consistently repeat them. They have access to the best coaching and the best equipment that is then minutely tweaked to get the most out of their individual swing profile. And today's tour pro is in far better physical shape than the average golfer and can thus develop swing speeds of 115-125 mph, something that 99.99% of golfers cannot come close to achieving, even on their best days.
So why is it, then, that the golf media, as well as most of the professional golf instructors in the world, advocate that a rotational swing is the ideal swing for the average golfer who will have few, if any, of the advantages a professional brings to his or her game?
To me, this makes absolutely no sense as the rotational swing involves a highly complex set of movements that run counter to the laws of physics and to what the human body is capable of doing without running the risk of injury. As Dr. Cochran explains in his book, a rotational swing has very little margin for error if the club face is to be square at impact--something less two degrees off square to the target if the ball is to land within 15 yards of the aiming line.
The simplicity of the Surge Swing and its proven ability to get the club head on the target line and keep it there while accelerating through impact is tailor-made for any golfer, particularly amateurs who don't earn their living playing golf. So, please, if you are trying to learn my limited turn, 3/4 vertical swing, exercise great caution in incorporating into your game any advice that comes from a rotational swing perspective. Whether it's from a nationally ranked golf instructor, a TV golf analyst, a golf magazine, or just one of your golf buddies, 85-90% of what they say you should do will not serve you well if you truly want to excel with a vertical swing.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
https://swingsurgeon.com
https://swingsurgeon.com/Surge...
Richard,
In Don's 14 drills video is the Cactus Drill. A wonderful visual of the swing broken in two segments. With the back hand in the cactus position, practice swinging the forward hand up to meet it. This is how the forward shoulder, arm and hand moveÃÂ in the BUS.
ÃÂ As for the Long Tom... If he thinks 45" is too long, he probably thinks longer is ridiculous.
Dan
Ha ha! LOLHe has a DJ, so I
Ha ha! LOL
He has a DJ, so I'll call myself CJ.
I saw where one blogger thought the same company produced both.
"They have the golden arches, we have the golden arcs". Ha ha!
I wonder what GOECKS really stands for?
Hey. Want to see something impressive?
Phil will never blow his own horn so I'll mention it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
I don't think I would miss the last one because it wouldn't be a problem concentrating once that close but I would probably miss somewhere in the middle from my wandering mind. I showed it to my son and he said "How would you not choke?" Ha ha!
"So let it be written, so let
"So let it be written, so let it be done".
;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
That's amazing progress in
That's amazing progress in two years, and if you're like me you probably think that on any given day breaking 80 is a possibility with the Surge Swing.ÃÂ You're veryÃÂ lucky to have found it sooner rather than later.
When I think of the wastedÃÂ 25 years and countless useless instruction books that I've read during that time, before finding this truly simple swing..
Putting a positive spin on the whole thing, at least the search forÃÂ a golf swing has been an interesting and challengingÃÂ one, even if it was frustating.
Yeah from all of your posts
Yeah from all of your posts in the past I can tell that you never used the takeaway that I used with my old swing. (Lucky for you). ;-)
I'm not sure when or where I picked it up but in that takeaway, and in fact pretty much through the whole swing, the butt end of the club is pointing at my chest the entire time with the shaft running perpendicular to my chest.
I even had quite a bit of success with that swing but the takeaway for it doesn't go with this swing at all and to me that is a true one piece takeaway. If the chest rotates 70* the shaft also rotates 70*. Nothing changes. So to get the club head in any position to hit the ball at all I had to turn at least 90*.
That (one piece takeaway) doesn't work with this swing and has been the biggest hurdle for me by far.
Other people that never used that takeaway don't even understand how hard a habit it is to break or understand the reason that "one piece takeaway" is the very last thing I would want in my mind.
I've had one year of trying to break that habit butÃÂ it still tries to creep back in very often.
Wayne Defrancesco doesn't
Wayne Defrancesco doesn't know the difference between 70 degrees and 70 percent. Why should I listen to his analysis? It seems pretty obvious to me he's prejudiced from the get-go.
Hey Craig,Maybe I'm lucky and
Hey Craig,
Maybe I'm lucky and maybe I'm just not smart enough but I never even think about things like elbows and chicken wings.
(Well maybe chicken wings if I'm hungry). ;-)
All I really think about when I take a practice swing is where I want to be halfway back, and at the top (usually I feel one thing but any video shows another on both of those).
And I watch the path of the club head through the impact zone (once again any test I've done shows something different than what I think I see).
For me to get maximum time with the club head running down the target line it has to appear to me that the path is more in to out than it actually is.
My biggest flaw lately has been the club face being closed at half way back. I've always pushed the limits on that anyway but lately have gone off the deep end with it.
I doubt if I could give very many people 12 strokes and win. That's pretty impressive. I don't normally play well against players that would be more than 12 strokes above my average score and I am just as likely to play right down to their level. Doesn't make a lot of sense but that's the way it works out. I play a few strokes better than my average when I play people better than I am and play quite a few strokes over my average when I play people worse than I am.
Luckily for me we don't do any handicapping in any of the games around here other than to let some people play from the up tees.
Hi, Surge. Good reminder.
Hi, Surge. Good reminder. Indeed, with very FEW exceptions, traditional (rotational swing) teaching messes you up. THIS was a good video!
https://swingsurgeon.com
https://swingsurgeon.com/Surge...,
Like I mentioned to Richard:In Don's 14 drills video is the Cactus Drill. A wonderful visual of the swing broken in two segments. With the back hand in the cactus position, practice swinging the forward hand up to meet it. This is how the forward shoulder, arm and hand move in the BUS.
He also refers to it as your place in space.
Dan
I just watched the Floyd
I just watched the Floyd/Faldo shows on driving. I wondered if Surge did this video with these series of shows in mind. I'm really amazed that I understand so much more from these guys now than I would have two years ago. I've been listening/watching Surge for two golf seasons. I listened to what was explained and see if it fits with Don's ideas. ÃÂ Now, I could see if I didn't have the knowledge base that Surge has taught me, these tips would just confuse me to death. ÃÂ Maybe these pros should start with "the catcher's mitt" and go from there. :)ÃÂ
Moving right along..........
Moving right along...........
Here's my favorite, the first segment. it was replaced with an edited version that now occupies the home page.
I'll give you a hint;
"one man.....
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Da...
it's inspirational and makes me want to climb the mountain and BE the Ball, Feel the Ball! I AM the Ball!!
Ah shabah bah bah bahhhhh, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmn...
Russty, sounds like we have
Russty, sounds like we have trodden the same path, except I was tutored
by professionals and paid heaps for it. Getting about three emails a day
from the opposition, so I think they must be hurting. Still can't believe on
the progress Iv'e made this year,ÃÂ I'llÃÂ reserve the "Snake oil Salesmen"
comment for these so called PGA Professionals.ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ
To all Surgites everywhere!
To all Surgites everywhere!
I want to thank Lynn for responding to an email I sent him because I could not find the full interview anywhere. Super sleuth that he is, he found the interview on Greg Norman's website and not Feherty's. For anyone interested in seeing the show, here's the link: http://www.shark.com/sharkwatc...
The bit about Norman having to stop playing golf competitively is covered at about 4 minutes in and the bit about his 10-11 major surgeries at 11:45 or so.
Thanks, Lynn!
Tom Jans
Nice going Craig. After
Nice going Craig. After seeing all the golf from Sydney and Melborn these past few weeks i can only imagine you must be coming into your peak golfing months. Yes don't let your thoughts confuse the good feel and obvious results your having (save the driver- that long low lofted rascal!). Great fun down under for you and your mates:)
PMG
That is a big mistake that
That is a big mistake that many people make. There is very little you can piecemeal out of the PPGS and utilize with other swing philosophies, and trying to move from one to another continuously is a recipe for frustration and bodily damage.
Richard,
Richard,
Use the cactus drill as an aid. start with rear hand in the cactus position and practice bringing the forward hand from impact up to the rear hand.
If Don thinks 45" is too long, he probably thinks 48" is too too long long.
The glaring similarity is due
The glaring similarity is due to the fact that Don's ex-partner is the person that helped set up this other site that you are refering to.
Hi Astewart,ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ Ã
Hi Astewart,
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ hahahahaha! Mule fritters,move on! Didn't even bother to watch it all.
Cheers NeilÃÂ I did have one
Cheers Neil
ÃÂ I did have one professional lesson & could'nt work for several days after from back pain. Never did go back for some reason. We only call them professionals because the get payed to abuse us. I wonder what would happen if there was no money involved
Robert, Surge has indicated
Robert, Surge has indicated on many occasions that the older players are more in line with his thoughts. I still get the emails form the old site, and just from the titles, I can tell not to pay any attention to almostÃÂ all of them. One that has helped however, once I finally tried it, is to get the tension out of my arms and wrists. This will probably stir up some controversy here, but when I keep the wrists naturally loose and let them flex (cock?) however much they want at the top, and then drop my arms into the FUS, (Rather than swinging from the top), they uncock naturally along with the right side release and I get a lot more pop on the ball as well as the club face squaring up. I tried to take everything literally early on, and pretty much maintained that initial left arm to club angle throughout my swing. When I videoed it, it was pretty obvious that wasn't working ( I can not get anywhere near vertical with a three quarter swing maintainimng that angle). I think Surge's warning to not cock the wrists means not to use various arm and hand muscles to do the cocking early, as this induces the tension that you never want. Maybe there should be a different term for the natural version so we don't get hung up on semantics.
I have mentioned here before that I discovered a book published in 1977 and subsequently republished by Golf titled "6 Days to Better Golf". It was written by Obitz and Farley, and although there are some obvious differences from PPGS, a high percentage is directly applicable and complementary. They take you in stages from a quarter, half, three quarter, and then to a full swing. So just ignore the full swing part. They also part ways on the knees, so that can be ignored as well. They also propose that the hands on the BUS should be somewhere between the shoulder and ear which sounds pretty familiar. The book can be had pretty cheaply on the internet and would make a good winter fireside read.
We've plowed that field back
We've plowed that field back in Feb of this year.ÃÂ Here is your refute as Surge wouldn't waste his time.
(sent to wayne by me)
Here we go again!ÃÂ Not once, no where, at no time has Surge ever said we swing the club straight up.ÃÂ He says it is a vertical swing.ÃÂ If you look at his position at the top, the club is in a vertical position as opposed to being laid off as is the case in each and every golfer that you mentioned.ÃÂ Hogan being the primary example of the flat, laid off swing, that being from necessity as he was short and with long arms.ÃÂ He had to swing the way he did or else the standard men's club would have stuck in the ground.ÃÂ Before Hogan, golfers used the "classic"ÃÂ swing, also referred to as the two plane swing.ÃÂ Look at Bobby Jones for example.ÃÂ In fact, teachers used to strongly teach against the "laid" off position as being "wrong".ÃÂ Surge simply states that his swing, which is an adaptation of the "classic" swing is more body friendly.ÃÂ The statement is truth as there is less torque placed on the lower back.ÃÂ The major differences in his swing as opposed to what is commonly taught at the two plane swing is:ÃÂ 1.ÃÂ Limited turn of the shoulders (it's also 70*, not 70% sir)ÃÂ 2. Limited hip rotation aided by the outward pressure of the kneesÃÂ 3.ÃÂ Limited movement of the hands and wrist (there is no setting of the wrists as the only movement is caused by the momentum of the club still going back and the transition and pulling down of the downswing takes place.ÃÂ This causes the slight break of the wrist and not a cup or bow action)
It is also not impossible for the club to come into the ball coming down the target line.ÃÂ The misconception is that it comes down this line the entire time.ÃÂ That is never stated either.ÃÂ The club comes into the ball slightly from the inside and then it will proceed down the target line into the ball and out on the same line.ÃÂ It's pretty evident from the video that you use that this is indeed what transpires.ÃÂ The distance that the club travels on the target line is only a mere 8 inches or so but it does take place.
The follow through is one that comes up and again over the shoulder in a vertical position as opposed to left and around the left shoulder and club wrapped around the neck.ÃÂ My question is this, have you ever even bothered to get his manual and read it?ÃÂ How about his videos?ÃÂ Ever bothered to actually look at them?ÃÂ One thing is for sure, this swing that has been around a long long time takes a lot less work to keep in sync.ÃÂ
Right you are Lynn.ÃÂ I can
Right you are Lynn.ÃÂ I can still remember(with much pain) how I felt like a contortionest in training trying to get into all the positions recomended by so called top teachers of the X factor. My back hurts just thinking about it. Okay, back to a simple 3/4 limited turn and vertical swing. Ah, that feels better :)
You may be put together
You may be put together differently than I but I don't think you can turn one without the other turning as well....HA HA HA (ok,ÃÂ enough of that)ÃÂ Rotate your shoulders and don't even think about it.ÃÂ When you put on your pants in the morning do you think about which leg goes in first?ÃÂ How about which shoe you put on first?ÃÂ Don't over think it. Just do it!
Surge:Don't know who this
Surge:
Don't know who this fellow is but would love to hear you refute what he is saying about the peak performance golf swing. ÃÂ Please let us know what you think to this challenge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
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