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Is Your Takeaway Ruining Your Swing Before It Starts?
Is Your Takeaway Ruining Your Swing Before It Starts?
Authored by: Brady
Posted on: 5 May 2026

You've probably been told your whole golfing life that you need to keep moving before you swing. Waggle, forward press, rock the knee — whatever it takes, just don't stand still. Surge heard that too. He just never agreed with it.

His thing was this: if you're pressing forward to start a swing that needs to go backward, how do you make that feel exactly the same every time? With every club, every lie, every round? After a while, you start to realize — you can't. That little forward move changes just enough, just often enough, to mess with your timing without you ever knowing why.

What Surge taught instead was to come to a full stop before starting the swing. Feet planted, waggle done, one last look at the target — then still. From there, a simple three-count: squeeze the grip equal in both hands, press the knees out slightly, and go. The toe of the club moves first, the arms follow, and the club finds its way back up the plane. Nothing fancy, just quiet and controlled... Read More

Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 16 July 2009
Comments: 2
I attended the Better Golf Through Technology Seminar at MIT in lovely and sunny, but below freezing, Boston, MA in January of 2008. The last thing I ever expected at this conference was to... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 15 July 2009
Comments: 1
I was walking up to the lesson tee to meet Mike for a lesson. He is a long time student, a scratch player, and was wanting a tune up because he was preparing for a number of big qualifying... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 14 July 2009
A few days ago I was answering some questions on PPGS.com and read a question I was going to respond to until something interrupted me. I have not gotten back to that question as of yet, so I... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 13 July 2009
Comments: 2
I believe that swinging on PLANE is one of the most important aspects of hitting the ball consistently solid and straight. And when I talk about swinging on plane, I am talking about swinging... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 12 July 2009
Comments: 1
I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines for a few years and for the four plus months since PPGS.com has launched. I have listened and heard TV commentators and Golf Channel show hosts... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 11 July 2009
I gave a lesson to my chiropractor Dr. Chris, and the main concern he wanted to work on was his problem of hitting short pitch shots chunky. With every pitch shot less than full, especially... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 10 July 2009
The '€œUnusual Lesson'€ was moving along pretty routinely. I was going full bore, making my presentation to the Doc on the causes and effects of physics and physiology on the golf swing.... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 9 July 2009
One of the most unusual lessons I ever gave started in a most unusual way. I got a call from a man on a Thursday afternoon at Harbour Town who told me he was coming in for a day long lesson... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 9 July 2009
Former Clemson player and PGA Tour player Johnathan Byrd's father James Byrd passed away on Tuesday.‚  Mr. Byrd was diagnosed with brain cancer‚  in November 2007.‚  After todays round at the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 8 July 2009
When we discuss target we are talking about alignment, which is one of the four fundamentals of setup along with grip, stance and posture. Alignment is critical because even a perfect swing... Read More