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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: 14 April 2009
FRANK'S WALL I had a playing lesson with a student the other day — we'€™ll call him '€œFrank.'€ While Frank had taken a few lessons from me, we'€™d never teed it up before. He was a five and... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 13 April 2009
We've had several golfers in various countries where baseball isn'€™t played, ask the obvious question: Surge, I'€™ve never seen a baseball game. So where is the catcher'€™s mitt (as in €œin the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 9 April 2009
Shoulder Injury: Recovery and Rehab I know I just wrote about Bob'€™s back , but I recently received an e-mail from Patty, who lives in Kansas City, Mo. She asked some questions that I felt... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 8 April 2009
FIXING BOB'S BACK My new student, Bob, was pretty typical. Pretty good player, big turn, sore back, gloomy outlook. He told me on the phone that he'€™d gone from a five to a 15 because of back... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 7 April 2009
SCIENCE ON THE LESSON TEE '€œThat'€™s not possible!'€ the science teacher said to me. He was a professor at (name with held) University. His specialty was, I believe, quantum physics, but don... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 5 April 2009
The HOSEL ROCKET: Not A Pretty Sight! I'€™d just finished a lesson when a ball came whizzing by my head. Teaching pros lead dangerous lives. '€œFore!'€ someone on my right yelled, a little... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 2 April 2009
Comments: 1
Golf Club Grips We have recently been asked by a number of visitors to the site about golf club grips, especially the oversized and Moe Norman-style, non-tapered grips. While we'€™ll go... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 1 April 2009
A number of visitors to the site have asked if the PPGS will help with sore knees. Here'€™s one example. Mr. J. Gamble was using a wide stance and said: '€œI have never been able to swing... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 31 March 2009
Fairway Bunker Shots Playing out a fairway bunker is a very scary and thus a difficult shot for most amateurs. I have even had PGA Tour Players and mini tour pros run into trouble playing... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 30 March 2009
Mud On Your Ball What is the number one thing PGA Tour players do NOT want to see on their ball when they get to it in the middle of the fairway?‚  MUD!‚  Why?‚  Because they know that... Read More