Last week, we received a great question from Irv Hoffbauer, who is 84 years young and still working on his game, proving once again that golf can and should be a game for a lifetime. Irv is concerned that he may not being getting high enough up the tree during his backswing. When he doesn't focus on this, he usually hits a good shot, but when he tries to consciously lift his arms so that they are over the toe line he often tops the shot.
As so often happens with this blog, Irv received great feedback from one of our regular contributors, Steve Smith, who told him that by concentrating on getting his arms to a point that exceeds his personal flexibility level he was affecting his posture and losing dynamic balance. That is 100% correct! So, Irv, rather than concentrate on making a full backswing, I would like to see you lift only as high as you can without changing your spine angle. Hopefully, this will help you stay in dynamic balance and allow you to consistently make good shots so you can continue to enjoy the game for a long time to come.
While we are on the subject of flexibility, I would like to remind everyone to take the time to properly stretch and flex your muscle groups before beginning a round or a practice session. Not doing so can not only affect your score, it can also lead to serious injury that may keep you out of golf for a good while. If no one has ever shown you how to warm up correctly, I encourage you to check out the website of my good friend, Bruce Chaffin, The Rolfer Golfer. He has a lot of good information there, including some video tips on how to warm up correctly before a round. His website is www.therolfergolfer.com.
And Irv, while we do not have a certified instructor in Iowa at present, we are working hard to expand our network of PPGS certified instructors. We are also preparing to launch a new online instruction program where, for a modest fee, you can send us video of your swing which one of our certified instructors will review, mark up, and then add their verbal diagnosis of what is going wrong as well as what they want you to work on. This will begin to roll out sometime next month.
Until then, Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
You have some really good
You have some really good questions. The eye line can point to a lot of places, not where theÃÂ shot is desired. The ball is only one out our 360 degrees of angle possible. The NAB aims the eyes. As to your buddies putting I can only diagnosis his situation in person. There is no one who cannot become a good putter.
Doc
Doc
Yes that is exactly the problem. Bill ended up using the KBS steal hybrid shafts per KBS they sent him two shafts for him to tryout in my hybrids he usually builds them with graphite but I wanted steel for accuracy I am actually hitting them 10 yards further than the two hybrids I had. I also think he cut the lengths on them in progression with my irons the 3 hybrid is 21* and the 4 is 24* which replaces the 3 iron at 20* and 4 iron at 23*ÃÂ that would have been in my set.
Roger, have you checked your
Roger, have you checked your spam filter and made sure that you've white-listed swingsurgeon.com with your email provider? You can, of course, always check in here on a daily basis, as well, but it's not unlikely that you're not receiving email from this site because your provider or your mail program have decided that it's spam and kept it out of your in box. Otherwise, rather than posting your email publicly (where spam bots will grab it up and fill your email with garbage), use the subscription function at the top right of the page where it says "Free Golf Tips."
Hi Surge,I just wanted to let
Hi Surge,
I just wanted to let you know that your swing system has allowed me to golf more often this year than the past two years combined. I have a bone disorder that causes all kinds of physical issues for me and the rotational swing was causing too much pain for me to play more than four or five holes at a time. A friend of mine told me about your swing metthod and I have been working on it since last fall with encouraging results. I can play eighteen holes nowÃÂ and swing pain free. I'm hoping that I will be able to start to reduce my handicap as I continue to practice. The best part is that I can play again!
Thanks for your daily tips and for sharing your swing methods for those of us with physical issues.
Mark Wilcox
Barrie Ontario CanadaÃÂ
I actually did make it out
I actually did make it out this morning for nine. I didn't keep score, but I think it was 4 pars and 5 bogies. Still from stupid pitting mistakes mostly except for the last hole when I made two bad swings. Robert M will appreciate that my drive on the next-to-last hole left me with 147 to the green, and the hole before I hit the perfect drive we discussed past the little tree and over the mound on the corner to exactly 100 yards. Unfortunately right into a divot. In both cases I overcooked the approaches, though, and flew to the backs of the greens. Managed to get down in two the first time. Played with three elderly gentlemen who were consistently down the middle off the tee, but had a lot of troubles from the fairway. I'm worried they were trying to oversewing because their second shots were just reaching my first on a few holes.
No problem Kevin and good
No problem Kevin and good luck tomorrow.
I would definitely go with the extra 30 or 40 yards if I could. ;-)
It's a little late for him
It's a little late for him and he would be way too stubborn. He'll just have to continue to be satisfied with what he's got.
Besides that if he could putt he would win the money every week. He wins entirely too much as it is. LOL
Roger, I am benifitting from
Roger, I am benifitting from this exchange between you, Doc, Steve and GLhawk.
I too have an occasional challenge with my new 4 hybrid. I am going to play with the ball position and GL's idea of backing off an inch. When I hit it I get a healthy 200 yards out of it. Just need consistency. Don't we all?
Well I have been using the
Well I have been using the Surge swing now for about a year and I finally did something that I have been trying to do for 50 years..I got a Hole in one on a Par 3, 127 yards using an 8 Iron.. I'am 70 years old and when they gave me a certificate showing my hole in one I thought of the Surge and personnallly thanked him in my mind..Thank you Surge. J. Periman
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