Today's tip covers one of my biggest no-no concepts: We never, ever, never want to hit down on the ball! Our whole goal with the Peak Performance Golf Swing is to hit UP on the ball. I recently received a note from Jon Tabram who loves what the Surge Swing has done for his game but he is having all sorts of difficulty in mastering the driver swing.
"I watched your Peak Performance Golf Swing DVDs and I saw an improvement straight away, but the only thing now is that I slice my tee shot with my driver
most of the time. My playing partners are saying it is because I am hitting down on the ball, but I am only doing the Catcher's Mitt and Up The Tree like on the DVD.Is there any way I can straighten up my shots because my alignment seems very off? And seeing that your DVD made a difference to my game I really don't want to go
back to my old swing and cocking my wrists. When are you back in the UK?"
Well, John, there are three potential major causes of this problem and the good news is that if your problem is caused by one of them the fix is relatively easy. So let's look at all three:
- Your Driver is the culprit. I say this because you only mention this problem in connection with this one club. By inference, I assume that you hit all of your other clubs quite well. I would take the club to a qualified fitter in your area, and since you live in the UK, where we currently do not have a Certified Fitter, ask the better players and your club pros where they take their clubs and go there. Have the fitter check your driver length to see if it is too long for you. Have him check the shaft to see if it has the proper flex characteristics for your swing speed and, finally, have him check the loft of the club. This latter bit is important as we age and our club head velocity slows. Adding loft to your driver will increase the launch angle and give you better, more solid ball strikes and will increase the distance your ball carries in the air.
- Your Forward Knee is the culprit. I see this in a lot of players who are recent converts from a big rotational swing. In the Surge Swing, we want to keep our entire lower body still, with knees level and slightly flexed up to the point of impact when we suddenly Stand Up As Fast As Possible. If your forward knee moves more than an inch inward during your backswing, it will pull your forward side down and encourage you to turn more than the 70 degrees we like. This ends up with what Dr. Armstrong and I call EBRT--End of Backswing Reverse Tilt. EBRT generally causes a player to come over the top with an outside-in swing and this often results in a chopping, downward path to the ball.
- Your Poor Alignment is the culprit. If you are keeping your knees level in the correct manner, but are lined up way outside of your target line (way right for a right-handed golfer) this same downward chopping motion could happen because you will still be coming over the top. Your body will block your arms as you come down toward impact so the natural reaction is to start a forward shoulder turn too soon. As you'll quite easily see in the video, your poor alignment can usually only end badly--in your case, a slice.
So just remember what you learned in the PPGS Swing Series DVDs, John. Make sure you set up correctly (Grip, Stance, Posture, Alignment, arms in the Master Setup Position). Next, get PLHR--Pre-Loaded Heavy Right by sinking down slightly on your rear leg. Then start your backswing with a slight move of the club toe up into the Catcher's Mitt and once your forward arm reaches your Toe Line, then lift the club straight Up The Tree. As you approach the top of your backswing, give your hips a slight Bump forward to initiate the weight transfer to your forward side and then bring your hands down as you swing the club head onto the aiming line, keeping your head still and behind the ball until impact. At impact, you want to stand up quickly, rolling the weight to the outside edge of the forward foot while swinging the club up to a perfect T-Finish.
To answer your last question about another trip to Europe this fall, we are trying to put together a week of one-day and three-day schools in the Netherlands with PPGS Certified Instructor Leo van Bennekom before heading south to sunny Spain to work with PPGS Certified Instructors Malcom Rawle and Harry Thomson for a full week of golf, golf instruction and tournament play. More details on both of these events will be forthcoming this weekend.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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