Today's tip stems from comments made recently by two Surgites, Randy Freisinger and Joe Scocco (a.k.a. Randy Freisi and Joe S.) during a discussion of The Proper Amount of Turn (07/30/11).
"Hitting balls this morning, I almost by accident and out of frustration made a slightly bigger turn and hit my driver as straight as I have in weeks. I realized that I have been relying too much on arms only, and with driver that has meant a big slice. I also had been looking at PAL and realized that the triangle my arms form on the back swing was tilted rather than level. So focusing on the triangle and making a better turn gave me a needed boost. I came home and watched Surge's video about making a good turn, and it seemed as if he had read my mind. Thanks for the ongoing and often amazingly timely advice, and for your dedication to helping all of us improve. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. No schools or Surge Swing instructors anywhere close so these videos and other instructional aids on the web site are really important to me. Thanks again and keep it coming."
There are a couple of things in Randy's comment that I would like to elaborate upon. First, a reminder to one and all, that while the Peak Performance Golf Swing is a limited turn swing, it is critical that we do turn approximately 70 degrees to get our forward arm over, and parallel to, the toe line. By not turning and just swinging with our arms, we tend to move our body forward and cast the club outwards as we initiate the Forward Upswing. This will guarantee a big slice most every time, especially when hitting your driver.
Randy also references a product I developed nearly 25 years ago that has been updated several times since. Now known as PAL, Personal Anytime Lesson, it is a product we offer to Inner Circle members that is like having me on-call 24/7 to help diagnose problems with your swing and provide a prescription of how to remedy the issue. One day soon we plan to upgrade it again so that the prescription you get will also refer you to short video tips from the daily video archives that are on point.
The triangle Randy describes is formed at both ends of the swing between both elbows and your hands/club. In the Surge Swing, we want the base of this triangle, the line between your elbows, to be level with the ground and not tilted. This is totally opposed to modern rotational theory which promotes a tilted triangle at the top of the swing. A tilted triangle means that the club will be "heavy", laid-off and deep into the Sacred Burial Ground, and you know what problems that creates! So focus on finishing both the backswing and the forward upswing with your elbows level and you will be well on your way to hitting the ball square, solid, and straight.
In the same discussion, we had another comment from a subscriber named Joe Scocco. Joe wrote:
"Thanks for your posting. I'm having the same problem "slicing the driver most of the time " I'll try to turn a little more next time I'm out at the range. I don't understand why this is happening because my iron shots are pretty darn straight. Just having trouble with the driver & 3 & 5 woods.
Any suggestions?"
Well, Joe, the thing I keyed in on from your comment was the fact that you are hitting your irons pretty straight. That suggests the problem is likely not to be you and your swing but rather your clubs! More specifically, your driver and fairway woods. They may not have the correct shaft for your swing speed, but more than likely they are just too darn long. As I have said many, many times before most people who buy off-the-shelf clubs end up with shafts that are way too long for them. So try choking down on the grip--maybe by as much as two inches. If you find that you suddenly start hitting the woods straight and true, then take your clubs to a good club fitter and have them cut to the proper length. You may also need to compensate for the weight of the shaft that's been removed by adding some lead tape to the club head. This is something that your fitter can easily do for you.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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