PPGS - Basics for Right or Left Handed Golfers

Thu, 08/15/2013 - 14:00 -- Don Trahan

As I've said many times before, the ball doesn't know who is swinging the club. That means that the basics of the Peak Performance Golf Swing are the same for everyone. That includes right handed golfers and left handed golfers, male or female.

Gary Bradt is a special case because he has spent time on both sides of the ball. He's been a natural lefty his whole life but just recently switched to playing golf as a left hander. He wants to know if there are any specific tips for executing the PPGS that are unique to lefties.

Don,

I switched from righty to lefty several years ago, as I am a natural left hander who had always played right handed due to lack of left-handed clubs as a kid. Loving the switch. I appreciate on the dailies when you mention how some of the concepts translate for lefties. My question is this: Based on your experience, are there specific tips for executing the PPGS that might be helpful for those of us playing from the left side?"

Thank you,
Gary Bradt
Greensboro, NC

Honestly, it doesn't matter what side of the ball you play from because every tip or drill that I provide works for both lefties and righties. Gary said that he appreciates when I mention how some of the concepts translate for lefties. But, he's wrong because ALL of the concepts and instructions I provide translate to both righties and lefties.

So, if you're a left handed golfer and feel as though you need special instruction, don't be fooled! Everything I teach works exactly the same for both sides of the ball.

Keep it vertical from either side!

The Surge

If you can't view the YouTube video above try CLICKING HERE. You must allow popups from this site for the link to work.

Comments

adel's picture

Submitted by adel on

Hi everyone,
It's been a while since I posted, but I follow you all daily...
I am a leftie, I manage to set up properly, i.e. alignment, riding the skinny horse, flaring my feet, catcher's mitt, up the tree, ring the bell...
On the way forward, I tend to flex my left knee (downwards), my weight transfers towards my toe, the club goes from outside in, I slice badly and consequently I am suffering from a sore left toe and swelling on tee top of my back foot that does not seem to get better...
Can you please suggest how to prevent that left knee from collapsing and stay level, it does not happen all the time, but it affects about 1/2 of my shots from the driver to the sand wedge.
Thanks you all in advance for your helpful input and expertise,
Regards.

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade on

Hello Adel.
Hope you're well and of course many of us remember you. Glad you're still following the PPGS. First, of any of the dozens of articles and dailies about the knees (and the back knee/your left) apply. As you surely recall, you can look at and review any and all of the coverage of the subject by using the archives accessed by using the search box on the upper right page. I am looking at them now and will share some ideas for you and post some for your benefit.

In this one

https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/back-leg-and-knee-must-stay-flexed-backswing

there is a possible clue for you. Surge talks about the need for us to get our knees in the flexed with outward pressure position as we pre-load heavy right-that's PLHL for you. Then he shows that we need to maintain and even slightly increase that flex as we load over and on to that back and in your case LEFT leg. Action/reaction tells us that we come up in the forward swing not collapse and go down as you indicate is a problem in your forward swing. Seems your leg is flexing more and collapsing in the FORWARD swing. It should be starting to straighten slightly as you come up in the follow through and T finish. You have the opposite problem of those in the above article. Also you indicate that your WEIGHT transfers to your toe. I will guess you mean your big toe. Sounds like your are not transferring your weight to your forward right leg. Remember you should have almost all your weight on the front foot and leg at swings end and nearly no weight on the back leg and foot and TOE. In your set up you need to be PLHL. Perhaps you are not. I will post a daily that covers how to know if we are or are not pre-loaded correctly. Also how to know if we have finished on the forward leg or not.
Additionally you may need to play around with the amount of foot flare and knee flex in your set up. I don't know your age or health (and don't need to know) but how strong do you keep your legs through stretching and walking/exercise? You need to get onto and over that back leg with flex and then stand up as you swing up and finish on your front leg/foot not down and on the back foot. Make sense? I hope some of these thought apply and help. One last thought. How are your golf shoes fitting and feeling in general? Maybe you need a fresh pair of comfortable golf shoes too.

Here is more to watch and read from Surge;

In this one think LEFT when he speaks of the back right knee.

https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/right-knee-transfer-
pressure

How do you know if your PLHLeft? Again think pre-loaded left when he speaks

https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/important-points-plhr-preloaded-heavy-right

Remember purpose of wide knees and outward pressure and that the back leg fires forward as your weight fully shifts to the front leg in finish.

https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/outward-pressure-knees-only-during-bus

Weight finishes on front leg - it straightens a little but doesn't lock. BTW you'll enjoy the opening 58 seconds.

https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/front-knee-straightens-never-locks

Dragonhead's picture

Submitted by Dragonhead on

Robert,
Oops indeed~! Finished 18holes today, drove home arriving and unloaded the clubs and trolley,finishing at exactly 2-30pm. At 2-31pm EXACTLY, I was passing behind my wife, who was in the laundry cleaning her golf shoes, when the earth moved for us!!! Ooops! as we completed an impromptu rhumba session! Reason? It was reported that a 6.6 earthquake had struck just south of us. The Geonet NZ now says it was a 6.2 quake. Goes to show how important our old friend Tai Ming is eh? hahaha. The school across the road was evacuated and trains have stopped running until lines are checked etc. Apart from the house wobbling violently for a few seconds and then some time later, an aftershock or two, we are fine.
PS.
"Wide Knees and Outward pressure" certainly helped stabilize me ; - ) during the quake. Thanks for the links above, I will view them with interest. DH in Wobbleyville NZ

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade on

I've always said I would rather go some day while playing golf. You almost went out swinging! Glad you got in your last hole in before the Earth shake. Good Tia Ming for sure. We played a narrow tough track yesterday, the Desert Pines. Was with Cindy and my daughters so it was a real treat. Shot 42/40 which of course could have been much better. The greens were fast and I slid several 5/6 feet by and missed a few coming back. Over all happy with several pars and one birdie.
Watched the Solhiem Cup this morning and disappointed they are not showing the afternoon action but have switched over to the boys.

Keep stable and level knees in shaky NZ.

Dragonhead's picture

Submitted by Dragonhead on

Glad that you got out and had a reasonable round with the family. Like yesterday, I was reasonably happy once I 'slooowed' down. Rushing to the course on the spur of the moment as the sun was shining, may have contributed a little to that. Those stable knees, PLHR certainly helped a lot.
Just finished watching the afternoon session of the Solheim after earlier watching the Wyndham. Won't spoil it for you by telling you the score ; - )
I love matchplay, playing or watching it.
Stay well and keep on hitting them more consistently in Vegas.
DH in Sodden [again] NZ

reedclfd's picture

Submitted by reedclfd on

RM: Thanks for the great reminders you posted - each one is a gem! It's funny how we can easily forget something so basic as PLHR (or L as the case may be). It's such an important part of the basic set-up, and if not done "correctly", our ball striking suffers. Take care! R2

Dave Everitt's picture

Submitted by Dave Everitt on

Is it only the golf swing that aggravates your rear foot ? One of the golf specific exercises that I do is alternating lunges. Can you do lunges without pain ? If it is not a physical problem such as arthritis or some ailment such as gout, that can cause a lot of joint pain, it might have something to do with the way that you move weight to the front foot.

Making a deliberate effort to push off with the rear foot could be over stressing it. The most efficient way for me to transfer weight to the front foot is to focus on moving/ pulling the tailbone toward the front heel with the forward side. This small bump starts the rear ankle rolling in and the force of the swing after impact pulls , not pushes the rear foot into its final position on the ball of the foot.

Your rear knee could be collapsing because of a lack of strength. If that is the case, an exercise program with light weights might help. I've been using a DVD workout called "Power sculpt" done by the producers of "The Biggest Loser" tv show, several times a week, for the last six months. In 30 minutes I can get a very complete strengthening and stretching routine,with a lot of golf specific exercises, done before playing a round of golf and it is actually fun to do. This has done a lot more to improve my game, this year, than beating a lot of balls on the driving range ever would.

Russty Kiwi's picture

Submitted by Russty Kiwi on

I agree with Dave Everitt, about pushing off with the back foot, as a possible cause for the sore toe & foot. Loading the back foot to push off might also cause the knee to dip, as it prepares to take the extra load for the push off. The pushing off could also put you ahead of the ball & cause a slice. The weight transfer from back foot to the front foot needs to be done more with the hips via the bump.Dave's idea of the tail bone is a good one. You could try flaring the back foot a bit more, to at least 30*, which makes it harder to push off with & one other thing that I have mentioned a few times, that has helped me, is to load & feel the weight of the back leg on the inside of the thigh, hip & leg, & over the arch of the foot, & not the outside of the foot. This stops to much hip & leg action for me & makes it easy to pop the weight onto the front foot. Good luck Adel

paulgpgt@aol.com's picture

Submitted by paulgpgt@aol.com on

Adel, I am also a lefty, who had gone from weak slices to hooks. I found I was loading too much on my back foot, causing me to come up turning to the right on my rear toe on the forward swing, pulling my sternum ahead of the ball at impact (outside to in swing the result). I really had to actually concentrate on keeping my front knee in its flex on the backswing and rotating around my sternum. This then allows for a good finish, without coming out of my swing with my back toe turning to the right, but straight down the toe line. Hopes this helps your swing...and toe! Paul

adel's picture

Submitted by adel on

Thank you all for your input and concern and directions. The flaw is in my swing, not caused by an ailment . I'll go trough all of your suggestions to prevent the left knee from collapsing as I initiate the FUS and cause swing problems, including aches. I forgot to mention in my previous message that this problem also causes me to hit the ground too often.

Regards,
Adel

Robert Fleck's picture

Submitted by Robert Fleck on

As one more voice from the wilderness, Adel, it's entirely likely that the collapsing of the left knee is a reaction, not the flaw itself. I'm guessing that when you really want to hit the ball, your upper body shifts forward and down, and that leads to the knee breaking down and hitting the ground before the ball. Something you might try in practicing is setting your feet so that the heels are only about 6" apart. Barely bend the knees and lean over to the ball. Swing from that position for a few goes. It will prevent your upper body from moving around because if it did, you'd fall flat on your face. After a few swings like that, try to duplicate the speed and feel of those closed-stance swings with your normal stance.

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade on

Adel,
Though not caused by an ailment it still may be from a lack of stability strength in the legs/knees. You may consider the various exercise recommendations along with swing considerations. I know that for me any way, I don't need to make any special efforts to get from my back foot to my front. If I pre-load enough there is only one way to go and that is forward. So I don't add any conscious movement after pre-loading to get any more onto my back leg. I'm already there. I simply focus on swing up and toward the target. the bump, lateral shift all happens as I stay balanced on my arches and it's all at the target in my head and body. While I could be wrong, that is why I think your causes may lie in think you're pre-loaded when you're not.

Leg strengthening is the other thought along with perhaps wearing a soft knee brace for support.

Hope some of our ideas help.

Roadrunner09's picture

Submitted by Roadrunner09 on

Don When I do my down swing my left hand flatens and opens the club face
and I hit weak shots right. If I cup my wrist like Hogan I hit straight shots. What could I work on to correct this swing flaw.

Russty Kiwi's picture

Submitted by Russty Kiwi on

Have you tried to focus on the right hand? I am assuming that you play right hand golf. I remember Surge saying that the lower right hand is the one that controls the club face, & the left arm controls the swing. It is also possible that you may be standing to close to the ball, which hinders proper rotation of the arms. Have a look in the search box on the top right of this page for more clues to solve your riddle

Robert Fleck's picture

Submitted by Robert Fleck on

Check that your grip isn't too much in the palm of your left hand, rather than in the crook of the fingers. Getting palmish effectively weakens the left hand on the club, keeping the club from squaring up and going toe up into the forward mitt.

Deb1's picture

Submitted by Deb1 on

This reminds me of the time our 9-hole dusk scramble was a "silly" day. Each hole had a different objective, like putting with the sand rake or using only the 7 iron. One hole had us teeing off opposite handed. I was last up. Watching everyone go first and seeing the trouble they were having, I thought I could figure it out just by going through Surge's PLHR set up sequence. Boy was I wrong. I couldn't even figure out which hand to put lower. It just goes to show how hard we are pre-wired. Very funny hole.

adel's picture

Submitted by adel on

Thank you again Surgites!
I have a LOT of material to consider now. I think one of my main problem is what Paul saw ( ...loading too much on my back foot, causing me to come up turning to the right on my rear toe on the forward swing), among others, like not pushing up with the FUS...
I'll go back to basics and to exercise too as I think, at 71, I do not have the strength I used to have...(Funny how we live in denial at times).
Regards to you all.
Adel.

KenD's picture

Submitted by KenD on

I am very interested in this swing technique as I have been trying for many years to shorten my swing and adjust to my lack of flexibility. I'm 6 ft 2 and have short arms and a big chest. So I feel that I can't get enough width in my shortened swing to swing down through the ball. When I lift up on my back swing, my left arm seems like it's right over top of the ball so I end up coming down very steep and hit either a slice or pull hook. Any thoughts for a big guy with short arms?

Steve Smith's picture

Submitted by Steve Smith on

Same as somebody with long arms and no chest. Have the patience to let the club start to fall instead of hitting at the ball from the top.

Like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mYS7QRv4s

If you let the club fall into the slot far enough it's impossible to come over the top and out to in.

We all get impatient when we are trying to bomb one but we get more distance by having more discipline from the top.

Dave Everitt's picture

Submitted by Dave Everitt on

This is a goldmine of slow and stop motion swings. There must be quite a few vertical swingers among the 1247 videos. I also enjoyed watching Tom Watson's upright swing.

"Patience"is the word for this part of the transition. I still find some days easier than others when it comes to being patient enough to let this critical part of the FUS just happen.

On another topic, I noticed today, while reviewing one of Surge's videos that he really stresses locking down the right wrist while addressing the ball, and keeping that locked down angle through impact to minimize the number of angles. I've somehow managed to miss this, and have been cupping my right wrist during the BUS the same as I always did with a with a rotational swing. Oh well !!! Back to the driving range.

KenD's picture

Submitted by KenD on

I am stocky like Stadler, but I suspect even he has longer arms than me, but I'm taller than him Anyway, it's good to see in slow motion how he swings. The one glaring difference I see in his swing than what this site teaches, is that his club head does not rotate, it's very closed throughout the swing. But that works for him I guess.

Robert Meade's picture

Submitted by Robert Meade on

Ken,

Just some ideas for you. I have been trying to visualize both your body type and set up and swing that is resulting in a steep swing and either a slice or pull hook. In both cases (slice or pull hook) you must be coming over the top and across the ball. Outside across with the club face open gives you a slice and a square to closed club face with the same swing gives you the pull hook. If I could see your set up I would also bet you are aimed well right of your target which also encourages the result you have. (if you are a right handed golfer).
So, at 6 ft 2 and with short arms it may benefit you to have irons that are longer than standard and flatter than standard. Here's an idea. Go on ebay (or a local golf shop)and buy a used iron or two (say like a 6 iron) and make sure they are longer than you are currently playing with- that may be 2 inches. You could also go to a local fitter or golf store to test out this idea. Buy or try out a single club that is longer and flatter. This will have you less on top of the ball (less upright) and give your arms added length while the flatter lie angle may help you to swing square without the tendency to go left and across. Now I may be off on the lie angle concept but trial and testing on a lie board at the golf shop (or with a fitter) will tell the story. Additionally, as Surge says, most swing flaws are due to poor alignment and most aim too far right so alignment sticks will help answer and cure that aspect. Keep in mind these are only guesses Ken.

Again as it has been suggested many times over, the best thing would be to get fitted by a professional. PPGS fitter is the best way to go.

KenD's picture

Submitted by KenD on

Actually, I do have plus one clubs, except the driver. Everything else is standard about them though. So I am open to trying flatter or more upright clubs. The main thing I see is that my arms are just way to short for the size of my chest. As I take my left arm back, if I don't try to really turn my hips and shoulders, it feels like my left hand stays right over the ball. Then, on the downswing, it becomes a right-hand only swing, and generally a scooping motion, in addition to coming over the top. I'm rambling now... I appreciate your suggestions and will try to get hold of some test clubs to see if I'm fitted right.