Swing Up On All Shots

This is not about the current topic but more a personal problem that I hope someone may be able to offer some advice.  I have been practicing the PPGS method for about 15 or 16 months now and have had quite a bit of success.  My major problem is persistently  hitting left (I am a right-handed golfer), rarely slicing.  I do think the fact that I do not have a left eye may be causing me to rotate my shoulders left in setup although I can't see it myself.  I work fairly hard at Don's alignment, using alignment pointers even when practicing on the course.
Does anyone have any similar problem?

John Thompson

 Good to hear from you again Ronnie. Like Steve, I don't have much faith or use for a 60*. I use a 48* PW. 52* GW, 56* SW, and for any and all green side bunkers, my trusty Alien Wedge. My wedges are Tom Wishon and offer some uniqueness to their design.
http://wishongolf.com/designs/...

Like you, my putting is always an ongoing battle in which I have learned two specific things over the years. I do best with center shafted, face balanced styles and a very oversize grip. I presently like the Two Thumbs, but installed sideways with the widest part against the inside palms.

Keep fighting for improvement Ronnie, and give us a post every now and then. Best wishes for life and golf.

That's a lotta golf in one day, Dick. Congratulations. Out here there aren't many courses I could get through more than twice in a day as slow as people play. Unless I were up to paying $200 a round. :)

Great to here all is going well Dick. 72 holes?!! Wow! It's good to be Dick:)
Sounds like it's all coming together for your PAT. You are living the golfers dream life. Fun stuff. Thanks for sharing and keep us posted.

I'm not the foremost authority , it may be , your club striking the ball , outside  -  into the ball pulling it to the left , i don't think it's your eye , when our , " nose at ball,"  at moment of impact , you may be looking away , lifting
your head  to early ..  Jon

I like those Wishon's. Now you have me thinking and I dug out an old 2 thumb grip I have had lying around for years. Have you tried a belly putter?

I have the SK Fiber in all my clubs. Driver, hybrids, irons and wedges.

To clarify, are you pulling it left or is it hooking or curving from right to left?
Does it start left and fly straight left? Understanding the 9 ball flight laws won't fix the problem right away but it can help you diagnose the swing results you are currently getting. After understanding what your ball flight is then we may be able to give you a better answer. Read and watch the following links below carefully. I hope they help you see if it is your path, clubface angle or a combination. You will understand better if your swing is inside out, outside in or perhaps slightly outside in with a slightly closed clubface. Additionally by examining your divots and video taping your swing you will begin to get a clearer picture of what's causing your shots to fly left.
It could also turn out to be that your clubs are too upright which could cause your shots to fly left. I know it's quite alot to consider but it may help you on this crazy journey called golf. Get back to us and you'll be pleasantly surprised that good advice can be had here.

http://www.vipgolfacademy.com/...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Hey Mr. Ronnie! Nice to here from you. I also have the habit of using my PW48* as much as possible because I am very confident with it. However I often play a course that has greenside bunkers that are not on the side but in front of the green and I need to get some loft. I also don't like the 60* and play a 53 and 58*. I have really started following the Kenny Knox videos and am forcing myself to get better and more confident with those more lofted clubs. It's working. I have found that the 53 gives me between 75-85 yards and the 58 from 65-75. I usually keep my swing to only 1/2- 3/4's with both for more control. Have made both of them more versitile by grinding the heals and toe bounce to a lesser degree. That really helps when I have to make the 58 more like a 60-62 and flop it over a trap or hill from say only 20/30 yards. It takes practice and commitment but that's what I have to do to improve my game this year.
Hope you're well and it's good to hear from you
PMG

I might be able to get that many rounds in mid-summer out here. Surprisingly, not that many people want to be outdoors for hours on end when it's 115*.

Get your Shot Trackers up, as DJ will be teeing off in about 10 minutes. I've been tracking the McDowell and Westwood group this morning, and Lee must have had one hell of a good kick forward on his tee shot on 4 (his 13th hole). It went 367 yards.

EDIT: And, as usual, I make two mistakes. Well, I made one and Tracker was slow updating for the other. The 367 yards for Lee Westwood was actually 2 shots, as his first went in the bunker. Stupid human error updating the information. ;-) And, I forgot that the event is in Texas, so DJ won't be teeing off for another hour.

Surge:
Do you have a certified PPGS instructor in the Phoenix, Scottsdale area?  If so can you email me who they are?  Thanks,
I'm a student of your's and have been to a couple of your schools.  Thanks

Thanks for the tip - out to the range to give it a try.

Steve, I was typing and looking up the references I gave below while you were too. Kinda cool that we were simultaneously being helpful at the same time. Neat thing about it is we hadn't read each others answers first so both are independant takes on the question from John. Your answer focuses more on the likely problem and a solution and I came from a let's get to know more first perspective. Both helpful and we both shared the importance of 'seeing' what's going on by video.
All good. Have a great night Steve:)

Surge:
I've asked this question before, but your answer hasn't soaked in yet.  I'm hitting behind the ball with all clubs when the ball is on the grass.  I sense that I'm sinking down on the back swing and I don't know why or how to correct it.  I've experimented with ball location in my stance.  It doesn't seem make a difference.  All my clubs are from Doc Griffin, and I like them.
I've tried to obey your instructions regarding heavy load right, with limited turn and I concentrate on not rotating into the SBG.  I tend to hit the ball slightly right with a little slice, unless I concentrate very hard on rotating my forearms over on the down swing at impact.  Then I seem to be able to hit the ball more down the center.  But most of the time, I'm bouncing off the grass into the ball and this reduces power and distance.  What is the magical answer?  Thanks
Bob

DJ tees off at 12:20 am eastern time at the Shell Thursday. Let's hope he can build on making the cut last week and put 4 good days together. We're pulling for you Deej.

Yeah, give me 100 yards of cart path roll and I could do it. :) Actually, I was once hole high on a 670 yard hole in two. Of course, 400+ yards of the hole was down a 30-something* slope and my second shot hit the cart path crossing at the bottom of the hill and bounced up to the green. Amazing how far a ball will bounce off of a cart path when it has several hundred feet of momentum behind it.

Anyone looking for this information can find it via the Instruction & Club Fitting tab at the top of any page here. The answer, though, is no. There are currently no certified instructors in Arizona. 

Surge Nation.

What a day it was for golf in central Oklahoma boys and girls.  I started off on the putting green at 715 this morning, and got out of my cart at dark.

Now for the rest of the story.  After 15 min. of good stretching, I putted, chipped, and hit balls on the range until 9 AM.  At 907 we teed off on our South course.  The guy I was playing with had to go to work at 1 PM, so he only got to play 27 holes with me.  After he left, I played the back nine on the North course by myself.  I then hooked up with two other guys that work at the course.  We played 18 holes together.  By that time  Donna was off work, and she came out and rode with me while I played another 18.  Altogether I got in 72 holes today.  We got up to about 80° today, and the winds were 15 to 20.  The best news is that if I took any two rounds of the four rounds I played today and put them together, I would have passed the PAT.

It seems to really be coming together for me right now.  Only a week and a half to go.  I just have to hope I can put together two great rounds on 9 April.

This was the most golf I've ever played in one day in my whole life.  I've played three rounds on the same day several times since I started using the Surge  Swing.  I have a home inspection to do tomorrow morning, and I should be able to hit the course by about 1 PM.  I plan on playing till dark.  Friday morning I am playing with two of the young pros at the course, then working in the clubhouse till dark.  That is what my schedule is gonna look like until after the PAT.

I am living proof that the Surge Swing is body friendly.  As you know, I had not been able to play golf for nearly 20 years due to severe back and shoulder injuries from a service related accident.  That all changed when I found the Surge a year and a half ago.  For the last year I've averaged 4 – 6 rounds a week, with no pain.  During the years when I was unable to play golf, I would go out about once a year and hit a bucket of balls.  Being uneducated, I was still using the rotational swing.  I would not be able to get out of bed for 2 to 3 days every time.  I will admit that a couple of months ago I decided to see if possibly my back had just gotten stronger.  I went to our driving range and hit 30 balls with four different clubs, using my old rotational swing.  I just had to know if my back was better or if it really was the Surge Swing.  You can probably guess the results.  I couldn't get out of bed the next day.  I gave it a couple of days, and then went out and played two rounds in the same day using the Surge Swing.  No pain at all.  Imagine that, it really is this swing.

Keeping it vertical, and playing golf all day long, in Oklahoma,
Dick

Yes, I have a belly putter and a longer shoulder putter in the basement where they belong. Neither offered any better results for me. I use a left hand low and fully extended left arm with no elbow bend. No wrist's, just shoulder pendulum motion. I also have a precise set-up routine that I use for all putts. I like the Two Thumbs sideways because the larger flatter side resting in the palm of my left hand, feel more like a paddle handle than a cue stick. For me, it just feels easier to keep the face square with the wider surface against the inside of my lead hand. Having the narrower surface between the palms, also keeps the palms closer together and seems to benefit with better feel and control between the two hands.

Play currently suspended due to lightning in the area. 

The magical answer is that you're losing your spine angle for some reason. You need to get video of your swing to see what you're actually doing. It only hurts for a little while the first time you see yourself swing on video. 

Also keep reviewing this video: http://swingsurgeon.com/DailyV...

You may still need your pitching wedge in there. Those are usually around 48*. I carry PW (48*), Gap Wedge (52*) and alternate between two 56* wedges--my old sand wedge for places with soft sand, as it has a lot of bounce, or a newer 56* wedge with much less bounce when the sand is firmer. I've never carried a 60* wedge, but I don't really see the point when I can lay the 52* or 56* as open as I want depending on the situation to get that extra loft. 

As Steve says below, watch your technique with the wedges. Many people have a problem of flipping at the ball with the hands in an effort to get it to fly higher, which causes all sorts of problems. The shaft lean on wedges keeps the hands ahead of the ball through impact if you just swing normally, or even as Steve says imagine that you're hitting a punch shot to keep your hands from releasing early.

90+% of amateur golfers should not carry a 60* wedge, in my opinion. It's just going to drive them nuts for the benefit of 1 decent shot out of 20 tries.

Surge.

I just wanted to let you know that purchasing the short game, situational shots, and working the ball videos was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  Three times today  I had to hit my ball out of someone else's divot.  On two other occasions my approach shot landed short of the green.  Since they just punched our greens, they are watering them very heavily.  The area in front of the greens is very wet and soft.  My ball was completely below the surface.  All I could see was the very top of the ball.  I hit it just like you showed us in the video for hitting out of a divot.  It worked great all five times.  That type of shot would've scared me to death before watching your video.

Thanks so much for all you do for us,
Dick

I did grind them myself. I did alot of research and worked carefully. In harmony with what Kenny Knox talks about with his wedges. Decided to just take the leap and start learning club fitting bit by bit. Having fun.

I need some help.  In watching some of the slo-mo shots of the pros - I see where most of their divots are a couple of inches in front of the ball - and Don teaches and I try to just pick the ball off the surface.  I understand that the pros get lots of backspin by hitting the ball first - especially the shorter irons.  I don't seem to get much backspin using the Surge Swing.  Am I doing something wrong?  I am 6' 7" - does that matter?

First check your ball position. If it's too far forward or back, and you maintain a good spine angle, you will often catch the ball thin. Alternately, you could be losing your spine angle, pulling yourself back from the ball and swinging in with the club just enough higher that you catch the ball thin. 

This is the preferred miss, as the ball still generally travels a good distance in the intended direction. It can be problematic with wedges, as a thin wedge shot will often fly too far.

Its all very simple. If it goes right-  its a slice
                              If it goes left - its a hook
                              If it goes straight- its a miracle

With the PPGS, you should still be hitting the ball first. The spin comes from the relationship between the angle of attack and the angle of the face of the club, and just how much you can compress the ball at impact. You don't WANT the kind of backspin the pros get, because even they have trouble controlling it (ask Kyle Stanley). You can get plenty of spin with the PPGS, especially because you will usually be bringing the ball in higher and softer, so it will stop relatively quickly most of the time. 

 Robert and Ronnie,

I forget whether I've mentioned it or not, but this is one of my latest buys for club assembly. I have had a Golfsmith swing weight scale for years, and as you know just got the lie and loft machine, which is still in the box. At the rate I'm going it may be winter before I can ever get full use of it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Profes...

I'll throw in the fitter's answer.  If your clubs are too short or too long it can also cause thin shots.  The root cause for either would be the same which is the change in spine angle that Robert mentioned.