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Is Your Takeaway Ruining Your Swing Before It Starts?
Is Your Takeaway Ruining Your Swing Before It Starts?
Authored by: Brady
Posted on: 5 May 2026

You've probably been told your whole golfing life that you need to keep moving before you swing. Waggle, forward press, rock the knee — whatever it takes, just don't stand still. Surge heard that too. He just never agreed with it.

His thing was this: if you're pressing forward to start a swing that needs to go backward, how do you make that feel exactly the same every time? With every club, every lie, every round? After a while, you start to realize — you can't. That little forward move changes just enough, just often enough, to mess with your timing without you ever knowing why.

What Surge taught instead was to come to a full stop before starting the swing. Feet planted, waggle done, one last look at the target — then still. From there, a simple three-count: squeeze the grip equal in both hands, press the knees out slightly, and go. The toe of the club moves first, the arms follow, and the club finds its way back up the plane. Nothing fancy, just quiet and controlled... Read More

Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 11 February 2010
I was beginning my lesson with Jim and was asking him my background and history questions about him and his golf swing and game.‚  How long has he played? What is his handicap, has he taken... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 10 February 2010
This is a travel day for me today, so this is going to be short and there won't be an audio. But when one condition bothers several dozen readers, it starts to look like an epidemic from where... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 9 February 2010
Comments: 12
I have been asked in person and in blogs to comment on Steve Stricker'€™s swing as to his being vertical and no wrist cocking at the top of his backswing.‚ Since he won the Northern Trust Open at... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 8 February 2010
I received this E-mail from Gaetan, who was one of the students in our first PPGS Golf School in November at The PGA Golf Center for Learning and Performance in Port St. Lucie, Florida.‚ ... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 7 February 2010
Continuing on with KH'€™s golf lesson, it was now time to address his swing problem.‚  K was deep and laid off at the top of the backswing.‚  He had improved from his last lesson in that he... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 6 February 2010
Continuing with the lesson I had with my 12 year old left handed student KH, we'€™ll now look at his setup and the necessary adjustments he needed.‚  A short review of his ball striking... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 5 February 2010
The basic purpose of a golf lesson to anyone other than a new golfer has two elements.‚  The main one is to diagnose the setup and swing problems.‚  The second is often overlooked but is the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 4 February 2010
The Surge asked me to do an article regarding shaft dynamics and how they relate to the golfer.‚  Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation propagated by retail clerks, professionals, and... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 3 February 2010
Comments: 1
I turned on The Golf Channel the other day and caught a short piece of a '€œPlaying With the Pros'€ show featuring JB Holmes.‚  I had seen this show featuring JB a few times but had never... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 2 February 2010
While walking around the PGA Show I ran into a subscriber who asked me a question about the takeaway.‚  He said that he had a problem starting his takeaway with a slight sway off the ball. The... Read More