Daily Video Blog

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: 27 October 2009
B. Weiner wrote in a question recently, '€œI am realizing some of the benefits of your method; however, I still have trouble initiating the downswing and keeping myself (1) from coming over... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 25 October 2009
Dale Weaver wrote in a blog the other day, '€œI'€™m more of a '€˜control thinker'€™ than a '€˜distance '€˜thinker. I'€™d much rather have a 150 yard shot straight for the green from the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 24 October 2009
Plus Another Chip and Pitching Tip. Ya'€™ll did a good job the other day catching and pointing out the two big mistakes I made in the daily article. The key is I would like to say they were... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 22 October 2009
Chipping and pitching are those scoring shots close to and around the green that save you strokes. Getting a tough pitch or chip up and down (U... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 21 October 2009
Comments: 1
Whatever happened to the concept of finishing facing the target? In golf we call that finishing square because the body, in facing the target, looking straight at it, is perpendicular to the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 20 October 2009
Doug C from Ontario, Canada, on his way to Florida, stopped by Birkdale Golf Club in Hendersonville NC, to take a lesson. I'€™d never met Doug, but when I walked up to the range I was sure... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 19 October 2009
You are on the range warming up before the round. You are not hitting the ball very solid, and not close to your normal ball flight shape. Many players panic big time if this happens... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 18 October 2009
Comments: 1
I often get asked what the recommended ball position for the PPGS is. On page 39 of the Foundations Manual in the opening paragraph covering Ball Placement/Position it states, '€œWhere you... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 17 October 2009
I was playing a round of golf yesterday with a long time student and a friend of his who was a casual golfer. I kept seeing a number of things that, even though we were playing CPO (cart... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 16 October 2009
Right Leg Setup Position I got a call from Jack, one of my most regular and knowledgeable PPGS students. He wanted to discuss the position of his right leg and knee at address and then throughout... Read More