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: 15 September 2010
On our second day of the PPGS Golf School at the PGA Golf Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida, we worked on the short game in the afternoon. There is one neat “training aid” I... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 14 September 2010
We'€™re down at the PGA Golf Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida for our golf school. It is truly an exceptional place. If you get the chance, drop by. The public practice areas are... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 13 September 2010
It doesn't happen that often, but with the larger headed drivers it definitely can. To keep the overall weight of the driver within limits, the face of the large head is thinner and, in some... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 12 September 2010
Since we can'€™t see our back arm and wrist in the backswing we don'€™t always know if we'€™re really keeping the back wrist firm at the top. What often happens is we go a little too far back... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 11 September 2010
The Surge is on his way to Port St. Lucie, FL and the PGA Golf Learning Center for a PPGS school. I was reviewing some older videos of Don at a free clinic he gave at a charity event at Old... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 10 September 2010
Yesterday we talked about the back or right elbow in the backswing. Guess what, it'€™s the same idea for the forward upswing and finish. As Newton's Third Law states, 'For every action, there is an... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 9 September 2010
When you are trying to swing to vertical, I can understand your frustration when you're having problems. There is so much contradictory “advice” out there it is sometimes difficult to... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 8 September 2010
Sorry I'm late. Flew back from Boston today but had to get this out to you. Yes, we always want to win, but DJ did very well. But he was happy his good friend, Charley Hoffman, shot the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 7 September 2010
Well, it's happened again. The Surge and I started talking on the phone about a question that's come up on the blog and I've received in numerous email. It's one of those things that is so... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 6 September 2010
This is the forth clip of Matt Steffe of C-prime and the Surge during our shoot at the exclusive Secession Golf Club near Beaufort, South Carolina. This one is all about distance. Matt, 6′6″, a... Read More