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: 4 June 2010
Have a good question from Jim Wile. He asks, “You said often that the way to hit the ball longer was to swing the arms faster. Do you believe strengthening the arms and shoulders would help... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 3 June 2010
I'm going to talk about something today that is good for everybody, but it's probably even more for ladies. It's a concept I call “clearing the chest.” If you've taken a lot of lessons and... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 2 June 2010
Got a question from Larry Jacobs, the nutrition and exercise guru. It's a good one and I see it happen to a lot of folks. I saw a video that showed his right or back foot was straight,... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 1 June 2010
One of my favorite students (I use the term somewhat loosely) when I was Director of Golf Instruction at Harbour Town Golf Links was semi-retired businessman and Harbour Town member, Fred Wynn. Fred... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 30 May 2010
We got a question from Jackie on the blog. We going to look at her situation and see if we can help her out and everybody else. Jackie says, “I'm having problems off the tee box with my... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 29 May 2010
I got an awesome question from Bill. It's really how we learn and how can we not make so many mistakes. I guess that would not only help us in golf but all our life. “Say we have this open... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 28 May 2010
I have a question from Cory who is an Inner Circle member and it is really a very good question. I think again a lot of us probably suffer with this. '€œI am having a terrible time with my... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 27 May 2010
Hello, Serge here. We got a question from Gary. The thing I like about some of these questions on the blog, I couldn'€™t sit here and dream up some of these. This one is really awesome. It... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 26 May 2010
Tim asked an important question about having a back injury. So let's see what he says and asks and see how we are going to answer him. Tim says, “After sustaining a back injury resulting... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 25 May 2010
Hello, Surge here. Got a question from Ted and he asks, “Can you talk about the lower body move after completing the backswing. How do you feel the power build up on the right side?” Really... Read More