Full Swing - Your Head

One of the things that I consitently hear from amateurs to one another and even from professionals trying to teach golfers a better swing and it bothers me more than almost anything else is, "keep your head down." or "keep your head still." Too many people believe that the golf swing must be completed while keeping the head perfectly still. This is NOT, I repeat NOT the case.

During the golf swing it is perfectly acceptable to move your head as long as you do so in the proper direction. Rather than saying the things I mentioned above, golfers should say "Keep your head at the same level".

During the back swing it is natural for a golfers head to move back, away from the target - especially if you are doing a full turn of your shoulders. Shifting your head away from the target up to 8-10 inches is acceptable as long as your head remains at the same level (i.e. height off of the ground) it will not cause you any great problems. What does cause problems is when a player tries to keep his/her head perfectly still and as a result ends up restricting their back-swing or developing a reverse pivot.

If a golfer maintains the same level with their head then they will have a much better chance of returning the club back to the proper height when hitting the ball. Not doing so may result in hitting the ball fat or thin. For example, if your head raises during the swing so must your shoulders. Your shoulders are attached to your arms and they are, in turn, attached to your hands. Guess where the club is located? You got it - your hands! (smarter bunch than I thought). Therefore, if you raise your head your club will raise up as well and catch the ball thin. The opposite is obviously true for lowering your head. You will swing the club too low and hit the ball fat or heavy.

Now, although the vertical movement of your head can cause you to hit the ball thin or fat, there are many other reasons to miss-hit the ball in these ways. I don't want anyone to believe there are no other reasons to cause you to hit a fat or thin shot, there are! But if you keep your head at the same level throughout the swing, you will avoid these miss-hits more often.

TheGolfExpert