LETTER FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
LET ’ S BREAK ONE OF THE BIGGEST MYTHS IN GOLF
Happy February Eaglebrooke ! I Hope everyone had a great start to the new year on and off the course . I like to keep articles informative and relevant , on new and exciting golf instruction bits and pieces . This month we are going to bust an age-old golf myth about “ keeping your head down ” and why it isn ’ t a great thing to .
Let ’ s dive right in , shall we ? How many times have you been on the range and you hit a poor shot and tell yourself you need to keep your head down ? Or you are on the course and one of your playing partners makes a poor shot and they tell themselves the same thing , “ I need to keep my head down .” Nothing gets me going more than hearing that , because quite frankly it is a load of horse pucky . The advice is well-intentioned , and to the uninformed , it makes perfect sense ! Too much movement with your head means that you ’ re ( theoretically ) taking your eyes off the ball . And it ’ s tough to hit something you aren ’ t actively looking at .
As soon as you keep your head still , your body stops turning . You get kind of too close to the ball and your extremities must start fishing for the ball . You have more of a chance of topping the ball and hitting a bad shot while keeping your head still than you have when actually letting it do what it ’ s supposed to do .
With an iron , your head should slightly move off the ball ( to the right ) when you take it to the top of the backswing . Then , on the way down , your head will move down as you push into the ground and then forward from where it was at the top of the swing . After impact , it will continue moving forward and then up as you follow the ball on its flight . Your head is moving quite a lot with an iron shot , it ’ s not staying still . That allows the body to move and keep my body flowing , which pulls the club and allows for a decent shot to hit .
The same is true with a driver , although the head movement is slightly different . Once again , your head will sway off the ball on the way back and then slightly down to begin the downswing . But as you near impact , your head will shift a little backward to create an upward angle of attack . It definitely does not stay still , so let your head move around as it ’ s supposed to allow the freedom of movement your body needs to create a great drive .
I like to tell students , to say instead of , “ I ’ m going to keep my head down ,” I would like them to replace that with , “ I ’ m going to watch for the contact .” It sounds similar , but in terms of what will take place in the golf swing , keeping your head down is going to limit motion , and watching for the contact has your eyes just focus on watching the ball being struck .
A good drill is to watch or listen for the contact and then set up a tee , or any other small object a foot or so in front of the ball . Once you watch the contact let your eyes move to the object ahead of you , because when your eyes move forward your head will as well , and this allows for a better finish on your golf shot .
I hope everyone has a great month and as always Hit ‘ Em In The Short Grass !
Ben Johnson
PGA , Teaching Professional
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