Hello everyone and welcome back for another great tip….. This week we are talking about Head Movement. Keeping your head still is the Number 1 fundamental of golf; some professional may call it “keeping your swing center”. For the purpose of this discussion I will just call it Head movement.
Many golfers who move their head during the swing don’t believe they are doing so because they can’t actually feel or sense it happening. Pronounced head movement at any point from takeaway to impact is a sure shot wrecker.
Because it is difficult to self-diagnose, it’s worth having your pro or buddy check you out periodically. Ask him or her to watch for up and down movement as well as lateral motion. Keeping your eye on the ball and keeping your head steady is not necessarily the same thing, I can move my head at least a foot and still keep my eye on the ball. Another way to check it yourself is to have the sun at your back and watch your shadow as you swing at a tee peg.
Here’s a tip to help you learn to keep your head steady throughout your swing, it will also help improve your footwork: On the practice tee hit full shots with a medium iron (5 or 6) while keeping both feet firmly grounded. This will minimize any tendency to sway your upper body. The key to the action is rolling the ankles – The left inward going back and right inward coming down (do not raise the heels).
If you tend either to top shots or hit a lot of them fat, have someone check out how your head is behaving. If it’s wobbling in any direction make keeping it steady your number one conscious swing thought for a month.
One last thought about head movement; keeping your head still is an age-old maxim, but the fact is it rarely happens even in the finest swings. Video analysts proves that good players heads usually move a little back and down as they hit through the ball. Nevertheless, I believe the thought of “keeping the head as steady as possible throughout the swing” is solid counsel, because it helps prevent swaying the entire body either going back or coming down. Both of those motions will get you in deep trouble unless you can compensate for them every time.
Keeping your head still throughout your swing will improve your ball striking, give it a try.
Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional
