I’d like to know who coined the phrase “Keep your head down” or “You lifted your head” This phrase has become the mantra for almost every golfer I’ve ever seen or heard miss a golf shot.
“I must have lifted my head” are the first words out of a golfers mouth when a shot goes bad, and of course there’s always the ever helpful playing partner who’s quick to give everlasting cure all advice “you lifted your head”. This phrase (in my opinion) has caused and will continue to cause miss-hit golf shots until players understand you can’t keep your head down and stay in balance. Whenever a player misses a shot and a friend tells him he lifted his head, the player buries his chin in his chest so as to be sure not to lift his head again. This action sets in motion a series of events during the swing that is almost guaranteed to adjust your consistency triangle mid swing.
Your head weighs between 12 to 15 lbs, when you put your chin in your chest, that’s up to a 15 pound weight pulling you toward your toes. At the address position, you can easily hold your balance points on the knuckles of your big toes while you’re stationary, but the moment you move the club head away from the ball, you have a 12-15 pound weight moving around your body (the swinging club head), and a 12 -15 pound weight pulling you to your toes (your head). Your Central Nervous System (CNS)
Then takes over; it’s the body’s natural defense mechanism that will not allow you to fall on your face in front of your friends on Saturday morning. The moment you begin to fall forward, your CNS readjusts your weight distribution back to the heels of your feet. This keeps you upright throughout your swing, but your consistency triangle is way out of shape and the bottom of your swing has changed, causing you to miss hit the shot.
Always remember to keep your chin up and off your chest, (like you are holding a grapefruit under your chin). This will ensure your move away from the ball won’t result in an off balance swing.
I think that “keeping your head down” is a misstatement of another good swing observation. So many higher handicappers start in the athletic position, make their backswing, and then on the downswing, straighten up. That keeps the clubhead from returning to its starting position, and creates topped balls, whiffs and other bad things.
Telling someone to keep their head down—or their eyes on the ball—encourages them to stay in an athletic position until after impact.
That is correct, telling someone that will help them keep a contstant spine angle but they must come up out of the shot and “release” and turn to the target. A buried head will prevent that move also. So the is a point both ways. I agree it is bad advice when someone doesnt understand the swing and is told that over and over again. A burried head will hurt shoulder trun also. Some advice about head position. Keep the chin up and it will feel like you look at the ball through the bottom of your eyes. This will allow for a good, complete shoulder turn. It will also keep you from burrying your head into your chest. What you must do is keep eyes on ball and chin up full turn and most improtantly stay behind the ball. A lateral move forward is often the cause of a “topped shot” or a big slice. This move will eventualy cause the hands to swing the club to correct ball striking and avoiding hitting a fat shot. The golf swing has movement of wieght shift thoughout the body by turning of hips and shoulders and arms moving around body, but there is no or very very little lateral movement of the head or body. This will feel like it is causing stress to your back after not doing it for a while. This also helps form that “reverse C” finish look that many players have at the swings finish.
So keep head still, chin up and keep that body and head behind that ball, but allow your body to “release” and turn towards the target.
