Head Movement In The Golf Short Game (Video) - by Peter Finch
Head Movement In The Golf Short Game (Video) - by Peter Finch

When you’re doing the full swing, there is a little bit of leeway in what you’re actually doing with your head position. Within the short game, keeping the head nice and still can actually be a big, big benefit. It’s the only way you’re positioning it during setup and where you’re seeing it during impact as well. However, as always, it’s not quite as simple as it seems because we’re not talking about head position. In this case, we’re talking about sternum and how that relates to your head position. But you can keep it simple and talk about your head if you want but I’ll refer sternum as well – the teaching pro that I am.

So what you’re looking for within your setup is to get your sternum, to get your head position slightly ahead of the ball. It depends on what type of shot that you’re hitting before, general chip or a pit shot which I’m going to be showing here, you want your head and your sternum to be on top or slightly ahead of the ball. That’s because as you’re getting setup – and your head and your sternum, if they sit above the ball or they sit slightly to the side of the ball towards the target, what that means is that your swing arc is going to be bottoming out after the ball. Now a swing arc as it moves around the body, rises up and then it goes downwards. If the low point of your swing arc is after the ball, what that means is that the ball is going to be struck first then the turf. And that generally leaves the most cleaner crisp contacts. If you’re getting setup and your head position is after – behind the ball should I say – and your sternum position is behind the ball, that swing arc is going to start moving upwards through the points of impact. That can cause heavy shots and thin shots. And you will often see people getting setup in this position and then the head moving throughout the downswing to actually try and get ahead of the ball. But when you start making those compensations, when you start adding in those movements in the short game, things can go wrong very, very quickly. It’s much easier to get the head and the sternum in a single position, moving the shoulders back and through and returning to the same position at the point of impact. That will allow you to gain that consistency in the short game. Other than that, you generally don’t have many short game shots where you want to see much head movement. As we already discussed, shifting head down throughout the golf swing can help draw power up from the ground. But the short game is not about power, it’s about control. It’s about getting the body into certain consistent positions that are repeatable. So in the short game, having a nice still head position can certainly be of a big, big benefit. 2016-10-25

When you’re doing the full swing, there is a little bit of leeway in what you’re actually doing with your head position. Within the short game, keeping the head nice and still can actually be a big, big benefit. It’s the only way you’re positioning it during setup and where you’re seeing it during impact as well. However, as always, it’s not quite as simple as it seems because we’re not talking about head position. In this case, we’re talking about sternum and how that relates to your head position. But you can keep it simple and talk about your head if you want but I’ll refer sternum as well – the teaching pro that I am.

So what you’re looking for within your setup is to get your sternum, to get your head position slightly ahead of the ball. It depends on what type of shot that you’re hitting before, general chip or a pit shot which I’m going to be showing here, you want your head and your sternum to be on top or slightly ahead of the ball. That’s because as you’re getting setup – and your head and your sternum, if they sit above the ball or they sit slightly to the side of the ball towards the target, what that means is that your swing arc is going to be bottoming out after the ball.

Now a swing arc as it moves around the body, rises up and then it goes downwards. If the low point of your swing arc is after the ball, what that means is that the ball is going to be struck first then the turf. And that generally leaves the most cleaner crisp contacts.

If you’re getting setup and your head position is after – behind the ball should I say – and your sternum position is behind the ball, that swing arc is going to start moving upwards through the points of impact. That can cause heavy shots and thin shots. And you will often see people getting setup in this position and then the head moving throughout the downswing to actually try and get ahead of the ball.

But when you start making those compensations, when you start adding in those movements in the short game, things can go wrong very, very quickly. It’s much easier to get the head and the sternum in a single position, moving the shoulders back and through and returning to the same position at the point of impact. That will allow you to gain that consistency in the short game. Other than that, you generally don’t have many short game shots where you want to see much head movement.

As we already discussed, shifting head down throughout the golf swing can help draw power up from the ground. But the short game is not about power, it’s about control. It’s about getting the body into certain consistent positions that are repeatable. So in the short game, having a nice still head position can certainly be of a big, big benefit.