One thing which should strike left handed golfers when watching the world’s greatest players is how little head movement they actually have.
The best ball strikers have limited head movement which allows them to swing around the spine angle and deliver the club into impact fantastically well. There are notable exceptions throughout the game’s history such as Byron Nelson and Lee Trevino who dipped significantly through the ball. There are no fantastic players to memory who have lifted the head up during impact. This has probably led to the age old adage of ‘keep your head down’, which should be discarded as soon as it is heard.
Players looking to hit consistent shots should focus on keeping their head central and level, not keeping it down! Players who are berated with this advice normally develop a very constricted jerky motion through the ball, restricted by trying to force their head down.
To ensure a nice, central swing and still head position, follow this guide and this drill.
1. At address create a good spine angle by tilting forwards from the hips, keep the back straight.
2. Swing the club away and focus on keeping the head central to the swing. Players need to feel they are turning around the spine with the head remaining still at the top. Turn around the spine until the shoulders are rotated underneath the chin.
3. As the club comes down, players should again just focus on rotating around the spine angle keeping the head still at the top. This will allow a good turn of the torso through impact.
A good drill to use to make sure the head stays still and central is a slow motion drill, which will require the use of a mirror.
1. Follow the guidelines above but complete a full practice swing in super slow motion. The entire swing should take at least 10 seconds.
2. Rather than focusing on the ball, look up into the mirror and focus on your own eyes whilst swinging.
3. If you manage to keep your head central and level your eyes shouldn’t move and the whole body should rotate around the spine.
After impact, the head can lift along with the rest of the body, it has now completed its work. Anyone who is struggling with their head movement can follow this advice and drill to hopefully achieve more successful shots.
