"keep your head still"

2 Noob questions here I know, but I have not been able to find the answer elsewhere.

1.On the drive...I hit the ball. I resist the temptation to move my head until...when?

I assume my head is supposed to move forward with my shoulders?

2. But my problem is that if I wait that long to look for the ball, I can never find it.

If you aren't supposed to look up until after you hit it, then what are some methods you use to find where the ball is on the horizon so you can see it land? Especially on overcast days, the sky is just a whitewash. If I don't "cheat" and look early, I can never find it in the wash of grayish/white sky.

Your head, of course, works as a unit with the rest of your body. The idea is to more or less mimic your address position at impact----that requires maintaining posture. If you were to lift your head before or at impact, your posture would straighten up and likely cause you to hit it thin. Therefore, you want to keep your head in a fixed position until after impact--this allows you to maintain the same angles as at address and make proper contact with the ball.

After impact, you need to allow your head to move naturally after impact. If you keep it overly rigid....your body wont be able to properly turn. You should be able to see your ball flight on each shot.


And im not quite sure what you mean by "my head should move forward with my shoulders". I'm interpreting it as you move your shoulders towards the target on your downswing...and are inquiring whether your head should follow or not.

Whatever it is...your shoulders shouldnt be moving forward at any point really. Your torso rotates against your hips on the backswing...and then unravels on the downswing. Besides maybe a slight 'bump' in your hips to initiate the downswing (i personally dont do this because i feel like i turn that bump into a bunch of lateral movement...but if you do it properly...i suppose it comes recommneded)....your body or shoulders shouldnt be moving forward. Thats called lateral movement and it leads to inconsistency

Don't think about the head. If your swing is sound, your head will stay still on the back swing and for most of the downswing. When you're swinging correctly you can't help but keep your head still and looking at the ball.

"keep your head down" is an old adage. I think this advice is designed to tell the beginner to resist the urge to see where the shot went. I always told myself that If I didn't keep my head down during the shot, I would be hanging it low after the bad shot that follows. But gluing your head down is a bad move, as it forces you into a static and non-rhythmic position.

Keep your spine angle is much better advice. Or stay in the shot. Or focus on the back of the ball throughout the swing. But don't try to do anything with your head during the swing - except keep it clear of a ton of swing thoughts.

I tend to pull out of the shot if I fail to perform a complete backswing, usually caused by fatigue.

I heard someone say that in the modern golf swing the head does move, but you have to keep the head behind the ball.

If your head is swaying back during the back swing, so is your upper torso and weight. If your weight shifts over your back leg's instep, you won't be able to effectively push against it during the downswing. So prevent your head from moving back more than 3-4 inches. The less the better.

If your head sways forward before impact, your release will be weaker and you could end up swinging more out to in. During your down swing, your feet are in contact with the ground and are somewhat anchored. Consider your head as an anchor as well by keeping it in place until impact. This allows the body and club to more easily pivot around the axis made up from your posted forward leg and spine. If you allow your head to move forward with your upper torso, your axis will move and your swing rotation speed will suffer.

Once your arms have fully extended after impact, your shoulders and head will automatically get pulled up and around by momentum. At the top, your eyes should be facing the target, giving you plenty of time to view your ball's path.

This is the heart of it. If your head moves excessively it is almost always because some other part of the process is out of whack. If your head is moving some other part of the body was responsible, posture, knee flex, lunge or slide, etc. Figure what is causing excessive head movement, almost guaranteed it is not your head.

I agree, you are thinking too much. Let it happen naturally.

thank you all for the advice. Well taken.