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To Move or Not Move the Head in the Golf Swing


mvmac
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Originally Posted by Kingkat1954

I think trying to keep the head completely still is tough to do.

Agree and the reason we say steady head.  The head will rotate throughout the swing and lower slightly on the downswing.  What should be minimized is the lateral translation of the head.  The to and fro movement is what can cause a lot of problems.  The best ball strikers keep their head steady, makes it much easier to make a full turn and hit the ball solid.

Mike McLoughlin

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  • 2 months later...
Isn't the reason for keeping the head steady so that it remains in position at impact behind the ball ! Most golfers would be able to make decent connection using this thought I think !
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Over swing causes the head to move,,..once the top of your left shoulder touches your chin,,,stop...transition time. When the shoulder keeps on pushing on the chin, head will move back sideways etc. Many players moved their heads in the swing..this is just an opinion.. Setting up with a head slightly cocked right is the key.. The head in the middle of the stance and non tilted shoulders was a habit I loved to get out of. I hit the ball no where this way,, We are all unique, what works for one may not work for another,,..keep an open mind to golf teaching and never "eat the whole pill" as they say. Ever teacher has there good and bad points,,,stick to the good IMO

Like working on the swing,,score means nothing to me. Might just go to the range and give up playing... ( might happen)

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Over swing causes the head to move,,..once the top of your left shoulder touches your chin,,,stop...transition time.

There are plenty of players who don't come close to swinging to even 90° of torso turn ("shoulder turn") but whose heads move all over the place. I would suggest that not understanding the way the hips, spine, knees, etc. work will cause head movement. I've studied this fairly thoroughly from a biomechanics standpoint, with several 3D measurement tools, and I've had pretty good success getting players to keep their heads steady while increasing the amount they are able to turn.

Setting up with a head slightly cocked right is the key.

We are all unique, what works for one may not work for another

Does anyone else see what I see here? It may very well be a key for you, but it's not a key for everyone.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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Is it ok to express my opinion..? Or is this your show? Honestly..?

You can, but when you provide an opposing point of view from the OP, it would help if you provide data to support your position.  Erik's original post used data from reviewing many, many professional golf swings.

Scott

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Is it ok to express my opinion..? Or is this your show? Honestly..?

Yes it's obviously ok to express your opinion and Erik responded to your comment.  He just disagrees with your opinion.  Opinion based on a lot of knowledge, further backed up by 3D modeling and helping golfers get better.

Mike McLoughlin

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Just seems focusing on a stationery head would prevent me..personally from not rotating,,, a stationery head could be the end result from other areas that are being done correctly. What about the correct pressures in our hands and the bottoms of our feet? If we are positioned correctly, and have a proper feel of where the clubhead is at all times..than our head will appear stationery., if we have swing flaws..than our main body will tend to shift to compensate. Curtis Strange/ Doctor Gil Morgan/ Tiger Woods/ Anika Sorenstem/ Nick Faldo/Arnold Palmer/ Lorena Ochoa.. All had noticeable head movements.. Ben Hogan and Tiger both had a big drop as they both had more of a squat impact position. IMO..the head should move to the right in the transition.. Not questioning your studies..just stating that a stable head thought might be overkill..doing other fundamentals correctly will give us the " stable head" in feel.,

Like working on the swing,,score means nothing to me. Might just go to the range and give up playing... ( might happen)

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I'm going to stress..this is a good topic..I'm enjoying the open conversation on this So thank you My swing isn't perfect..but I'm sure my head moves way back..( what I feel anyway) [VIDEO] http://youtu.be/ZMGRQhONUMA [/VIDEO]

Like working on the swing,,score means nothing to me. Might just go to the range and give up playing... ( might happen)

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Just seems focusing on a stationery head would prevent me..personally from not rotating,,, a stationery head could be the end result from other areas that are being done correctly. What about the correct pressures in our hands and the bottoms of our feet? If we are positioned correctly, and have a proper feel of where the clubhead is at all times..than our head will appear stationery., if we have swing flaws..than our main body will tend to shift to compensate.

Yes we never tell a student to work on Key #1 Steady Head by actually focusing on keeping the head still.  It's other things at play, like you said.

Curtis Strange/ Doctor Gil Morgan/ Tiger Woods/ Anika Sorenstem/ Nick Faldo/Arnold Palmer/ Lorena Ochoa.. All had noticeable head movements.. Ben Hogan and Tiger both had a big drop as they both had more of a squat impact position.

IMO..the head should move to the right in the transition..

We have not seen the head moving to the right as a commonality of great players but yes some players do have a little movement back, some move it forward (within the steady range).  Key #1 is defined as relatively steady head, doesn't mean the head is staying perfectly still.  You don't see tour players consciously working on moving their heads to and fro, you see a lot of this (below)  I agree most good players have some head drop, we talk about that a lot.

I'm going to stress..this is a good topic..I'm enjoying the open conversation on this

So thank you

My swing isn't perfect..but I'm sure my head moves way back..( what I feel anyway)

It doesn't, it's what we would call steady.  One of the reasons you're a 3 handicap

Mike McLoughlin

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That is how much our " feels"are off...I always feel like I go to the right and back.. Thanks...I,learned something good here, That is why this game is so darn hard,, ;-)

Like working on the swing,,score means nothing to me. Might just go to the range and give up playing... ( might happen)

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Didn't Jack Nicklaus tilt/cock his head to the right?  And didn't Sam Snead advise peeping at the ball with just the left eye when at the top of the swing?  We cannot say those men had limited golf knowledge or were poor strikers.

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That is how much our " feels"are off...I always feel like I go to the right and back..

Thanks...I,learned something good here,

That is why this game is so darn hard,,

Yup, feel ain't real. I need to feel my head moves back (away from the target) during the downswing, too. In reality, my head doesn't move back, it stays relatively stable; the move helps stop me from diving my entire torso and head forward (towards the target). It's one of the things I work on.

Didn't Jack Nicklaus tilt/cock his head to the right?  And didn't Sam Snead advise peeping at the ball with just the left eye when at the top of the swing?  We cannot say those men had limited golf knowledge or were poor strikers.

You could probably blindfold those guys and they'd still hit the ball pretty well, doesn't mean we should actually do it, too.

Bill

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius

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Didn't Jack Nicklaus tilt/cock his head to the right?  And didn't [SIZE=13px]Sam Snead advise peeping at the ball with just the left eye when at the top of the swing?  We cannot say those men had limited golf knowledge or were poor strikers.  [/SIZE]

Neither moved their head much at all. Also, rotation isn't "movement" the way we talk about it. Sorry for the short answer. Teaching other teachers today soon.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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Didn't Jack Nicklaus tilt/cock his head to the right?  And didn't Sam Snead advise peeping at the ball with just the left eye when at the top of the swing?  We cannot say those men had limited golf knowledge or were poor strikers.

And what if you're right eye dominant?  Anyway check out the pics below.

Neither moved their head much at all. Also, rotation isn't "movement" the way we talk about it.

Sorry for the short answer. Teaching other teachers today soon.

Mike McLoughlin

Check out my friends on Evolvr!
Follow The Sand Trap on Twitter!  and on Facebook
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  • 3 weeks later...
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You know that Arnie is actually holding her head so he can look down her cleavage, right?

Scott

Titleist, Edel, Scotty Cameron Putter, Snell - AimPoint - Evolvr - MirrorVision

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boogielicious - Adjective describing the perfect surf wave

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You know that Arnie is actually holding her head so he can look down her cleavage, right?

Probably some suggestive downward pressure being applied to the top of her head too. Wink, wink. ;-)

Yours in earnest, Jason.
Call me Ernest, or EJ or Ernie.

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Note: This thread is 1341 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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