Worst Golf Tip You Ever Received

[ScouseJohnny]

On 12/9/2016 at 5:57 AM, Lazarus said:

Keep your head down!

 

 

Just curious - I remember receiving this advice a lot when I was a junior golfer, but why is it bad advice? Lifting your head = nasty tops. A top is about the second worst shot in golf after a shank.

Even to this day, as a mid-handicapper, if I ever top the ball I hear the voice of the Assistant Pro from the 1980s echoing distantly in my ear, "Keep your ******* head down."

[sjduffers]

6 hours ago, ScouseJohnny said:

Just curious - I remember receiving this advice a lot when I was a junior golfer, but why is it bad advice?

Because it's not your head that you need to keep down, it's your chest. Keep your chest over the ball to keep the length of your left arm the same as it was at address in order to return the club to the ball (in a nutshell). Of course the head is attached to the chest, usually, so it sounds like the same thing, but it's not. Think about it. The head can still move and in fact needs to in order to finish the swing...

[Kim Kevin Callahan]

Two comments equally. Keep your head down and your left arm perfectly straight. Led me to quit the game for ten years as I didn’t believe I had the flexibility to swing a golf club. Focused so much on keeping my head down that my chin actually touched my chest. It was so robotic and mechanical I couldn’t understand how pros could do it or maintain so many swing thoughts. Wasn’t until much later that I figured out this advice came from people who had no idea what in the hell they were talking about. 

[fishgolf]

On ‎12‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 6:46 PM, ghalfaire said:

This would be the one.

OK, not to derail the thread, but why is this a bad tip?  Isn't the old adage "if you look up you're not going to like what you see" true? I know whenever I look up quick to peek it's usually followed by an expletive.

To be honest, I've received so many tips over the years, I have no idea which one is the worst.  Funny thing is that some seem to work briefly making you think you've finally figured it out.

[Moxley]

2 minutes ago, fishgolf said:

OK, not to derail the thread, but why is this a bad tip?  Isn't the old adage "if you look up you're not going to like what you see" true? I know whenever I look up quick to peek it's usually followed by an expletive.

To be honest, I've received so many tips over the years, I have no idea which one is the worst.  Funny thing is that some seem to work briefly making you think you've finally figured it out.

 

I don't think it's wrong, nobody wouldn't say a steady head isn't important, but I think it's just applied too often and to people who aren't having this issue. I have to admit I used to say it to a friend who was starting out before I really understood fat/thin shots. 

I think it can be bad, because a player hitting fat/thin will probably have weight back and swaying issues that are much more likely to be causing most of those shots than looking up.

[Papa Steve 55]

Just goes to show you, Keeping my left arm straight is a fundamental part of my swing. My two swing thoughts are that, and low and slow on the take away.

People try and get me to close my putting stance. Its is very open. I like it because it allows me to see the whole line of the putt with very little head movement. It works for me, along with hovering my club at address. I'm not stopping that either just because you don't like it. 

[HJJ003]

Worst Tip(s) I received: Put your drIver away, it’s really for low caps anyways. Use Irons mainly and just try to get GIR+1 on every hole. 

I avoided a lot of trouble this way, but still never got better. Also-my bad days were even worse because I was playing from much farther back. 

[gregsandiego]

Rotate your wrists as the club face nears the ball. I forget what technical term the instructor used for this but I could rarely do it without way OVER doing it and hitting some crazy shot.

[scotth]

Why don't take up golf.  It seems so relaxing...….

[millsan1]

"Play golf" they said

"it will be fun" they said

[Papa Steve 55]

4 hours ago, millsan1 said:

"Play golf" they said

"it will be fun" they said

Always remember, the same country that invented golf and called it a game, invented bag pipes and called it music.

[millsan1]

5 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

Always remember, the same country that invented golf and called it a game, invented bag pipes and called it music.

I am stealing that.

[Patch]

5 hours ago, millsan1 said:

"Play golf" they said

"it will be fun" they said

Golf is fun, even when it's bad. Well, at least it should be.......

Edited June 26, 2018 by Patch

[cooke119]

Best tip I ever got was to take up tennis! I don't give any advise, better to keep my mouth shut given my index these days.

[boogielicious]

15 hours ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

Always remember, the same country that invented golf and called it a game, invented bag pipes and called it music.

[millsan1]

18 hours ago, Patch said:

Golf is fun, even when it's bad. Well, at least it should be.......

I am truly loving the game.  One of the reasons I am loving it so much, is because it is so hard to do well.  I normally come into an activity and get pretty darn good, pretty quickly, which makes me lose interest.  Not the case with golf.  I can see this is a lifelong journey of improvement.

[Shindig]

Haven't seen this mentioned yet:  lay up to a full swing if you can't reach GIR!  Oh wow did I used to believe it.

In an era when my good drives went maybe 200 and I couldn't hit a 3-wood for anything, so a par-4 beyond 360 yards or so was beyond my reach, and even from the white tees at the course I was playing that would mean laying up on 4-5 par-4s.  And then when I didn't hit the green with a pitching wedge, I thought it meant something was wrong with me. 

[Foot Wedge]

8 minutes ago, Shindig said:

Haven't seen this mentioned yet:  lay up to a full swing if you can't reach GIR!  Oh wow did I used to believe it.

 

You beat me to it!  AKA avoid the 50-90 yard range