3 golf swing “myths” that can hurt your game

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Golf is the only game with more teachers than players. Go to a driving range and you will  find any number of well intentioned (but not always well informed) folks ready to help you with your game.  ”Hey I saw you top that shot, try keeping your head down.” Or … “I think you’re swinging way too hard;  try slowing it down and you’ll get rid of that slice!”  And of course the time honored, “you took your eye off that one.” Well it just so happens that these tips, and others like them, do not help, and can in fact HURT your game.  So lets take a minute to separate fact from fiction and sort through some very common myths about the golf swing.

Myth # 1.    KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!
In all my years of teaching and video taping golf swings, I have NEVER, I repeat never, seen anyone pick up their head at impact. Yet it remains the No. 1 self diagnosis of most golfers. One of the things I hear most often when people come to my lesson tee is, “I know what I do, if I could just learn to stop picking up my head”. The thought is so all consuming sometimes I ask if they are trying to smell the golf ball or hit it. The excessive attempt to keep your head down ruins your posture and therefore your ability to move in balance.

Fact # 1.    KEEP YOUR HEAD UP.  In order to have balance, your head must be up.  Yes you maintain eye contact with the golf ball, but if the head is down to the point where the chin is buried in the chest, this is a sure fire way to restrict the turning motion that is so critical in the swing. This is why bifocals become a bit of a problem — just to be able to see the golf ball, you have keep the head down too much.  Most reverse pivots start with your head too far down. Most “chicken wings”  (bent left arm at and through impact) are the result of a poor pivot caused by the head too far down.  Your head weighs between 8 and 12 pounds and is the heaviest part of the human anatomy — keeping it down can make you top heavy and ruin motion.  Heads up at set up!

Myth # 2.  SLOW YOUR SWING DOWN.
The second most common thing students tell me is something like “If I could just slow down, I’d be fine.” See there I go again, too quick,” or “I rushed that one.”  I tell them something like … “You fight a slice. A slice is hit because the club face is open relative to the path of the swing. So if you slow your swing down and still hit the golf ball with an open face, all you are going to achieve is hitting a SLOW SLICE.  It has nothing to do with squaring the face in and of itself.

Fact # 2.  LEARN TO SWING YOUR ARMS AS FAST AS YOU CAN.
Almost everyone wants and needs to hit the golf ball further.  The No. 1 contributor to distance is speed. Lots of it. The more the merrier. With that in mind, why would you swing slower? Most people I teach lack distance due to lack of arm speed. In fact, I can hear their practice swings, but rarely hear their real swing.  That lovely “swish” sound we hear on television is from speed. If you can make that sound on your practice swing, you can make it on your real swing!  Try this: put your feet together and see how much speed you can create by swinging your arms.  You’ll probably hit it further than ever!  Find the maximum  speed at which you can swing without losing your balance and have a go at it. Swish your way to better golf!

Myth # 3.  THE STRAIGHT LEFT ARM
Forever it has been taught that the left arm should remain ramrod straight throughout the golf swing.  While this position, which is a preference not a principle, is the chosen method of some great players, trying to make it the foundation of your golf swing causes any number of problems.

Fact # 3.  SOFTEN YOUR LEFT ARM.
A high percentage of people I have taught over the years have too much tension in their swing.  Particularly upper body tension.  This can be the result of holding the club too tightly or hunching the shoulders, but it is ALWAYS the case when you try to keep your left arm straight.  Straight begets stiff, stiff begets tense and tense far too tight, thereby  limiting your ability to turn your shoulders in the backswing. Try keeping the left arm relaxed, softer, even if means a slight bend in it at the top of your swing. The natural momentum of your downswing will extend it sufficiently into the impact position.  The benefits of a relaxed left arm will outweigh any advantage you get from keeping it stiff.  And remember Calvin Peete, who won the Players Championship and 11 other PGA tour events and was one of the straightest drivers ever had a permanently bent left arm!

The point is this: while these tips, and many others like them, may help some people some of the time, misinterpreting them can be disastrous.  Most of them fall into the “old wives tale” category, folklore that does not hold up in the age of enlightenment. Remember this:  there is no silver bullet, no magic tip or piece of advice that applies to all of us.  When you hear one passed on, you can bet it did not come from a knowledgeable teacher. One student’s medicine is another’s poison. Be sure to understand the meaning of these “tips” before incorporating them, and be doubly sure they apply to YOUR SWING.

Click here for more discussion in the “Instruction & Academy” forum.

18 Comments

1. Pingback: 5 golf swing “myths” that can hurt your game | Augusta Blog

2. 

   Dave T

   April 20, 2012 at 9:51 am

   I was out playing golf with my wife and she was hitting it terribly due to being off balance. I made her play the next 3 holes, every shot, with her feet together. She hit the ball great. That is a great drill.

   Reply
3. 

   Mike

   April 25, 2012 at 10:35 am

   I am guilty of always trying to keep my head down that I am left unbalanced and I do not have the best shot. Great read!

   Reply
4. 

   Mark

   April 25, 2012 at 2:27 pm

   Could you please do a regular column on “myths.” The stuff I hear coming out of the mouths of golfers (and some teachers for that matter) that’s pure nonsense could fill several columns, heck volumes.

   Reply
5. 

   Nathan

   April 29, 2012 at 3:03 pm

   This MYTH column is great. I would now like to see the column add DRILL section to fix the problem.

   Reply
6. 

   Goober

   April 30, 2012 at 5:51 pm

   None of these things will matter, if you don’t have a good pivot with shoulder turn.

   Reply
7. 

   Greg

   May 15, 2012 at 1:54 pm

   One thing I would caution on is fact #2 to swing the arms as fast as you can. I am getting closer to finally getting rid of casting the club, aka throwing the club from the top. However, this has been a long path of hard work, studying golf, watching pro swings, and lessons. I feel that I now have a great amount of knowledge on the golf swing; but, if 6 months ago someone would tell me to swing the arms as fast as I can I would cast even worse and probably cause damage to my shoulder or something else through the use of incorrect excessive force. I don’t think everyone understands the concept of “swinging the arms” and it would be good to point out those things in the article to caution people.

   Reply
8. 

   Edwardo

   July 8, 2012 at 6:55 pm

   Hmmmm! Your quote “I have NEVER, I repeat never, seen anyone pick up their head at impact”

   I don’t know the standard off golfers you teach, but from what I have seen the vast majority of golfers above an 18 handicap lift their heads not only at impact but well before impact.

   After spending several years studying the golf swing I would suggest the worst and most common fault in the amateur golfers game is excessive movement (swaying, dipping, pulling out of the shot etc) all of which are reduced by simply concentrating on keeping your head still through the shot.

   Reply
9. 

   Troy Vayanos

   July 9, 2012 at 3:24 am

   Nice post,

   I agree totally. I have been told repeatedly whenever I hit a poor shot that I was swinging too fast. This is a lot of rubbish. I’ve never heard anyone tell Tiger Woods or Bubba Watson etc. that they swing too fast and yet their clubhead speeds are much faster than mine.

   I’ve never seen a great player with a slow swing speed. In fact they only look slower because their golf swings are so fluid and it gives the assumption that they are swing slower then they really are.

   Cheers

   Reply

10. Pingback: Play Better Golf By Ignoring These 3 Destructive Golf Myths | Talking Golf Online | Insider Golf Tips I Learned From The Pros & More ...

11. 

    Nick P

    July 14, 2012 at 7:21 am

    “Edwardo July 8, 2012 at 6:55 pm -
    Hmmmm! Your quote “I have NEVER, I repeat never, seen anyone pick up their head at impact”
    I don’t know the standard off golfers you teach, but from what I have seen the vast majority of golfers above an 18 handicap lift their heads not only at impact but well before impact.
    After spending several years studying the golf swing I would suggest the worst and most common fault in the amateur golfers game is excessive movement (swaying, dipping, pulling out of the shot etc) all of which are reduced by simply concentrating on keeping your head still through the shot.”

    The head is a movement relative to posture. Your head is connected to your spine thus if the spine angle changes the head will to. Swaying has nothing to do with keeping the head down. “Dipping/Pulling out of the shot” is caused by again a change in posture or spine angle which without looking closely at the student you will only see one side of the story.

    Reply
12. 

    dennis clark

    July 14, 2012 at 8:00 am

    Picking the head up, defined as increasing the distance from the chin to the sternum, is a movement, as measured by all the motion analysis systems, that is minimal to non-existent in every golf swing. it has nothing to do with posture loss or the movement of any other proximal parts

    Reply

13. Pingback: Play Better Golf By Ignoring These 3 Destructive Golf Myths | | Golf Leisure MagazineGolf Leisure Magazine

14. 

    E

    July 15, 2012 at 1:07 pm

    Nick P –
    you must be one of those teachers that this column is talking about, huh? LMFAO……..!

    Reply
15. 

    cody

    November 9, 2012 at 2:00 pm

    ive been told to keep my head down dont understand it and to swing slower but when i swing fast i feel like i hit the ball better

    Reply
16. 

    Peter G

    December 18, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    Hi, Great post. I have had these (all of them!) drummed into me since I started golf 14 years ago. I tried to do them all but it just didn’t make any difference (seems I was barking up the wrong tree). My biggest problem is my approach shots, inaccurate and usually fading to the right, any ideas?

    Should rename myelf “Desperately seeking greens in reg”!!!

    Reply
17. 

    Peter G

    December 18, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    Oh and I have problems compressing the ball, sometimes I do, sometimes I dont.

    Reply

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