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My Head moves too much during the swing

Hi.

At the end of last year I started going to golf tech. Before that I was a lifter, but my head stayed pretty still during the swing. Lots of other issues, most notably checked wing arms after impact. First thing I changed was getting my hands to move in/on plane, took about 1 month. Durning this I have developed a new habit of having my head move down and out toward the ball. Here is what I do https://youtu.be/zIlzMEBOS0A. I practice a lot in front of a mirror and can make a swing without a lot of head movement. I have the flexibility. But despite trying lots of things when I hit a shot my head does this. I play to around a 10 index. I've tried lots to correct it, but not seeming to help. Any ideas are appreciated. In the mirror I am trying to get the left shoulder lower, and extend my spine as I tilt/turn.

My ball shape is a draw, which I was overdoing last week while trying this. I worked on the skateboard drill this week and it helped a lot, as my knee had been kicking in toward the ball, but this swing shows that is better, and was was hitting stranger when I played yesterday.

PS I officially joined Saguto golf a week ago. Get materials.

Thanks

Jim

7 comments

7 Comments

jimcoene

Jun 08, 2021

A couple of things I note from this. His back looks more rounded at address. Mine is straighter. Maybe his rounded start give him room to extend it during the backswing. Also the right ankle roll looks painful.

Tom Saguto

Jun 08, 2021

Replying to

Yes - The back is comfortably rounded in the setup for S&T. The ankle roll is definitely not painful. It's simply a reaction to the lateral hip slide.

If you've not already done so, I suggest purchasing the book The Stack and Tilt Swing by Plummer and Bennett. It'll serve you well as an excellent reference guide for this school and fill in some of the details that you might miss in the lessons here.

jimcoene

Jun 08, 2021

Tom, In section 2 you mention turning everything around the left leg (thigh area). My swing has been to allow my lead knee to move back toward the middle of my stance (inward rotation of knee and leg). When shifting weight to the trail leg that "works" but if keeping weight on lead leg, I think that is causing my dip/head movement down and toward the ball line. It kinda feels powerful to dip by bending the lead leg down, because then I can push it strong back up (like to jump up), but it comes with lots of head movement (not good for irons).

So I assume what I need to work on is feeling like I'm keeping the lead leg externally rotated (toward target) while making my backswing, and that feels to me like I am not using my hips at all. I'm also wondering if the at the top of the backswing, should I feel the weight toward the ball/toe area or more toward the heel. I assume whatever weight there is in the trail leg should be around the heal, correct?

Thanks

Jim

Tom Saguto

Jun 08, 2021

Replying to

@jimcoene - With both feet and knees properly flared outward in the setup, you are in position to 1) Allow the lead knee to work downward in its established semi-targetward orientation (i.e.: not kicking inward towards the trail side) as you tilt, turn, and extend, 2) Allow the trail leg to straighten in it's established orientation (i.e.: not rotating externally rearward) as the weight loads increasingly onto the front side and the lead knee works downward, and 3) Allow your hips to rotate an effortless 45 degrees in their inclined orientation. Unless something breaks down in the process, the remaining weight on your trail foot should pretty much be centered between heel and toe because all that leg has done is straighten without any rotational force applied to it.

You do want to feel the accumulating ground force as that lead knee bends to absorb the increasing forward weight load, but this should not be at the expense of your head moving out of its "box" established at address. A dipping head is an indication of insufficient or complete lack of extension of the spine. Please refer back to my original reply to you in this thread.

For reference, below is an excerpt from the S&T book with Andy Plummer demonstrating the changing condition of the spine during the backswing. Of course these motions are all integrated in the swing. Also, watch this video of S&T cofounder Mike Bennett flawlessly and effortlessly executing the tilt/turn/extend motions and leg/knee action mentioned above. You can slow it down to 1/4 speed by adjusting the YouTube video playback settings. There's also this DTL-only view in super slo-mo.

Tom Saguto

Jun 01, 2021

It's certainly fine to look ahead, @jimcoene! The key is making sure that the building blocks of the swing are properly established. For example, something as simple as flaring out the feet and knees in the setup is a critical component of the functionality and body friendliness of this swing, but if skipped or overlooked the golfer will not be able to properly execute the motions as he fights his body and finds himself making the same old lifting, shifting, and torque moves.

Of course more advanced players like yourself can peek around for drills that address known tendencies, and the grid is great for everyone to know because it's going to tell you exactly why the ball is behaving the way it is.

Great photo, by the way!!

jimcoene

May 31, 2021

Thanks Tom. Understood about jumping ahead, but I am glad I looked ahead to read about the skateboard drill because it is helping me to be able to play while realizing that it may take some more time to get the chapter 2 stuff mastered. That is the tricky thing about trying to change whilst already having scheduled events to play in. I played today and the skateboard drill thought helps keep me to only a slight draw, which is good. On Saturday I also tried using the information about the grid to hit a fade (which is not normal for me) and it worked. Still I'll go back to doing the chapter 2 stuff in a more systematic manner now.

Tom Saguto

May 31, 2021

@jimcoene - This is common for a golfer who is transitioning to the S&T system. The type of head movement you are describing tends to occur when there is insufficient extension of the spine in the backswing. If you were to assume your address position with your head against a wall and tilt while keeping your head in place, your spine would automatically extend. Alternatively, if you were to keep your head against the wall while extending your spine, you would also accomplish the tilt and turn. This lesson from Chapter 2 is a good one to review for combining the three motions. In fact, that entire chapter is worth working through to reinforce the correct motions.

The following is my "public service announcement" for experienced golfers who are new to the school.... 😎: The chapters, lessons, and drills that comprise the Golf Swing Simplified course curriculum are not randomly ordered; they are designed to be taken sequentially from the beginning. Regardless of a member's skill level, this swing necessitates a complete reboot for someone transitioning from a shift & lift swing (which is typically the case), and therefore it is imperative that one take sufficient time to ensure that the fundamental components of the first couple of chapters are mastered. From the ground up there is nothing superfluous in the Stack & Tilt swing - in other words, everything with a purpose, and a purpose for everything. I cannot emphasize this enough, as frustrations predominantly occur when students jump ahead in the curriculum without properly dedicating themselves to the foundational base upon which our consistently repeatable, powerful, low maintenance swing must be built.

Please keep us posted on your progress!

Tom