"Head up! I must keep my head down" is heard from players and from fellow competitors all over the world. It is in fact the biggest lie in Golf.

Bold statement I know but it's true. Trying to keep your head down brings more bad shots and creates more faults than any other piece of "advice".

Now I am not saying don't try and stay steady and central when swinging and always focus on the ball but there has to be a certain amount of movement of the head during the swing otherwise there will be no proper weight transfer or lateral movevent.

The next image is of Annika Sorenstam who was, in her prime, the no.1 lady golfer in the world. If she had been a man I believe she would have been considered one of the greatest of all time. As she hits the ball there is no way she is thinking "I must keep my head down"

The most important thing to learn from this image is that she has maintained her spine angle (posture which is set at address position) and she is following the ball with her eyes. Many people try in this position to keep their head down; this will only stifle the swing and prevent the proper weight transference through to a full, balanced end position.

The feeling that the head came up to early is caused because the head is attached to the shoulders and when their is too much movement, particularly onto the back foot on the downswing, the head and eyes automatically come up. Trying to keep the head down in this situation will only exaggerate this fault.

As soon as you hit the ball try thinking "I must follow the ball with my eyes and turn my body through to a balanced finish". This will create a much more free flowing movement.

If anyone from now on says to you "Keep your head down", reply "Thank you", smile inwardly and ignore it.

If anyone wants to discuss this further then please feel free to leave a comment below.

Happy golfing

Gordon