The Head Must Be Kept Still

If you've got a flawless Peak Performance Golf Swing setup and swing, it means your head is nearly motionless in the takeaway and up to the top of the backswing. But, if your head is moving like Dom "Guido" Bianco said his was, it means you're probably having some problems.

Dom is looking for some help even though he's been playing great for the last three years using my methods. He's outplaying a lot of his friends and neighbors but is still struggling with keeping his head still. I've often suggested that in order to practice keeping your head still you could put your back to the sun and keep an eye on your shadow as you make practice swings. Dom decided to take it a step further and videotape himself. What he found was startling.

Hi Surge,
You're tips are fantastic. I am 72 and have been using your PP swing for at least 3 years and love it. I play with 3 of my neighbors and usually hit my shots straight and consistent. My golf buddies are amazed. Lately I have been having problems with moving some part of my body at setup. So I videoed my swing. I found that I am moving my head when I swing up at least 4 inches. But when I swing forward, my head goes down. Of course all of this takes place in 2 seconds.
What I am wondering is: is this normal? I feel this can cause my fairway chops as I top the ball. Your tips on outward pressure and PLHR in my setup is an outstanding tip. Anyway, can you address my problem of head movement?
Thanks,
Dom

I've talked many, many times about head movement. Basically, if your head is moving you're in trouble. The ball is not moving you have to get back to the right position at impact in terms of height and lateral movement or combinations of both. I have a statement that says, "the less things move, the more they stay the same." Dom says his head moves about 4 inches in the backswing. I'm not sure if he just means laterally or upwards and laterally. Either way it's moving and in many cases what goes up has to come down. So, what are the reasons your head could be moving, Dom?

One simple issue could be your width of stance. If your feet are way too wide and you're trying to turn your weight and get loaded on the back leg, you're very likely going to pull your body backward, which includes your head.

Too much forward knee motion could also be the problem. You don't want to turn your forward knee into the back knee despite what you may have been taught in the past. Some teachers argument is that this will allow you to turn more which will generate more power. With the PPGS setup, we just sit into the right side and fire so there's no need for that big knee kick that I like to call the "Special K" movement. If you move your forward knee more than one inch, it becomes susceptible to breaking down and that's going to pull the hip down and push your shoulders up. The key becomes controlling this knee movement.

You might also be trying to turn too much because as your club and arms get behind you, that'll pull your torso backwards so that's where your lateral movement could be coming from. You'll then have to turn your shoulders back to the ball and that's where you get the downward head movement.

My guess is that Dom has got too much lower body movement with the legs, caused by a stance that is too wide. He might also be turning too much and getting the club too far inside during the backswing. Those are the biggest reasons because that's most commonly what I see in our Peak Peformance Golf schools.

The less you move your head, the better off you will be, Surgites!

Keep it vertical!

The Surge

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Blog Tags:

Golf Instruction

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Head

Comments

Just talked about less movement

Surge, this was amazing timing (as is often the case). We were just advising Hank concerning head movement and ideas on less movement along with causes and solutions and boom! Here you are covering it AGAIN! This has further motivated me to cut back on my unwanted movement. I likely vary from about a 6 to a 4 or 5 when I'm playing my best on that 1-10 scale you mentioned. I'll be working toward a 3 asap. Thanks again for your timely advice. I now have some more ways and motivation to do so.
Thanks again:)
PMG

Picture

RM:

Nice pic of you and Cindy!

Regards,

Phillip

Tee On 13 Golf

Q SCHOOL

I see that DJ withdrew after round 2. Doe's anyone if he is injured are something. He has had a seriously bad year.

Q School

Mike:

About 2 years ago DJ injured his back on a fishing trip. I do not think he has ever fully revoered -- at least his golf game has not.
Earlier in the season he withdrew from a tournament with back pains -- was off the tour for aobut 3 ro 4 weeks, Seemed to do a little better on his return - for a while -- then started missing cuts, etc again

Amos

Q SCHOOL

Thanks Amos

I did not know about the Fishing trip back issue. I knew that he was having spasm problems earlier this year. Was just curious / concerned. Hopefully he will get his back worked out during the off season.

I would hope that if does not get into all the PGA events that he wants next year that he can get some time in on the Web.Com in between outings if he so chooses.

I hope that it works out for him I like seeing the good guys succeed.

Reasons

People (even the golfers themselves) are always trying to figure out why things went wrong, because that's what golfers do. A golfer has to find some "reason" by necessity. It has to be the swing, the caddy, the crowd, the coach, an injury, or anything else, because the last thing a golfer can afford to do is to think "it's me".
Gary McCord said "As soon as a golfer starts blaming himself he might as well quit".

Sometimes there is really no good reason other than too many other guys played better than you did.

Reasons

Steve

I do not disagree with you at all. I don't want people to think I was insinuating anything was just concerned about his health mainly.

That is a tough life out on tour I could not imagine the pressure DJ was under this week or all year for that matter.

I know this is comparing apples to oranges I see the pressure I put on myself with these weekend hackers tournaments that I play in versus playing for fun. I shoot low to mid 70's playing non tournament and am all over the place with tournament scores. I realize that my tournaments scores are going to be higher 5-10 strokes than the friendly rounds just because of the difference in courses played. I need to dig mt Bob Rotella book out of the attic and reread it.

It may for me just boil down to that I just suck at tournament play is a nice way to put it. With me I think it is all between the ears. I am going to give it ago early this spring and see how it go's.

Tournament golf

I think it was Bobby Jones that said "There is golf, and there is tournament golf, and there is very little similarity between the two".

Awesome quote ...

Awesome quote Steve .. from an awesome person. Gary Matthews (Phillies commentator) was saying there are 5:00 hitters and then there are those that can play in the game and under pressure. It is a different world out there.

Was standing over a 10 foot putt the other day telling my playing parter how glad I was that my living was not on the line. On that note, Surge and others who have played in those situation, what can we do to prepare ourselves. I say this because, thanks to this system and the Surge, I feel my game is to the point where I can enter a few local events next year.

Down the middle,
Jon

Pressure

Mike, Think I know where your coming from, but I'm the exact opposite, I even
have to force myself to having fun when I play with my mates as I have a "focused" type personality, probably due to the fact of having very little natural
sporting talent, combined with the fact I was raised in an institution and had a very structured upbringing. Best I could recommend is that you go out and have
some fun in a tournament.

Pressure

Deleted

head movement

Surge;
Your video tip was great. I have reviewed links that Robert had posted yesterday along with today's many times. I have watched your swing at the 6:57 mark over and over to check your hat for movement. I wear a hat similar to yours when I golf. My goal over this winter is to keep the insignia on my hat from moving until the ball is hit. Again, thanks Surge and Robert for the help.
Hank

Good goal

Hank,
Glad this info has helped. From following Surge and working on these things myself I find that two things stand out as far as keeping the head/posture stable through back swing until impact. One, The front knee. Stabilizing that knee really both knees but especially the front with the outward pressure on both until impact at which point we allow the legs to release into the finished position. Holding that front knee really help us to avoid over swing into the SBG. This logically helps us avoid moving the whole body either to far back or forward before impact. This along with making sure you pre load right will help us be stable and not sway back. All of this contributes to less head movement. As Surge says, the head is attached to our necks and shoulders to our hips and to our legs and knees. That's why the cry of "moved the head"! is really an indication that other parts moved and this translated into head movement. Make sense. Simply put, quiet legs and knees will quiet the upper body and head too. As they say, it's all connected.
Another great practicing tool that is covered in one of the videos I shared with you is the "shadow" drill. You'll see if your moving too much and through practice feel when your stable and see the results in ball contact and flight. As we've said, you'll likely still have some head movement of course. Learning to maintain the spine angle will ultimately be the difference.

both knees ...

Thanks for saying this, part of my routine is to intentionally keep my back (right) knee at a consistent bend, but I have yet to work on the front. I'll put that to use this weekend and think about both.

front knee

Jon,
I'll leave you a video or two on this really important part of Don's swing model.
For starters just look at the still of Don above for this 'head must be kept still' daily. Notice the position of his front (left) knee at his nearly top of the back swing position? This is exactly what you should strive for. That front knee position in particular restrains us from over turning into the 'sacred burial ground' SBS and really aids in controlling and quieting the whole swing including the head movement. Yes the knees, particularly the front knee is key.

I searched for a while before I found this great video that clearly shows why we must "resist from allowing that front knee to move in the back swing".
Surge here in refers to it as the #1 domino;
https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/special-k-effect

Three boxes and how the knees affect all three
https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/%E2%80%9Cknees%E2%80%9D-have-it
Hadn't read that one for a long time. Fascinating.

Both knees
https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/%E2%80%9Cknees%E2%80%9D-have-it

Jon there are literally dozens of references in the archived videos to the knees and there importance. It's a real education to dig in and study then practice.
Hope these help.

Thanks Robert ..

I'll take a look (re-look) at these and apply as needed - pun intended! The funny thing is that while I can tell you what my back knee does exactly, I have no idea about the front one. It may be OK or not. I'll check it out and thanks again.

Head Turning, Not Attractive

Iv'e got heaps of old videos that show my head rising about 4inches, but since my knee opp last year Iv'e tried to keep my body more quiet, but this video has just reminded me that it could still be happening, so Don's reminder is timely as
I have been topping the odd ball lately.

Head Movement Redux

Surge,

I had (have) a similar problem to Dom's, but the cause is different - it's going too far up the tree. When I stop the BUS when my left (forward) arm reaches my chin, my swings are really great. When I go past that point, my head comes up 3-5 inches and I swing from the top. Another related thing is occasionally dropping my chin toward my chest at the start of the BUS and having to raise it back up, usually too far. Your drill for finding the position of the right hand in space (or the cactus drill) is great for eliminating both of these tendencies.

Bobble Head

Hi Kevin. I can relate. I think it was Doc who was first able to recognize (from my description) that I was lifting too high. Since then I've allowed myself to limit the lift and to be slightly laid off. My left shoulder is much happier with this arrangement. Not textbook PPGS, but it works and is within parameters.

These are the confessions of a former Bobble Head...

Even though my head has become more quiet, I DO allow my head to move just a bit at takeaway, starting NAB, but small movement until my left eye (dominant) is at the ball. When I settle there, left eye at ball.....results are usually good.

You probably know this, but slow mo video of some of the best ball strikers, will reveal that the head does indeed move down a touch, maybe compressing a bit, just at they are coming through. They can do whatever they want. But thinking that for most of us, a quiet head is better.

Whatever works. It's about results.

Re: Bobble Head

As Surge has stated, the head should remain in the same place from address to the bump just short of the top of the BUS. At that point, the head will move slightly rearward (right in my case) and down as the bump causes a secondary spine tilt. From that point, everything goes forward.

Wish I could

Good call, Kevin. Don practices what he teaches. His head has very little head movement and he is rock solid, finally moving as you've described.

Wish I could. I'm still relatively young in this game, but for some reason when I think of "holding my head still", it somehow influences me to lock up a bit. But if I think of simply remaining quiet (that goes for the entire body too) I guess I feel a bit more freed up.

PPGS and T'ai Chi

One thing I have found helps me to be relatively tension free for the PPG swing is T'ai Chi. The basic stretching movements help keep me limber and balanced. The interesting thing is that the beginning position for T'ai Chi is quite similar to Surge's athletically ready position, and I easily modified the T'ai Chi movements for PPGS. I'm not an expert at T'ai Chi, by any means, but doing the basic stretching before playing or practicing puts me in a great frame of mind.

T'ai Chi

Thx KM. Seen it. Looks quite settling but athletic in it's own way.

Why not...Will give it a shot.

Wish I could

N/A

Distance

Hi Surge,
I know hitting straight is is better than long, but if you, for instance, compared DJ's distance swing versus a modern swing, which would generate the greater distance and why?

Thanks

Kevin

A new concept , for me.

I just started golf in about 1996, totally self taught till knee replacement in 2006 and started looking and found PPGS trying to learn a "real" swing since I now had leg stability.

Some of us, not I, have sports ability/training and will understand this as second nature.

A few days ago, I ranted about a game gone to heck and was feeling very frustrated. Sure, I thought I was doing a good swing, but I was wrong.

I am going to try to explain what I was feeling and doing, and then also explain why I didn't understand correctly.

I had been a mechanic for 40+ years. I also have a large homestead (40 acres) and those 2 things take hard work, as in brute strength.

For example: When splitting fire wood, you swing a 16 lb splitting maul, and the harder you hit a round, the better chances of the maul going through and splitting the wood completely. When driving a pin or chiseling metal, same applies. Strength behind a hammer blow to provide more force to create work.

What does this have to do with golf? For the first time in 16 years I think I finally realized, nothing. I spent 2 afternoons at the driving range, thinking and practicing and studying and hitting a passel full of balls. I think the light finally went on.

I tried to lock up my body and hit that ball like splitting fire wood. That is the best way I know to describe it. I complained to my friends when I was playing awful that i felt like I was chopping wood.

Strength does not relate to speed beyond a certain point. I admit I paid attention to a couple drills that finally seemed to click, this time. Surges cactus drill and someone else's L to L drill.

Starting over, very slowly, I finally felt a loose swing with shoulder rotation and follow through. I felt the pendulum on a string centrifugal effect. You have to try to hold arms straight and not tense up like chopping wood. After a 100 or so balls Wednesday, played 9 holes by myself and tried to apply this concept. Not perfect but I was hitting them straighter more often and played a better score than I had in a long time.

Friday, I again spent a couple hours on the range trying to recreate that feeling. Left arm too dominant and it gets wristy, right arm to dominant and club face never gets closed, but properly balanced, the club face is square and accelerates through the ball.

After the range work, i decided to go out and play 9 more to try to reinforce this feeling.

The course was crowded and while I was waiting I met another single player and we decided to play together. I told him I was crappy but I played for fun. He said that was ok. He also played off the yellow tees, whereas I always play off the seniors green tees, but since we just playing for fun I would play from golds also.

Long story made short(er). I held my own. he beat me by 2 strokes. He hit it a long way while I just played for down the middle. Yeah, a few swings I would let a bad habit in and chop a wood block, but next shot I would concentrate on swing, not chop. I was short of hitting greens in regulation, but I chipped up using same swing feel and was straight though usually long. Hadn't practiced that yet while learning to do a "swing"

2 great things happened, 155 yard par 3, I goof , tried to chop wood and mishit it, and while straight went about 50 yards, second shot, took a correct swing, straight at the pin and rolled to 3" and tap in par.
2nd thing, we had played 8 holes or so and my partner said, "You just keep hitting them straight down the fairway every shot. I bet you tear those guys up when you play from the green tees."

well, I hadn't been, but I believe I can have a better chance now, after some more work on tempo and maybe increase swing speed a little with more practice.

I already improved a lot with learning alignment. I think I finally understand concept of swing . Surges explanations make a lot more sense now. I had taken PPGS lessons and still had not got that idea. use just enough force to hold every thing solid and still and swing arms that are just barely tense enough to hold position while not locking all the muscles up.

I don't explain well, but I am using this post to reinforce in my mind what I feel so that I can reproduce it. I hope maybe some of it may help some one else. I just can't believe how stupid I have been trying to do this all along and not knowing about how to make my body do it, or maybe not being able to translate the instruction into actual body movement.

I wish you all well. Maybe there is hope now. Be loose, but not too loose. Be strong, but not too strong.

I apologize for the length of this. Boog and Doc know. I talk a lot anyway.

Good, bad & ugly

Good on you Mike. Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better, & its not until we play really bad that we do the serious soul searching required to make changes. I know that I chop wood more often than I would like, & need to focus on tempo & timing

Golf SWING

Yep, you split that log well, Mike. There's a reason they call it a golf SWING, not a golf hit. I spent a lot of my youth chopping cords of wood, so I understand the different feelings you're talking about. Chopping is directed at the log, and when you swing AT the ball, you get a chop that doesn't work well for golf.