Lack of this movement costing you yards, top coach says

“Keep your head down.” 

You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. Perhaps you said it yourself. 

What say you, Lucas Wald? 

“‘Keep your head down when you swing,’ he said. “This is some of the worst advice. And I hear this all the time. 

“If you want a straight and more powerful shot, do not keep your head down.”

Wald, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher to Watch, was talking on a recently posted video to his Instagram account (and you can watch the video here, and you can follow Wald’s account here). To hammer his point home, he also labeled his video: “Do not keep your head down when you swing! It’s an amateur mistake,” and he wrote this, too:   

“‘Keep your head down when you swing.’ I can’t stress this enough: It’s one of the worst pieces of advice out there. And unfortunately, it’s all too common. If you’re aiming for a stronger, more powerful shot, keeping your head down is not the way to go.”

But Wald is kind. 

In the video, he advised what you should do. 

He said bigger hitters turn their shoulders past 90 degrees — and that your head should swivel with the shoulder turn. He had a drill to help. The steps are as follows:

— Put a hat on and put your hands on the edge of the bill, Wald said in the video. 

— “Practice turning on the backswing back a little bit on transition,” Wald said, “and then swiveling through to impact.”

— In the video, Wald demonstrated the move, pausing the video three times. The first stop showed where your head should be on the backswing; when you watch it, his eyes appear to be lined up in the direction of the right side of his right foot. The second stop showed where your head should be on the downswing; his eyes appear to be lined up in the direction of the left side of his right foot. The third stop showed where your head would be on the follow-through; his eyes appear to be lined up in the direction of the right side of his right foot.  

From there, Wald’s video ends inspirationally. 

“Save this and practice it the next time you pick up a club,” he said, “so you can play better golf.”

Below, you can watch Wald’s video. Below that is his description of the video. 

“This is the worst advice ever.

“‘Keep your head down when you swing.’ I can’t stress this enough: It’s one of the worst pieces of advice out there. And unfortunately, it’s all too common. If you’re aiming for a stronger, more powerful shot, keeping your head down is not the way to go. This is a quick, practical drill to help you manage your head movement, and it’s something you can start practicing right away.

“Here’s the deal: Power hitters turn their shoulders past 90 degrees. And here’s what we want: We want the head to swivel with that shoulder turn.

“So here’s a simple drill for you. Grab a hat and place your hands on the edge of the bill. Practice turning on the backswing, swinging back a bit in transition, and then swiveling through to impact. It’s all about that smooth motion. 

“Remember this drill and practice it next time you’re out on the course. It’ll help you play better golf, guaranteed.”

Editor’s note: To read additional instruction stories on GOLF.com, please click here.   

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.