Learn how to keep your head steady in 30 days or less with a simple, 5-minute daily exercise
A recent National Golf Foundation (NGF) study shows that once a golfer has been playing for three years or more, certain swing habits, both good and bad, are ingrained in the golfer’s swing. It seems that muscle memory or motor learning allows the golfer (or any athlete) to consistently repeat the learned movement, whether or not that movement is the desired movement.
This movement becomes an unconscious movement, a habit. And we all know how hard it is to break a habit. Some physiologists say that it takes thousands of repetitions of the desired new movement or desired habit to break the unwanted habit. My personal experience and research suggests that the number of repetitions varies with each individual and depends on the individual’s flexibility and athleticism. However, the unwanted habit can not be changed or removed without repeating the desired habit.
Other studies by the NGF and the Titlelist Performance Institute show that faulty head movement is the number one fault for the 80% of golfers who do NOT break 100. So how does the high handicap golfer learn to keep a steady head? ? The answer is the repetition of a steady head during swing practice, without hitting the balls, until the new movement becomes unconscious. Now the questions become:
1. How does one know that they are keeping their head steady for most of the golf swing?
2. How can you get the reps to develop this desired stable head muscle memory or new habit without spending hours on the practice range?
One answer is for the golfer to set up a camera to take a video of their swing to see if there are any faulty head movements during the swing. The golfer will see the swing and the miss and get a mental picture of the bad swing as well as the good swing when the golfer keeps their head steady. This procedure, however, is not very practical. It takes hours of video and the golfer is dependent on the mental image of the steady head. Physiologists also tell us that tactile feedback of the desired swing may be the best way to develop the new habit.
So here is the exercise.
has. Stand facing a wall and facing the wall, about 12 inches away. The distance may vary depending on your height. Imagine that you are about to take your normal swing with a club.
b. Bend at the waist and lean forward until the front of your head touches the wall.
against Let your arms hang down and bring your hands together as if you were holding your driver.
d. You have to simulate your normal posture and posture to hit a ball with your driver.
me. Keeping your head steady and light pressure against the wall, swing your arms through the full backswing while maintaining head pressure against the wall.
F. Now swing down while keeping your head against the wall until well past the imaginary impact zone. The longer you can keep your head against the wall, the better. Your right shoulder will eventually pull your head away from the wall.
gram. If your head moves during the simulated backswing, you’ll get immediate tactile feedback. You will feel your head move.
H. Similar with the downswing. You’ll get that instant tactile feedback as long as your head moves.
Do this exercise for five to ten minutes daily. Every day it will become easier for you to maintain that slight pressure with your head against the wall. In 30 days or less you will have a FEELING of a stable head and see your scores drop. There is no doubt and there is enough evidence to show that this exercise will work. Granted though, it’s not easy. Let me now offer you an easier way to perform the exercise.
There is a training aid available called the PRO-HEAD 2 Trainer. It is available in a freestanding model and a wall mount model. The freestanding model can be easily moved from one place to another, even to your driving range. It has a height adjuster that allows it to be adjusted to your exact posture and posture. A foam cylinder is attached to the end of one arm that allows the golfer to comfortably rest their head on the foam and hit full shots with a driver or any club. You can easily perform your daily exercises and when you are ready you can hit real balls.
The wall mount unit also allows the golfer to swing with a driver and even hit real balls. This, of course, would not be possible if it was mounted in his bedroom. But it could be mounted in a tree or on the side of your garage.
Bottom line: exercise and repeat your swing as often as possible until you gain that steady head and your steady head is an unconscious habit of your consistent golf swing. You can do this in your bedroom without hitting the balls.