Almost every golf group has this person. He shot an 87 once in 2011, he’s taken exactly one lesson, and ever since he has treated your swing like a crime scene he’s qualified to investigate. He means well. He’s also the reason your slice has been in the family longer than your dog.
Here are five pieces of bad golf advice your buddies hand out like free samples at Costco, and what actually works.
1. “Keep your head down.”
The classic. You top one, and before the ball has stopped rolling, someone says it with the calm authority of a 20-year Tour Pro, “You picked your head up.” Thanks Sherlock.
Here’s the problem. Staring at the spot where the ball used to be, like it owes you money, locks your chest and shoulders in place so they can’t turn through the shot. Better players keep their head steady through impact and let it rotate up naturally as they finish. Look at any tour swing in slow motion and you’ll see the head coming up with the body. So keep your head still, not nailed to the turf.
2. “Just swing harder.”
Short off the tee? Swing harder. Short on the approach? Swing harder. Short on the putt? You get the idea. Your buddy has never once suggested swinging better.
Swinging harder gets you a poor strike with extra effort, which is how the ball ends up two fairways over instead of just one. Distance comes from a clean strike at a good tempo, and a smooth swing that finds the center of the face beats a violent one that finds the toe. That’s why the guy who looks like he’s swinging at 70% somehow hits it past you.
3. “Help it up.”
Hitting a wedge over a bunker, your buddy leans in and says to scoop it into the air. So you flip your wrists, dig up enough fairway for a natural toupee, and send a worm-burner (like how I did that?) screaming across the green like it’s late for a meeting.
The loft on the club gets the ball airborne. Your job is to hit down on it and let the club do the lifting. Trying to scoop adds loft, but it also adds a thin shot and a chunk, depending on your mood. Trust the club. It has been through more testing than your swing has.
4. “Keep your left arm straight.”
Sort of true, and that’s what makes it dangerous. A reasonably extended lead arm is great. A rigid lead arm turns you into a man trying to swing a golf club while wearing a cast. Tension kills tempo and shortens your turn, and the swing falls apart from there. Keep it extended, not stiff. Think of a gate that swings, not a board nailed to the fence.
5. “Just relax.”
This is the worst one, and it may be the most common. Nobody in history has relaxed because someone told them to. I tried to once right before a root canal and let’s just say I was glad I had a fresh pair of boxers in my gym bag out in the car. Maybe it was the burrito I ravaged right before, combined with the novocaine but once that drilling started, whoa nellie! I digress. So you’re standing over a 4-footer for your first par of the day, three guys are watching, and a voice behind you says to just relax. Your hands now have the grip pressure of a vice.
What works instead is a routine. Same steps, same breath, every shot. Relaxation is a result of a routine, and few outside the Dalai Lama can order it up on command.
The real lesson
Your buddy isn’t trying to sabotage you. He just got his advice from the same place you got yours, which is another buddy who also had no idea. It’s a chain letter of confident guessing that goes back to the first guy who ever swung a stick at a round rock.
If you want advice that actually sticks, talk to a PGA professional, or your local club pro, even once. One lesson with someone who can see your swing is worth a hundred “helpful” comments from the guy in the next cart.
And the next time a buddy tells you to keep your head down, just nod, smile, and ask what he shot last time. That usually ends the lesson. 😉
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