What are the Most Popular Golf Myths?
Golfers love to talk while they are on the course, and that inevitably leads to the development of some myths that relate to the game. Most of these are harmless little pieces of misinformation, but some of them can be harmful to your game if you actually take them to heart. Knowing what golf advice to heed and which to ignore is an important part of getting better over time. Don’t let the golf myths get into your head and affect your game, or you could be wasting shots without even knowing it.
Following are three of the most popular golf myths that you may have heard –
- Keep your head down. This is one of the most popular pieces of advice handed out on courses all around the world, but it simply isn’t true. It is true that you need to keep your eyes on the ball while you hit it, but your head can – and should – move a little bit during the swing. In fact, if you make an effort to keep your head perfectly still and pointed down toward the ball, you will be inhibiting the power potential in your swing. Keep your eyes down, but let your head move naturally with your swing.
- You need to shift your weight during the swing. The golf swing should be mostly rotational, not lateral. If you are shifting your weight from side to side during your swing, you are wasting potential power and likely have trouble making solid contact as well. When you can learn to keep your balance between your feet and simply rotate back and through the shot, you will really be on your way to more powerful and accurate shots. While your weight will move toward the target in the follow through, that is more of a reaction to the motion of the club rather than an intentional weight shift.
- You must release the club through impact. Again, this is a case of something being a reaction instead of an intentional action by the golfer. Yes, the club will release through impact in a proper swing. But it is not something that the golfer should be actively trying to do. Rather, by rotating correctly both back and through the shot, the club will release naturally as it rotates around your body. Make the rest of your swing technically sound, and the rest will take care of itself.