Dropping Your Head - Backswing
While it is more common for golfers to stand-up or come out of their posture in the backswing, some players will struggle with lowering or dropping as well. That is not to say that some amount of lowering is not expected; the average drop in the backswing for a PGA Tour player is roughly 1 to 2 inches. However, if you are dropping more than this during your swing, it is most likely due to a lateral sway or an excessive amount of torso flexion or side bend. For students that fall into these patterns, I will have them get a little more visual awareness, whether it is through something like a pool noodle or mirror, and focus on making a centered pivot while adding some torso extension. This simple combo will usually go a long way to fixing this pattern and the compensations it can cause.
While it is more common for golfers to stand-up or come out of their posture in the backswing, some players will struggle with lowering or dropping as well. That is not to say that some amount of lowering is not expected; the average drop in the backswing for a PGA Tour player is roughly 1 to 2 inches. However, if you are dropping more than this during your swing, it is most likely due to a lateral sway or an excessive amount of torso flexion or side bend. For students that fall into these patterns, I will have them get a little more visual awareness, whether it is through something like a pool noodle or mirror, and focus on making a centered pivot while adding some torso extension. This simple combo will usually go a long way to fixing this pattern and the compensations it can cause.
Video Transcript
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.360
This video is discussing dropping your head in the backswing so while the more
2
00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:11.080
common air is to have a loss of posture and really stand up some golfers get
3
00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:14.160
concerned with dropping their head too much in the backswing and so I'm going
4
00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:18.560
to discuss the couple common ways that that might be showing up in your swing.
5
00:00:18.560 --> 00:00:26.560
The the real problem here because the tour average is that the head or the
6
00:00:26.560 --> 00:00:31.000
upper body, so looking at kind of the center of their sternum or their upper
7
00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:36.760
neck, this area right around here, tends to drop about an inch to two inches
8
00:00:36.760 --> 00:00:42.360
during the backswing. That's partly because of the rotation around this
9
00:00:42.360 --> 00:00:49.840
side tilt, the fact that the ribcage is wider this way and as the hip goes back
10
00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:49.840
,
11
00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:56.240
so as I'm loading into that instep of that right foot, that hip will tend to go
12
00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:01.400
back just slightly and that hip going back just slightly, combo'd with the left
13
00:01:01.400 --> 00:01:07.120
shoulder going down, creates a little lowering because if I stand in a golf
14
00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:12.760
posture, so like this, there's two ways that I could lower, using my spine,
15
00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:17.560
there's two ways that I could lower. One would be to drop down by flexing
16
00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:24.600
forward like this and two would be to drop down by leaning to the side like
17
00:01:24.600 --> 00:01:29.640
this, rotation won't have any effect on my head drop. So what usually happens
18
00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:29.800
is
19
00:01:29.800 --> 00:01:35.390
if my head is dropping down, then either I'm side bending a lot and having a
20
00:01:35.390 --> 00:01:35.440
big
21
00:01:35.440 --> 00:01:40.680
sway kind of off the ball with my hip like this, or I'm I'm staying flexed
22
00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:45.320
forward too much and I'm not getting enough of that extension to keep my chest
23
00:01:45.320 --> 00:01:50.920
closer to the same height. Those can both be a problem. One of the kind of
24
00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:55.000
cousins to this move is too much movement in towards the golf ball and I see
25
00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:55.200
that
26
00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:59.440
some golfers who complain about their head dropping down lose sight of that
27
00:01:59.440 --> 00:02:04.880
being a bigger air. So what usually happens in that case is when they go into
28
00:02:04.880 --> 00:02:09.480
the backswing, their weight shifts way into that right toe. You may even see
29
00:02:09.480 --> 00:02:09.640
the
30
00:02:09.640 --> 00:02:13.960
heel come off the ground and so when I shift into that toe kind of like this,
31
00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:18.240
I'm really loading more of a jump movement on the way down. It's almost like
32
00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:23.400
I'm getting in my toes ready, ready to explode as opposed to loading more of a
33
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:28.560
rotational hip movement by getting an up an up depth and kind of sitting
34
00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:34.960
into that hip as I rotate into my full top of backswing position. So if you're
35
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:41.920
dropping down, usually what I what I work on is working on that extended
36
00:02:41.920 --> 00:02:46.920
position and using a mirror in the down the line to just make sure that I'm
37
00:02:46.920 --> 00:02:53.550
feeling more of this backswing shoulder plane. Kind of like this. You'll see if
38
00:02:53.550 --> 00:02:53.560
I
39
00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.800
do nothing but flex forward then from the face on camera or from the down the
40
00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:03.720
line camera, you will see my head drop during the backswing. The other option
41
00:03:03.720 --> 00:03:09.000
which I think is far worse is if I have more of that sway into my toe where I'm
42
00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:14.720
really getting loaded this way and I'm drifting almost forward that way. That's
43
00:03:14.720 --> 00:03:18.320
a bigger problem because that tends to create a major compensation during the
44
00:03:18.320 --> 00:03:24.080
dance one. So whether you struggle with too much down or too much forward, the
45
00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:27.840
solution's pretty much the same. Using some pool noodles, getting a little bit
46
00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:32.400
more aware and doing some of these backswing shoulder plane or pivot drills
47
00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:37.840
should help you figure out where you are in space. That'll help you work on
48
00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:42.560
keeping that upper body a little bit more centered, work that into slow motion
49
00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:48.400
transition and then full speed transition drills will help you overcome what's
50
00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:55.800
going on. Oftentimes that lowering is actually a symptom of the fact that you
51
00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:59.320
really want to early extend and you really want to jump on the way down and
52
00:03:59.320 --> 00:04:05.280
oftentimes by working on the early extension pattern on the way down, you'll
53
00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:09.880
actually correct the upper body diving down in the backswing, either that or
54
00:04:09.880 --> 00:04:14.440
it'll be controlled enough that it's no longer a major problem. So work on
55
00:04:14.440 --> 00:04:14.800
trying
56
00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:19.200
to keep your upper body at about the same height, a little drop during the
57
00:04:19.200 --> 00:04:23.520
backswing, but if it drops down a lot, use that as a diagnostic to try and
58
00:04:23.520 --> 00:04:29.240
figure out why, the why may be the bigger issue that you really need to solve.
Have questions?
Ask Mulligan for helpDropping Your Head - Backswing
While it is more common for golfers to stand-up or come out of their posture in the backswing, some players will struggle with lowering or dropping as well. That is not to say that some amount of lowering is not expected; the average drop in the backswing for a PGA Tour player is roughly 1 to 2 inches. However, if you are dropping more than this during your swing, it is most likely due to a lateral sway or an excessive amount of torso flexion or side bend. For students that fall into these patterns, I will have them get a little more visual awareness, whether it is through something like a pool noodle or mirror, and focus on making a centered pivot while adding some torso extension. This simple combo will usually go a long way to fixing this pattern and the compensations it can cause.
While it is more common for golfers to stand-up or come out of their posture in the backswing, some players will struggle with lowering or dropping as well. That is not to say that some amount of lowering is not expected; the average drop in the backswing for a PGA Tour player is roughly 1 to 2 inches. However, if you are dropping more than this during your swing, it is most likely due to a lateral sway or an excessive amount of torso flexion or side bend. For students that fall into these patterns, I will have them get a little more visual awareness, whether it is through something like a pool noodle or mirror, and focus on making a centered pivot while adding some torso extension. This simple combo will usually go a long way to fixing this pattern and the compensations it can cause.
Video Transcript
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.360
This video is discussing dropping your head in the backswing so while the more
2
00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:11.080
common air is to have a loss of posture and really stand up some golfers get
3
00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:14.160
concerned with dropping their head too much in the backswing and so I'm going
4
00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:18.560
to discuss the couple common ways that that might be showing up in your swing.
5
00:00:18.560 --> 00:00:26.560
The the real problem here because the tour average is that the head or the
6
00:00:26.560 --> 00:00:31.000
upper body, so looking at kind of the center of their sternum or their upper
7
00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:36.760
neck, this area right around here, tends to drop about an inch to two inches
8
00:00:36.760 --> 00:00:42.360
during the backswing. That's partly because of the rotation around this
9
00:00:42.360 --> 00:00:49.840
side tilt, the fact that the ribcage is wider this way and as the hip goes back
10
00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:49.840
,
11
00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:56.240
so as I'm loading into that instep of that right foot, that hip will tend to go
12
00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:01.400
back just slightly and that hip going back just slightly, combo'd with the left
13
00:01:01.400 --> 00:01:07.120
shoulder going down, creates a little lowering because if I stand in a golf
14
00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:12.760
posture, so like this, there's two ways that I could lower, using my spine,
15
00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:17.560
there's two ways that I could lower. One would be to drop down by flexing
16
00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:24.600
forward like this and two would be to drop down by leaning to the side like
17
00:01:24.600 --> 00:01:29.640
this, rotation won't have any effect on my head drop. So what usually happens
18
00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:29.800
is
19
00:01:29.800 --> 00:01:35.390
if my head is dropping down, then either I'm side bending a lot and having a
20
00:01:35.390 --> 00:01:35.440
big
21
00:01:35.440 --> 00:01:40.680
sway kind of off the ball with my hip like this, or I'm I'm staying flexed
22
00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:45.320
forward too much and I'm not getting enough of that extension to keep my chest
23
00:01:45.320 --> 00:01:50.920
closer to the same height. Those can both be a problem. One of the kind of
24
00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:55.000
cousins to this move is too much movement in towards the golf ball and I see
25
00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:55.200
that
26
00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:59.440
some golfers who complain about their head dropping down lose sight of that
27
00:01:59.440 --> 00:02:04.880
being a bigger air. So what usually happens in that case is when they go into
28
00:02:04.880 --> 00:02:09.480
the backswing, their weight shifts way into that right toe. You may even see
29
00:02:09.480 --> 00:02:09.640
the
30
00:02:09.640 --> 00:02:13.960
heel come off the ground and so when I shift into that toe kind of like this,
31
00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:18.240
I'm really loading more of a jump movement on the way down. It's almost like
32
00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:23.400
I'm getting in my toes ready, ready to explode as opposed to loading more of a
33
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:28.560
rotational hip movement by getting an up an up depth and kind of sitting
34
00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:34.960
into that hip as I rotate into my full top of backswing position. So if you're
35
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:41.920
dropping down, usually what I what I work on is working on that extended
36
00:02:41.920 --> 00:02:46.920
position and using a mirror in the down the line to just make sure that I'm
37
00:02:46.920 --> 00:02:53.550
feeling more of this backswing shoulder plane. Kind of like this. You'll see if
38
00:02:53.550 --> 00:02:53.560
I
39
00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.800
do nothing but flex forward then from the face on camera or from the down the
40
00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:03.720
line camera, you will see my head drop during the backswing. The other option
41
00:03:03.720 --> 00:03:09.000
which I think is far worse is if I have more of that sway into my toe where I'm
42
00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:14.720
really getting loaded this way and I'm drifting almost forward that way. That's
43
00:03:14.720 --> 00:03:18.320
a bigger problem because that tends to create a major compensation during the
44
00:03:18.320 --> 00:03:24.080
dance one. So whether you struggle with too much down or too much forward, the
45
00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:27.840
solution's pretty much the same. Using some pool noodles, getting a little bit
46
00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:32.400
more aware and doing some of these backswing shoulder plane or pivot drills
47
00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:37.840
should help you figure out where you are in space. That'll help you work on
48
00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:42.560
keeping that upper body a little bit more centered, work that into slow motion
49
00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:48.400
transition and then full speed transition drills will help you overcome what's
50
00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:55.800
going on. Oftentimes that lowering is actually a symptom of the fact that you
51
00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:59.320
really want to early extend and you really want to jump on the way down and
52
00:03:59.320 --> 00:04:05.280
oftentimes by working on the early extension pattern on the way down, you'll
53
00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:09.880
actually correct the upper body diving down in the backswing, either that or
54
00:04:09.880 --> 00:04:14.440
it'll be controlled enough that it's no longer a major problem. So work on
55
00:04:14.440 --> 00:04:14.800
trying
56
00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:19.200
to keep your upper body at about the same height, a little drop during the
57
00:04:19.200 --> 00:04:23.520
backswing, but if it drops down a lot, use that as a diagnostic to try and
58
00:04:23.520 --> 00:04:29.240
figure out why, the why may be the bigger issue that you really need to solve.
Have questions about this video?
Ask Mulligan for personalized guidance on technique, drills, or how to apply what you've learned.
Ask Mulligan