Help Me Kill This Golf Instruction Myth

Today I've come to bury the greatest golf instruction myth of all time.  And if you've ever swung a golf club next to a more experienced golfer with good intentions, I'm sure you've heard the myth:

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!!!

Passing by on the practice range, I hear that golf tip given by amateurs to amateurs, and I cringe every time.  The resulting swing becomes restricted, choppy and off-balance.

I'd like to offer a replacement swing thought for this oft-repeated myth:

KEEP YOUR KNEES FLEXED!!!

The golf swing is primarily a rotary motion turning around your spine.  Any up-and-down movement is a consistency killer, but the head isn't initiating any of the up-and-down motion.  The knees are what get you into trouble.  Some of the best golfers in the world (see Annika Sorenstam's swing) have their head on the rise before impact.  But their knees are still flexed and the up movement isn't occurring until after the ball is gone.

The two most common times to see the knees un-flex are: 1.) At the top of the backswing, golfers want to add a little extra swing and the knees straighten, and 2.) Right before impact, golfers want to help lift the ball into the air so the knees straighten.  Find out your tendencies and proceed to the next paragraph.

So how do you practice keeping your knees flexed?  Find a junior club or choke down on a regular club so it's really, really short.  Exaggerate your knee flex to get yourself at the correct level for the smaller club, and take a swing.  Force yourself to keep your knees flexed.  If you don't, you'll be whiffing right over the ball.  Now take that flexed feeling back to your regular club size and stance.  Take some swings keeping your knees flexed throughout the swing.  If you take some extra deep divots at first, that's OK--it means you're over-exaggerating and you just have to dial back your knee flex a bit.  But by all means, take some turf.

The knees only straighten after the ball is gone.  Just let the natural momentum of your swing carry you up to a balanced, posed finish, watching your perfect shot drop from the heavens to rest right next to the hole.

So stop worrying about keeping your head down and start paying attention to keeping your knees flexed.

Stay tuned for more golf tips in the coming weeks as we continue to explore some moving body parts that shouldn't be, and some unmoving parts that should be.