Is keeping the head down really that bad? (short game)

[golfsticks]

I like the Deminsky drill.  @glk Do you think if OP stood on a 30 degree uphill incline it would start to limit the amount of forward lunge he has? 

[glk]

41 minutes ago, golfsticks said:

I like the Deminsky drill.  @glk Do you think if OP stood on a 30 degree uphill incline it would start to limit the amount of forward lunge he has? 

Maybe.   It would be better to just do short swings to shaft parallel with some right wrist set and then just turn and hit the ball while doing nothing with the arms a la Jason’s trex arms.     Then build to longer.  

[ChipNRun]

The warning "keep your head down" ends up as advice for several different swing glitches.

 

1.  Whether it's a short shot or a full shot, players under duress often look up out of nervousness. Example: you have a shot over a lake to a tight pin, from a grass-behind lie in short rough.

 

In this case, it's a matter of asking your partner to watch your ball flight so you can "stay down" through shot.

 

2.  Chip shot style. Some chip shot motions mimic the full swing; others emphasize a "straight back, straight through" (SBST) motion with minimal lower body assist. It's going to be easier to "keep your head down" with SBST.

 

3.  Full shot residue. "Keep your head down" was a mantra throughout the previous century for solid golf shots. You can, however, overdo it. If you don't allow your head to rotate through with your shoulders at impact, you choke off power and can end up with low pulls on longer clubs.

 

@naj959 covers this in one of his follow-up posts 🙂.

 

In pitches, overdoing "head down" at impact can prevent you from turning through ball. This leads to a shot coming up short due to power bleed at impact.

----------------

Note: I have split method around the green. I use SBST for putting and short chips, and use an abbreviated rotary swing (as per Dave Pelz) for pitches and sand shots. 

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by ChipNRun

[A.Princey]

I think a better mantra is to "retain your spine and neck angle" through the ball, most "looking up" involves some sort of move up and away from the ball, so keeping correct posture with relation to your shoulder plane to the ball is the most important upper body facet regarding impact.

[naj959]

Just to update this thread the head down thought proved to be a band-aid. I was distracted just enough that I stopped focusing on moving the hands but that didn't last long.

 

One thing @glk mentioned was the connection of the body and arms and that got me thinking. When I was really chipping well, I had just started doing the planemate protocols. The post impact position, ("finishing form"?) was probably really beneficial for me but I didn't realize it at the time. After a few weeks I started focusing exclusively on my fullswing takeaway and shallowing positions and stopped doing the post impact drills. I believe this is why my chipping went back downhill.  So going forward, I'm going to chip 50 balls a day wearing my planemate and see if I can build up a ton of muscle memory. It seems like anytime I think of using my hands the outcome is horrendous but If I use a minimal wrist hinge, Jason Day type of approach, I don't have to struggle with releasing the lag and have less variables to contend with.

[glk]

46 minutes ago, naj959 said:

Just to update this thread the head down thought proved to be a band-aid. I was distracted just enough that I stopped focusing on moving the hands but that didn't last long.

 

One thing @glk mentioned was the connection of the body and arms and that got me thinking. When I was really chipping well, I had just started doing the planemate protocols. The post impact position, ("finishing form"?) was probably really beneficial for me but I didn't realize it at the time. After a few weeks I started focusing exclusively on my fullswing takeaway and shallowing positions and stopped doing the post impact drills. I believe this is why my chipping went back downhill.  So going forward, I'm going to chip 50 balls a day wearing my planemate and see if I can build up a ton of muscle memory. It seems like anytime I think of using my hands the outcome is horrendous but If I use a minimal wrist hinge, Jason Day type of approach, I don't have to struggle with releasing the lag and have less variables to contend with.

Yes the planemate has the benefit of synch arms and pivot.  Biggest caution with planemate is to distinguish when you are using it for full swings versus short game including pitches up to around 100 yards.    

 

here is an abbreviated wedge video from an instructor that is certified in ridyard wedge matrix.     Really short summary of the basics that ridyard teaches.    
 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIRZMpXltlE/

Edited December 13, 2020 by glk

[naj959]

12 hours ago, glk said:

Yes the planemate has the benefit of synch arms and pivot.  Biggest caution with planemate is to distinguish when you are using it for full swings versus short game including pitches up to around 100 yards.    

 

here is an abbreviated wedge video from an instructor that is certified in ridyard wedge matrix.     Really short summary of the basics that ridyard teaches.    
 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIRZMpXltlE/

Been watching a lot of Ridyard's stuff trying to get a feel for his philosophy. I've also been thinking about joining Raflewski's membership site. I really liked how he communicated when he was featured on TXG. I think his site went live not too long ago so I'm not sure how much content he has up yet.