Move Your Head Behind The Ball

By | on March 29, 2018 | 39 Comments |


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Paul Wilson is the creator of Swing Machine Golf and founder of Ignition Golf. Paul's golf swing technique is based on the Iron Byron swing machine. YouTube Channels: Paul Wilson Golf and Ignition Golf Tips. Please Join me on Google+

39 Responses to “Move Your Head Behind The Ball”

  1. October 20, 2012

    AlanFrance

    Thank you Paul. This tip has is just what I need at this present time. I was always taught to keep my head still and I am finding it difficult to rotate the lower body through impact with any great speed.
    Your discription of the two pivot points makes it quite clear that there is a good case for the head to move. Is this a lateral movement , (with eyes level) over to the right leg in the backswing or rotational and likewise in the downswing ?
    Thanks once again Paul.

    • October 22, 2012

      Paul Wilson

      Alan, I thought his tip would be a good one to repeat. Keeping the head still is a huge problem. With a still head you can’t shift the weight to the back foot. No weight back there and you will not use your legs. Not using your legs with cause you to hit with the arms because that is the only power source you have left.

      The move is a rotation into the backswing. As you rotate the head moves. In the downswing you are not even thinking of the head. You are thinking about the touch the legs position. If you do it right your body and head will stay behind the ball thus creating the path slightly from the inside instead of over the top.

      So just think about the lower body and keeping the head behind the ball and you will be fine in the downswing.

    • October 22, 2012

      AlanFrance

      Thank you Paul.
      You have summed up my position perfectly. With a stationary head I found it difficult to start the downswing by pushing off the right instep as you do because I am not loading up the right side sufficiently,hence not enough rotational speed through the ball. My preference has been to snap the left knee straight back to start the downswing.but I had the feeling that I needed to retain some power in my arms and my head and upper body were in front of the ball at impact.This tip and your reply has made things much clearer to me.
      Thanks once again Paul, I have a long way to go but I am really pleased with the progress so far. Best wishes, Alan

      • October 24, 2012

        Paul Wilson

        Alan, You are correct. Without weight on this foot you cannot do the weight shift. No weight shift means you will try to hit.

        I’m so glad you recognize the importance of the head moving. It is tricky to get so make sure you are working on it as much as you can. I would be watching it in a mirror. This will allow you to see it. Once you get this I would think you will make huge progress.

  2. October 21, 2012

    LarryFleck

    Glad you have your own site now! I did not like most of revolution golf’s teachers…

  3. If you a wondering how this new server is working… The visual focus of this server vice previous server is the same in the small scrreen but is a bit blurred in the full screen mode.

    • Jim,

      The blur is the compression of the video as they post it on the site. Still trying to find the best settings.

  4. May 25, 2013

    ERIABBERA

    Hi Paul,
    The player looks cute.
    Performance wise, so far so good.

  5. I looked at some videos my son took and you’re so right. In the ones where my head moves a lot my weight is on the outside of my right foot and in the ones where my head moves less the weight the weight looks centered. Should I try to keep the weight on the right instep i.e. the inside of the right foot then as you it should be if the head moves back correctly?
    Thank you very much, this is very good. Michelle

    • Michelle,

      Yes, you need to keep the weight on the instep. Don’t force it so much on the instep that you do a reverse pivot though. At address you are centered. As you coil you feel the load load on the on the instep. This back foot is still flat not angled inwards in any way. It is more of a balance point of the instep not a knocking in of this foot.

  6. Hi Paul,
    Very timely tip! I have also noticed with the reverse weight shift, that a good shoulder turn is next to impossible. Played a round yesterday, and discovered a strange feeling that I wanted to ask you about. I had a couple of shots from the right side rough where I had to take my medicine and hit a shot back to the fairway from the trees. The shots were very solid and crisp. I decided to try the same motion in my full swing, and hit some great shots. I has the feeling that my right hand was on top of the club handle, it actually was not but felt like it was….any ideas as to the reason? By the way the tip today took longer to load and longer to stream, maybe just the time of day, however haven’t has that problem recently
    Thanks, Mike

    • Mike,

      I’m not sure what you mean. It sounds like you are talking about a perfect grip of the right hand. If you had a strong right hand grip and moved this right hand into position it would feel on top of the handle. This would weaken the strong hand and allow the wrist to work properly. Be very careful here because if this grip is too weak you will end up fading it too much. So focus on a neutral grip position. If you are talking about something else you may need to describe it differently.

      • Thanks for the response Paul and I think I may have figured out this sensation. I have had a bad habit of rotating the left hand to my right in the back swing, to the point that the back of the hand is toward the sky. As you can imagine the chances of returning to square near or past impact is next to impossible. In my smaller punch swing, it is short enough that the left hand rotation does not happen and it is a strange feeling just past impact. Many times while playing a round I have recovery shots, with a shorter swing and my playing partners say that’s your swing, use it in your full swing. Unfortunately just as hard as it is to quit hitting the ball, stopping this hand rotation has been difficult for me. I think just like I need to stop hitting the ball, I need to stop this rotation of the left hand and let the coil get my hand into position. Hope this explains it better and please let me know if this explanation is better and sounds possible. As for the player, I have an ipad1 which can’t get fir fox etc. I will just have to let it stream longer so I don’t have to keep waiting. Not the end of the world.
        Thanks Mike

        • Mike,

          Fixing this takeaway shouldn’t take you that long. Do you do this action when you putt? I bet you don’t. When you putt do you do a one-piece action. I bet you do? So do your putting stroke in your golf swing.

          Watch:

          One Piece Takeaway: https://ignitiongolf.com/master-one-piece-takeaway

          Keep on working on it. Do lots of practice swings nightly. If you do you will get used to it and it will go into your swing. I would even do 2-3 backstrokes when setting up to each shot. This way you can practice it in your actual swing. Then when you go to hit go slow motion slow for the first 2 feet back. This way you can watch to see if you are doing it and stop this rolling. You need to fix this now.

  7. Paul,

    A much better tip player. The old one would drop out of full screen mode when I paused and then restarted the video. Hence, I was always clicking on the “you tube” link to view. Please keep this player.

    Thanks,
    Beth

  8. May 25, 2013

    Steven D

    The new player stalled quite a bit until I paused it for 2-3 minutes and then resumed playing it. Except for breaking up mildly, it played non-stop. I can resize the picture by changing the zoom in my browser. I would say that I still prefer the YouTube link in terms of quality, but I don’t know what problems or expenses that entails.

  9. Dear Paul ,I’ve tried most of the theories on the Golf swing:it started with the “don’t move your head “in the 70’s ,popular with the “ancient “teachers and “greats :Alex MORRISON ,PERCY BOOMER ,BYRON NELSON ,GENE SARAZEN ,HENRY PICARD ,HORTON SMITH ,,BOBBY JONES ,JACK NICKLAUS ,JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL (With whom I took lessons ) etc.; It worked .Then I had a go at the “STACK AND TILT method of BENNET and PLUMMER :it worked also and had the very great advantage of completely eliminating the “SWAY “on the backswing which I experienced occasionnally ,causing me to be late in the through swing and hitting the ball right .But this method reduces the power you
    can develop (A point you readily underline and which is a correct diagnosis )Then I came back to the “two axis method “you teach and which works also ,with the great advantage of enabling you to unleash the full power of your hips on the throughswing.But this assumes you move forward in the throughswing the same amount you have moved back in the backswing ,therefore a perfect timing of your swing to have the hands at the right place at the right moment .
    However to your credit ,and to support your teaching ,combined with the speeding up of my rotation forwards ,thanks to MIKE BAUMANN ‘s ULTIMATE SWING Trainer ,which you recommend,I have gained already 9 MPH in my clubhead speed and believe I can gain more ,though I am 78 years of age and hit the ball a respectable distance off the tee .I will not emulate MIKE BAUMANN of course ,but 110 MPH clubhead speed is now not an unrealistic goal for me
    Thanks ,Dear Paul , for you well thought advice and great videos .
    I am a great supporter of your teaching lessons which enable me to stay competitive on the golf course in the face of my grandsons who hit a mile !

    • Raymond,

      Glad you like my method.

      Not only is the power coming from the coiling and uncoiling of the body but also the loose wrists (don’t forget that part of it). The looser they are the faster they swing.

      Also, I really don’t think timing as big and issue as you are suggesting. You should be basing your swing on torque and forces. They repeat 100% of the time in life. You are coiling until you are tight. Once you feel the tightness you are uncoiling with the touch the legs position. This unwinding of the lower body unwinds the upper body. You will get tot he forward leg due to the uncoiling and ending up with the legs touching one another. You cannot touch your legs together better than touching so you should be able to go to this exactly position every time you swing.

  10. New player works great for me. Great lesson. Excellent comment by Mr.Chastel above. And a beautiful Saturday morning. Going to be 80 degrees and no humidity in Gulf Shores. Let’s do it! (But don’t sway and don’t let your weight get past the inside of your left insole.)

  11. Paul,

    I never had a problem with your other player and getting your site up. I believe your more detailed explanation of the head, the axis and the swing brings a better understanding of why and how to do it, thanks.

    Darrel

  12. Bonjour Paul
    Sorry but i still have problems to read the video. It constantly stops. I’m using iPhone or iPad.
    I Hope my comments helps to improve your system
    Warmest regards
    Yawo

  13. May 30, 2013

    Jos

    Paul, thanks for this comprehensive video. It seems that you recorded it after watching me and my swing. This allowed me to understand where the majority of my flaws are and encouraged me to start again Swing Machine training from lesson 1 to put away all the wrong things that keeps me going backwards. Human nature affects me a lot, especially my arms that don’t want to be powerless at all causing a lot of fat and thin shots.

  14. September 11, 2013

    SeanPinnell

    Paul,

    Not sure where to post this comment. I am really striking the ball very well working over the past month with your technique. However, my wedge play is sporadic. It seems like moving the head so far back makes my distance control and contact with wedges less consistent with such short controlled swings. Would you recommend less weight shift and less head movement for wedges? Also, I love the your knock down shot. It’s very accurate. However, I’ve noticed that if I don’t have a perfectly flat lie I can easily shank it. I rarely shank full shots. I’ve watched the shank video which doesn’t address the “punch shank” LOL.

    Thanks,

    Sean

    • September 11, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Sean,

      Just post comments on any tip for the person you are trying to ask a question.

      You are only moving your head back about 3 inches so don’t get carried away and this would be on a full pitch. Anything less than a full swing would have you moving it back even less.

      Your weight will shift due to the head moving but again if you are only hitting a short shot the weight is barely shifting. I get the feeling you are not following my pitching technique. Instead, you are thinking way too much about these shots. Watch the original pitching tip again. Think HINGE/TURN that’s it. To vary the distances you do longer or shorter backswing lengths, grip up or down and turn faster or slower. You shouldn’t even be thinking about your head moving or weight shifting.

      Watch:

      How to Pitch: https://ignitiongolf.com/pitch-ball

      Search the red nav bar for the other tips on pitching.

  15. Great tip. Thanks Paul.

  16. Hi Paul. This is a tip that you played a long time ago. There is a part of it which I would like to comment on. Having seen, when you played it originally, it helped me enormously. However, the part if “allow yourself to tip the visir to the right, behind the ball, created a little sway, which I have been dragging for a couple of years.

    • David,

      Every Thursday and Friday I repeat old tips. There are over 1,000 tips now that I know people are not watching but are vital. Your head would and should be moving because you are coiling plus as you do this you should have been loading the weight 80% into the back instep. If so, you would not be swaying laterally. So focus on the weight and coiling. You can also move the head by looking at the back of the ball here:

      Watch Back of The Golf Ball: https://ignitiongolf.com/watch-backside-golf-ball/

      This way you could focus on coiling and allow the head to move too.

  17. Needed this one again Paul. Thank You!!

  18. February 19, 2019

    WalterHaynes

    Paul: Great stuff. When I watch your effortless swing, it looks to me like you lower your hips during the down swing so that you can get your legs together and touch the forward leg. I find that it is difficult for me to touch my forward leg unless I make a downward move as my hips are rotating. At 2:04 in this video you use the phrase “down and through.” I do not remember you using that phrase in your other videos that I have watched. Can you direct me to one or more that talked about “down and through.”

    In this video during the slow motion section at 10:45, your head drops about 3 inches. Again great stuff. Thanks. Walter

  19. February 26, 2019

    SammyeTelford

    When you move your head do you tilt or swivel head?

  20. Hi Paul,
    One thing I noticed in this lesson is that as you come through the impact zone your head dips down. I’ve seen this happen with all the other pros in the tournaments as well. I don’t know if I do it. Is it the consequence of doing everything else right, or is there some other motion we need to learn?
    thanks,
    terr

    • The head dips because when you fire the lower body the head hangs back for a split second and the head goes closer to the ground. You will achieve this by using hte lower body to hit the golf ball. Work on the using more effort into getting the leg touching position and you will be fine. Check out this tip:

      Further Understanding of Divots – https://ignitiongolf.com/divot-further-understanding/

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