Gloucester Cathedral is a magnificent building that has been used as a place of worship for 900 years. It is certainly worth visiting and if you do you will find in the Great East Window an exquisite stained glass illustration of a golfer that has been there since 1350.

It is difficult therefore to believe that after 658 years some golfers are adamant that the head should remain still. It is even more unbelievable that there are professionals who still teach the mantra ‘keep the head still’.

I recently heard a professional say to a junior pupil, ‘now what have I told you today? Keep your head absolutely still.’

What chance does the poor young soul have of developing a sound golf swing when placed in a mental and physical straight jacket at such an early age?

I have been studying the head movements of almost every Open Champion since 1899 and not one of them has kept their head still even though many of them were certain that they had.
 
There are no definitive movements for the head but on average this is what the head does in the backswing:

(The dates in brackets are when the golfers won their respective Open Championships.)
 
1. The head moves to the right because if it didn't it would be impossible to transfer the weight into the right side.
 
2. The head moves down as the body squats in preparation for the drive forward to hit the ball.
 
3. The head moves slightly away from the ball as the body turns and the weight is moved into the inside of the right heel.
 
4. The head turns to the right as the body turns to the right.

To see the head move to the right watch Tiger Woods (who won in 2000, 2005, 2006) or Walter Hagen (1922, 1924, 1928, 1929)
 
To see the head move down watch Tiger Woods or Henry Cotton (1934, 1937, 1948)
 
To see the head move away from the ball watch Tom Watson (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983) or Nick Faldo (1987, 1990, 1992)

To see the head turn to the right watch Jack Nicklaus (1966, 1970, 1978) or Bobby Jones (1930)

From the backswing to impact this is what the head does:
 
1. It moves to the left or moves even further back depending on how far the lower body drives to the left.
 
2. The head moves even further down as the body drives forward.
 
3. The head moves even further away from the ball as the body clears and the weight is moved to the left heel.
 
4. The head turns to the left as the body turns to left.
 
To see the head move to the left watch Ernie Els (2002) or to see the head move back watch Harry Vardon (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914)
 
To see the head moving down watch Ben Hogan (1953) or Peter Thomson (1954,

1955, 1956, 1958, 1965)
 
To see the head moving away from the ball watch Greg Norman (1986) or Jack Nicklaus.
 
To see the head turning to the left watch David Duval (2001) or Sam Snead (1946)

From impact through to the finish this is what the head does.

1.The head moves upwards.

2. The head moves away from the target line.

3. The head rotates to follow the flight of the ball.

4. The head moves towards the target or further back and then forward and usually finishes over the left leg.

 To see these movements from impact to the finish watch any of the Open Champions from Willie Park in 1860 to Padraigh Harrington in 2007 and his magnificent win in 2008.

I have taught over 100 professionals and assistant professionals and I used to show them Curtis Strange’s swing as his head moved almost 12” to the right in the backswing. The usual response was ‘ that cannot be correct?’ I then pointed out that Curtis Strange had won the U.S. Open in 1988 and 1989 so what he was doing had to be correct for him.

Photograph No1 shows a white line behind my head at address.

Photograph No2 shows how my head has moved to the right during the backswing. This move to the right is a result of a correct body turn and you should not consciously move to the right
One of my pupils said the best advice I ever gave him was to forget he had a head.
 
This advice was based on allowing him to look at the ball but not having to keep his head still.
 
Another pupil came for her first lesson with her neck in a collar as her previous coach used to hold her head in his hands whilst she made her swing. No wonder she had her neck in a collar and scored 180 shots a round.
 
I patiently explained to her that what she was doing would never work and within two years her scores were down to 93 and her neck was fine.

Yet another lady had been taught to hit the ball and wait for a worm to slither out of the ground before lifting her head. After I had shown her swings of the best golfers not keeping their heads down or still her handicap gradually fell from 33 to 17.

There are many machines produced for testing clubs and shafts that can hit golf ball over 400 yards and none of the machines have heads because they do not need them.

One of my pupils reduced his scores from a high of 136 to a low of 81 in less than 2 years (that is 3 shots per hole) when he realised that there is not a fixed point to the swing i.e. the head and that he could let his head move as his body moves.

Gary Wolstenholme was a classic ‘ keep the still ‘ golfer who managed to play off +1 but came down to an amazing +5 when I took away the shackles of the still head syndrome.

In the 1984 December issue of Golf World the great Jack Nicklaus said ‘I like to keep my head ‘quiet’ – not rigidly still- which allows my shoulders to turn more freely throughout my swing. My chin swivels away from the target at the start of the swing and then towards it at impact.’

Word perfect from the winner of 18 Major Championships.

Jack did not allow his head to curtail the freedom of movement required to generate club head speed.

Anika Sorenstam, arguably the finest female golfer ever, had problems moving through the ball correctly so her coach suggested she looked at the target as the club hit the ball. Anika tried this and has used the move for the last 20 years.

When I show my pupils Anika looking at the target as she hits the ball the usual response is ‘that can’t be right I have always been told to keep my head down’

My response is that what she is doing cannot be wrong as her record proves.

If anyone ever says to you ‘keep your head still ‘ ask them to show you just one Open Champion who actually keeps their head still and they will not be able to show you one.
 
Free your entire swing and allow your head to move as your body moves and watch your scores and handicap come down.