One of the reasons why so many golfers fail to improve is that there is so many bad golf tips given to them. These bad golf tips can even come from knowledgeable sources.
Recently, I posted a video about the worst golf tip, which is to keep your head down. This tip is usually given to a golfer who can’t get the ball in the air by a golfer who doesn’t know any better.
However, at times, you may see bad golf tips come from a source you trust.
Today, as I was reading through my Twitter feed, I cam upon this doozy of a golf tip.
The article, in the venerable Golf Magazine no less, suggests that you should try to swing the club past parallel to generate more power, so you can hit the ball further.
Now, they do some what qualify the tip by saying you shouldn’t do it by trying to lift the arms more than you are physically able, or to turn the shoulders more than you are able.
Instead, the article suggests that you should relax the hands and arms more so that at at the top of your swing, the club will dip past parallel. Cuz, we all know that golfers hit it further when they can let the club go past parallel at the top of the swing!
This article just left me shaking my head.
If there is one thing that I preach LOUDLY it’s that in order to become a good golfer, you need to learn how to build a golf swing with the appropriate Kinematic Sequence.
The Kinematic Sequence in the golf swing is essentially the sequence of body movements that transfers energy through the body.
According to the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), all great ball strikers have essentially the same Kinematic Sequence. In other words, Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods have a nearly identical sequence.
I can tell you straight up that following the golf tip of releaxing the hands at the top of the swing to allow the club to dip past parallel will not be helpful. Why?
Because it disrupts the appropriate Kinematic Sequence.
An appropriate transition in the golf swing is this…the hips start the down swing before the back swing is complete. The back swing should be completed when the shoulders stop turning away from the target.
At this very point of the golf swing there is tension between the upper and lower body, and it is the unwinding of this tension that generates swing speed.
Therefore, if there is extra movement at the top of the golf swing AFTER the shoulders stop turning, you will lose that tension, and as a result, you’ll lose speed.
The fact of the matter is you can generate a ton of swing speed, even if you swing the club far short of parallel.
Check out this video of Jon Rahm with the driver. Rahm doesn’t even come close to getting the club to parallel in the back swing, but he is currently ranked 22nd on tour in driving distance, averaging 306 yards.
The moral of this story is this…there are a LOT of bad golf tips out there, and some even come from respected sources.
If you want to learn how to play golf well, you need to learn it properly, step by step. Trying out various tips is a sure way to never improve.
One golf tip might work in the short term, but soon enough, your old habits will creep in, and you will be right back where you started.
Learning golf is a process. I’ve put together that process in my Hacker To Scratch Golfer Blue Print, so why not check it out!
