The golfer’s head can actually move in ten different ways throughout the entire swing, including the takeaway, back swing, transition to the downswing, downswing, impact, and follow through. It can go straight up, straight down, forward, backward, up and forward, down and forward, etc., etc. The golfer has a high handicap because at least seven of these movements are flawed. When a golfer was first learning the game, they developed bad habits with their head movements as well as other golf swing movements.
At around age nine, Jack Nicklaus began competing. By the time he took lessons from his first teaching Pro, Jack Grout, young Jack had acquired the faulty habit of what Grout called a “bobbing head.” They are extremely difficult to break, like most habits. No matter how many times Grout instructed Jack to stop moving his head, Jack was unable to comply. Grout once grabbed young Jack by his curly blonde hair and forced him to hit balls for three hours out of pure rage… until Jack Nicklaus sobbed, but he received the tactile and unpleasant feedback and the three hours of repetition he required to break the habit. Jack Nicklaus teaches and preaches what he calls “a rock steady head.”
Golfers don’t have bad habits when they’re young, unlike Jack Nicklaus. A habit is an ingrained pattern of behavior, whether good or bad, that a person develops over time and is unconscious of. Habits are developed through repetition of a particular aspect of the golf swing that may have been picked up from mistakes made by the individual, from another golfer, from bad advice, conflicting magazine golf tips, golf books, golf videos, or even from some golf instructors.
High handicap golfers’ most common bad habit might be incorrect head movement. Most of the time, golfers are unaware of their actions, movements, or habits. If a golfer has a bad habit, such as a bobbing or moving head, they are unlikely to ever break 80 or even 90 without doing something to change it. However, they can be challenging to break, just like most habits.
It takes repetition of the desired pattern of behavior for the brain to store it as a new habit, breaking the bad habit that has been in place, according to physiologists and researchers in brain and motor memory. It involves practicing the swing while maintaining a steady head, much like Jack Grout taught it, for the golfer who has faulty head movement.
Some golf instructors will have their students swing and hit balls while holding the grip end of the club against their heads. When Hank Haney and Charles Barkley were collaborating on the Barkley Project for Golf Channel, they used this method. The teacher’s inability to hold a perfectly still club for an extended period of time without the club wagging is one reason it did not work. The teacher can only do this for a brief period of time during a typical 45-minute lesson, which is another reason. To break the bad habit, the golfer must practice keeping a steady head over and over again.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the golfer could practice and swing while maintaining a steady head to accumulate enough repetitions to form the new habit of maintaining a steady head? Can a golfer tell whether they are maintaining a level head during their swing? An expert’s verbal commentary can be helpful. Alternatively, the Hank Haney/Charles Barkley method will help a little, but not enough to break the habit due to insufficient repetitions. Making videos can also be beneficial. But is there something out there that could provide the golfer with immediate feedback on any head movement, at any point during the swing? Wouldn’t it be wonderful for the golfer to understand what it’s like to maintain composure and perform the stroke correctly? Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the golfer carried that practice onto the course?
That is exactly what the patented PRO-HEAD 2 Trainer can do. The golfer positions themselves in front of the PRO-HEAD 2 Trainer and adjusts the height of their swing using a foam cylinder at the end of an arm. The golfer leans her/his head against the foam, applies light pressure, and makes swings with or without a club, hitting balls or not. The golfer’s fixed point of reference is their forehead against the foam. The foam is stationary and does not sway or move, in contrast to the end of a club. The golfer receives immediate tactile or touch feedback on any aspect of the swing if the forehead moves in ANY direction away from this fixed reference point. This feedback is comparable to what Jack Grout told young Nicklaus.
With the help of the Exerciser/Trainer, a golfer can work out and accumulate repetitions anywhere, whether it’s inside or outside, swinging a club or not, and hitting or not hitting balls. The golfer quickly develops the ability to maintain a level head thanks to these swing repetitions and the immediate feedback from the foam rubber. The brain receives this new pattern and the sensation of mental stability, which helps to establish the new habit. It creates new motor memories. Once the golfer has mastered this new pattern and desired behavior, they experience the feeling of a steady head. This sensation eventually becomes permanent and unconscious to the golfer after repeated exposure. Now that the new habit has become second nature, it is simple to apply it to the course.
Many golf teachers are using the new PRO-HEAD 2 Trainer, which they affectionately call “the mechanical Jack Grout.” ASK your professional if he has one. Or you can purchase one from an online merchant.