Keeping body level?

Question

I can't seem to keep my body level during the down swing - no matter how much I focus on keeping my head dead still, I somehow lift myself and don't connect properly with the ball

Answer 1

Generally when a person pulls up or lifts their head it is due to them raising their shoulder on the back swing. If you are right handed try dropping your left shoulder a little on the back swing

Answer 2

Keeping your head dead still is wrong.  Your golf swing involves timing with the whole body.  Your head should naturally rotate back and thru the ball as you swing.

Dipping the right shoulder(RH golfer) is a common mistake.   This leads to an elevated L shoulder and problems.   Try flattening out your swing a little, and think of rotation of the chest instead of swinging up on the backswing, down to impact, and up to follow thru.

Answer 3

Ok....Plain and simple....When you set up to the ball remember that your back must be straight and not hunched over.  You should have a little bend in your legs for stability, kind of like your butt is sitting on the edge of a bar stool.  In your takeaway make sure you're rotating around your spine angle and not lifting upwards or bending forward.  The same goes for the downswing.  Try to maintain the same knee bend in your downswing and follow through.  Sometimes if you have your weight distributed too far forward on your toes you'll lift up and move backwards at impact in an attempt to make contact.  Keep your weight evenly distributed between both feet and on the balls of your feet or slightly back more. Try this out on the range.  Hope it's helpful.

Answer 4

Mangrove -

Everything that happens in the golf swing is a function of a movement or action that took place before it.

So when you're "lifting" out of a shot on the downswing, you're doing it because something was wrong before you ever got to that point.

It would be impossible to give you a correct diagnosis without seeing your setup and swing.....best thing to do would be to seek out a PGA professional and take a few lessons.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

Usually if your head rises, its a problem in the setup position. Your probably bent over too far.

The real question is .. what are you trying to keep your body level to? Shoulders should move slightly up and down, and your head should move about 1/2 a head (2 inches or so) during the backswing.

Answer 6

You know golf is a very funny sport. In your case, most likely, you are dipping you head in the back swing which causes your head to lift and not make pure contact on the downswing. Even though you don't think about it, when your body does something wierd in the swing, it will try to compensate with itself be doing, well, the opposite in this situation.

So check your head not dipping down on the backswing.

Answer 7

When Jack Nicklaus was young and trying to learn to swing without bobbing his head up and down, his teacher would stand in front of him and grab on to his hair.  If he bobbed too much it obviously would hurt.  It's OK for your head to move back and forward a little, but it is good to keep it level vertically.  But it is not critical, if you find you have to move your head up and down a little to hit the ball solid that's OK.