Moving Head In Golf Swing (Good or Bad?)

Golf is a game that can seem overly complicated.

If you have followed any golf instruction, you will notice that there can be contradicting advice at times from golf instructor to golf instructor.

Golfers start off on their journey with this game, sometimes getting one piece of golf advice at the time, but these little pieces often might not match up.

One area we have noticed that has a wide range of golf instructors on both ends of the advice side is with the movement of the head.

Leading to a question we often here…

Should I move my head in the golf swing?

Many golfers have been successful with keeping their head centered, while others have had success with the head moving off the ball. The most important part is keeping your head behind the ball at impact. Impact is the most important position in the golf swing.

Below, I will dive into the moving the head in the golf swing and show you different methods that have been taught. You can pick which is best for your game and jump into that system. The one major recommendation is to find the swing approach that works best for your game and stick with it.

One of my favorite golfers of all-time, Arnold Palmer once said,

“Swing your swing. Not some idea of a swing. Not a swing you saw on TV. Not that swing you wish you had. No, swing your swing. Capable of greatness. Prized only by you. Perfect in its imperfection. Swing your swing. I know, I did.”
Arnold palmer

Our goal is to help you find your swing and swing your swing. Whether this is keeping your head still and centered or moving off the ball. I will introduce you to different golf instructors that teach different approaches.

Topics below include:

Why some golf instructors teach you to keep your head centered
Why some golf instructors teach you to move your head off the ball
Is one approach better than the other?

Golf instructors that teach a centered head in the golf swing
Golf instructors that teach movement in the head in the golf swing
How to measure what is best for your golf game

Final Thoughts on moving the head in the golf swing

Tiger moved his head off the ball in his 1997 swing then became more centered later in his career.

Why Some Instructors Teach You To Keep Your Head Centered

Those that are in the keeping the head centered camp believe that it provides better consistency in the golf swing. Some of the first instructors I came across that promoted this style of swing was Mike Bennet and Andy Plummer of the Stack and Tilt Approach.

They believe in these three fundamentals of the golf swing:

Controlling the low point of the golf swing

Controlling the start line and curve of the golf ball
Having a swing that produced enough speed to play the course.

Through the proper tilting of the shoulders and keeping your weight in certain places, the golf is able to keep the head centered and turn around this consistent axis.

The belief is that the swing is circular, which helps promote not only consistency in the strike, but distance through the centrifugal forces involved in the swing.

They believe that you can eliminate the timing int he swing by staying more centered and by staying more centered it is easier to keep the club on an inside path and hit a push draw or push fade whichever shot best matches up with the requirement of that specific shot.

Why Some Instructors Teach You To Move Your Head Off the Ball

Those in the other camp believe that the slight move of the head off the ball helps you keep your head behind the ball at impact. Without excessive tilting, it provides extra space to keep your head behind the ball while you move slightly forward before turning and clearing for the shot.

They also believe it is a more athletic moves and moves us past the days of a restrictive swing where the hips held still, the back leg stayed flex and the golfer tried to hit certain positions that kept the swing on the inside.

Is One Approach Better Than The Other?

I truly believe it comes down to your impact position.

If you can get to an impact position where your body is rotating, your head is behind the ball and you have some lag tension it isn’t a big deal if you move slightly off the ball or stay centered in the swing.

Too often, we focus on all the moves in the backswing or downswing, but fail to really address the moment of truth…impact! Working on your impact position is essential to training your mind and body to replicate a quality impact position and strike the ball like you want to.

Golf Instructors That Teach A Centered Head In The Golf Swing

Stack and Tilt INstructors
Shawn Clement

George Gankas
Mike Malaska

This is a fantastic list of golf instructors. They all have a different approach, but believe in keeping the head more centered. They have complete systems that can help your game.

To learn more about some of their systems and select what is best for your game check out this resource: What is the Perfect Golf Swing For you?

I also have reviewed all of their approaches. Complete reviews can be found at the bottom of this post.

Golf Instructors That Teach Movement In The Head in the Golf Swing

Bobby Lopez

Bobby has been a game changer in helping people understand the importance of “staying onsides” in the golf swing. He calls it “offsides” when your head and front shoulder move ahead of the ball. He believes in a slight shift off the ball to create space.

Of course he provides example after example of golfers that moved off the ball.

The instructors in the other camp also provide examples of golfs all time greats who stayed centered.

I believe this proves to us there is no perfect backswing, but getting matched up at impact is the most important part of the swing.

Three great golfers, three different swings. Great impact position for all!

How To Measure What Is Best For Your Golf Game

One of the great things about being a golfer in today’s era is that the technology in the game, which is quite affordable, provides us instant feedback and data on what we did in the swing.

The combination of a launch monitor and a smartphone camera are a great combination to measure what is best for your golf game.

Take 100 swings and keep your head still. The next day take 100 swings with your head moving off the ball. Compare and contrast your data from a launch monitor. Which swing is most consistent with your start line and which one provides the most speed. What do you value most in your swing?

I know what you are thinking, but I can’t afford a Trackman. Fortunately, there are some amazing products for the amteur golfer to track some impressive stats and when compared to the professional grade launch monitors, they hold their own.

Here are my top 3 recommend affordable golf launch monitors:

SkyTrak Launch Monitor

If you visit any PGA Tour stop you will see the majority of professionals use a launch monitor at some point throughout the week . Many are monitoring their club face, swing path relationship as well as swing speed. These are important numbers to monitor to make sure you are keeping your swing within a certain range.

Some of the key information that you will be able to received immediately after every swing includes:

Ball Speed
Club Speed
Launch Angle

Spin Rate
Spin Axis

Over time, knowing where your numbers are when you are making quality swings will help you groove a swing and become more consistent. When you are struggling, you can use your launch monitor to see where your numbers are at.

Final Thoughts

Focus on the impact position, find what is optimum for your swing and train your mind and body to get the position that you need. Impact is the key.

If moving your head off the ball helps you get to a better impact position, then move your head. If staying centered leads to a better impact position, then stay centered. However, make sure you measure your results through a launch monitor and pull out that smartphone and capture some video.

Learn a ton about the swing and find what works best for you and keep in mind the quote above by Arnold Palmer.

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

George Gankas

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

How to Break 70

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?