I Lifted My Head / Keep Your Head Down
We’ve all heard it out on the course. A golfer hits a terrible shot and follows it with a cry of “I lifted my head there”. Trips to the driving range will always result in at least one instance of overhearing someone telling their friend to keep their head down. I can categorically state that no golfer has ever hit a bad shot because they have lifted their head, and being told to keep your head down is perhaps the most destructive advice you can ever receive. The act of trying to keep your head down limits your body’s ability to rotate correctly and prevents you from creating a powerful, free-flowing move. Trying to keep your head down will actually lead to poor shots rather than preventing them. It can also cause injury by placing extra strain on the neck and back.

If someone ever tells you to keep your head down after a poor shot, simply pick your bag up, walk off the course and never speak to them again. 

Grip the Club Like You’re Holding A Bird

What does this even mean?  “Hey Jimmy, remember that Chaffinch you had hold of last year. Yeah, grip it like that.” Even if you have had enough experience in holding a feathered friend to be able to apply that feeling to holding a golf club, it’s still really bad advice. Almost all better players will have a much stronger hold of the club than most golfers realise. It is possible to grip the club firmly with your hands without creating unwanted tension in the wrist and the arms and this is what you should strive for. There is a direct correlation between long hitters and how tightly they grip the club.

If you want to waft your drives 160 yards, then by-all-means grip it softly. If you want to hit bombs then apply some pressure in your grip.

I Swung Too Fast There.
No, you didn’t. Most golfers don’t generate enough speed in their golf swing, so you certainly shouldn’t be trying to slow it down. What you should strive for is a repeatable rhythm that provides the maximum amount of clubhead speed at impact. Studies have shown that the best players in the world usually have a swing tempo ratio of around 21:7 which means that when their swing is filmed in slow motion, the backswing will take 27 frames to complete and the downswing only 7. This usually requires a faster backswing than you might expect. Having a slow backswing can cause issues when speed is added in the downswing, often resulting in a snatchy transition. This is where the feeling of swinging too fast comes from.

When you look at the majority of tour players, it is unusual to see any particularly slow backswings especially amongst the longer hitters. Bryson DeChambeau has a remarkably quick backswing, and yet still produces the desired tempo. 

Overswinging Is Bad
One of the biggest contributing factors to hitting the ball a long way is range of motion. Simply put, long swings have more potential to produce speed. This isn’t to say you can’t hit it long with a short swing, you can, it's just more difficult and places more stress on the body. When you look back at the swings of golf’s greatest players, virtually all of them had driver swings that were significantly past parallel at the top of the backswing. Fortunately, coaching is moving away from the truncated backswings that were taught to players through the late 80’s and 90’s and returning to longer more free flowing motions.

Don’t be afraid to let the left heel lift on the backswing when hitting a driver. It will allow for increased hip turn and a greater range of motion that will give you more time to pour the power on in the downswing.

Retain Flex In The Knee In The Backswing
This point is somewhat connected to the previous one and relates to the mythical X-Factor stretch that was mooted in the 80’s & 90’s. The thinking was that by keeping the right knee (for right-handed players) flexed in the backswing you would create a “coiled spring” effect and generate more power. This has been categorically debunked and trying to do this actually limits the potential for speed in the swing. Virtually all the best players in the world allow their hips to turn and the trail leg to straighten incrementally throughout the backswing. The few that keep the knee flexed (such as Jason Day and Brooks Koepka) have been plagued by injuries in recent times. 

If you want to hit the ball further, have better rhythm in your swing and have a long, injury free golfing life, then allow your hips to turn in the backswing and your trail knee to lose some flex.