IT'S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME

How to operate your head in golf swing

Your neck is designed to allow you to nod your head "yes" and rotate your head "no." In the golf swing, you want the "no" motion as opposed to the "yes" motion.

To keep your head in the middle of your shoulders where it should be, rotate your neck along with your shoulders during the backswing, and then back toward the ball during the downswing. The key principle to keep in mind here is, "Rotate the neck and your head goes with it."

By trying to keep your head and neck rock-still as you swing the golf club, you develop "turkey peeking over a log" syndrome. At the top of your swing, your head is off center, causing you to peek over your front shoulder to see the ball, and big-time balance problems are the result.

Foveal fix

The fovea is located in the central region of the retina on the back of your eye. It contains the highest concentration of seeing cells, which is why foveal vision gives you a clear look at the ball.

The problem is that when your head rotates far enough during the backswing, you can no longer maintain foveal vision, so you must allow the switch to peripheral vision.

This is one of those uncomfortable golf moves that can take a while to incorporate because switching to peripheral vision means giving up your clear picture of the world, and that's difficult. But the neck swivel allows you to keep your head in place and regain a foveal fix on the ball as you come back to it. Once you understand why the big switch is so important, you can appreciate why the advice to "keep your head still" and "keep your head down" is so disruptive.