Keep your head down.........................!
I am pretty sure every golfer has been told that at least once.
You hit a bad shot and a friend says keep your head down, a video on YouTube says keep your head down for better ball striking, and sadly some coaches still say keep your head down. I once gave a lady a lesson who had been taught to keep a tennis ball between her chin and chest through the entire swing.
All this in the name of solving impact factors that "fix" fat, thinned and topped shots.
My thoughts below are why this is not a good idea AT ALL!
Loss of speed - keeping your head down to long after impact causes a decrease in speed through the ball. A lack of head release does not allow for natural body flow into the follow through and finish.
Stops/negates rotation - if your head stays down it is impossible to complete your body rotation if you can not rotate properly through the ball all possible ball flights become possible.
Neck/back injuries - if you are swinging with speed on the way down and don't allow for the head to release and come through, your neck and back take the brunt of dispersing the built up energy. Your back will have to come to a sudden stop. It's like a car crashing into a wall all that forward energy can't continue as intended and it has to go elsewhere. I think it is one of the most difficult things to witness on the range.
Hands get forced to act - due to the body coming to an abrupt halt the hands try to compensate for this and take over the completion of the movement. This increases the arms rate of closure and wrap around the body. Extension through the ball is near impossible.
When can you keep your head down in golf, when you putting and possible after missing a putt on the last to win the match!
Look out for my next Practice Range Monday post, I will be discussing how, when and why a head moves in a swing.