Revered golf instructor destroys ‘keep your head down’ swing advice

James Richardson
September 5, 2024

Prominent golf instructor Peter Kostis has set out to debunk a piece of golfing advice that he believes has the potential to cause players injury.

Kostis has taken aim at those who utter those infamous words: ‘Hey, keep your head down’.

The instructor says it does most golfers no good to focus on ‘keeping their head down’, especially considering a good swing requires a lift of the head at the right time.

“There may not be anything any worse than, ‘Hey, keep your head down’, said Kostis on the latest episode of Kostis and McCord’s “Off Their Rockers” podcast. “Keeping your head down is disastrous.”

Kostis explains that the biomechanics of a swing mean that your head needs to lift to ensure you have the range of motion to follow through with the swing at all.

“Your spine consists of three parts: you got the lumbar spine, you got the thoracic spine and you’ve got the cervical spine,” Kostis said. “And if you keep your head down, you’ve locked your cervical spine. What’s that gonna do? It’s gonna reduce your ability to turn back. And if you really keep it down coming forward, you’re not gonna have any kind of follow through to speak of.”

He says that the key to the best swing is to rotate effectively and proper head movement is part of that, as he sets out.

Head needs to rotate

“I’m gonna get my head just against this stick, get my posture set up,” he said. “So now I’ve set my spine angle, I’ve set my head position behind the golf ball. Now, what am I gonna do? Well, I’m gonna rotate my head a little bit to the right preset it so that I can make my full turn. Then as I come forward, I’m gonna stay back with the head to there. And then as I swing through, I’m gonna let my head rotate.”

Kostis is not averse to the use of cliche when there is solid technique in the truism and says that players are correct to focus on keeping their eye on the ball.

“This allows me to keep my spine angle coming forward and allows me to release the club from underneath me rather than from around me,” Kostis said. “Just like any other sport, you want to keep your eye on the ball.”

He feels that players who try to keep their head down and still are putting themselves at a disadvantage on top of risking injury.

“That’s the only way that you can complete your follow through,” Kostis said.