If you’ve ever taken a golf lesson or gone down the rabbit hole of swing videos online, you’ve likely heard about the importance of sequencing. A well-timed swing generates more speed and power than one that’s out of sync.
However, there’s a critical link in the chain many amateurs forget—largely because they don’t even realize it’s part of their sequence in the first place.
Mike Perpich, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, explains that if you want to hit longer, straighter drives, you have to learn how to time your head in your swing. Not your clubhead. Your noggin.
Sequence your head for more speed
Now, you might be wondering, “what does my head have to do with my golf swing?”
As Perpich explains, the head plays a vital role in the swing because it helps counterbalance your lower body in your transition and downswing. This creates a slingshot effect that boosts clubhead speed.
It works like this: as you transition into the downswing, you change direction. To do so, you have to push off your trail foot. As a result, pressure shifts forward. This initiatives your downswing sequence. But, as Perpich explains, it also causes your force to move from back to front. As your club and lower body move forward, your upper body actually needs to resist briefly and work in the opposite direction.
“You can’t have the top and the bottom going in the same direction,” Perpich says. “Your head is going to feel like it’s going backwards. That’s what helps speed the clubhead up.”
This brief moment of separation is what causes the “whip” effect that elite players use to maximize speed.
Time your head to boost accuracy
Poor head sequencing might be draining you of power. It could also be the cause of your mis-hits with the driver. In a swing where the head is going forward at the same time as their lower body, Perpich says, the path of the swing will likely travel too far out—or over the top—and you’re going to have to compensate to strike the ball.
“When the head moves with the torso, you’re hitting down with the driver,” he says, “So, you’re not going to get a center hit, and you’re also not going to get an ascending blow.”
Remember: head backwards for longer straighter drives
If you’re trying to incorporate this into your swing, Perpich says to think about the top of your head going backwards as you change direction and begin the transition into your downswing.
“It’s like a whip, a slingshot,” he says, “You have to have the bottom half going forward, but the top half is going backwards.”
Do that, and you’ll hit longer, straighter drives.
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