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3. HEAD SWIVEL

Triple-X Factor: Continued

By Jim McLean with Pete McDaniel
Illustrations By Jim Luft And Jason Lee
Photos By Stephen Szurlej

Most tour pros rotate their heads toward the target before impact, yet the single swing thought for many amateurs is to keep the head down. Head swivel, or "looking off the ball," as I call it, is undoubtedly the most controversial part of the Triple-X.

This is a new concept only in the long game. I learned it years ago from Johnny Revolta, one of the game's great short-game teachers, who maintained that it helped unify the small swing and minimize hand action. When you consider that you're simply letting your head turn and eyes release to the target with the body, it seems very natural.

Head swivel is measured in the amount the head rotates toward the target from address through impact. Great ball-strikers such as Jim Furyk, Annika Sorenstam, Joe Durant, Hal Sutton, Robert Allenby and Carl Pettersson (see December swing sequence) are practitioners of this move. Turning your head through with the center of your body (not stuck looking down over your right shoulder) improves upper-body rotation and weight transfer to the left leg. Plus, it helps prevent injury by decreasing stress in the neck and back.

Most right-handers are right-eye dominant (Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are two exceptions), so they can rotate their heads toward the target and still focus on the ball. The key is to release your eyes and head simultaneously. Don't keep your head down; let it swivel to the target. You'll hit it longer and straighter by releasing your head and eyes earlier.

DRILL: LOOK AT THE TARGET WHILE YOU SWING: Practice pitch swings looking down the line, brushing the grass with your wedge. Soon you'll be contacting the grass in the same spot. Place a ball there, and hit pitches with your head turned to the target from address through impact. Work to transfer this move to your full swing.

: Notice how Jim Furyk's head stays behind the ball, even though it has swiveled 39 degrees toward the target.; View Jim Furyk's swing in motion>>

THE RESEARCH: How 75 tour pros rotated their heads toward the target compared to 150 amateurs (average handicap of 17.2):

TOUR PROS
19.4 DEGREES

AMATEURS
4.4 DEGREES; Research by Golf BioDynamics, Inc.