Over the past dozen years or so, my golfing friends have asked for advice about their swing. Of course I am not an expert or a teaching professional, but they felt comfortable asking what I saw. In many cases there were multiple issues, but there was one piece of advice I told most players. It was not earth shattering, but would solve many of their issues if they would just remember to follow it for every swing. This piece of advice was just validated my golf professional Padraig Harrington!

The valuable piece of advice I have given to virtually everyone who asks is to ‘stare at the point of contact for a count of one before lifting your head to watch your ball flight’. Sounds very simple and it is. Additionally, by keeping our head still through contact, it allows many other aspects of our swing to develop in a consistent effective manner.

Padraig puts it this way:

How much should you stay in your chip shots. @europeantour @pgatour #golfathome #staysharp @wilsongolf PaddysGolfTips pic.twitter.com/tWRksnXvMF

— Padraig Harrington (@padraig_h) August 3, 2020

As you watch Padraig make his shots, you can see that by keeping your head still for the count of one after contact helps tighten up the swing movements and allow us to make a repeatable consistent swing. I offer and use this tip all the time. It is a fundamental tenet for all of my swings. It does not matter what club I use, if I count to one, I am successful 90% of the time.

Thanks to Padraig Harrington for the great tip. I will continue to follow his teachings as they apply to my game.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!