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My golf course sends out a nice little newsletter to members every month. This month, there was a little section called “Myths of Golf”. I thought it would be nice to touch on the myth that was listed in the newsletter (the first one down below) as well as some other ones that came to mind.

Golf is no different than anything else. There is always some degree of misinformation out there that spreads through foursomes, grill rooms, across the web and even through printed material like books and magazines.

These myths start for a variety of reasons and perpetuate because we don’t always bother to take the time to find out the truth (or don’t realize that there’s a “truth” to bother to find out).

I’m going to try and kill some of these right here.

Myth: Keep the Left Arm Straight

This is the one that was listed in my club newsletter and it’s a big one. I think mostly because there’s a little truth in it, but it’s often misunderstood.

Creating maximum width in the swing is crucial for power. That means keeping the butt end of the club as far out as possible when swinging. Obviously a straight left arm is the way to do that. Keeping the elbow locked is not the answer, though. As the newsletter points out, the left arm rotates during the backswing, and keeping it tense will inhibit that movement.

The more extension you can get, the better, but not at the expense of tension in the arms and shoulders. If the arm flexes a bit at the top of the backswing, that’s fine.

Myth: There is a “Correct” Swing

There is a misconception that if you don’t imitate a certain set of fundamentals then you’re doing something “wrong”. Watching the PGA Tour should dispel that myth, but it doesn’t seem to. Part of the problem is the number of younger players like Tiger Woods and Adam Scott with “text book” swings.

At the same time, there are excellent players like Jim Furyk who do it differently. And look at some of the great players of all time: many of them had swings that are so distinct that you could identify them without being able to see their faces.

What most, if not all, great players share is a similar impact position, but there’s some room for individuality in the rest of the swing. That individuality comes from things like body type, habits that developed early, and instruction.

Some of the best players ever learned to hit the ball with a tree branch and rocks or with a single club in the back yard. Getting wrapped up in trying to develop the “perfect” swing is probably a futile effort without an enormous amount of work. Find the swing that works for you, work to remove obvious flaws, and embrace your own uniqueness.

Myth: Golf Ball Compression is a Primary Factor in Distance

When a club strikes a golf ball, the ball squishes and wobbles a bit. A golf ball’s compression rating is the measure of how much the ball deforms, or to put it another way, how hard or soft it is.

There is a misconception that this is a factor in distance. The actual primary factor in distance is club head speed.

In general, a faster swing will do better with a high-compression ball because the ball will deform less, and thus wobble less. But compression is of so little importance anymore that many manufacturers have stopped publicizing it.

Myth: Hitting “Up” on Drives Produces Top Spin and Increases Distance

In general, when hitting a driver, it is optimal to strike the ball with a level or slightly ascending blow. However, this does not produce top spin on the ball. In fact, it simply produces less backspin which is what leads to more distance.

The only way to produce actual top spin is by striking the ball above its equator. That’s why we call it “topping” the ball. Those shots are no fun and hit the dirt almost immediately after impact.

Myth: Players in a Group All Play on to the Green Before Anyone Putts

Rule 10 tells us that the order of play is determined by distance from the hole. The player furthest from the hole plays first. That means if your opponent is in a green side bunker 5 yards from the pin and you’re on the far side of the green facing a 100-foot putt, you play first.

In stroke play, there’s no penalty for playing out of order unless The Committee deems that it was done to gain an advantage, so it’s not really a violation of the rules if all the players play up to the green. However, in match play, if someone plays out of turn, his opponent may require him to cancel and replay the stroke.

Myth: Expensive Equipment is “Better”

The “best” equipment is that which is the closest match to your game. Spending $500 for a driver or buying tour-quality forged irons won’t iron out your swing flaws.

I once hit a 340 yard drive with a $50 driver. Certainly quality equipment often costs more, but sometimes I wonder if a low-end driver would sell if they put it in a nice display and slapped a $400 price tag on it. We golfers are too often guilty of trying to solve the problem by just throwing money at it. That plan won’t normally work unless you accidentally buy expensive equipment that happens to fit your game better than what you currently have.

Look for quality. If it costs more, fine, but don’t turn a blind eye to it because it seems too inexpensive.

Myth: The Head Stays Still During the Swing

This one gets a lot of people. Consciously trying to keep the head “still” is not good. The head is attached to the spine and can’t do anything on its own.

It’s normal for there to be a slight amount of lateral movement in the swing, so the head has no choice but to move a bit. Also, it’s not uncommon for there to be some movement of the head up and down. Check out this video of Tiger Woods swinging. Look at the amount of lateral and vertical head movement he has.

The key is that there should be no conscious head movement. But trying to restrict it is not a good idea.

One other important point is that while lateral and vertical head movement happens, movement toward or away from the ball should not happen during the swing. That leads to a problem that is the subject of the final myth:

Myth: The Shanks Come From an Extremely Open Club Face

I covered this previously in a post dedicated to the shanks. The shanks are caused when the ball is struck on the hosel of the club. This happens when your weight gets out on your toes during the swing, changing your swing plane.

Too often, when a player starts shanking, the reaction is to try and do a better job of squaring the club face at impact. Unfortunately for that player, that has nothing to do with the problem. Not only will the shanks continue, but who knows what kind of problems will be introduced by overemphasizing the action of squaring the club face.

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