I am a huge advocate of listening to the experts when it comes to improving your golf swing, especially when you get the opportunity to hear from one of the best in their field.
I learned so much from reading Marco Penge's top three driving tips for amateurs, after he recorded the longest drive at the 2025 PGA Championship, but I could really do without the random 16-handicapper sharing his 'wisdom' on the range.
I've heard everything from you don't need to keep your left arm straight in the golf swing to people explaining why I pull iron shots, despite struggling to break 90 in golf themselves.
So, on a mission to find the worst piece of golf advice, we asked you to send your suggestions based on the terrible tips you have heard... and one in particular came up time and time again!
The Most Overrated Piece Of Golf Advice (As Voted By You)
When regional Open qualifier winner Peter Finch shares how to hit more greens from 150 yards, I am certainly going to take note - but that's because I trust that his advice is going to make me a better player.
Expertise builds authority, and authority builds trust. Without those things you have no position from which to teach, but that doesn't stop a select few golfers from imparting their misguided notions onto us.
The best advice comes from experts in the field, like our Golf Monthly Top 50 Coaches
When scrolling through the comments on this Instagram video below, posted by Golf Monthly earlier this week, I was unsurprised to learn that the most overrated piece of golf advice was an old faithful... keep your head down.
In fact, almost 25% of the 42 comments were related to this particular concept - so I thought I'd help to debunk the myth once and for all by asking Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Ben Emerson to share his expert opinion...
Ben Emerson is a Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach and PGA Fellow Professional with a modern approach to the game. His methods have seen him become one of the most revered coaches in the country, and even has a few celebrity clients on his books. In his coaching career of more than 20 years, Ben has helped golfers of all ages and abilities to improve their performances and enjoy the game.
This is the go to saying, where another player comments that you 'must have lifted your head up' after hitting a bad shot - which could have been the case, but often it's not.
When players top the ball, they are sometimes staying on their back foot through the downswing and their arms have broken down through impact, which in turn rises the clubhead up and leads to topping the ball.
One of the things that I do in lessons to prove a point is I actually get my head to go down in the swing, and then I top the ball on purpose, which baffles amateurs as my head has done the opposite to what they associate the fault to be.
Fortunately, if topping the golf ball is something you struggle with, there is a simple fix. Try to get an effective weight transfer onto the front foot in the downswing and keep the arms connected through impact to avoid that dreaded chicken wing.
There you have it, folks. The next time someone jovially points out that the reason you topped the ball was because you lifted your head up, you have an immediate retort.
Interestingly, there were some other strong contenders in the running, with 'never up, never in' ranking as a popular choice for the most overrated piece of golf advice.
I suppose, if you don't get it there then it won't go in - but smashing it 10 feet past every time is also not going to help you shoot lower scores.
There were some common themes around gear, with readers suggesting that new clubs, or a custom fitting, won't necessarily change your fortunes on the golf course.
As someone who has experienced the benefits of having a custom golf club fitting, I can vouch for the positive impact it has had on my game - but each to their own, I guess.
In an interesting contrast of opinions, one reader suggested 'swing slower' was the worst piece of advice, while another suggested that 'swing harder' took that title, so I'll leave you to decide which end of the speed spectrum we should be sitting at.
Have Your Say...
If you've not already weighed in on this debate, why not drop me a comment below?
I'd love to hear what you think the most overrated piece of golf advice is, especially if you have heard something different to the list I have outlined above.
Whether it's whacky, worthless or weird - I want to hear it... I'll be waiting!
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