“The real reason your golf pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing”
Golf professionals often instruct golfers to keep their heads down. American actress and stand-up comedian Phyllis Diller (1917-2012) explained why:
“The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing at you.”
It’s not known when Diller first said the line, but it’s been cited in print since at least 1992.
Wikipedia: Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Ada Driver (July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012), better known as Phyllis Diller, was an American actress and stand-up comedian, best known for her eccentric stage persona, her self-deprecating humor, her wild hair and clothes, and her exaggerated, cackling laugh.
Google Books
The 19th Hole:
Favorite Golf Stories
By Carol Mann
Stamford, CT: Longmeadow Press
1992
Pg. 37:
My son seriously considered going to med school. He even bought a set of golf clubs. Right away he got the feeling that the reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing.
(...)
Phyllis Diller is a world-famous comedienne and author.
Google Books
11 November 1997, Weekly World News, pg. 21, col. 4:
Do you ever get the feeling the golf pro is telling you to keep your head down because he doesn’t want you to see him laughing?
28 March 1999, Hartford (CT) Courant, “Swing into Spring with Baseball and Golf” by Jocelyn McClure, pg. G2:
“The Quotable Golfer” by Robert Windeler (Running Press, $12.95, hardcover)
Everyone from golf pros to caddies to comedians has a say in this lighthearted volume. (“The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing”—Phyllis Diller.)
Google Books
A Classic Collection of Golf Jokes & Quotes
By Bob Phillips
Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
2001
Pg. 95:
The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing. — Phyllis Diller
Google Groups: uk.sport.golf
humour?
Brian Yare
4/24/01
(...)
The real reason your pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing at you (Phyllis Diller)
Google Books
1,001 Pearls of Golfers’ Wisdom:
Advice and Knowledge, from Tee to Green
Edited by Jim Apfelbaum
New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing
2012
Pg. ?:
The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing. —Phyllis Diller
Google Books
Chicken Soup for the Woman Golfer’s Soul:
Stories About Trailblazing Women Who’ve Changed the Game Forever
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery and Matthew E. Adams
Cos Cob, CT: Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing
2012
Pg. ?:
The reason the golf pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing.
Phyllis Diller