Is tempo the most important golf swing mechanic?

[Jesh]

I've noticed whenever I force myself to keep a tempo in my backswing, I'll usually hit the ball perfect (or as close to perfect as I define it), so I'm just wondering, is tempo the most important in the golf swing?

[TempoIsKey]

It's definitely one of the equally important links of the chain that make up the golf swing.

[pshizz]

tempo is the most important thing for my swing.

[jbl1202]

tempo, swing plane, turns, and position at impact are the most important parts of the swing

[MPS67]

Yes, I believe that using a good tempo is vital to a sound golf swing.

Lately, I've been listening to Tour Tempo tracks using my iPod during practice sessions at the golf range. At first, I realized that I was much too quick and rushing both the back swing and down swing. After a hundred balls or so, I was able to synchronize my swing to the the Tour tempo pace, which for me is a pace that is just a touch quicker than that of the pull of gravity for my downswing. Using this new tempo allows me to feel the weight of the club and its release. It also gives me more time to complete all of my fundamental moves while maintaining a good balance. I'm swinging with more precision and as a result, my ball striking has improved substantially.

FYI, here is a link for TOUR TEMPO , if anyone is interested.

[jaragon126]

As some of the other guys said, tempo is a big deal for me.

Many times when I'm playing & things are going down hill I have to remind myself to slow down. If I get too quick, things quickly fall apart for me. When I try to kill the ball I rarely hit it solid ... so I need to keep things smooth.

Is it the most important thing for me ... perhaps. Other thoughts I have are start the downswing with my hips (not my hands), swing inside to out, and release my hands (when I'm hitting my usual draw).

[clearwaterms]

I think Tempo is important, but setup (grip, stance, posture, alignment, etc) are all the most important pieces. They are the building block. However, they are also possibly the easiest things to learn, so people take advantage of them. Also, because they don't happen to have any movement associated with them (because they happen before the waggle) they often times get overlooked.

Once the backswing starts, however staying in Tempo is Vital.

The above is of course all my Opinion only.

[jambalaya]

I would hesitate to make anything the MOST important but yeah, it is important. It is one of the things I am working on a lot lately especially the transition point between back and forward swing. For me it was way too fast. Weight shift is the other thing I am working on. Get weight started forward before transition.

[Leftygolfer]

You can never be a consistant player without a good tempo. I can't think of anything else that is more important, but many are just as important

[golfbarefoot]

tempo is vital to your overall swing, especially in terms of consistency. It helps under pressure tremendously and will help the longevity of solid striking throughout a round. I wouldn't even call it a swing mechanic. I think of it as a fundamental equal to the grip, posture etc. I have always felt it's hard not to strike reasonable well with smooth tempo and extremely difficult to strike it will with mixed timings without smooth tempo, for a sustained period of time..