Frustration!!! Can't slow down!!

[rstyle]

This has been my major problem for years. I swing like a baseball batter. Sometimes with short irons I am fine but the longer the club, the harder Ihit, thinking that I have to hit harder to get there. That gets me totally out of synch. I may come over the top or hips are 2 miles ahead and faster than arms, I may over rotate my right hand and end up with the club looking parallel to the ground and towards third base (that's where the ball goes too.)

I have tried some things I have found on the forum
I have tried phrases
I have tried counting
I have tried thinking that every shot is 120yrds
I have tried thinking about Ernie Els before hitting
I have tried thinking about Fred Couples before hitting
I have tried slowing the backswing (but then I accelerate like a madman in the forward swing and end up with my whole body facing left))
I definetely can't stop at the end of the backswing. Tried but can't do it
I have tried hitting balls at the 100yrd flag with a 7 iron

I CAN"T SLOW DOWN!!!!!! So frustrating!
Stand me in front of a 180yrd par 3 with water most of the way and in spite of all my mental tricks I will make the ground shake and the ball will go anywhere except to the green

HELP!!!

[Chillmoon91]

dude I dunno what to tell you

Was it sam snead who said "if you got rhythm you can play some golf" ?

.....and you dont got rhythm...

Sorry for the lack of help Iacas will sort you out

[Arsenal8807]

Try and keep the same tempo with your take back and your downswing, just a tad quicker down but a TAD. I use this when I am swinging out of control and it helps, it really does.

Today at the range I hit two large buckets because I was having trouble with my 4 iron. Once I started slowing down things worked. I stood a couple of steps behind the ball when setting my line at the target, like I was playing a hole and I would pick different targets. Once I had my target, I made sure my feet and club were aligned and just made a nice smooth swing and the results were much much better. I try and think about my driver swing. I usually have a smooth take back and keep it smooth coming down; it translates to good drives and it helps with the irons too..

[melchior]

Go to the range; hit a bunch of practice balls where you literally *stop* at the top of the backswing, then come down. You'll get used to staying slow (and it should help with balance overall; regardless of if this is an issue with you or not). The feeling of stopping at the top of your backswing should help you not really feel like you have to rush it while still hitting it fine.

[saevel25]

Your probably using your arms to much in your swing. It happens to me, when i get to handsy i will force the swing with my hands. If i am swinging with my big muscles, core muscles and shoulders i can let loose at a pretty high speed, but my hands feel like there not in the swing, just along for the ride.

Another good drill is take a practice swing, start with 1/4th swing, then don't re set up just let the club go back to a 1/2 swing, then a 3/4th swing, then a full swing. Like a pendulum constantly getting a longer and longer arch. I use this to gain some tempo, because the shorter swings allow me to slow down my hips since those swings don't use the hips as much. Its a way to synch together for me.

[ERdiesel]

As a gym rat, I have the same problem as you...........i try to "kill" the ball, leading to well, you know the story.......

What has helped me a lot is my backswing, by slowing down my backswing considerably, i felt more in control which in turn helped dictate the rest of the swing. Prior, I would just take the club back quickly, and bring it back down just as quick. The whole motion could be described as jerky. By initiating a slow, controlled backswing, I have much better sense of where i am at the top, i have a much better sense of where the club head is on the downswing, and it has led to much better impact for me.

[birdiedream]

I had the same problem before except that it was with all the clubs. I used the Medicus and it helped. With the Medicus, on the downswing if you swing with your body is out of sync then club breaks and you can hit it. You get immediate feedback. You have to turn with your hip.

I think the tempomaster club does the same think. Since you have problem with longer clubs, maybe you can buy the tempomaster driver.

[ks8829]

Its easy, hold the club loosely and start only your backswing while you count to 20. make sure that when you reach 10 you should only be 1/2 way back on your backswing and when you are near the end of your backswing you should just be reaching 20 on your count. This is only an excercise and you are not to hit a ball but just to prove to yourself that you can take a slow backswing.

Once you do this several time you can do the same thing and count your backswing to 10.

you get the picture, I bet if a friend bet you $100 dollar that you can not do either one of the exercises you would end up with $100 in your pocket.

[birdiedream]

Interesting idea. I will try this too. It makes sense. I just can't pause at the top even now. Hope this trick will help.

Its easy, hold the club loosely and start only your backswing while you count to 20. make sure that when you reach 10 you should only be 1/2 way back on your backswing and when you are near the end of your backswing you should just be reaching 20 on your count. This is only an excercise and you are not to hit a ball but just to prove to yourself that you can take a slow backswing.

[ks8829]

once you achieve the 10 count on your backswing, try for fun to start your forward swing with very little effort almost as though you are swinging in slow motion or with no effort but the weight of the club returning to the ball. You will be amazed that you are able to make solid contact and hit the ball almost as far as if you were hitting your usual swing.

[$2 Nassau]

I say why fight it? You have quick tempo, a lot of people do, including pros. Your swing speed and your tempo/rhythm are completely separate things.

Ernie Els does not swing slow, he swings smoothly. Couples does not swing slow, he swings smoothly. You can't generate the type of clubhead speeds they generate by swinging slow.

Just try to smooth it out, that's all, concentrate on your transition. Let the club come to a stop at the top by itself and let gravity start to pull it down before you put any effort into it. Doesn't mean you have to "slow down" though. It may feel like you are but if you can smooth out the transition that club will be moving faster than ever - and that's a good thing.

I'm sure there are more qualified people on this board to give you advice, but coming from someone who has a fairly quick tempo, there are ways to work with it and put it to your advantage.

[Clambake]

I highly recommend "Tour Tempo" by John Novocel. The book comes with a CD that has a number of different swing tempos that play either in tones (beep.....beep beep) or voice (swing......set through). Put it on an MP3 player and play around until you find one that you feel most comfortable with, then use it a lot to practice with. Once you get the tempo fairly ingrained, you'll find it easy to hear the beeps or voice in your head and keep you in rhythm. I found this to be a huge help and was largely the key for me getting down to my current handicap.

[saevel25]

I say why fight it? You have quick tempo, a lot of people do, including pros. Your swing speed and your tempo/rhythm are completely separate things.

I think people confuse tempo with swinging hard.

I rather say rythm is a better term for me. If i am swinging well, i can let loose with a higher swing speed, but keep my rythm of my swing to were it would have similar contact if i toned down the swing speed. The issue is that to many people swing to hard and end up falling off balance, especially with the driver.

[alomar123]

I have been using the Ernie els saying to help me, and it does, but it also gets my mind off of think about the swing.

[lhshurdl3r]

I think people confuse tempo with swinging hard.

The last part is very very true. I have a slower tempo, but swing very hard with my driver.. and from time to time I'll end up leaning over if I lose balance and end up yanking the drive off to the left.

[rstyle]

Today I went to the range and only hit short and mid irons with my feet together.
That seems to keep me from swinging hard because if not I fall on my face or lose balance.
If I could get used to that feeling...............................BUT when I see that flag 214yrds away....................

[No1CeltsFan]

you just gotta do get something that makes you slow down. I mean like anything else in life it's not going to get fixed the first time out, it's going to happen over time. Maybe a month, maybe a year, but the bottom line is eventually it will get better.

It might sound cliche, but "patience is a virtue".