Need to find my tempo??? How??

[SandSpanker]

Soooooooo how do I need to find my swing tempo?? I'm trying to say a name in my head while I swing is this good or bad? What else could I do??

[DarkPrince]

As stupid as it sounds, I figured mind out somewhat by just going to the range and swinging barefoot. You swing too hard/out of sync/out of balance, and you're on your ass lol. It REALLY helped my short game because I as just hitting as hard as I could and stabbing at the ball rather than just sweeping under it with a nice smooth swing and getting solid contact.

[senorchipotle]

it's easy. grab a club, any club. swing it back and forth in a perpetual motion. don't jerk the club, just let your torso and legs turn back and then forward, allow gravity to rule your swing, allow your body to adapt. you can swing slow, you can swing fast, but keep this rhythm and you'll hit more consistently.

[David K]

  senorchipotle said:

it's easy. grab a club, any club. swing it back and forth in a perpetual motion. don't jerk the club, just let your torso and legs turn back and then forward, allow gravity to rule your swing, allow your body to adapt. you can swing slow, you can swing fast, but keep this rhythm and you'll hit more consistently.

I do that and use a swing sock as well.

http://www.golfswingsock.com/ If you try to have a quick tempo with a weighted club the swing gets very jerky. It forces you to slow the tempo down and lets you get the feel for a smooth transition from backswing to downswing.

[melchior]

Easier solution than all that: swing any club (irons typically work better, but you can with a driver) upside down. So you're grabbing the head of the club and swinging the grip around. You'll feel any jerking motion on the downswing and follow through very easily; I did this and turned out I have a lot slower tempo than I had originally thought...

[senorchipotle]

  melchior said:

Easier solution than all that: swing any club (irons typically work better, but you can with a driver) upside down. So you're grabbing the head of the club and swinging the grip around. You'll feel any jerking motion on the downswing and follow through very easily; I did this and turned out I have a lot slower tempo than I had originally thought...

not sure how this will help you hit a full shot? tempo doesn't dictate how fast or slow you swing the club, it is relative to the timing of each sequence of your full swing. so you can swing fast or slow and keep the same tempo. it really has nothing to do with speed at which you're swinging the club.

[melchior]

  senorchipotle said:

not sure how this will help you hit a full shot? tempo doesn't dictate how fast or slow you swing the club, it is relative to the timing of each sequence of your full swing. so you can swing fast or slow and keep the same tempo. it really has nothing to do with speed at which you're swinging the club.

It was just to find my tempo. I realized that I had been trying to start my downswing too quickly; and when that became apparent I was swinging better. Now that I found my tempo I can swing the club upside-down with high "clubhead" speed, but only if my tempo is right for me.

Also, I didn't realize this was to find a full swing, I had thought that the OP had asked how to find your tempo; and this was how I found mine.

[out_in_30]

well... you could count.. 1.....2 2 is impact.

[saevel25]

I find mine once a year, usually comes when i am by myself just trying to enjoy the day. Were i slow down my walking pace, take a deep breath and relax. Thats were i wont force things and let the swing take shape and then its really really fun.

[TN94z]

  out_in_30 said:

well... you could count.. 1.....2 2 is impact.

Or 1...2....2....3 1 takeaway...2 is top....2 is pause....3 is impact.

I am actually having trouble with this right now. I have really good tempo, inside out swing, and a nice draw on the range. On the course, my tempo speeds up, I get over the top about a 1/4", and hit a fade. So tempo throws a lot of stuff off. Imagine that....hitting good on the range and can't take it to the course. Mental, mental, mental

[NI4NI]

In one of Johnny Miller's books, he states to have used his first and last name as his tempo guide. "Johnny" for the backswing, and "Miller" for the downswing, so probably near a 3 second count total. So long as you don't have either a ridiculously long Greek or Indian surname (for example), this could probably work as a guide. ;P

[saevel25]

Just channel your innner Fred Couples ;p

[Zeph]

  SandSpanker said:

Soooooooo how do I need to find my swing tempo??

Make a swing?

I've tried working on my tempo, but ultimately I end up with the same swing I've always got. I've come to believe tempo is like the grip, stance and ball position, it is individual. Even more so perhaps than stance and ball position. The tempo you swing with on a regular swing, not trying to hold off or kill it is your tempo. The body is a clever machine, it will move as fast as it needs to do what you are trying to do. Having a reliable swing (which you do at handicap 16), means you also have found the tempo for your swing. Everyone says to emulate Couples and Els, but if there are only two guys swinging that smooth, why should we strive to do the same? Of course there are many who swing in a way that looks smooth except Ernie and Couples, but those two are usually the ones that get mentioned. Are there specific problems you got since you think the tempo is off?

[saevel25]

Well, i find that my main swing is trying to force the ball to were i want it to go instead of trusting the swing. Most of my swing is trying to restrict my swing faults. Then one day i was just thinking, I will just go out and swing, screw it. First drive, i hit it so flush, it flew perfect and was crushed. I usually find it a few times a year then i something comes up and i start forcing it again.

[ohiolefty]

The barefoot thing helps a lot with many issues IMO. Tempo, to me, is related to grip, grip pressure and your balance and should be fairly natural as they relate to those two things.

[Rexx]

  senorchipotle said:

not sure how this will help you hit a full shot? tempo doesn't dictate how fast or slow you swing the club, it is relative to the timing of each sequence of your full swing. so you can swing fast or slow and keep the same tempo. it really has nothing to do with speed at which you're swinging the club.

I think you're talking about rhythm. For example, in a golf swing, if it takes 2 seconds to complete your backswing and 1 second to complete your downswing, you have a 2/1 ratio (which is your rhythm) and a total time of 3 seconds (your tempo). You can increase the tempo and keep the same rhythm by cutting each time in half: 1 second backswing, .5 second downswing. For pros, an average rhythm is about 3/1, but the tempos will differ from player to player. If you want to develop proper rhythm, you could count in your head (or get a nice metronome app for your phone) and pick a tempo you're comfortable with and aim for that same 3/1 ratio. For most amateurs, their downswing is actually too slow in relation to the backswing. Generally, they don't have a smooth transition from backswing to downswing and end up "wasting time" at the top of their backswing. You'll find that you have to start your downswing sooner than you're used to -- usually this means the hips and legs start moving forward before the arms have stopped swinging, else you're going to feel rushed getting the club back down by the fourth beat.

If you look up Tour Tempo, there's a whole product being sold for this.