Power of the Pause

[alfriday]

I used to spent hours working on my serve in tennis.  I would toss ball after ball getting it to the correct height.  The ball would go up, "pause" at the top and fall back when gravity took over.  My goal was to hit the ball when it was stationary in the air--it had run out of upward momentum, but gravity had not yet started pulling it downward.

 

To me, the backswing in golf is the same basic movement.  The club is taken back to the top of the backswing, there is a 'pause" as the club reaches the top and then gravity takes over pulling the club downward.  If I have the sensation of the club starting to fall, I know my transition will be smooth.  I accelerate the club somewhere after the club stars to fall.  If I don't let the club fall, I will jerk from the top and all sorts of bad things happen.  (Of course I don't actually try to think about this in the swing.  But I can recognize when I jerk the club after the shot.) 

 

I use the phrase "to the target" as my swing thought and timing aid.  I start the swing with "to", the top of the back swing is "the", the club starts to fall and I start accelerating (hopefully from the ground up) on the hard T of "target."  The swing is over by the time I get to the last T in "target."  If I feel like I'm starting to rush my swings, I do the Shawn Clement swing the club like a child on a swing drill to get the timing back.  Gravity isn't just a good idea, it's the law.  It's constant, so why not use it.  

 

Here's a video by Shawn that talks about timing and using gravity.  The child on a swing part starts at 1:00.    

 

 

         

[Councillor]

I recently started back playing golf after a 20 year lay off. I thought it would be like riding a bike, just pick up the clubs and be shooting mid 70's as I was a 6.2 handicap player.

Nothing was further from the truth, I was plain crap. I have since got down to 22.3, with flashes of playing brilliantly, but only flashes. Ofcourse the body has changed a bit, but I am still pretty fit. Reading the article on the pause at the top, reminded me that's what I used to do. Maybe it will start to get my sequence in better order.

[MarvChamp]

My coach called it a "considered pause". I have to think of it as I set up; it isn't ingrained. It keeps me from over-swinging, swaying, so I'm able to maintain tempo and reach just that point of perceived 3/4 turn without tension that I want. (At least that was what I was working on before Sept. 28 injury.) This thread is a great reminder for when I return. Thanks, -Marv

[Councillor]

Marv, thanks for the encouragement. I hope you get fit soon and back on the course. 

Its very strange as I try to analyse what that pause is. For me it feels like a kink at the top before the downswing.  

[amishboy51]

I got nothing to contribute, just wanted to say “thanks” for another eye-opening topic.