Menu
It has been a number of years since I have worked with John, who is still a member at my old club up in Baltimore. He is an excellent player, but due to lack of time (he is a successful businessman) and a driver that doesn’t cooperate much of the time he has not been able to play up to his potential. He has taken a more serious approach to improving his game this year and is looking forward to competing in some amateur events, so he has decided to make the annoying trip down to Washington (worst traffic in the nation) in order to work on his swing. Actually, his interest was piqued by watching the website, which I hope is happening all over the country.
I have always considered the revelation of “Tour Tempo” to be a very important advancement in golf instruction. Making the previously mysterious term “tempo” (you’ll find a thousand different definitions for it) a measurable item is a tremendous help for teachers. And understanding that most amateurs (especially the ones who think they are too “quick”) are too slow in the back-swing and can improve immediately by changing the pace at which they swing back is a huge deal.
Here you see visual evidence that tempo can be changed by the use of a small mechanical instrument call a Metronome. Once John got the hang of using it properly (it usually takes a few minutes and a few botched attempts) he moved his tempo to the magic “3 to 1” ratio that is the hallmark of almost all good players. Proper tempo gives the player a chance to have an effective transition, and at the end of the lesson you see me working hands on to give John the feel of the “hard catch” and the shallow-ing club kicking back on the right forefinger in transition, then the steepening approach and leftward exit of the club through impact.
Join the forum discussion on this post