Find the Beat to Your Golf Swing

When I was a kid, my mom had me take piano lessons.  My teacher would come over and patiently, so patiently, listen to me bang away at the keys.  To keep the tempo of the song, he would tap the beat on the keys in front of him with a metal mechanical pencil.  I would pay attention for a few bars and then lose it and we would start over.  This was the way of my lessons.  I never developed a good sense of rhythm.  Tempo and rhythm are so important to a good golf swing.

Set Your Golf Swing Tempo

My backswing pace holds a smooth pace but then my down swing would go too fast and I would lose control of my shot.  One day, I came up with a crazy idea.  I downloaded a metronome app on my phone and ran my ear buds up through the front of my shirt.  I set the app to a 4/4 beat at 70 beats per minute (bpm) with an accent strike on the first beat.

I stood still and listened to the click of each beat.  BOP bop bop bop.  BOP bop bop bop.  BOP bop bop bop.

Once I felt comfortable with the rhythm, I applied it to my swing.  On the first beat, the BOP, I started my swing. On the second beat, my backswing was half way done.  On the third beat, I completed my back swing and initiated the downswing.  On the fourth beat, I made contact and struck the ball in a smooth hit.  I let another bar play before setting up for another hit.

Tempo Golf Swing in Action:

Benefits of Better Tempo to Your Golf Swing

The tempo controlled my pace and made my downswing smoother.  Focusing on the beats blocked out the distracting noises of the other golfers on the driving range.  The chatter and multitude of cracking club heads disappeared and I was left with the tempo and your smooth golf swing.

BOP bop bop bop.

The club head speed might have been slower but the contact was clean and crisp. A smoother pace relieves stress and remove pressure from shots.  A relaxed golfer plays a better game and that is what we all want in the end.