About Tempo

[Soaring Divot]

I'm sure you veteran GTO's have talked this subject to death, but bear with me because I'm new.

I was looking at some slow motion swings of some very good golfers, and it seemed to me that the tempo was exactly the same for a 7 iron, as it was for a driver. In many ways, I really didn't see much difference in those swings at all except that the driver comes back more shallow.

I guess I just wanted confirmation that it should take the same amount of time for the 7 iron to hit the ball, once you've started your takeaway, as it would for the driver. Is this correct??

Thanks....Divot

[merarmou]

Re: About Tempo

I'm sure you veteran GTO's have talked this subject to death, but bear with me because I'm new.

I was looking at some slow motion swings of some very good golfers, and it seemed to me that the tempo was exactly the same for a 7 iron, as it was for a driver. In many ways, I really didn't see much difference in those swings at all except that the driver comes back more shallow.

I guess I just wanted confirmation that it should take the same amount of time for the 7 iron to hit the ball, once you've started your takeaway, as it would for the driver. Is this correct??

Thanks....Divot

Confirmed. You should always have the same tempo. Tempo is a personal thing, but I would say that most golfers swing too fast. To find your "natural" tempo, walk a normal average pace and count evertime your left foot hits the ground. This pace should be close to your swing tempo. If you want to get scientific about it you can buy a metronone to help you with this. You can set it for 2 or 3 beeps. With 2 beeps you have one on the takeaway and one at impact. With 3 beeps you have one on the takeaway, one at the top, and one at impact. Hope this helps.

[SlicersHell]

Re: About Tempo

Confirmed. You should always have the same tempo. Tempo is a personal thing, but I would say that most golfers swing too fast.

I agree. There's enough to think about with the golf swing, so I think adding unique swing thoughts (beyond setup) for different clubs is a bad idea to get into. I believe for all full swings, the tempo and swing should remain the same.

...but in my opinion, most amateurs learning the game swing too slowly, at least in taking the club back. Pros take the club back briskly while your average driving range hack takes this big long sloooooooooooooow backswing and just lashes at the ball with no tempo. It's a rhythm-less swing, because of this low and slow thing beaten into everyone's head, and because it's easier to monitor your backswing motions when going slow. The whole Tour Tempo craze has caught on because of this and seems to be popular in helping most golfers actually speed up their tempos.

[Soaring Divot]

Re: About Tempo

Thanks for the confirmation. I'm very comfortable with my tempo with short irons, and I'm trying to make sure to apply the same tempo to all my clubs. It is hardest with the driver, for sure.