Martin’s Blog: Understanding how to control tempo

• By Martin Hall
• Sep 19, 2012 7:30 PM ET

CHAPTER 26:
How do you control your tempo? Well, it helps if you are clear what tempo is. The dictionary tells us it is speed, pace, beat or count. You must know there is a tempo for the short game and a tempo for the long game, and they are not the same:

• In putting, chipping and many pitch shots, the tempo is “one, two” like a pendulum. Put a weight on the end of a string about the same length as your club. Hold the club and the end of the string and take some small swings with both hovered just off the ground. You’ll notice the clubhead and weight swinging at a near identical pace. It also helps to imagine the shaft is a test tube filled with water and you want to swing without spilling a drop. The beat is the same whether the putt or chip 3, 33 or 133 feet. Gravity causes the acceleration, not you doing it deliberately.

• The full-swing tempo is a “one and two” count because you need extra time for the legs to move. The arms do not begin the downswing until you’ve said “one and.” If your takeaway is too fast, put a golf ball just inches behind the ball you are going to hit, set your clubhead in between at address, then push it away slowly in the takeaway. If your takeaway is too slow, put the clubhead on the target side of the ball at address, swing toward the target and then reverse it into the backswing.

Popular golf instruction tips:  Short Game |  Full Swing | Accuracy | Long Game

Martin’s Library: “Gravity Golf” by David Lee

David Lee’s book “Gravity Golf” is filled with wonderful drills to help you create more power without swinging out of control, and in this video segment, Martin examines what he views as four of Lee’s most valuable thoughts. Watch Video

Homework Assignment:

• Learn the Short-Game and Long-Game Tempos

• Visit the Coordination Station as Often as Possible

Next week’s show: Chapter 26: Fatal Flaws, Wednesday 7PM ET

• I’ll reveal the most common flaws I sees in the golf swing and teach the cure for each, and I’ll also share my best tips for junior golfers, including one drill they all should be working on. And three-time PGA Tour winner Chris DiMarco will join me in-studio to explain how to use the claw putting grip and share full-swing advice.

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