Timing & Tempo.

Timing & Tempo

The reason the vast majority of golfers have so much trouble timing a shot satisfactorily is that, subconsciously or consciously, they try to regulate the speed of the club head directly with their hands, without using the intermediary links of the hips, shoulders, and arms. When they do this they get an early but never very great reaction, in terms of speed, from the club head.

This is the old familiar "hitting too soon" or "hitting from the top." When the intermediary links are used and the chain reaction is allowed to take its course, there is a late reaction by the club head, which then accelerates to great speed at impact. There is a common expression to describe the player who uses the chain reaction: "He waits on the club." It may not be grammatical but it is descriptive.

What this all comes down to is, the expression of good timing is the late hit. The expression of poor timing is the early hit. Here, as we discuss timing, we isolate one key move that leads to good or improved timing. It is this: Let the body—not the hands—start moving the club on the downswing.

Once you can do this you are on the road to vastly better golf. You will have the feeling that you are starting down with arms and club close to the body—close to the axis— where they should be at this time.

So much has been written over the years about the importance of the hands in swinging the club, that many of us are entirely too hand conscious. A standing vote of thanks is due Billy Casper for stating, in a description of his swing as it reached the hitting position: "At this point my body is still swinging the club." Many of us have been sure of that for years, but Casper, to our knowledge, was the first of the top tournament pros with the courage to say it.

The hands will take over soon enough, as an automatic, reflex action. The problem is to keep them out while still keeping them moving. If we keep them out while our body moves the club from the top, our timing will be far better.

Rhythm and Tempo
Rhythm and tempo can be considered together, because in golf they mean very nearly the same thing.

We mentioned earlier that the rhythm in the swing of a good player is noticed because of the measured cadence in the upward and downward movement of the club. In his swing there appears to be—and there is—a definite relationship in time between his backswing and his downswing.

It is measured in two parts, from the time the club leaves the ball until it stops at the top of the backswing, and from the time it starts to move again until it hits the ball.

The club does have to stop at the top, of course, for the instant required to reverse its direction, whether we feel it or realize it or we don't. No object, not even a golf club, can be traveling in opposite directions at once.

These two segments of the swing can be accurately timed by a motion-picture camera, by the simple process of counting the number of pictures the camera takes during each segment. Such a count shows that the backswing of a good player takes almost exactly twice as long as the downswing.

This two-to-one ratio is the rhythm of the swing. The total time or tempo of the swing will vary with different good players, but the ratio or rhythm will not. Nor will it

vary from club to club. The ratio will be the same for the 8 iron as it is for the driver.

The tempo of the swing will not change, either, for the individual player.

Alistair Thomson.
http:www.acegolftips.com

Train like the Pro's with Leaderboard.

IMPROVE YOUR SWING, INCREASE YOUR POWER IN JUST MINUTES

Leaderboard is a revolutionary posture and stability platform with an adjustable resistance regulator that programmes explosive power and accuracy into your golf swing.

Used by Stuart Appleby, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Michael Campbell, Mike Weir, Aaron Baddeley, Robert Allenby, KJ Choi and over 30 other touring pros worldwide, Leaderboard is the Australian golf biomechanics training innovation that automatically improves Power, Balance, Posture and Swing Dynamics ...WHILE YOU SWING

Leaderboard simplifies the complexities of the golf swing and builds the solid foundation using essential techniques researched from Olympic sports, Martial Arts and Pilates.

The sliding resistance platform allows you to train while swinging a club or performing a range of golf specific exercises which "lock" the trunk, or "core," in position and allow the upper body to rotate around this stable base.

This is the foundation of the efficient, powerful action seen in today's PGA Tour pro's golf swing. Leaderboard not only ingrains synchronized movement, but also increases the golfer's power by strengthening the key muscles used during the golf swing.

This product unfortunately is only available for. USA, Canada and Australian residents.

I'll keep you posted when they are allowed to market the Leaderboard in other countries.

You can now train like the pro's with Leaderboard

Alistair Thomson.
http://www.acegolftips.com/

Beginners Golf Tips.

Beginner Tips – The Secret Tip Every Beginner Golfer Should Know

What makes golf so difficult when compared to other sports? There are a few reasons, however “accuracy” is probably the number one factor when comparing the game of golf to other activities. You have much less room for error compared to sports like baseball, for example.

Baseball uses a much bigger ball and you have a comparatively larger bat to swing with. You have several chances of hitting the ball to make a play. And of course you then have the assistance of other players to help you accomplish your goal of either getting to the home plate, or making field plays to cause the other team to reach 3 “outs” so that your team can move up to bat.

With golf, you must hit the ball perfect each and every time you are up for your shot. You have one swing and that's it. The room for error is so minuscule due to the tiny size of the ball and the clubface. And with people watching, the pressure can really cause those nerves to get a bit uneasy. This is why golf is a lot harder than most people think.

Beginner Tip: Take It Slow

For those of you that are new to golf and have not quite grasped what we are trying to explain here about the difficulty levels of the sport, you should take time to follow a few basic tips that every seasoned golfer adhered to when they first started playing.

What is the most important beginner tip? Take the game slow and keep things simple. The obstacles of golf for the beginner player are mostly mental. With the intensity of concentration, focus, and pressure from an audience, one of the best tips that you can appreciate is to simply take it slow.

Learn the game at whatever pace suits you. Many newbie golfers tend to go all out, buy a brand-new set of golf clubs, hit the ball at a driving range for a few days, and then immediately run out and start playing on a prestigious 18-hole golf course.

I understand that you are probably excited and want to jump right in headfirst, but compare the game to swimming. Before you knew how to swim, did you just dive into the deep section of your local swimming pool? Of course not. How could you expect to do the same with golf? Moving too fast will only lead to frustration and eventually you will quit playing.

For more advanced tips check out:
http://www.acegolftips.com

Alistair Thomson