Summary
What is Swing Tempo? - Swing tempo refers to the rhythm of your swing as you take the club back and through.
Swing Tempo Drills:
- The 3:1 Counting Drill
- The Step-Through Drill
- Pause at the Top
A smooth golf swing is a beautiful thing to watch.
Legendary golfers like Fred Couples and Ernie Els had this ability, among many other notable pros.
But what is it that makes a great swing tempo and how do you work toward improving your own? Let’s break down that important topic on this page.
What is Golf Swing Tempo?
Swing tempo refers to the rhythm of your swing as you take the club back and through. This is not the same thing as swing speed.
Tempo is about the flow of the swing, and when someone says that a golfer has a smooth tempo, what they mean is that the whole move looks easy and somewhat effortless.
A good tempo does not change dramatically from backswing to downswing. A player with good tempo can swing slow or fast, but the key is that the pacing of the swing is the same throughout.
How Swing Tempo Affects Swing Speed
You could easily fall into the trap of thinking that a faster tempo is going to mean a faster swing through impact.
The only point in the golf swing when speed matters is at impact. It doesn’t really make any difference if you swing fast before or after impact.
Building up to the moment of impact with a slow, even tempo is just as effective as getting there quickly. When you lose track of your tempo, you often will find that you are wasting power by using it up when it isn't needed.
Best Drills and Exercises to Improve Golf Swing Speed
It’s always a good idea to have a few different swing drills available to do when things get off track a bit.
Here are three swing tempo drills to try during your next practice session.
The 3:1 Counting Drill
Source: Rhythmic Golf Youtube
Good golf swings often take three times as long to go through the backswing as they take to get through the downswing. Knowing that, you can use the 3:1 counting drill to get your tempo into a good place.
For this drill, you don’t even need to hit a ball, although you can if you would like. Simply make a swing while counting out loud during the backswing. You’ll count “1,2,3” while trying to match the “3” with the top of your backswing. Then, as you swing down, you count out “4” and go on through to the finish.
Most players will find that their backswing is far too quick at first for this drill. You’ll be forced to slow down, which will likely lead to much-improved ball striking almost immediately.
The Step-Through Drill
Source: Titleist Youtube
A big part of good tempo is making sure your body is working in the right order during the swing. That means the lower body should go first in the downswing, with the upper body trailing behind. Using the step-through drill will help reinforce this concept.
The idea here is pretty simple. For a right-handed golfer, you are going to make a regular full swing, with the goal of “walking through” the shot with your right foot after impact. When the swing finishes, your right foot should be roughly where the ball was when it was struck. The only way to get to this position properly is to let your hips lead the downswing and pull the rest of your body through.
Pause at the Top
Source: Master the Downswing Transition: Pause Drill
This just might be one of the best drills in golf. All you need is a club, and you don’t have to hit a ball if you don’t want to. The goal here is to swing up to the top, pause for a moment, and then finish the swing. How does this help? Simple - if your tempo is rushed, or if you are off balance in the swing, this drill will expose that flaw. Keep repeating the drill until you can pause at the top for a second or two comfortably and then properly continue your swing into a full and balanced finish.
How to Use a Launch Monitor to Train Tempo and Speed
One of the best things that a launch monitor can do for your tempo is to provide objective, unbiased feedback on how your swing is performing. You can intentionally use a slower tempo during practice to see what the launch monitor says.
Most likely, you’ll find that your ball speed and club head speed don’t change much, yet your control over the ball improves. This lesson is invaluable, and once you learn it for yourself, it will make the launch monitor easily worth the cost.
Additionally, you can use your launch monitor to track results as you do exercises to improve swing speed. There is an element of fitness involved here, and your monitor will tell you if your efforts are paying off.
A Smooth Swing is In Your Future
As your tempo gets better, you are quickly going to notice that some things about your game start to change.
For one thing, you’ll likely be much more consistent from hole to hole - and from round to round. A smooth swing is more repeatable, and repeatability is a great thing in golf.
If you would like to use a launch monitor to help you work toward a better tempo in your golf swing, check out the various options available from Voice Caddie today.
