Focus on rhythm and tempo

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

The golf swing is simple, at least outwardly. It's just to hit the ball with the club as if you were chopping down a tree or swinging a baseball bat. What makes it hard to hit the ball decently is over thinking or getting over-anxious.

Thinking too much about the swing mechanics complicates everything. To make the swing simple you need to focus on one thing such as sending the ball to the target or good rhythm and tempo rather than complicated swing mechanics.

A good golf swing depends greatly on good rhythm and tempo. Without a slow, rhythmic swing motion you cannot enjoy solid strikes of the ball in the center of the clubface. Too fast a swing pace prevents the club and body from working in harmony, thereby spelling hideous shots. Swinging a club back in a jerking motion or yanking the club down does nothing but seriously impede harmonious movements among all parts of the body.

To boost your rhythm and tempo it's essential to avoid a hand-dominated backswing. It's imperative to concentrate on taking the club away from the ball low and slow without a premature shoulder rotation. A good takeaway triggers a good backswing, which sets up a sound downswing, which in turn ensures a solid shot.

After all, the ultimate goal of a golf swing is to create speed on the downswing, not on the backswing. Taking the club back in a fast, hurried manner leads to a wild swing, which is hard to control and repeat on a consistent basis.

For a smooth takeaway, or rather not picking the club up with the hands during the takeaway, it's essential to that the bodyweight transfers to the right as you swing the club back. At the end of the takeaway when the left hand is in front of the right thigh the shoulders and hips start to turn to assist the arms and hands in swinging freely to the top.

A good way to get a feel for a low and slow takeaway is to push the clubhead with the outside muscles of the left forearm, ensuring that each hand takes its own path. At address the right hand is outside the left one or stays farther away from the body than the left. This relationship needs to be maintained during the entire swing. For a good golf swing the left hand should not take the path of the right, and vice versa. Each hand needs to travel along its own path or in its own circle. Or else, less-than-solid strikes will overtake you.

It is important to have your left knee and left pants pocket face behind the ball at the top, which means a full winding-up of the body and thereby maximum torque. However, you don't have to think about this too much. This will automatically happen if you focus on the smooth takeaway based on good rhythm and tempo.

As too fast a backswing is a no-no, so is too abrupt a downswing. It ruins your rhythm and pace.

To stop yanking the club down with the hands and swing rhythmically at a leisurely pace you'd better focus on the left lat muscle and initiate the downswing by shifting it laterally toward the target.

In addition to promoting rhythm and tempo, that enables you to keep the lower body from becoming too active, purging your downswing of immoderate movements. For a good golf swing the lower body including the legs and feet need to stay quiet during the swing, playing a supporting role.

Incidentally, here are a couple of other advantages of the lateral move of the left lat muscle.

First, pulling the left side of the torso toward the target allows your hands and arms to drop down to the level of the waist so they slot the club into the downswing path, which in turn encourages an in-to-out swing path through the ball.

Second, bumping the upper body ― the left lat muscle ― at the initial stage of the downswing promotes proper weight shift to the left, keeping you from swiping at the ball with the right hand. Hitting hard from the top with the right hand not only hampers your ability to swing at a sedate pace but also causes an out-to-in swing path that brings about a pull to the left or a weak pull-slice.

A must for a solid, powerful strike is a rhythmic, lateral body shift to the left toward the target before the torso unwinds.