Thoughts on a 3:1 Tempo?

[Ultimate Junior Golfer 33]

I was looking at my swing, which has improved a lot recently, and noticed my backswing is very fast. I stumbled across Tour Tempo and their philosophy of a 3:1 tempo. What are your thoughts? Is it something you would spend time changing?

[GolfSpy MPR 12,185]

I'm not fully qualified to have an opinion here, but my two cents: I think a consistent full swing tempo (a consistent ratio between backswing and downswing time) is a useful goal. I'm not as convinced that achieving the 3:1 ratio is the magic key that solves most other swing problems, as the author of the Tour Tempo book suggests.

[HeathS16 2,236]

I have to agree with MPR here. Something I have been working on is slowing my tempo a bit to keep my hands from flipping. Played two rounds in the last week and averaged 287 off the tee. Before this recent work I couldn’t keep the ball on the planet, a useful goal indeed.


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[FrogginBullfish 1,785]

There's some research showing faster backswings can lead to faster clubhead speeds but I believe it's one of those things that can be of more benefit to the better player, the tour player especially.

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[TR1PTIK 3,492]

If you can hit the ball consistently with your current swing,  I wouldn't change it for the sake of some magical tempo number. As always, just look at the different swings of the guys on tour. No one who's having success at the highest levels of the game cares about fitting into some sort of mold, they just play their game. Unless you're working with an instructor who specifically identifies this as an issue, I wouldn't worry about it.

[russtopherb 9,330]

I spent a winter drilling with the Tour Tempo app and in the end, it just didn't fit my natural rhythm. I think the swing is specific and personal for every golfer. 

Also, as a drummer, I hated the way they wanted you to wait until AFTER the prompt to change swing direction. I just couldn't do it LOL

[cnosil 24,388]

There are many ways to swing a golf club and you can swing your own way or copy the swing of someone else. The tour tempo approach has been around for a long time and they show swings meet that criteria.

I could show you coaches that teach a method and have produced high quality competitive players.

If your swing isn’t 3:1 are you willing to dedicate the time to overhaul your swing to achieve that tempo?

[DiscipleofPenick 3,797]

Too much to think about. You don't hit it with your backswing.

Take Dead Aim

[cnosil 24,388]

Too much to think about. You don't hit it with your backswing.

Take Dead Aim

Can’t disagree with that, but wouldn’t you agree that a bad backswing can mess up the rest of your swing?

[Ultimate Junior Golfer 33]

2 hours ago, TR1PTIK said:

If you can hit the ball consistently with your current swing,  I wouldn't change it for the sake of some magical tempo number. As always, just look at the different swings of the guys on tour. No one who's having success at the highest levels of the game cares about fitting into some sort of mold, they just play their game. Unless you're working with an instructor who specifically identifies this as an issue, I wouldn't worry about it.

The question is, do you know anyone on tour with a very fast backswing? I can't think of any. Plenty have slow backswings but I'm not so sure about fast backswings.

[DiscipleofPenick 3,797]

Can’t disagree with that, but wouldn’t you agree that a bad backswing can mess up the rest of your swing?

Not necessarily. The point of the comment was that A) this is too much technical to think about during the swing and B) does the player have a "bad" backswing in the first place?

Changes in stance and grip can fix backswing problems much more than tempo.. unless the backswing is too fast. But again, too fast is subjective to the player. I would say a backswing is bad if the club is not started back on the proper line, too inside or outside for the shot the player is trying to hit.

Get a lesson or have a pro check you to determine if the swing is indeed too fast for your style and ability.

Take Dead Aim

[Ultimate Junior Golfer 33]

10 minutes ago, Tsmithjr9 said:

Not necessarily. The point of the comment was that A) this is too much technical to think about during the swing and B) does the player have a "bad" backswing in the first place?

Changes in stance and grip can fix backswing problems much more than tempo.. unless the backswing is too fast. But again, too fast is subjective to the player. I would say a backswing is bad if the club is not started back on the proper line, too inside or outside for the shot the player is trying to hit.

Get a lesson or have a pro check you to determine if the swing is indeed too fast for your style and ability.

Take Dead Aim
 

No, I've got a darn good backswing. Club is on plane, correct left arm position, full turn, etc. I need to update my handicap to +1.2 but not sure how on here . I am simply trying to refine my swing. My backswing seems fast to look at, but doesn't feel fast to me. 

[cnosil 24,388]

The question is, do you know anyone on tour with a very fast backswing? I can't think of any. Plenty have slow backswings but I'm not so sure about fast backswings.

Define fast. And I doubt very many would be considered slow.

[cnosil 24,388]

No, I've got a darn good backswing. Club is on plane, correct left arm position, full turn, etc. I need to update my handicap to +1.2 but not sure how on here [emoji1787]. I am simply trying to refine my swing. My backswing seems fast to look at, but doesn't feel fast to me. 

If you are a +1.2. You are looking at the wrong things. I would say that to a 5 handicap as well. strategy is where you should probably focus your efforts and listen to you coach for swing tweaks.

[Ultimate Junior Golfer 33]

8 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Define fast. And I doubt very many would be considered slow.

This is my swing from a month or so ago. Tempo is the same, maybe slightly faster with longer clubs, but not much.

 

[Getoffmylawn 5,229]

Tend to agree with @cnosilhere...very tough to apply one model universally and say "this is what a backswing should look like, and this is how long it should take."  At the end of the day, if your backswing allows you to get to a good impact position then can it really be "bad"?  Put another way, most would judge Matthew Wolff's backswing as "bad" or Nick Price's tempo as "bad"...seems like it works/worked for them.  Bryson's another with a backswing that you definitely wouldn't call slow.

[cnosil 24,388]

This is my swing from a month or so ago. Tempo is the same, maybe slightly faster with longer clubs, but not much.
 

That is a swing video, it doesn’t define fast or slow.

People have lots of swing theories and ways to improve. Tour tempo is just another idea on how to swing and play better golf. If you decided to go down that path, you could be successful. You could also be successful following the principles that George Gankas teaches, you could follow stack and tilt principles, you could follow single plane practices.

[Ultimate Junior Golfer 33]

17 minutes ago, cnosil said:

That is a swing video, it doesn’t define fast or slow.

People have lots of swing theories and ways to improve. Tour tempo is just another idea on how to swing and play better golf. If you decided to go down that path, you could be successful. You could also be successful following the principles that George Gankas teaches, you could follow stack and tilt principles, you could follow single plane practices.

Please explain how a video does not show tempo? Tempo is the relationship from start to impact. The video shows that and shows the speed of the sequences. How would you go about showing or defining fast or slow without a video?

[DiscipleofPenick 3,797]

No, I've got a darn good backswing. Club is on plane, correct left arm position, full turn, etc. I need to update my handicap to +1.2 but not sure how on here [emoji1787]. I am simply trying to refine my swing. My backswing seems fast to look at, but doesn't feel fast to me. 

Jeez +1.2????? Sounds like you need to give me advice. I'm a 5.2....

Go play with confidence and play well!

Take Dead Aim

[russtopherb 9,330]

So what does your coach/pro say you need to work on?