Hi Paul, Thanks for this tip. I find it amazing how hard it is to make the change from an “arm swinger” to a “body swinger”. I’ve been a member on the site for 3 years now. In the first year, I managed to use my body to initiate the downswing about 10% of the time. In Year 2 I improved to about 33% and now in year 3 I’m at about 50% of the time. When I get it right there is a significant improvement in my shot direction and length. My average tee shots have gone from previously about 200 yards to now an avg of 220 yds. Occasionally I’ll tag one for 250 or 270 yds. That was unthinkable for me 3 years ago.
Even knowing how to use the body and the benefit of using the body, the urge to use the arms is sometimes irresistible. I’m working on it.
My message for others is to keep at it. I am dedicated to getting it right and the results are worth it.
There is nowhere else to find the great understandable information you provide.
Thanks,
Tom
Everyone wants to hit hard. In doing so they keep making the arms the power source. Need to turn off the arms and realize that you need to switch to legs. This takes understanding and time. First step though is to stop hitting. Once the arms are out then the power source becomes legs and hips. You do this by working on the coil/uncoil. Doing this gives you another power source. If the body is not working you only have your arms as the power source. So stay loose with the arms then focus on the coil and uncoil. This is how to get it all of the time.
Tom’s comment above really rang true with me. Occasionally I get frustrated – thinking I have nailed it with practice swings and range time only to struggle on the course. When I review things after the round I invariably realize that I have sped up on the course and forget the lessons of slow, waiting, separation, heavy club, 50%.
As a 50 year Golf and Golf Digest subscriber, Tom is spot on that no one else it providing the sound, science-based teachings you provide. We are blessed to have you!!
Hi, Paul. The Tour Tempo people (John Novosel and his father) have gathered a massive amount of data from videos showing that for tour players the ratio between the backswing and downswing for full shots is 3 video frames on backswing to 1 video frame on downswing to impact. Pro golfers do differ on the overall speed on the whole process. Some are in the ratio of 21 to 7, others 24 to 8, others 27 to 9. A few are very fast like 18 to 6 and a few very slow like 30 to 10. On smaller swings such as putting, chipping, and pitching the ratio is 2 frames back and 1 frame down to impact. Ph.D. dissertations in sports physiology have been written showing that the lower a players handicap is the more consistently that player’s full swing in the 3 to 1 ratio. The Novosels sell sound devises that mimic these ratios. As a consequence of this, I wasn’t quite sure to make of your suggestion of using a count of 2 on the backswing and a count of 1 on the downswing.
Dear Mr KOCHANOWSKI ,I read with interest your comments on the TOUR TEMPO -JOHN NOVOSEL ,and the ratios of BACKSWING to DOWNSWING .I myself tried this technique several years ago and (Happily !) gave it up .I firmly believe it puts to much emphasis on respecting figures and and ratios and takes out the fluidity of the tempo .You have to find a tempo which suits you and which you can repeat ,repeat, repeat .I watched carefully HIDEKI MATSUYAMA and JIM FURYK (Yes ,JIM FURYK !) swinging and learned much from them (The pause at the top by HIDEKI MATSUYAMA ,the tempo of JIM FURYK) .You have to find your way which is unique to you.remember BOBBY JoNES saying “Nobody has swung the club ever too slow “
Dear Raymond, thank you for your response to my comments. There are three issues I wish to address. First, do you dispute all of the evidence the Tour Striker people and others have gathered about the 3 to 1 ratio? I myself found it very difficult to swing in the 3 to 1 ratio. Nonetheless, and perhaps because I am myself a Ph.D. statistician, I find their evidence very compelling. I would wager that if you did a video analysis of Paul Wilson’s swing you would find he also is in the 3 to 1 ratio the Tour Tempo people advocate. Secondly, while I think Bobby Jones was a wonderful and great golfer, he had quite a few idiosyncrasies. For one, he regripped the club at the top of the backswing. I do not think anyone today now would advocate that strategy. Third, there are many golf teachers, including I think Paul Wilson, who don’t advocate the very, very slow backswing Bobby Jones suggested.
Dear Paul ,Your points are well taken .I have been an early enthusiast of the JOHN NOVOSEL techniques ,i even played a while on the course using the TOUR TEMPO buzzer ,but then I felt that respecting a given ratio in my swing was like playing handcuffed ,so I went my own way..When I take my backswing I say to myself “LOW ,SLOW ,SMOOTH “and”TO THE TOP “,the downswing is mostly a reflex movement of uncoiling and I have the images of HIDEKI MATSUYAMA and JIM FURYK in my mind and this gets the job done .
Some top players on the Tour have silky ,slow swings,like BOBBY JONES ,LOUIS OSTHUIZEN is a perfect example of this slow smooth tempo tempo;Golf in my opinion is more an art than a set of techniques and most of rhe game doesn’t fit into mathematical formulas (Though I was educated young as a Mathematician and Physician from our ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE )
Tour Tempo has been around forever. I am not saying it’s a 2:1. I want you doing this way to slow down your backswing which is what their ration is trying to get you to do.
This is simple and easy because you can just say it to yourself. So stick to this and you will get the right ration in the future.
When your swing tempo goes astray when playing a round of golf ,the JOHN NOVOSEL ratio is not of much help .When this happens to me ,i go back to a piece of advice from old PERCY BOOMER:” SWING AS YOU SING “(Under your breath of course );It can be any piece of music from “YANKEE DOODLE “to “GOD SAVE THE QUEEN” to “DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES “,as long there’s a rythm in it .
Hi, Raymond. Actually the issue isn’t how slow the backswing is but the ratio of the backswing to the downswing. Your backswing could be 33 frames from start to finish (very slow), but your downswing would then be 11 frames to impact. I have a very hard time ignoring the fact that a dissertation provided very compelling evidence that the more often the swing was in the 3 to 1 ratio, the lower the golfer’s handicap. High handicap golfers rarely swing in the 3 to 1 ratio while professional golfers achieve this ratio almost all of the time. I myself have analyzed 100s of golf swing videos of pros. Virtually all of them have a swing that is in the 3 to 1 ratio.
I tweaked my back trying to get some practice just before my league round last week. I still played pretty well but with 2 holes to go my back was getting tighter and hurting more. I thought I could finish but I knew I had to swing as easy as I could to get through. So I teed up my ball and just kept it as smooth and easy as I could and there it was. Golf nirvana. I hit the most effortless drive into the wind just as straight as could be at 260 yards carry. It felt completely effortless. That’s what I’m after in every shot. It took that slight muscle strain to slow me down but it was very educational. This tip falls in line. thanks Paul.
I used to have a really slow backswing, trying to ensure that it would put me in the perfect position for the downswing. Unfortunately the result was that I allowed too much time for all those swing thoughts to run through my mind like one piece takeaway, keep belly button pointing forward, proper hinge, feel the coil etc. Now I have sped up the backswing with much better results….. I don’t have time to entertain too many thoughts. All I think now is coil/uncoil or 1 axis/2 axis.Works for me.
Very good. You can definitely take too long and have too many thoughts. At times you are doing it slowly to learn the moves. Once you get them you smoothen it out. Glad you see it.
Yesterday at the range I was having difficulty with the driver (which I consider my most important swing club since it sets up the hole and is used most often) and was using the tempo counter on my watch. I found I was more obsessed with those numbers than focusing on your swing principles. Just like my SC200 tends to make me swing harder on the range.
Would I best best to just leave these tech tools alone and focus on the feelings you describe in this video?
Yes, stop using that stuff if it is messing you up. You should really be using it sparingly to check if what you are working on is helping your numbers or not. From what you are saying these things are hurting you so stop using them and focus on perfecting the swing positions. Build the swing. Get the swing you get the numbers.
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17 Responses to “Rushing Your Downswing”
April 30, 2019
TomCHi Paul, Thanks for this tip. I find it amazing how hard it is to make the change from an “arm swinger” to a “body swinger”. I’ve been a member on the site for 3 years now. In the first year, I managed to use my body to initiate the downswing about 10% of the time. In Year 2 I improved to about 33% and now in year 3 I’m at about 50% of the time. When I get it right there is a significant improvement in my shot direction and length. My average tee shots have gone from previously about 200 yards to now an avg of 220 yds. Occasionally I’ll tag one for 250 or 270 yds. That was unthinkable for me 3 years ago.
Even knowing how to use the body and the benefit of using the body, the urge to use the arms is sometimes irresistible. I’m working on it.
My message for others is to keep at it. I am dedicated to getting it right and the results are worth it.
There is nowhere else to find the great understandable information you provide.
Thanks,
Tom
May 6, 2019
Paul WilsonTom,
Everyone wants to hit hard. In doing so they keep making the arms the power source. Need to turn off the arms and realize that you need to switch to legs. This takes understanding and time. First step though is to stop hitting. Once the arms are out then the power source becomes legs and hips. You do this by working on the coil/uncoil. Doing this gives you another power source. If the body is not working you only have your arms as the power source. So stay loose with the arms then focus on the coil and uncoil. This is how to get it all of the time.
April 30, 2019
MichaelBarrettPaul,
Tom’s comment above really rang true with me. Occasionally I get frustrated – thinking I have nailed it with practice swings and range time only to struggle on the course. When I review things after the round I invariably realize that I have sped up on the course and forget the lessons of slow, waiting, separation, heavy club, 50%.
As a 50 year Golf and Golf Digest subscriber, Tom is spot on that no one else it providing the sound, science-based teachings you provide. We are blessed to have you!!
Mike
May 1, 2019
PaulKochanowskiHi, Paul. The Tour Tempo people (John Novosel and his father) have gathered a massive amount of data from videos showing that for tour players the ratio between the backswing and downswing for full shots is 3 video frames on backswing to 1 video frame on downswing to impact. Pro golfers do differ on the overall speed on the whole process. Some are in the ratio of 21 to 7, others 24 to 8, others 27 to 9. A few are very fast like 18 to 6 and a few very slow like 30 to 10. On smaller swings such as putting, chipping, and pitching the ratio is 2 frames back and 1 frame down to impact. Ph.D. dissertations in sports physiology have been written showing that the lower a players handicap is the more consistently that player’s full swing in the 3 to 1 ratio. The Novosels sell sound devises that mimic these ratios. As a consequence of this, I wasn’t quite sure to make of your suggestion of using a count of 2 on the backswing and a count of 1 on the downswing.
May 1, 2019
RaymondCHASTELDear Mr KOCHANOWSKI ,I read with interest your comments on the TOUR TEMPO -JOHN NOVOSEL ,and the ratios of BACKSWING to DOWNSWING .I myself tried this technique several years ago and (Happily !) gave it up .I firmly believe it puts to much emphasis on respecting figures and and ratios and takes out the fluidity of the tempo .You have to find a tempo which suits you and which you can repeat ,repeat, repeat .I watched carefully HIDEKI MATSUYAMA and JIM FURYK (Yes ,JIM FURYK !) swinging and learned much from them (The pause at the top by HIDEKI MATSUYAMA ,the tempo of JIM FURYK) .You have to find your way which is unique to you.remember BOBBY JoNES saying “Nobody has swung the club ever too slow “
May 1, 2019
PaulKochanowskiDear Raymond, thank you for your response to my comments. There are three issues I wish to address. First, do you dispute all of the evidence the Tour Striker people and others have gathered about the 3 to 1 ratio? I myself found it very difficult to swing in the 3 to 1 ratio. Nonetheless, and perhaps because I am myself a Ph.D. statistician, I find their evidence very compelling. I would wager that if you did a video analysis of Paul Wilson’s swing you would find he also is in the 3 to 1 ratio the Tour Tempo people advocate. Secondly, while I think Bobby Jones was a wonderful and great golfer, he had quite a few idiosyncrasies. For one, he regripped the club at the top of the backswing. I do not think anyone today now would advocate that strategy. Third, there are many golf teachers, including I think Paul Wilson, who don’t advocate the very, very slow backswing Bobby Jones suggested.
May 4, 2019
RaymondCHASTELDear Paul ,Your points are well taken .I have been an early enthusiast of the JOHN NOVOSEL techniques ,i even played a while on the course using the TOUR TEMPO buzzer ,but then I felt that respecting a given ratio in my swing was like playing handcuffed ,so I went my own way..When I take my backswing I say to myself “LOW ,SLOW ,SMOOTH “and”TO THE TOP “,the downswing is mostly a reflex movement of uncoiling and I have the images of HIDEKI MATSUYAMA and JIM FURYK in my mind and this gets the job done .
Some top players on the Tour have silky ,slow swings,like BOBBY JONES ,LOUIS OSTHUIZEN is a perfect example of this slow smooth tempo tempo;Golf in my opinion is more an art than a set of techniques and most of rhe game doesn’t fit into mathematical formulas (Though I was educated young as a Mathematician and Physician from our ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE )
May 6, 2019
Paul WilsonPaul,
Tour Tempo has been around forever. I am not saying it’s a 2:1. I want you doing this way to slow down your backswing which is what their ration is trying to get you to do.
This is simple and easy because you can just say it to yourself. So stick to this and you will get the right ration in the future.
May 6, 2019
RaymondCHASTELWhen your swing tempo goes astray when playing a round of golf ,the JOHN NOVOSEL ratio is not of much help .When this happens to me ,i go back to a piece of advice from old PERCY BOOMER:” SWING AS YOU SING “(Under your breath of course );It can be any piece of music from “YANKEE DOODLE “to “GOD SAVE THE QUEEN” to “DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES “,as long there’s a rythm in it .
May 1, 2019
JimPlaceMove your hips and leave your arms behind. A golfing guru told me that just last week.
May 5, 2019
PaulKochanowskiHi, Raymond. Actually the issue isn’t how slow the backswing is but the ratio of the backswing to the downswing. Your backswing could be 33 frames from start to finish (very slow), but your downswing would then be 11 frames to impact. I have a very hard time ignoring the fact that a dissertation provided very compelling evidence that the more often the swing was in the 3 to 1 ratio, the lower the golfer’s handicap. High handicap golfers rarely swing in the 3 to 1 ratio while professional golfers achieve this ratio almost all of the time. I myself have analyzed 100s of golf swing videos of pros. Virtually all of them have a swing that is in the 3 to 1 ratio.
May 6, 2019
Paul WilsonJim,
That is great advice. Did the guy have a red shirt?
May 1, 2019
GLENNWISSEI tweaked my back trying to get some practice just before my league round last week. I still played pretty well but with 2 holes to go my back was getting tighter and hurting more. I thought I could finish but I knew I had to swing as easy as I could to get through. So I teed up my ball and just kept it as smooth and easy as I could and there it was. Golf nirvana. I hit the most effortless drive into the wind just as straight as could be at 260 yards carry. It felt completely effortless. That’s what I’m after in every shot. It took that slight muscle strain to slow me down but it was very educational. This tip falls in line. thanks Paul.
May 5, 2019
MikeShannonI used to have a really slow backswing, trying to ensure that it would put me in the perfect position for the downswing. Unfortunately the result was that I allowed too much time for all those swing thoughts to run through my mind like one piece takeaway, keep belly button pointing forward, proper hinge, feel the coil etc. Now I have sped up the backswing with much better results….. I don’t have time to entertain too many thoughts. All I think now is coil/uncoil or 1 axis/2 axis.Works for me.
May 6, 2019
Paul WilsonMike,
Very good. You can definitely take too long and have too many thoughts. At times you are doing it slowly to learn the moves. Once you get them you smoothen it out. Glad you see it.
May 30, 2019
MichaelBarrettPaul,
Yesterday at the range I was having difficulty with the driver (which I consider my most important swing club since it sets up the hole and is used most often) and was using the tempo counter on my watch. I found I was more obsessed with those numbers than focusing on your swing principles. Just like my SC200 tends to make me swing harder on the range.
Would I best best to just leave these tech tools alone and focus on the feelings you describe in this video?
Thanks
Mike
June 4, 2019
Paul WilsonMike,
Yes, stop using that stuff if it is messing you up. You should really be using it sparingly to check if what you are working on is helping your numbers or not. From what you are saying these things are hurting you so stop using them and focus on perfecting the swing positions. Build the swing. Get the swing you get the numbers.