Tempo help

[BIGBALL]

As a higher handicapper than most on here, you guys may not run into this as much as I do, but here it goes...

Being here in the Mid-Atlantic, it has been very wet, and most of the courses I have played the rough has been a SOB to get out of. Played a course on Monday and had two balls trickle through the fairway and one we couldn't find, and the other when we did, I wished we hadn't! Basically, it's just hand to hand combat. The problem for me is, after battling out of that for a while, it just seems to really destroy any tempo I have for the rest of the round, and I know I am swinging harder that I need to, and I tend to start chunking shots. Seems it is harder to stop this than it should be!
Do you guys ever experience this, and if so, any ideas on how to fight it?

 

[johnnymarlboro]

Just out of curiosity, which courses do you play at BIGBALL? I live in Glen Burnie, and I used to play the Classic 5 quite a bit. Some of their courses they have a tendency to slack on mowing the rough when it rains alot. As more of a "digger" than a "picker" I tend to hit it fat more often when the course is wet. I think if you're in particularly vicious rough, it's best just to chop it out to the fairway, and take your lumps. If you can get it near the green great, but if not, I wouldn't sweat it. You can get some pretty tricky lies at some of those Baltimore courses that even low handicappers would struggle with.

If you're like me, you've got to fight every natural instinct you have that tells you to go at the ball with everything you've got. Sometimes if I'm having trouble fighting that urge, I'll just take a shorter backswing and go with it. Not the greatest solution, but it helps me stay in balance a little better.

 

[BIGBALL]

Just out of curiosity, which courses do you play at BIGBALL? I live in Glen Burnie, and I used to play the Classic 5 quite a bit. Some of their courses they have a tendency to slack on mowing the rough when it rains alot. As more of a "digger" than a "picker" I tend to hit it fat more often when the course is wet. I think if you're in particularly vicious rough, it's best just to chop it out to the fairway, and take your lumps. If you can get it near the green great, but if not, I wouldn't sweat it. You can get some pretty tricky lies at some of those Baltimore courses that even low handicappers would struggle with.

If you're like me, you've got to fight every natural instinct you have that tells you to go at the ball with everything you've got. Sometimes if I'm having trouble fighting that urge, I'll just take a shorter backswing and go with it. Not the greatest solution, but it helps me stay in balance a little better.

Yea, that is normally what I do. It was so bad that even that took a huge effort! The worst part was there was rough like that right off the green - I stepped right on my ball 5 yards off the green. Basically, an impossible situation!
I have played all the Classic 5 courses, and the Balto County courses plenty! I grew up in Dundalk, ( couple of the guys I play with still live there ) but live in Bel Air now. Generally, we play in PA a lot. Courses are better and cheaper on average, and much easier to get multiple tee times without having to have as much notice. Playing the Bridges & Pilgrims Oak this weekend! We have guys in our group that shoot anywhere from the high 70's to 100! But that is true scoring, OB is stroke & distance, no roll overs etc. Send me a PM if you ever want to come out!

 

[jertapper]

Tom Watson said in his book (a long time ago - in his heyday) that he used the song Edelweiss for his tempo. I think it's basically in 3/4 time so e-del is the backswing and weiss is the downswing. It's the same as counting 1...2...3 but the singing the song helps you keep the tempo better than trying to act like a metronome.

 

[faux_maestro]

Check out the book/website "Tour Tempo". I checked it out from the library, interesting stuff. Supposedly the premise has been verified by some scientists at Yale. Don't know the particulars of the study off hand. The idea is that through video study, most pros have a 3:1 relationship backswing to downswing. The backswing takes three times as long as the downswing. Most amateurs have some other funky ratio. I've used it with a little success.

 

[BIGBALL]

I have heard good things about that.

I guess what I'm really asking is, how do you get your tempo back mid round? After I hack through enough rough, like I said, that's where I lose my natural tempo, ( which is quick to begin with! ) and I'm just wondering what the players here do during the round if this happens to them? Of course, it probably doesn't!

 

[faux_maestro]

I have heard good things about that.

I guess what I'm really asking is, how do you get your tempo back mid round? After I hack through enough rough, like I said, that's where I lose my natural tempo, ( which is quick to begin with! ) and I'm just wondering what the players here do during the round if this happens to them? Of course, it probably doesn't!

I guess I don't have to think about tempo as much. I'm a musician/conductor (hence the name) so keeping a steady rhythm/tempo is a little easier. I hear the tempo tracks from the book in my sleep. I can pretty accurately change between tempos. I guess if you can, get to a point where you can hear the tempo tracks in your head and take some smooth practice swings at that tempo.

P.S. I wish I could call myself a "player" lol

 

[DCgolf]

Tempo is a preference; timing is a must. Find a tempo that squares the face, comes in at a good angle and path, and it's right for you. Hogan had very quick tempo, impeccable timing. Ernie Els different ball game...I think throwing the club head away very early is more the culprit than getting quick.

 

[BrendanC]

Choose to swing to a three-quarter finish (one last point) and focus on ending up in as pretty finish position as you can - Luke Donald style.

This really works.

 

[faux_maestro]

Tempo is a preference; timing is a must. Find a tempo that squares the face, comes in at a good angle and path, and it's right for you. Hogan had very quick tempo, impeccable timing. Ernie Els different ball game...I think throwing the club head away very early is more the culprit than getting quick.

You know, an interesting point to make of this is that sometimes what looks apparent on the surface isn't always the truth. A feel vs. real thing. I remember in the orig. Tour Tempo findings that there were some swings that on the surface looked on different ends of the spectrum with regard to speed. Ernie Els and Greg Norman generally took the same amount of time from first move away to impact though it would appear to most that Els' swing would be considerably slower. Possible reasons: Els is a little taller, heavier, and is smoother from impact to follow-thru. Many different ways to get it done. Just gotta find your best way, within certain parameters.

One good way for me to get my tempo back if I'm lost is to do the "back and forth" drill from the Soft Draw video with a VERY light grip. No matter how many times I hear it, grip pressure is something I forget to monitor and sometimes gets tight. Tightness is a tempo killer.

 

[jertapper]

Check out the book/website "Tour Tempo". I checked it out from the library, interesting stuff. Supposedly the premise has been verified by some scientists at Yale. Don't know the particulars of the study off hand. The idea is that through video study, most pros have a 3:1 relationship backswing to downswing. The backswing takes three times as long as the downswing. Most amateurs have some other funky ratio. I've used it with a little success.

Your post about the 3 to 1 ratio was interesting. I looked at the sheet music for Edelweiss and it is 3/4 timing with E-del being 3 beats (half note and quarter note). So that would jive with the 3:1 as the downswing to Tom was on the weiss which is a dotted half but would take a fraction of that time as the key is the backswing and transition.

 

[trickyric67]

I attended a Tour tempo school and it has it's merits, they have an Iphone app as well as the book has a disc. I used a Motorola s10 Bluetooth headset to hit balls and listen to it. The Van Halen song "Humans Being" is a real good 3:1 too. It really has helped me when I get out of sync to just listen while I practice.

 

[faux_maestro]

I attended a Tour tempo school and it has it's merits, they have an Iphone app as well as the book has a disc. I used a Motorola s10 Bluetooth headset to hit balls and listen to it. The Van Halen song "Humans Being" is a real good 3:1 too. It really has helped me when I get out of sync to just listen while I practice.

Yeah, I only checked out the book from the library and put the tones from the cd on my ipod. BUT I usually just use my metronome so I can vary the tempo a little if needed but still have the 3:1 ratio.