Hi,
Art often writes that according to his research timing/rhythm and dynamic stability are very important.
is it only important to have a consistent tempo or does your research validate the 'TourTempo' ratio of 3:1 (Backswing 3 times longer then downswing).
How do you find the tempo/rhythm that is optimal for you? Do you e.g. count the frames from the beginning of the downswing to impact and then multiply it by 3? If I remember correctly TourTempo has 21:7, 24:8 and 27:9 tracks. So if your downswing takes about 9 frames (a 30 fps) you should practise with a 27:9 track?
Regards
ParHunter
Dear ParHunter,
Thanks for your questions, and looking at your location realize that a few years ago I corresponded with Professor Robin Sharp, University of Surrey, after he published "On the mechanics of the golf swing", a paper very worth reading. If you know or have access to him PLEASE let me know.
Regarding your questions,
(1) it is CRUCIAL that you have a TEMPO that is not only consistent (for the same energy levels) but IDENTICAL to your natural tempo/resonance. I will explain how to determine YOUR tempo, but first want to note that the further you deviate from your natural tempo, the more you increase the potential to generate and propagate undesirable velocity, position and swing path errors.
(2) Here is how to determine/establish YOUR natural tempo.
Simply, WARM UP, take your driver, set up normally, and without hitting a ball take 5-10 golf swings (AT AN INTERMEDIATE ENERGY LEVEL), back and forth, without stopping, like a pendulum, grand fathers clock, metronome etc.
Now, increase the energy level to that necessary to hit your normal tee shot, and take 10 more full BACK AND FORTH swings paying STRICT attention to the TEMPO/RHYTHM YOUR body has established. THIS IS YOUR UNIQUE TEMPO FOR THIS FULL SWING ENERGY LEVEL FOR ALL CLUBS, and if forgotten, on the range, or heaven forbid for the critical shot during the 'Club Championship', simply back off, and without a ball, repeat this exercise for 5 or so full back and forth swings. Then move right into the critical shot AND DUPLICATE THE TEMPO/RHYTHM.
During and subsequent swing after this TEMPO establishing exercise, get used to, by AWARENESS, asking yourself the simple questions (1) was this the SAME TEMPO ?, or (2) was it faster ??, or (3) was it slower ??. IMO, but with hours of testing on many others, I have found that there is a STRONG correlation between the NATURAL TEMPO, and the BEST and consistent shots. The critical part is getting used to establishing the natural TEMPO for the day, and repeating it as measured by your commitment to 'post swing self AWARENESS.
(3) Now for the meat of your remaining question, do I just multiply the down swing time by 3 to get 21/7, 24/8, 27/9 etc ??
I am indebted to the enlightening research of Drs. Robert Grober and Jacek Cholewicki,(Towards a Bio mechanical Understanding of Tempo in the Golf Swing and Sr. and Jr. John Novosel (Tour Tempo), for being the cornerstones of my curiosity, and then applied research and testing in this area.
The findings in "Tour Tempo" of a dominant 3:1 ratio of back swing time to downswing time was further studied, analyzed, and as the authors said, mathematically modeled in the above noted paper. The basic approach/assumption was that the torso acted like a torsional spring loading during the back swing, and then more rapidly, unloading during the downswing. Although their findings indicated there were 'non linearities' as a function of torque (back swing depth) and this initial study was just "to a first order", the study uncertainties seemed well within the other statistical uncertainties/differences between golfers, capabilities swing styles, etc. and therefore IMO, was very worthy of significantly more research and testing.
To this end, I looked into this a little further and offer that just counting and/or measuring back swing and down swing time and dividing the two has limited value, and limited accuracy. The distortion comes with regard to the time required for the specific golfers 'transition phase' where at least the hips/pelvis have started the downswing, but the golf club has not. Swing style can further lengthen the 'transition' duration, and if included in the back swing time, could move the ratio from 3:1 towards 4:1.
BUT DO NOT DESPAIR, for if you have a 'normal' transition, do just as you suggested and multiply and practice to the 27/9 ratio you stated. If you see (from the video, that you for instance, have a squatting-like transition, or some other time-consuming transition, I would suggest practicing with the next longest Tour Tempo track, ie, 30/10 if you have a 9 frame downswing time as measured by the turn around of the club, until impact.
In summary, (1) DETERMINE THE TEMPO/RHYTHM of your natural characteristics, (2) Take several real swings, hitting a ball and check by SELF AWARENESS, after the hit if you matched your natural TEMPO/RHYTHM, and if so USE THOSE VIDEOS to select the specific Tour Tempo track with which to practice. (3), please let me/us know the results
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