If you examine the golf swings of all of the great players throughout the history of the game, you will notice that they all have one thing in common. They all have Great Timing! This is true regardless of the length of the club or the length of the swing. Whether a 300-yard drive or a three-foot putt, they all have great timing.

But don’t just take my word for it, check for yourself. The next time you are watching a golf tournament on television or online, focus closely on the timing of the pros’ swings. Ignore everything else. Focus only on their timing.

Notice the smooth, rhythmic swinging motion. Notice that the tempo is the same for every swing. Notice that the backswing from address to the top of the backswing takes the same amount of time as the downswing from the top of the backswing to the finish. Notice how the hands travel the same distance on the backswing as the followthrough. These are all characteristics of Great Timing.

It won’t take you very long to realize that they all swing with Great Timing with every club and every swing.

Once you see what I’m talking about, congratulate yourself. You just discovered Golf’s Timeless Fundamental! The rest of the lessons on this website are devoted to teaching you how to incorporate this fundamental into your golf swing.

Why Is Great Timing So Important?

Why is Great Timing so important? Because incorporating Great Timing into your golf swing allows you to:

• Create a tremendous amount of centrifugal force, which is the greatest force that people can generate with their own bodies. You cannot move the golf club any faster than you can swing it. The creation of centrifugal force translates into maximum clubhead speed, which in turn translates into maximum ball speed and distance.
• Always swing the club on the same plane. If you align your body and the club to the ball properly, swinging on the same plane translates into pin-point accuracy.
• Swing the club on the same arc or path every time. A repeating arc guarantees consistency.
• Control the length of the shot with a particular club by simply controlling the length of the swing arc. Controlling the length of a shot, especially with the scoring clubs, is the key to improved touch and lower scores.

Distance, accuracy and consistency. Improved touch and lower scores. That’s why Great Timing is important!

What Are The Elements of Great Timing?

The three essential elements of Great Timing are:

• Tempo
• Rhythm
• Alignments

Most golf instructors and golfers spend a lot of time discussing alignments and use the term correctly. When we talk about alignments, we’re referring to the way that we hold the club and align our hands with the clubface, the way we align the clubface to the ball and the way we align the clubface, clubshaft, arms, shoulders, hips, knees and feet to the target line at address.

Although most golfers and golf instructors are also familiar with the terms tempo and rhythm, they don’t fully understand them and routinely use them incorrectly. They typically use them interchangeably, when in fact they have very different and separate meanings. So let’s start by defining tempo and rhythm.

Webster’s Dictionary defines tempo as “the rate of speed of a musical piece or passage” or “rate of motion or activity: PACE.” In music, the tempo or speed of the music refers to how quickly or slowly a musical piece or passage is to be played. It is measured in beats per minute.

In golf, tempo refers to the amount of time it takes for the club, hands, arms, shoulders, hips, knees and feet to go from the start of the swing to the finish of the swing. It represents the overall speed of the swing. Like the tempo of a musical piece or passage, your golf swing tempo can also be measured in beats per minute.

Webster’s defines rhythm as an “ordered recurrent alternation of strong and weak elements in the flow of sound and silence in speech” and “movement or fluctuation marked by the regular recurrence or natural flow of related elements.” In music, rhythm refers to the accent on or emphasis of certain beats in a recurring pattern.

For example, consider the difference between the rhythm of a waltz in 3/4 time and the rhythm of a foxtrot in 4/4 time. The rhythm of a waltz is “One-Two-Three” or “Quick-Quick-Quick”. The rhythm of a foxtrot is “One-Two, Three-Four, Five, Six” or “Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick”.

Keep in mind that a particular rhythm can be played at an infinite variety of tempos or speeds. A slow waltz might be 48 to 60 beats per minute while a fast waltz can be as many as 180 to 240 beats per minute. Similarly, a slow foxtrot might be 112 to 120 beats per minute while a fast foxtrot can be 120 to 136 beats per minute.

In golf, rhythm refers to how the total amount of time of the swing is apportioned among the various parts of the swing. As you will see, the rhythm of the golf swing is rooted in the in the rhythm of the harmonic oscillator or torsion pendulum.

Finally, according to Webster’s, timing is the “selection . . .for maximum effect of the precise moment for beginning or doing something.” In golf, the “doing something” is hitting the golf ball with the clubhead. Thus, Great Timing is swinging the golf club so that the clubhead hits the ball with a square clubface at the precise moment necessary to have the “maximum effect”. This maximum effect is maximum distance, maximum accuracy and maximum consistency.