Golf Tips - Q&A

Q. I am wondering what the proper speed of the backswing should be and how / if it affects the club arriving at the correct position for a good downswing. I watch many pros and the backswing speeds seem to very from very,very slow to a very, very fast takeaway. Thanks.

A. Thanks for the question Ray. You are correct, not all great golfers have the same tempo. You have to decide on a tempo that works for you as an individual. In general we would say that if you are fast: talk fast, walk fast, etc….you should likely have a relatively fast tempo. I think its important to acknowledge that we do want the club to move its fastest at impact. Having said that, I usually like to have the take-away and the transition at the top of the swing ‘feel’ slow and soft. Most of my students hit it better doing this as it allows them to accelerate into the ball. I think a lot of bad shots stem from having a take-away that is too quick or jerky.

I think visualization can really help a golfer improve this aspect of their swing. I often visualize Fred Couples swing. If I’m trying to slow my swing down I also like to imagine Camillo Villegas who has a slow take away and almost pauses at the top but has lots of acceleration into the impact zone. Notice how in the following videos, regardless of the players take away speed, they all noticeably accelerate into the ball and have great balance. I think almost all good players try to feel as though their take away is much slower than the downswing, we sometimes call this ’slow to fast’.

Read the rest of the Q&A here.

For more information on Granite Ridge and how you can book your tee time visit our website.