For a long time, I though that the rhythm of the golf swing was 3:1. There is a book you can still get, called Tour Tempo (it should have been called Tour Rhythm) that says so, based on videotape evidence.

You can read it all over the internet, too. 3:1. Everyone has bought into it. The trouble is, it’s not quite true. Leave it to me to say so.

Let’s remind ourselves what rhythm is. It is the relative duration of the component parts of a movement.

3:1 is the rhythm of the clubhead’s movement. The clubhead takes three counts to go from address to the end of the backswing, and one count to get back to impact, all counts being equally paced. That part is true.

But the rhythm of the clubhead is not the rhythm of the golf swing. It is the result of the golfer swinging with the proper rhythm, which is 1:1.

The body turns toward the ball at the same speed it turns away from it. And since the distance turned through in each direction is the same, the result is a 1:1 rhythm.

The trouble with ignoring the rhythm of the swing is that you try to do whatever you can to get a 3:1 clubhead rhythm at the expense of an easy rhythm for your golf swing.

You try to time your backswing and forward swing so you get a 3:1 clubhead rhythm, when all you have to do is swing at a 1:1 torso rhythm and you’ve got it.

How easy is that?

Yes, I know there are professional golfers who don’t have a 1:1 swing rhythm. Hooray for them. But the large majority of pros do. The ones who don’t are highly talented athletes who can make it work.

Make your swing simple. Take your mind off getting the right clubhead rhythm and put it on what produces the right clubhead rhythm. Much easier.

For a while I have been adrift as concerns my golf swing. I try doing all the right things, but they don’t come together to make a swing that is worth two cents for hitting a golf ball.

But I have an answer. In 2010, I made a video for this blog on learning how to swing so your hands lead the clubhead into the ball. At the time was playing single-digit golf.

So what I do when I hit golf balls like I picked up a club for the first time last week, is look at that video and do what I see.

That is the swing that has been inside me for over 60 years. Watching that swing unlocks the skill I once had and brings it all back.

That swing times at 1 second from takeaway to impact. I can’t swing that fast any more, so I have to slow down to about 1.25, but everything else I can do. (That doesn’t sound like a big difference, but it really is.)

So I would recommend to you, that if you are playing well, video-tape your swing. That video will be your life-saver, when you start wandering, for the rest of your golfing life.

Do not be in a hurry to start your downswing.

Here’s something to think about and maybe try. You have heard of swing concepts based around the hands (really old guys), the arms (somewhat old guys), and the body (nearly everybody nowadays).

How about a swing based on the club? (See Ernest Jones, Manuel de la Torre, Vivien Saunders).

Watch this video of In Gee Chun’s golf swing. Start it at 2:25 to see it in super slow motion. Don’t watch her, though. Watch the club. Watch how the club is moving and you will see how a golf club is supposed to move. Go to full screen see it best.

Now figure out how to make your golf club move the same way. Hint: You don’t do that by copying how she moves. When you swing, keep your mind on your image of how her club moves.

All this has to do with applying the principle of external focus, as developed by Dr. Gabrielle Wulf.

Tempo is one of the most important things to get right in the golf swing, but the most difficult to describe so you know how to do it. I’m always looking for good ways to express what the right tempo feels like.

I would like to share with you this description of tempo, which comes from the book, How to Become a Complete Golfer, by Bob Toski and Jim Flick.

“In swinging the club back and during the change of direction at the top, you should have a feeling of ease. You should never feel you are swinging the club hard. If you lose the feeling of ease, you have swung the club too fast and are going out of control.”

I would add that the feeling of ease should continue as you swing through the ball, too.

Don’t go too far in this direction by swinging too slowly. A swing with no poop is no good. Swing with intent, but easy intent.

As the title suggests, this is how I start my forward swing. It is not the only way to do it, but it is my way and I’m presenting it to give you an option in addition to all the other stuff you see on the internet.

The move is this: my left butt cheek moves straight back. No turn, no slide, cheek straight back.

Of course it can’t do that really, it turns, but it feels straight back.

I move my hip back at a tempo that is in harmony with the rest of my swing. I make it fit in. Not too slow, and definitely not too fast.

What I get out of it is a turn of my torso that lines up everything so the arm/hand assembly flows into the hitting area with the clubhead traveling at the target through impact.

The hands lead the clubhead effortlessly through the ball and I get nice ball-then-ground contact off the center of the clubface.

All that is what you want in your swing, and this is how I get it.

There’s a Mike Malaska video in which he says the left leg pushes the left hip socket back on the forward swing. I think I am getting the same result in a different way.

Remember, this is just how my transition starts. You have do some other stuff after that, but that’s a different post.

A few years ago I came across Tiger Woods’s five swing pointers. I should have saved the reference, but I didn’t. Anyway, I present them to you with my commentary.

Tiger: I turn my shoulders as far as possible without letting the range of motion disrupt my spine angle or the position of my right leg.
TRG: Complete your backswing. Keep the position and flex of the right leg fixed.

Tiger: I make my shoulders and arms work together throughout the swing. I don’t let one get too far ahead of behind the other. That is one of the secrets of good rhythm and tempo.
TRG: Also for hitting the ball where you intend.

Tiger: I keep the clubface square throughout the swing. That means the clubface is parallel with the left wrist and forearm.
TRG: How do you do that if all of that is behind your head and you can’t see them? You feel it. If you try it, you’ll find out it’s not that hard to do.

Tiger: I strive to get the sequence of motion on the downswing just right. My lower body leads the way, followed by my shoulders, arms, and hands.
TRG: Many good golfers start their lower body forward before their upper body has finished the backswing. That’s a good move if you can do it. Otherwise, see point #2.

Tiger: I hit through the ball, not at it. I want to keep the clubhead traveling fairly low to the ground for a brief period after impact. That thought will promote solid contact, accuracy and maximum distance.
TRG: The first sentence is how impact is done: hit(or swing) through the ball, not hit at. (Putt that way, too.) Keep the club low after impact to drive the ball forward. The loft of the club and its trajectory at the ball take care of getting it in the air.