Just Had A Thought

kiwidave · September 6, 2005

Ok so my tempo's been a bit off lately. OK fine....... wayyyyy off. I was just sitting reading a few posts when and I just thinking about completely random stuff.

I'm just wondering if anyone here or knows anyone that has practiced using a metronome to fix/maintain there tempo. Hell I don't know if it would even work.

Anyone have any thoughts on the idea??? :clapping:

Gxgolfer · September 6, 2005

I think their is a product called Tour Tempo that basicallly helps you find your rhythm and it comes with a cd that you can listen and swing too.

Pole_Position · September 6, 2005

I think their is a product called Tour Tempo that basicallly helps you find your rhythm and it comes with a cd that you can listen and swing too.
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I believe the Tour Tempo premise is that most tour pros swing with a 3/1 ratio of backswing to forward swing. They counted video tape frames to determine this. For example, if it took 18 frames to complete the backswing, it should take 6 frames to complete the downswing to impact. 18/6 is fast, 30/10 is slow, and so on. The CD has different beats for the various 3/1 ratio tempos.

You could (and many people do) use a metronome to work on tempo/rhythm. If you wanted to simulate the TT method, you would have to set up the metronome so that you would initiate the backswing on the first beat, initiate the downswing on the third beat, and hit the ball on the fourth beat.

I have both the TT cd and a metronome but I don't much like using them for full swings (putting's OK). I find that I get too mechanical and actually lose my rhythm...kind of like when I try to dance concentrating on the beat. I imagine that if you were musically inclined or good dancer a metronome might be very helpful.

I do know I have a 27/9 tempo, though, and I listen to the TT cd 27/9 beat in the car on the way to the golf course. I don't know if it helps or if it's just my way of justifying the purchase of the book, though.

DemolitionMan · September 6, 2005

I tried TT....it helped for a week. If my tempo is off, it is usually because I am tired or too amped on caffeine (though that's rare). When I feel tired I feel like I have to swing faster to stay on path and get decent distance. Of course, that doesn't work. So, the toughest thing is just to tell myself to slow down on the backswing and build momentum. I think this is where a metronome can really screw you up.

Swing cues I can understand, like VJ's seventeen, or another cue to get you to pause at the top. Plenty of pros and instructors have validated the need for a cue or pause to get things in order and build momentum to impact. But a metronome is annoying because you end up concentrating too much on a beat and timing a swing rather than letting your natural body rhythm get in sync.

Of course, there are always exceptions. Some people think they work great. I just wonder what do you do when you are on the course? Sing tick-tocks to yourself? Constant beats of a metronome are a little different than a rhythm associated with music. So when Snead likes to hear a waltz in his head (I think it was Snead) and John Daly likes to hear Born to Be Wild (joking), point being music in your head serves both as a relaxing effect on your mind and sets up a flowing pace. Notice no one suggests having Mike Mangini drum solos in your head.

That being said, metronomes are pretty effective for a putting stroke. In putting you do want a nice even pace back and through.