The 7 Steps Every Backswing Should Have: Tempo

The final element in our series of backswing essentials is all about tempo and swing pace. Interestingly, the average professionals golf swing takes a little more than a second and a half to complete from the initial takeaway from the ball to completing the finish. The backwing in particular takes less than a second, and …

The final element in our series of backswing essentials is all about tempo and swing pace. Interestingly, the average professionals golf swing takes a little more than a second and a half to complete from the initial takeaway from the ball to completing the finish. The backwing in particular takes less than a second, and is generally 4 times slower than the downswing to impact. So much so, that the movement could be called relaxed and leisurely.

Truth be told however, less than a second is still pretty quick to perform the proper series of movements required to set the club at the top of the swing. You may have heard the saying – you can’t swing the club slow enough. But in fact, this just isn’t true. There comes a point in your tempo where if you begin to swing too slowly you open yourself up to manipulating your club mid-swing, injecting swing faults into your swing.

The backswing must be performed with enough pace to prevent you from manipulating the club, but while still maintain a smooth and powerful transition into the ball. On the other hand, there is a swing that is too fast. If you rush your backswing, you don’t give your body enough time to perform all the required movements and sequencing of your swing to make solid, powerful contact at impact.

The backswing is a very athletic motion, that is designed to create power and momentum for the downswing. Don’t slow it down to the point of ruining it. Keep the pace steady and you’ll be in the clear coming into impact.

Stay tuned for even more series’ for the downswing and more.