12 August, 2008
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By PGA professional, Peter Laugher
They make it look like they are not putting much effort in but they are - it's just they have marvellous rhythm.
Perhaps the biggest single fault in amateur and club golfers across the land is that they all try and hit the ball too hard. That was not a fault to be found among the field at Oakland Hills for the 90th USPGA Championship where beautiful rhythm and tempo was the order of the day.
Thurlestone Golf Club head professional, Peter Laugher, reflects on the importance of injecting rhythm into the golf swing.
Thousands of amateurs will have been glued to their TV screens at the weekend watching the USPGA Championship contested by the world's great players.
As well as enjoying the drama, there were also some valuable lessons for them to absorb which they can apply to their own games.
From my perspective what always stands out when you see elite players is their rhythm. The stars like Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen all have terrific balance and technique.
Their swings make it look like they are not putting much effort in but they are - it's just they have marvellous rhythm and synchronisation which are so important.
In general amateurs and club players don't have that rhythm which is the ability to synchronise all the movements in the swing. As soon as they get something out of phase they lose control of the swing and their rhythm goes.
Control in the golf swing comes from good rhythm and good balance.
As a drill for any of my pupils who are struggling with achieving rhythm and tempo I get them to do practice swings without the ball. This helps nurture feel and rhythm. Once they've achieved this, I then put the ball in front of them and the results are often dramatic.
Another factor that interferes with achieving good rhythm is players trying to force the ball and hit it hard instead of allowing the shaft, which is the engine of the swing, to do its work.
I always want my pupils to concentrate on creating a smooth swing.
One of the problems for amateur golfers is that often their technique is not as good as it could be and people end up trying to use force. This is especially the case when they've got driver in their hands where the point is to try and hit the ball a long way.
Unfortunately, regardless of their technique, they will try to achieve that by falling into the habit of trying to hit it hard. For them, effort equals distance but the reality is that its technique, rhythm and balance which gives you distance.
Peter Laugher is head professional at Thurlestone Golf Club. Contact number 01584 560 715 or email peter.laugher@foremostgolf.com