From our Golf Performance series, Tempo in Motion Fitness expert Laci Weeks from Synergy Athletic Performance in Dallas, Texas shows you how to foam roll to hit those “Hot Spots” for better sports health and flexibility.
Let’s face it; sometimes the scariest place to be on the planet is the first tee shot of your round of golf. Will I top it, shank it or just miss the ball completely? Tension builds as all these crippling non-successful thoughts run through your mind, while – oh, I almost forgot – there are usually many people watching you!
There is hope to avoid potential disaster.
The next time you’re faced with this situation, try taking some deep rhythmic breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. This will calm you down and put you in the present moment. Next, take a few practice swings at a smooth rhythmic pace, while envisioning an effortless move. Also, back off your swing intensity a bit; this will help square up the clubface, giving you a better chance at making solid contact. Save that 100% bomb for the par five after you’ve had a chance to get into the rhythm of your round. Once you have committed to your shot, step in and let it go! Sounds simple right? It is…
Try it and you will hit more fairways, get off the tee with confidence and enjoy the game you love much more!
Tempo in Motion Golf Expert Carlos Brown shows you a great visual to help you release the golf club by using just a standard playing card. To view this clip, just click on the image below.
Tempo in Motion Fitness expert Laci Weeks from Synergy Athletic Performance shows you some real helpful exercises to get you ready to perform before a round of golf or practice session.
The ability to groove is for many a touchy subject. One of the most common excuses is
“Oh, I don’t have rhythm.” Haunting memories of uncomfortable dancing requests… Perhaps awkward performances on the dance floor…Well, without rhythm, we would not be able to accomplish much. Rhythm is the foundation of coordination: there is a pace and a sequence to most of our activities. Take walking. Have you ever seen someone walk “rhythmless”? Try it. It’s hard to do. It is because rhythm and motor functions are very linked. Children have an innate sense of rhythm and the good news is that the capacity to learn it stays active in adults. Unless your have a very rare case of “beat-deafness,” you can improve. Most of us just need practice (how many times as infants did we fall before we managed this walking standing prowess?) It is the same with any golf or sports movement: if you want to have rhythm, practice rhythm. There are no shortcuts.
Tempo in Motion was introduced 2 years ago to help golfers perform with more consistency. The premise was that, if you could find your natural swing pace, you could train to reproduce it under any circumstances.
As we worked with athletes and golf coaches, it quickly became clear that there was a need for something more… Tempo was more complex then one pace for a golf swing: golfers had different tempos (pardon the poor Italian!) Short game shots had their own pace, from flop to putting. Tempo would also vary according to the occasion: warm up, workout, pre-leisure round, pre-competition or tournament, etc. Weather was also a big factor. You don’t move the same in a cold wind as you do on a hot humid summer day…
Yet other factors were mood, health, and new mechanics. Your flow is not the same when you are not feeling your best; an injury or an ilness can impact your movement; changing your grip or working on your plane may require you to slow down. Well, we had to face it: tempo is not set in stone. It is a living science and we had to come up with a better way to serve athletes.
We turned to the Santa Fe Complex and its team of specialists in complexity science. With their help we developed software to analyze and calculate the tempo of all the movements of the golf game: full swing, flop shot, pitch shot, sand shot, chip shot, and putting. Now you can find, test, and monitor your tempo. It’s about time to give the “much talked about and little understood” field of tempo a coherent and effective tool!
John Daly’s first round at St Andrew was outstanding, but the gusting winds took it all back on the second round. Nicknamed the “Wild Thing”, the golfer has had his share of ups and downs, to say the least. Yet, as Nancy Armour (AP) puts it “you don’t go from last alternate to major champion, as he did at the 1991 PGA Championship, without considerable game. And you sure don’t win a second major – The British Open at St. Andrew, no less – by being lucky.” John Daly certainly has game but his strength might also come from music, since he released his second album “I Only Know One Way” just before the British Open.
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In this May edition, Golf Digest published a very interesting article by Steve Elkington, with Guy Yocom, called “10 rules for smoothing out your swing.”
The authors emphasize rhythm and tempo: “Work on tying together your rhythm. It will solve a lot of flaws”. And they link good golf swings to music: “Smooth, rhythmic golf swings are often likened to music”.
You need to find the right pattern (rhythm) and the right tempo (speed). Then, like teacher Geoff Mangum suggests, imagine yourself carried by that tune, as if your were listening to a band, getting ready to join in and synchronize your playing… This great visual is highly supported by Tempo in Motion. One of the reasons is that the founder, Mike Boyko, has been a professional touring drummer for many years. “One of the greatest feelings is to get immersed in the music,” says Boyko, “being fully present and focused is the key. You have to be it and not watch yourself or think about what you’re doing.”
This is why music and tempo training is hitting the scene so strongly. Music puts you in the zone or flow, and rhythm carries your motion. As Steve Elkington and Guy Yocom put it “When you’re walking onto the dance floor, you’re already dancing. You start to pick up the rhythm and beat as you move out to your spot. It’s the same with the swing. You pick up the beat, then you come in.”
So, get yourself the right music for your swing tempo at www.tempoinmotion.com and hit the dance floor!
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After coming close to a win last year, Jordan Spieth from Dallas Texas won the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur at Trump National G.C. He took the lead on Jay Hwang of San Diego in the final match, after tying on the 33rd hole with an 8 foot putt. This win couldn’t be bestowed upon a greater junior. Spieth is a low-key, focused and driven player. With the help of his coach Cameron McCormick, Spieth has reached a level of maturity scarcely seen in a 15 years old player. His natural talent is matched by rigorous training, including physical and mental fitness. At the range, Spieth warms up with Tempo Tunes playing in his iPod to even out his pace. His practice certainly paid off this year, as he is now ranked #1 U.S. Junior. For more coverage on his Junior Amateur Championship win check the USGA website.
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Improve golf swing… Like a mantra…Improve golf swing… Ah, the search for the perfect swing… It seems to be a never-ending quest! Is it my alignment? My grip? My hips? My rhythm? My lack of focus? The list goes on. Well, there are for sure 3 elements to consider: 1) Good mechanics 2) Smooth tempo 3) Mental fitness. You will find these three building blocks in all great golf pros. Tiger Woods certainly epitomizes the mastery of all three. His coach Hank Haney champions rigorous mechanics. If you take lessons in any of his teaching centers, your golf swing will be totally reconstructed from the ground up. But jerking – or stopping in mid-swing like Charles Barkley – can still be a problem. Tempo is the hardest thing to teach, they say. At Hank Haney CityPlace in Dallas they now take care of it by using Tempo in Motion to fit you to your right golf swing tempo. Off you are with good mechanics and a smooth tempo! As for mental fitness, this is a whole other subject that we will soon address in this blog.
Check PGA Pro Brian Mahon, director of golf at Hank Haney CityPlace in Dallas in this video tip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ3ayoB7pGo
