And with Motion Hopefully Comes Proper Rhythm and Pace

Here's How...

So you've got a picture of where you want the shot to go and you address the ball without a thought, other perhaps than a simple swing thought if needed. You waggle the club a bit and start the motion of the swing. That's all textbook stuff you can find in any golf manual or by any decent teaching pro. What happens next is unique for every individual golfer on the planet and critical to a well struck shot.

Like dancers and musicians,I'm talking rhythm and its cousin pace. The rhythm and pace with which we swing a golf club is distinct to each golfer and difficult to teach. We swing a club similar to how we walk, talk, eat, dance, laugh, or run from a bear. Are we type A, B, C or none of the above? Are we cautious, aggressive, yin, or yang? Do we admire Freddy Couples or Jon Rahm or Brooke Henderson or Sungjae Im ( who you could almost serve a cup of tea to during his backswing!) or Inbee Park, one of my main models for rhythm and pace.

Personally, I'm a slower moving chap, slow to anger, quick to think, and slow to act. I survived cancer but was left wounded by the side effects of chemo--a powerful cocktail that, on the other hand, saved my life. Hey, I'm still on my feet playing the game I love.  And I'm even improving. How?

Through knowing my rhythm and translating that to my golf swing. I picked up a little piece of advice from Faldo and his training program. As a dancer, singer, or guitar player does, assign numbers to the rhythm of your swing. Mine, for example is 1 & 2, i.e. I count "one" on the backswing, "and" at the top of the swing, and "two" descending towards impact. Jon Rahm is probably 1, 2 (a fast rhythm) as is Brooke Henderson. Whereas Hideki is more 1, 2 and 3 (a slower rhythm). In between these pros might be Chris Kirk, winner of the Honda this past weekend, at 1 & 2, with twins for a backswing and downswing, similar to mine. Chris walks at an even-keeled pace and rehabbed himself from an out of control depressed alcoholic to a sober in-recovery stable and happy family man and a cool cucumber of a golfer who, despite hitting a ball in the water on the 72nd hole at the Honda, went on to win the playoff and his fifth win on Tour.

The challenge for all golfers is to maintain their rhythm during the entire round. We get tired. We hit lousy shots from time to time. We get annoyed at the music emanating from a companion's motorized cart. Then there's the 250 yard drives our playing partner is hitting compared to our 180-yard peashooters. And our back starts to hurt on the hill leading to the 12th green. What do you think that does to our rhythm? All sorts of things can affect rhythm and pace which affect timing, attitude, and performance.

That's why golf is both a mind and body sport. How we deal with those extenuating factors determines how well we play. No problem at the range where hitting shot after shot from a level mat or grass lie gets us into a groove around our rhythm. But on the course, there are so many varied lies, weather conditions, hazards, and pressure--yes, even recreational golfers feel pressure--that it's extremely challenging to maintain the rhythm we might have honed on the range. And if we play competitively, the effect of pressure on rhythm is even greater.

The advantage that the pros have is the amount of time they put into practice under the eye of their coaches. They then can better maintain their rhythm and continue to play at such a high level from week to week. Chris Kirk's rhythm never wavered down the nerve-wracking stretch, helping him hang in there and win.

Rhythm is what makes golf an even more "beautiful game" than soccer, as they call that high flying, head-shot sport. A golf swing is a thing of beauty. Witness Fred Couples, Rory Mcilroy, Nellie Korda, Jin Young Ko, Tiger, and The Big Easy, Ernie Els. All of these top pros finish their swings in balance, holding their follow through like a Labrador Retriever waiting for a pheasant to emerge from the bush. I think it's part of the draw of this game.

That's a key reason to play golf: exposure to the rhythm of the swing, the flight of a well struck ball, and the sound a 30-foot putt makes when it falls into a hole. These are times when the cacophony of our otherwise daily lives fades into the distant background, and our mind and body settles into the quiet beauty of golf.

What's the count of your swing rhythm?

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If you're enjoying this newsletter, and you'd like to support it with a donation, please do. I'd be very grateful. The proceeds go to support my independent publishing company: Sacajawea Press which has published five books during the pandemic, all of which are available at Amazon. They are To Live a Life: 200 Ways to Be the Best Person You Can Be; Beating Insomnia; Into the Woods...and Beyond; The Valley Spirit: Living a Tao-inspired Life; and Golf 360.  Thank you, and thanks for your interest in this blog.

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I've let my membership in the USGA lapse over the last few years, but I'm now motivated to renew. Why? This almost 130-year golf organization has just elected Fred Perpall as its president, the first African American to hold this post ever. I think that's really great and want to wholeheartedly support the USGA for its efforts to expand and diversify the game. Golf brings people of all races, genders, politics, and persuasions together, and heaven knows America needs that during these polarized times. I'll be getting a handicap rating at the same time, something I've also let lapse. It's part of my resolution to improve my game in '23, hit the ball a ton, and break 80 as I used to. Joining the USGA is part of committing to this great game of ours. I'd urge you to do the same. Just go to the website of the United States Golf Association.