In golf, when people speak of releasing their club, they are referring to the release of energy and power stored during their backswing. This energetic release is felt by the player as his or her clubhead pulls in an arc faster then their grip end moves.
As the body slides laterally and then rotates toward the target during the downswing, you will experience a natural unhinging of your wrists, a rotation of your forearms and a straightening of your trail arm as the club moves through the hitting area.
Meanwhile at impact, your body has more tilt to your trailside, as your arms extend past the ball. So, your body is simply reversing the movements you made during the backswing, as the club moves toward the ball.
To master this point, I encourage you to try this exercise:
Place a golf ball on the ground. Then, to feel the proper release for your downswing, place another golf ball in your trail hand as you move into your address position. Swing back to the top of your swing. As you go forward, throw the ball you are holding at the ball on the ground.
When performing this movement, your wrists need to feel tension free. If you try to hold back your wrist position for a late release, the force created would be counter-productive for generating speed. In other words, your wrists need to serve as a free-moving, speed-producing joint.
This will simulate the process you go through in making a proper release.
The brand new PGA Kinematics Lab in Port St. Lucie, Fla., can help you understand the affects of motion on your golf swing, as well as how you can implement them into your game. To learn more, call the PGA Kinematics Lab at (772) 489-0072.
Timing and Tempo
Now that we analyzed motion, it is time to take a look at timing and tempo.
First of all, you need to understand that the golf swing is a series of movements designed to do just one thing: deliver the clubhead to the ball in a manner that produces the distance and shot trajectory required. To do this, swing movements must occur in a logical and repeatable order.
So, think of the swing as an automobile engine. If the cylinders are firing in the proper order, the engine runs quite smooth and powerful. But if they are out of order, the motor is not nearly as efficient.
To maintain this efficiency, we must have repetitive timing and tempo.
In golf, the timing of the swing is something very different from the tempo of the swing, although people often mistake the terms as interchangeable. Timing is the order of the swing, while tempo is the speed in which the timing occurs.
While the timing of the swing parts is generally agreed upon, tempo is a matter of individual preference.
For example, players such as Fred Couples, who once shot a 29 on the back nine of Southern Hills Country Club during the 1982 PGA Championship, and former LPGA star Nancy Lopez, have slow, almost languid tempos in their swings.
Conversely, players such as former Senior PGA Champion Tom Watson and Sergio Garcia, the youngest player in Ryder Cup history, have tempos that are considerably faster for both their swings and games.
If Watson and Garcia tried to copy Couples' tempo, their games would likely suffer. That is one reason faster players detest slow play. They know it wreaks havoc on their games.
Case in point, the well-publicized ballyhoo on slow play between Ben Crane and Rory Sabbatini at this year's Booz Allen Classic. Crane's notoriously deliberate play drove Sabbatini to the point where it had a major effect on his game.
While a good tempo is beneficial for both you and your competitors, timing is clearly the more important factor of the two. A good tempo can occasionally salvage a shot when a player's timing is out of sync, but this works only so often.
The creating of a reparative swing based on consistent timing should be a goal of every player.
After all, it is the timing of the golf swing that develops effortless power.
If you are looking to improve the tempo and timing of your game, PGA Golf Schools are open to the public year round at PGA Learning Center (www.pgavillage.com). The schools are designed for everyone from beginners to scratch golfers. If you need help with this drill or any other parts of your golf game, be sure to check out www.pga.com/improve to find a PGA Professional near you.
Rick Martino is Director of Instruction for The PGA of America. He teaches at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and is ranked among the Top 50 instructors by Golf Digest Magazine. The author of the PGA Manual of Golf (Warner Books/$34.95), Martino can be reached at (800) 800-GOLF or by email at pgalearningcenter@pgahq.com.
