Do You have the Patience to Create Great Tempo?
Most golfers I see have no clue what patience is when it comes to creating tempo or shot strategy. I purposely spend time with each of my clients having them understand that there is no way your swing can be patient if the strategy to determine the swing was impatient.
Patience with your strategy starts with taking a big deep breath before you ever pull a club out of the bag. The deep breath clears your mind so you can concentrate on the task at hand, this shot! Take some time, but not too much time, to take in the elements of the shot; the lie, the weather conditions, the yardage, the pin placement, and other variable that make this one shot unique. Patience includes uniqueness, whether it be in life or golf. And each shot is unique. Being patient enough to understand each shot’s uniqueness allows you the patience to allow the club to do the work as you execute a patient swing.
Is Your Overall Game include Patience?
Patience in your golf swing is your own interpretation of TEMPO. And Tempo is set well before you even arrive at the golf course.
Have you ever arrived at the first tee for your tee time three minutes late, having arrived late to the course, speeding your way through town to get there, because you were backed up at the office or you had something else going on before the tee time that made you late? If this describes most of the rounds you play, then you most likely have never experienced patience in your golf swing. or patience with your tempo or shot strategy.
Tempo is part of your everyday fiber of being. It actually occurs as you sleep too. Speeding to the course speeds your tempo. Hurrying to complete a task to make the tee time speeds your tempo. Your increased tempo does not go back to your normal tempo when you get to the course; it takes a while for your body to adjust back to your natural tempo. The result for most people who do rush to the course is rushing through the first 3-15 holes.
And the opposite holds true. Getting to the course too early and waiting around can slow your natural tempo down too much making it impossible to feel a good tempo until later in the round.