Tempo leads to swinging and swinging leads to tempo.Many players have the wrong interpretation of what tempo means. They associate tempo with slowness. A player can have a good tempo at any speed. Tempo is a smooth flowing motion from start to finish, building up speed, reaching its maximum velocity at the right time during impact at the ball.

In a hitting action the maximum speed is normally reached prior to impact, therefore the clubhead is actually decelerating at impact. Result: loss of power as well as control. Maximum speed is only reached for a moment in any swing. That moment should be at impact ideally.

I once taught a dance instructor and we discussed listening to music as she swung which was very helpful to her. It helped her relate the golfing motion of her swing to the tempo she used in dancing. I believe what it really did for her was to get her mind off "hitting" the ball. In the golf swing, speed is controlled by centrifugal force, not brute force. As I tell my students all the time" Feel the force, don't force the feel". I know it sounds like something out of the Star Wars films, but it really works. By eliminating tension you can have good tempo in your swing.

Bad posture and too tight a grip are common faults in building up tension that can wreck havoc on your game. Both will cause you to rush your swing. Once you eliminate those culprits you will be back on track to a smooth flowing swing that has a great tempo yielding excellent results.