FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED WITH AN
ATHLETIC, AGGRESSIVE SWING FINISH.
fire.) Remember, you have taken your
golf lessons and you like your PGA pro-
fessional. So, stop working so hard! Let
the information sink in. Relax. Start
thinking about the rhythm in your swing.
2. Keep your grip pressure soft! Far
too often, golfers squeeze the club so
tight. This is because you are thinking
too much. Relax your grip pressure and
relax the tension in your shoulders and
arms. Address the golf ball athletically,
yet comfortably.
3. Slow down the speed of your back-
swing! This will control the cadence of
your total swing. When you yank the club
back, your hypertension sets the tone for
bad tempo. Slowly, going back. To quote
avid golfer Ad-Rock from The Beastie
Boys, “Slow and low, that is the tempo!”
4. Pause your swing at the top! All good
rhythm has a stop and a restart. Let your
backswing transition properly at the top,
by pausing your motion. After all, there
is a backswing/downswing. Ernie Els is
a great example. “The Big Easy” makes
his golf swing look easy because his
backswing stops before his downswing
starts. Do this and your swing will have
a graceful flow.
5. Finish your swing! You must keep the
tension out of your swing in order to fin-
ish. When you are relaxed and at rest
vsga.org
A SWING-AID TRAINER LIKE THE ORANGE WHIP TRAINER WILL HELP YOU FIND YOUR
IDEAL TEMPO, LEADING TO A SMOOTH SWING FINISH.
with your tempo, all you need to do is
athletically, aggressively finish your swing.
Remember, all the work you are doing is
no longer “work.” Relax and simplify your
swing. So finish what you started. Make
your golf swing finish look like Ben Hogan.
TEMPO TRAINING
Golf instruction teaching aids, like the
Orange Whip Trainer, are a must-have
for tempo training. To learn more about
this excellent tempo training aid and to
purchase your own personal Orange Whip
Trainer, visit orangewhiptrainer.com
and enter Adam Smith in the promo code
to receive a discount at checkout. of assisting golfers with their swings. Sim-
ply put, I am a golf swing consultant. When
young elite athletes, middle-aged men and
women and even senior citizens come see
me for advice, I ask them a lot of questions.
Listening to their wants and needs is vital.
Evaluating their game and assisting them
in their quest to be better golfers, based on
the information they share with me is of
the upmost importance. More times than
not, I find avid golfers make the cardinal
mistake. They make their golf game more
difficult than it needs to be. This is because
people try too hard to change their swings.
Let’s face it, a beginner needs to learn
the proper grip, stance and posture.
The fundamentals of golf are extremely
important and fun to teach. Getting the
ball airborne is even more fun.
But, when an avid golfer is frustrated,
finding ways to illuminate their frustration
by simply taking away too many thoughts
is my priority.
The most important thing in every-
one’s golf swing is tempo. A good setup at
address is important. A good impact posi-
tion is vital. Once you have a swing you can
trust, all you need is timing.
ADAM’S GOLF PHILOSOPHY
For my entire golf professional career as a
PGA professional, I have had the pleasure Adam Smith is the head golf instructor at
Country Club of Virginia’s James River
Course in Richmond.
With less tension in your body at address,
a smooth flowing backswing and a pause at
the top, your swing will have the rhythm
necessary to function properly. Keep the
tension out and finish your swing athleti-
cally. Think “Ernie...Els,“ for good rhythm.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Say to yourself,
“Ernie” on the backswing (pause at the
top), and “Els” on the downswing. For
more even more inspiration, think about
finishing like Ben Hogan.
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