Question:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Looking through fitting ’specs’ for various shaft selections one of the input parameters is ’swing tempo’, in addition to ‘club-head speed’….the most common divisions being ’slow’, ‘average’ and ‘fast’. It is evident that a group of individuals could have any one of the three ’swing tempo’ characteristics but still produce the same ‘club-head speed’. Measuring ‘club-head’ speed appears to be commonplace at most fitting shops, but I don’t think I have ever seen ’swing tempo’ measured. How is it done, what are the measurement units, and what is ’slow’, ‘average’, or ‘fast’ ?? From a mechanical standpoint tempo is the rate at which sequencing happens. Think of it as music, tempo is the speed notes are played (3/4 timing, 4/4 timing, etc.). In golf tempo is the speed of the mechanical sequencing. The further apart the sequencing the slower the swing, the more the sequencing overlaps the faster the swing. Generally the slower the tempo the later you load the shaft, the faster the tempo the sooner you load the shaft. David Laville, G.S.E.M. The Golfing Machine Authorized Instructor Contributor of spam free golf advice
Put another way, some golfers have a relatively slow backswing and downswing with a smooth change of direction at the top. Mine is supposed to be this way and it takes 1.0 seconds from the beginning of the backswing until impact. This doesn’t flex/bend a shaft as much as one used by a golfer who takes the club back a bit quicker with a much faster transition and fast early downswing phase. Total time would likely be less than .8 seconds. As it relates to clubhead speed and shaft choice, I have a measured driver speed of 105-112ish mph for a driver and most shaft tables would suggest an XS flex, but this has turned out to be too stiff because of my relatively slow tempo. Best to try different flexes in the suggested range for your swing speed, and an XS in one brand may not be the same as an XS in another brand. -WG
Response:
Looking through fitting ’specs’ for various shaft selections one of the input parameters is ’swing tempo’, in addition to ‘club-head speed’….the most common divisions being ’slow’, ‘average’ and ‘fast’. It is evident that a group of individuals could have any one of the three ’swing tempo’ characteristics but still produce the same ‘club-head speed’. Measuring ‘club-head’ speed appears to be commonplace at most fitting shops, but I don’t think I have ever seen ’swing tempo’ measured. How is it done, what are the measurement units, and what is ’slow’, ‘average’, or ‘fast’ ??
From a mechanical standpoint tempo is the rate at which sequencing happens. Think of it as music, tempo is the speed notes are played (3/4 timing, 4/4 timing, etc.). In golf tempo is the speed of the mechanical sequencing. The further apart the sequencing the slower the swing, the more the sequencing overlaps the faster the swing. Generally the slower the tempo the later you load the shaft, the faster the tempo the sooner you load the shaft. David Laville, G.S.E.M. The Golfing Machine Authorized Instructor Contributor of spam free golf advice
Response:
(snip) Measuring ‘club-head’ speed appears to be commonplace at most fitting shops, but I don’t think I have ever seen ’swing tempo’ measured.
(snip) I’ve used the swing measuring gadgetry at the bigger Golfsmith shops that they use for clubfitting. One of their setups measures clubhead speed, face angle at impact, clubhead path angle, and what they label as "tempo" in their computer readout. It’s simply the time in seconds from starting the clubhead back to hitting the ball. Mine is pretty slow (1.1 to 1.2 seconds), slower than even most of the women pro golfers as I understand it. Despite that, my clubhead speed will measure around 105 mph, plus or minus 2, with a 43 inch club — nothing unusual, but higher than what normally goes with that "tempo". The reason I mention it is to show that the tempo number can be a misleading factor in picking shafts, as can the clubhead speed. My slow tempo comes from a leisurely backswing, and the shaft is apparently not loaded as high at the top "turnaround" as for other people with the same clubhead speed. I get the best results with a shaft on the stiff end of stiff (not extra stiff) , something that the fitting numbers wouldn’t predict. I think the best indicators off that particular measurement setup for me are the swing path and clubface angles, used together. If you can get to one of these stores, or to a fitter that has one of the setups, you’ll find it interesting to make measurements with different shafts. If you haven’t already, that is. Zane
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Looking through fitting ’specs’ for various shaft selections one of the input parameters is ’swing tempo’, in addition to ‘club-head speed’….the most common divisions being ’slow’, ‘average’ and ‘fast’. It is evident that a group of individuals could have any one of the three ’swing tempo’ characteristics but still produce the same ‘club-head speed’. Measuring ‘club-head’ speed appears to be commonplace at most fitting shops, but I don’t think I have ever seen ’swing tempo’ measured. How is it done, what are the measurement units, and what is ’slow’, ‘average’, or ‘fast’ ?? …and what is the feature of a shaft that is adjusted to accommodate the different ’swing tempos’ for the same ‘club-head’ speed?? Anyone?? cheers david
My guess as to what people "think" they mean by tempo, as opposed to clubhead speed, is the overall leisurely or fast pace of the swing from takeaway thru follow-through. Some have an easy going, slow backswing, lolling and letting the club float to the top, and then a slow transition over to the left foot, and then a gravity-started downswing motion, and they gather speed with the long arc. By the time of impact these slow swings can have great clubhead speed (Els, Couples, and most of the ladies). Fast tempo is the likes of Woods and Parnevik, who seem to move quickly and who do NOT wait for gravity but throw the club back (Parnevik more than Tiger) and then WHIP IT DOWN without waiting. The total time of the first swinger from takeaway to impact or followthrough will be quite a bit shorter than the total time for the faster swing. However, most amateurs are found to have SLOWER tempos than pros because they just do not develop the clubhead speed or hand speed that the pros do. So a pro can have a "slower tempo" than the amateur but actually be timed for the whole motion with LESS time consumed, simply by virtue of the much faster acceleration they achieve once they DO start down. I don’t know how it correlates. When I got timed at World Golf Village and they told me my swing speed and tempo most closely resembled Corey Pavin I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Seems like by comparing people to the test results of touring pros they feel they got their money’s worth for the test. Actually I do have a slow tempo (I accommodate my height with a perfectly natural "step-walk" from foot to foot and never "push" myself into my downswing: I fall to the right to start my backswing which floats to the top, and I fall onto the left foot for the downswing) and develop something close to 100 mph with my driver. GH
Response:
Looking through fitting ’specs’ for various shaft selections one of the input parameters is ’swing tempo’, in addition to ‘club-head speed’….the most common divisions being ’slow’, ‘average’ and ‘fast’. It is evident that a group of individuals could have any one of the three ’swing tempo’ characteristics but still produce the same ‘club-head speed’. Measuring ‘club-head’ speed appears to be commonplace at most fitting shops, but I don’t think I have ever seen ’swing tempo’ measured. How is it done, what are the measurement units, and what is ’slow’, ‘average’, or ‘fast’ ?? …and what is the feature of a shaft that is adjusted to accommodate the different ’swing tempos’ for the same ‘club-head’ speed?? Anyone?? cheers david