What exactly is tempo when it comes to a golf swing and why is it so important? It’s something we hear about all the time, watch or listen to almost any instructor for a few minutes and you’ll likely hear tempo mentioned. So first of all, what is it? Tempo in a nut shell is the rhythm and balance of your body while you are swinging the golf club. Watch Ernie Els or Fred Couples swing a club and you’ll see firsthand what perfect tempo looks like in a golf swing. Now that we know what tempo is we must ask this, can we improve our own tempo? Yes, in fact we can and this review is about a product that promises to do just that.
What inventors Connor and Philip Butts set out to achieve with Tempo Teacher is to improve golfer’s hip rotation on the downswing to help you learn to hit longer and straighter golf shots. So far this sounds like a training aid that most of us could definitely get some good use out of, here’s a little more about the device itself before I go into my personal thoughts on it.
From the Company:
“Tempo Teacher is a simple and easy to use training aid that is designed to help golfers hit longer, more consistent shots, without focusing too much on individual mechanics,” says Tim Cusick, Director of Golf Instruction at TPC Las Colinas. Our methodology focuses on keeping your body in ‘sync’, and clearing your hips through the impact zone for better ball contact. “Solid shots increase distance and consistency, both of which lead to lower scores.” Tempo Teacher is not a training aid that promises perfect club position at the top of your swing nor does it show you the best way that you should be gripping the golf club.
“Tempo Teacher is a very simple, lightweight, and easy to use aid. It clips to the golfer’s belt or pants, perpendicular to the target line. The product helps lead the hips through the swing, keeping the arms and body “in sync”. After a few swings, most golfers find that their hip rotation improves as well as the quality of their golf shots. Shots are longer, straighter and more accurate.”
Using Tempo Teacher:
Tempo Teacher comes with the training aid itself and a full color tri-fold quick reference guide to help you “Clip it n’ Rip it”. When they say simple and easy to use above they are not exaggerating in the least. Within a few minutes of receiving the package I was clipped on and ready to start making better swings. At first it seemed a little awkward having this device clipped onto my belt and extending out in front of me; I really felt at first that this would have a negative effect on my golf swing. As you can see from the picture the Tempo Teacher does not impede your normal golf swing at all, so those initial concerns were quickly put to rest.
The way that the Tempo Teacher device hooks on and essentially stays put is your guide for you to always have a good feeling of where your hips should be in the different stages of your golf swing. The part that I noticed quickly was that I did not need to worry about the Tempo Teacher getting in my way. As long as I put a good fluid swing together the Tempo Teacher is just there to help get my hips cleared and get that rhythm back in my golf swing.
Even at impact the hips should be cleared thus getting the Tempo Teacher device out of the arms way where you can make a full release like normal. Finishing the swing properly you’ll end up with the Tempo Teacher pointing right down your target line, you get this finish and you should be able to look up and see the ball flying right where you wanted it to go.
I am not saying I have the best golf swing ever, but I did not struggle with the Tempo Teacher being in my way form the beginning of my testing. That told me two things, first is that even if you don’t struggle with your own rhythm it can still be a very effective tool. You don’t need to be ridiculously out of sync with your arms and lower body in 7 different positions to find this training aid useful. It worked great for me as just a subtle little reminder of where my hips should be in the various stages of my swing. Secondly this device showed me just how easy it is to get that rhythm and balance needed to have a good golf swing. This aid doesn’t require any drastic changes in positions nor does it force you into awkward and hard to remember positions at different part of your swing.
Overall I found the Tempo Teacher amazingly simple in design and incredibly easy to use. Don’t let this simple design fool you, while really it just looks like a stick and a clip it is very useful for the designed purpose. Getting you to lead with your hips through the swing, simple enough concept, but extremely vital in having good tempo in your golf swing. The best thing about the Tempo Teacher is that they’re not focusing on too many of your mechanics and wrenching your body around. I have finished paying a lot of money for lessons before only to find that I didn’t like the feeling I was left with while trying to achieve all of the different mechanical techniques being taught to me. With Tempo Trainer you can use it as a reminder or use it to completely start over with your tempo, all while not worrying about having to suffer that dreaded “get worse before you get better” curse that seems to go along with many swing changes. In the end I was rather impressed with this device, I like that it can be used for a quick driving range session to serve as a reminder in the event of a little set back in my ball striking. Available online at www.tempoteacher.com for about a quarter of the price of a decent lesson ($24.99) plus shipping. At that price you can’t go wrong for such a useful and easy to use training aid.
Jason K.
