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The Rhythm of Golf: How Music Can Help Your Tempo

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There are two things I love doing most in this world other than teaching my 2-year old how to be the next Lexi Thompson.  I love playing music and I love playing golf; it’s that simple.

Both require skill, talent, focus, practice, and a passion to always get better.  In my efforts of becoming a 14.8 handicap from a 25 in less than three seasons, I have incorporated music into my golf practice techniques and it has helped tremendously.

For three years I struggled to have a golf swing with the perfect tempo.  All my years of being a baseball player burned into my muscle memory a need to grip it and rip it.  Turns out that my tempo was the single reason why I was playing poorly and I had to find a way to cure it.  Thankfully, music was the answer.

I often find myself listening to my practice playlist while on the range, the details of which I’ll share with you in a minute.  The carefully selected songs simply set me at ease and take my mind off of the 1000 things an amateur thinks about during their swing or pre-shot routine.

Regardless of what music you like to listen too, I find that the waltz is simply one of the best music styles to listen too if you want to help create a consistent tempo in your golf swing.  Music requires counting, which is exactly how your golf swing tempo should work.

Before we talk about how music can help, let’s define the importance of tempo and counting.

The Importance of Tempo

A golf swing is just like a song; it has its intro (the address), the verse (the backswing), the chorus (impact), and the ending (follow through).  Becoming more familiar with the rhythm of a song can help slow down your tempo altogether, whether it be on the course or simply in life.  I eat slower and have more patience in life as a result of this as well.  To be clear, I’m not trying to over-emphasize this concept as a type of music therapy (that’s a topic for another day) but rather to use music to help slow down your entire game.

The golf pro in this video states, “tempo is personal,” which means that everybody has their own rhythm.  Listen to how he talks about the importance of tempo and how to count:

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ51gAdVgKQ&start=8&end=241&width=742&height=419&centervid=1[/embedyt]

Remember: “One…and…Two…”

Shall We Waltz?

This doesn’t mean grab your playing partner and pretend the tee-box is a ballroom dance floor.  In Jack Nicklaus’ book, My Golden Lessons, the 18-time major champion offers this advice to amateurs with fast tempo.  He suggests using the slow waltz as a counting measure in your head to help slow down your swing tempo and give you better rhythm.

The beat is a simple, “one-two-three, one-two-three,” etc.

Here’s an excellent example by Chopin:

Personally, I’m more of a Frank Sinatra guy, but remember, it’s all personal preference.  I have had quite a bit of success with a few hums of Fly Me To The Moon on the tee box.

With that said, allow me to share some of my practice range favorites.

Practice With Music

Music-and-Golf-How-Music-Can-Help-Your-Tempo

First a quick tip: If you don’t already a pair of Bluetooth headphones, I recommend picking up a pair.  Believe it or not you can score a decent pair on Amazon for less than $30 dollars and not being tethered to your phone will make it a lot easier to swing freely.

You really want to try and eliminate wires during your backswing.  I own the Bose Soundlink Wireless Headphones and have personally found them to be the best out there.

When you hit the range, set up your “work station” and treat it as a practice session that needs great results.  Kind of like the way a surgical nurse prepares the doctor’s table and tools before an operation.  Unload the balls into the bin, set up your bag, tighten your glove, put your headphones on, and grab your wedge (after the proper stretching of course).

I mentioned on a recent episode of The Golf Podcast how I was planning to share my practice session set list, so here’s a little sample:

  • Awake My Soul (Mumford & Sons): This soft song is the soundtrack to my wedge through 9-iron work.  It gets my muscles really lose and it helps me focus on soft swings and dead-aim accuracy.  I usually pick a target of 100 yards to 150 and run through a few wedges and my 9-iron until the song ends—another benefit to listening to music when you practice is that it helps keep you focused on the time you put into each session.  I love how the song picks up steam which coincides with me getting looser and looser and more in a grove.  In a away it “awakens” my swing.

  • Back in Black (AC/DC): At my core I’m still a good “old fashion” classic rock guy and when I move on to my mid-iron practice I like to dial up the juice a little.  I work my 8-iron down to the 3-iron listening to this classic rock anthem before moving into my longer sticks.

  • Fly Me to The Moon (Frank Sinatra): This may be the most appropriate title when holding your driver but that’s not why I choose Sinatra.  The smooth rhythm of this song has a calming two-step feel and if you tie that tempo to your swing for long woods/hybrids, you’ll find much more accuracy.  I struggled with my driver for years and when I began incorporating this technique, I started bombing the ball 285+ dead center of the fairway.  This is all because I slowed everything down and my mechanics were able to do the rest.

Of course any music you listen too out there on the range will work as all music employs some form of counting which is the foundation of tempo.  So go give it a try, and if it doesn’t help right away, at least it made your session a little more enjoyable.

If you have a quiet range where no one is around, you can even bring out a little wireless Bluetooth Speaker or even use it in your cart with the guys during a round (as along as everyone is okay with it).

Sing to Yourself

Obviously I don’t advise playing a real round of golf with your headphones on so when you transition over to the course, instead try singing some of these songs to yourself during your swing (or you can simply count).  I have found that by signing in my head during my shots I’ve slowed down my tempo considerably and have become a much better golfer because of it.  Just don’t sing out loud, it won’t be a good look for you on the course.


Michael Fasano is the co-founder of Golficity, LLC, co-host of The Golf Podcast and is extremely obsessed with golf. As an amateur golfer and writer, Michael loves playing the game and sharing his knowledge of what has made him such a great player in a short period of time.

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Dave
Dave
6 years ago

Great idea about music. I use vienesse waltz selections. You can download a whole album for 4 bucks. Some are 63 bpm or 57, but most are 60bmp. The perfect speed for both ballroom dancing and a golf swing. Absolutely perfect for iron swings and putting. I’m a 68 year old 9 handicap. Also… check out the great golf novel on Amazon. About a woman golfer who sets the collegiate and senior pro golf world on its ear. Lots of action…and golf . It’s about time there was a golf novel (movie) about a woman! The ones about men are… Read more »

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