Pause at the top

Over the past few months, I have been very erratic with my irons. Some of you have made suggestions which are doubtlessly very good but which did not clear up the problem (perhaps I didn't execute them properly ).

Anyway, last night I was reading Tommy Armour's How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time, which I had just received, and read his emphasis upon pausing at the top. For the swing, he taught to say "one, two [for the backswing], wait [pause at the top], and three [forward swing]."

I realized that my swing had lost its transition at the top, so I took out four balls this morning before going into the office and did "Armour" count. I hit four decent 8 irons. I didn't hit four decent 8 irons out of 50 practice shots yesterday afternoon.

I know there is disagreement concerning a definite pause at the top, but it seems that for recreational golfers, at any rate, this pause helps one to re-direct one's body and swing.

Any thoughts?

Bill

the pause at the top is good for a two plane swing where there is more hip movement. if you do not finish the backswing and your hips get too quick, the club gets stuck behind you and you either push or snap the ball. a one plane swing has less hip movement so a pause is not recommended.

The danger with this move is, if you exagerrate it, you might as well start
your swing from the top.

Without it, it seems, I was hitting from the top. Would that make sense?

Again, please understand that I am at best a recreational golfer who does not have a lot of time to practice and less time and money for lessons. I just love the game and enjoy the commaraderie of golfing companions. If I can hit a decent shot with a simple swing, I am happy.

Bill

The less contrived a swing the better, and that goes for anyone without a swing guru to keep said swing running smoothly, and for many who have swing gurus as well.

In my opinion, and in the opinion of nicklaus, the pause at the top is an illusion. It seems like there is pause, but what is really happening is that when the club gets to the top, the hips are already turning toward the target, so the swing never really "stops" at any point.

I'm personally not an advocate of a definite pause at the top of the backswing but what this has demonstrated is how immensely important good tempo is to an effective swing. By concentrating on your tempo you've rediscovered consistent striking.

Great example is Freddie Couples. But it doesnt work for everyone. Everyones tempo is different and finding yours is half the battle. If it works for you great. I personally cant do it. It throws my whole swing off.

You may be right about "illusion." With me, I call it a "perception." I also realize that what I perceive may not be recognized by someone observing as an actual pause. At any rate, it appears to serve as a transition from the backswing to the forward swing, and it helps me, at least thus far and as ph_kingston noted, to establish tempo. Without it, I cannot seem to make solid contact.

Bill

Bill (great name by the way :-) )

I would be surprised if you are really pausing at the top at all, but this is probably the thing you need to think about to get the smooth transition. I know for me, I think about making a 3/4 swing and that keeps me right under a full length swing but most definitely over a 3/4 swing. I hope this makes sense.

I am not sure how I would feel about an actual pause at the top, although I would probably prefer that over a really quick, exagerrated transition (which is what I fight)

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Bill,

Tommy was generally wrong for most pros and/or people. There are no modern golfers that pause at the top of their swing as per his description. Not that he wasn't a great player with great ideas. However, he simply described a feeling that what we DON'T see on video tape.

I've laboriously counted frames in Cswing on pros versus myself.

An interesting read, is John Novosel's "Tour Tempo." He suggests many ametuers swing too slow on their backswing. He suggests a magic ration of 3:1 (backswing takes 3 times longer than forward swing, which means there isn't much time for the backswing.) He says that all great hitters at the magic ratio of 3:1. (And actually he's wrong, since you can count them with your Cswing software, and Beem is not 3:1, I counted more like 2.5:1.) However, many do have a 3:1 ratio.

However, why not try it? Tommy's suggestion has helped some.

However, I would strong suggest getting on video tape to see what you are doing.

Theo

Thanks to all for the input. A problem which I have had is tempo---I've been noted to "snatch" the club from the top. The pause perception seems to help my tempo.

I don't have access to video or I would show you. Thanks again.

Bill