Golf Swing Timing Drills You Should Try At Least Once

Power To Weight Ratio

Have you ever wondered how smaller golfers hit the ball so far? Look at Rory Mcilroy, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Camillo Villegas. All are about 175cm tall and 160 pounds or so, but all hit the ball a mile. The key is timing. Timing is something that is easy to notice in a good player but difficult to describe.

Here are a few drills that you can do to improve your timing:

1. Grab the wrong end.

Turn the club upside down and hold it by the clubhead. Make practice swings and try to get the "whoosh" noise at the bottom of the swing.

2. Find the middle ground

Swing really slow, as slow as you can. Then swing as fast as you can. Finally, try to find the speed in the middle and you will have great timing.

3. Start your downswing from the ground up

This is the correct downswing sequence:

1. The left foot


2. The left knee


3. The left hip


4. The left shoulder

These all move towards the target. If you get this sequence wrong, your timing will be off.

Following the left shoulder moving towards the target, the following body parts activate:

1. The arms


2. The hands


3. The shaft


4. The clubhead

The clubhead is the last to reach the ball. It lags behind the rest and this creates power and length on your shots. The club arriving after everything else and "catching up" is what creates lots of clubhead speed.

On the backswing, the same sequence happens but in revers. Setting this chain in motion and then reversing it on the downswing is the secret to great timing. It is also the key to wonderful rhythm.

A great drill for getting this chain working correctly is to break your swing down into pieces and move through each stage slowly. Make some practice swings in slow motion and pause at every stage to make sure you have the sequence right. Start slow to make sure you have the sequence right and gradually speed up to full speed.

Focus on making sure that your swing starts slowly but gathers speed all the way through until it makes contact with the ball. Once the ball is on the way, the clubhead begins to decelerate again. If your swing is quick or slow in the wrong stages, your timing will be off and you will lose power and accuracy.