Growing up, I was taught to “swing smooth”, but what does that actually mean?

These “tips” were some of the main reasons that I developed swing flaws I fight 20 years later. I started playing golf in the mid 90’s, self-taught trying to “dig it out of the dirt”. With that came so good and bad habits that I developed.

Swing smooth, explained…. I don’t want to blame anyone, we just simply did not know what “swinging smooth” was. Most people translate swinging smooth, into slowing down through impact – or decelerating. The slower your body moves through impact, the shorter you will hit it, with less accuracy…. why? because if your body isn’t bring the club through, your hands have to. There are great players that are “handsy”, but that requires a lot of timing, to “flip” at the ball consistently for accurate shots.

Instead golfers should SWING HARD…. but first, you need to understand HOW to swing hard. An easy thought for me is this –

  1. Smooth, slower paced backswing (comfortable to my natural tempo/rhythm)
  2. Smooth, slow and controlled at the top of my swing (transition – backswing stops, transitioning to downswing)
  3. Swing as hard as I can – WITH MY BODY ROTATION – hips, glutes, core… while at the same time having the most relaxed upper body as possible (I like to imagine my arms feel like noodles, they just drag behind my body turning down to the ball)

Sure, there are other variables to being a consistent ball striker, but If you can learn how to

  1. Set up to the ball correctly, this will help you rotate or “turn” properly through the ball
  2. Achieve a “proper” position to turn at the top of your swing…

You will play much more consistent golf!


  1. Understand the key golf swing positions
  2. Control the Controllables
  3. Practice your timing, tempo the majority of your practice time on the range

The third element is the most difficult. It is hard to block out all those different swing thoughts and YouTube videos. I suggest buying a Blast Motion Sensor. This helps you focus on only your tempo and nothing else!