Louis Oosthuizen's Swing Tempo Tip (Video)

At the time I'm writing this, Louis is co-leading the WGC-HSBC Champions so I thought this video was appropriate. Please note that while Louis mentions his favorite tempo drill, it's what he says later in the video that's really important.



You've no doubt seen his drill many times before. Simply put your feet together and hit 60- to 70-yard pitch shots. The shots are long enough to require a longish swing without you feeling the pressure to swing hard.

But that's really the key, according to Louis:

"You generate your power with your body from the top, obviously going down and really fast at the bottom, but it's a difficult thing to think about, that 'when I get here I'm going to accelerate.' I think it's more getting everything else in position and once you get to that downswing, everything is going to be in position that's going to happen naturally, rather than go start at the top and really swing fast and you're going to swing yourself out of position, and it doesn't matter what you do at the bottom, your timing is not going to be the same. I think it's a more natural thing that will all fall in place if you get everything in position in the right way."

Do you understand what he's saying? If you try to swing fast from the top, you'll ruin your tempo. You've got to give your swing time to get up to speed, even though that feels slower. Louis is a long hitter. He knows that feelings can fool you, and if you feel fast at the top you're probably going to be slower at the bottom because you've ruined your tempo. Instead, you create your fastest speed at the bottom when it feels slower at the top, because it gives your whole body time to properly create that speed.

Sounds weird, I know. But that's just the way swing mechanics work... and Louis is an excellent example of how effective such a swing can be.