The pause that refreshes

Taking a break from golf might be a good idea - freshen up the mind, rest the injuries, etc. - but golf nuts don't rest, they stumble on, testing one theory after another, trying one tip after another, finding and losing their swings, week after week, month after month ...

But the pause that refreshes is nothing to do with rest, it's a quote from either Sam Snead or Tommy Armour (I'll have to check) that refers to the (potential) pause at the top of the backswing.

Opinions vary on the value of a pause and 'experts' often say there is no pause because the body is moving forward and down while the club is still going back. This is true, but even if the club loops a bit, as it does with two plane swings, and the body is in constant motion, there is a change of direction of the clubhead from up to down as the backswing transitions into the downswing.

This means that the club head effectively reverses  or pauses during the transition from backswing to downswing, even if the body is constantly moving in some way during the swing.

The important issue here is actually how quickly and smoothly this transition phase occurs. Swing speeds and clubhead speeds vary, and so do the transition speeds of golfers. Good golfers have this transition phase under control, that is, they do not hurry the start of the downswing (how often do you hear: 'that was too quick'?) when a pro's shot is pushed or hooked - and they are not referring to the swing speed, but to the transition speed.

Many golfers, myself included, suffer acute anxiety about a forthcoming golf shot at the most critical phase of the golf swing - during the moment of transition. The urge to get the shot over and done with or kill the ball or any number of other anxiety or hurry inducing thoughts are almost always destructive to a good golf shot.

The solution, and I'm putting this forward as a general theory, as yet not fully tested by me, is to make sure to put a definite pause into the top of the golf swing (the transition). It might go against some expert advice, and it might be a simplification of what occurs during that part of the golf swing, but it is the only way I can think of to encourage a smooth transition.

One word of warning is 'don't slow down the backswing deliberately' - this is not what the pause that refreshes is about. A deliberately slow backswing can actually cause a rushed transition and downswing. The pause is about the transition phase when the clubhead slows, changes direction, and then accelerates again in the downswing.

There are a couple of other factors or benefits from a deliberate pause at the top of the backswing, but the main one relates to the correct or optimum kinematic sequencing of the swing - a concept that has now been scientifically proven to be of vital importance in the generation of clubhead speed.

A deliberate pause in transition will encourage the lower body to initiate the downswing - the unconscious mind will say something like: ' hey, the arms have stopped, I want to move something, I'll move the legs and hips' - or something of that kind. In any case, the pause will give the slower moving lower body time to move, thus promoting the correct kinematic sequence of moves.

As I say, I have yet to fully test this theory. A few great swings last round do not constitute proof. Tomorrow is another testing day.