How to find rhythm

In my previous post, I talked about accepting the swing you have - provided you have the fundamentals relatively sorted. I'm sure that's the way to go.

The message is 'Don't keep messing with your swing' (as I did for years) because unless you put in very long hours, improvement will be minimal at best and there's a real risk of a backward slide.

I said that the objective in golf is not to swing with perfection or style, but actually to put in a good score. Scoring is the measure of your golf, not the beauty of your swing. Not that a great looking swing is a bad thing.

I also mentioned that rhythm is crucial. And something one of my playing partners said the other day reminded me of an excellent way to find that elusive rhythm. It's very simple.

When playing full shots, with woods or irons, even short irons, never swing flat out - never. The goal is to swing thinking three-quarters - three-quarter swings.

Just thinking this way will help us to find our rhythm. It will also help us find the middle of the club face much more often, which maximises distance for the club chosen. You only have to choose the correct club. If necessary take an extra club when you feel you might struggle with the distance.

With driver, the hardest club to hit straight, I also grip down almost to the metal, which feels almost like swinging at three-quarters, and the results are good. The loss of distance is minimal; and I hit many more fairways. By the way, forcing fairway woods is always a bad idea.

Many pro golfers use this approach - and rarely if ever swing full out. They look smooth - so can we - we just have to use the good old rhythmic three-quarter swing.