Golf’s tempo king made these 2 fixes – then hit 18 greens in a row

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Payne Stewart’s golf swing remains one of the smoothest, silkiest golf swings of all time.

We don’t need more of an excuse than that to watch Payne’s golf swing again, so here it is.

For obvious reasons, Stewart had many golf fans’ favourite golf swings, and the tempo they aspire to have. But while Stewart’s tempo always looked nice and smooth, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t get off from time to time.

It’s something he talked about in this 1984 Golf Digest article.

“I was doing an outing in Jamaica, and it seemed a good time to work on my swing,” he writes. “Two problems had crept up on me: my stance had become too wide and my swing tempo was too fast.”

Let’s break down what we can learn from those two things, and how Stewart fixed them.

Problem No.1: Stance too wide

The fix: Outside of shoes in line with shoulders

What made Stewart’s smooth golf swing so loose and free-flowing was because it was exactly that: long and free-flowing. He let his hips and body turn without restriction.

So when his stance began getting too wide, that presented a problem. The wider his stance got, the more difficult it was for him to turn his hips, which made his swing shorter and disrupted his tempo.

“I think the ideal stance width is narrower than most average players think… the outsides of your golf shoes should be about even with the outsides of your shoulders.”

https://www.golfdigest.com/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/2022/page (2)2.png Problem No.2: Tempo too fast

The fix: Full shots to shorter distances

Narrowing his stance helped his tempo, but to finish smoothing things out, Stewart went through a drill that is simple enough for the rest of us to copy: intentionally trying to hit the ball shorter than you’re capable of.

“I hit my normal 4-iron 190 yards. But I practised making a full swing and hitting the 4-iron only 150. Then gradually I increased the distance – 150, 160, 170, 180 – up to my normal level. I was still swinging easily, but going at it just a little harder at the bottom.”

The two things worked a charm. He played the Walt Disney World Classic the next week, hit 18 greens and shot 64 en route to victory.

“It was the first time I’d ever putted for 18 birdies in a round,” he finishes. “My confidence kept building after that, and I won by two strokes. Good tempo tends to carry you like that.”

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