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Tour Tempo: Golf's Last Secret Finally Revealed (Book & CD-ROM)

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Smart Golf

SWING GET IN (TOUR) TEMPO
A NEW SYSTEM FOR PERFECT RHYTHM

BY JOHN PAUL NEWPORT

If you've ever wandered out to the range at a PGA Tour event to watch the pros practice, you were probably less impressed by how far they hit the ball (you already knew they were long) than by the smooth, leisurely tempos on display up and down the line. Compared with the quick-jerk artists at your neighborhood range, the best players in the world seem to swing in slow motion. But the truth is that they are completing their swings much faster than it seems. If you were to start your take-away at the same instant that a languid-swinging pro like David Toms started his, in all likelihood you'd still be lost somewhere in your backswing by the time Toms made contact. Moreover, your swing almost certainly would look rushed while Toms's swing would look like it always does, smooth and easy.

What the top pros have that you, I and the quick-jerk range rats don't is perfect tempo. And now, thanks to the work of John Novosel, a businessman, inventor and golf enthusiast from Leawood, Kansas, we know a lot more about what constitutes perfect tempo than we used to. Novosel closely analyzed video of most of the world's greatest golfers, both past and present, and discovered that virtually all of them executed their swings, from take-away to impact, within a very small window of time, from .93 seconds to 1.2 seconds. He also discovered that nearly all accomplished golfers have a precise, identical rhythm: three beats back, one beat down. Novosel then devised a way for average golfers to approximate the tempo of a pro swing by hitting balls while listening to tones through a headset and watched in amazement as their shots improved instantly and dramatically-without any attention whatsoever to wrist cock, hip turn, swing path or the countless other mechanical issues that are the bane and substance of traditional instruction. This improvement happened essentially, Novosel came to realize, because once the tempo is right, there isn't any time left over for the club to do all the crazy, inefficient things it usually does during bad swings, like pause, hitch, wander around in loops and come over the top.

Novosel has compiled the results of his research and offers an instructional program (see below) based on his findings in a compelling new book, Tour Tempo: Golf's Last Secret Finally Revealed, cowritten with John Garrity, due out this spring. In Novosel's view, good tempo ought to be viewed as a bedrock fundamental of the golf swing that helps produce good mechanics, rather than something tacked on as a kind of extra once a player has supposedly mastered the mechanics. "The old paradigm of teaching club, hand and body positions at every conceivable point in the swing doesn't work very well," Novosel said. "There's really no good way for a player to incorporate all that information during a swing that lasts just a second and while the player is moving the club at a hundred miles an hour." He doesn't contend that mechanics are irrelevant, only that beyond a certain point, teaching them in the traditional manner is unnecessary and even counterproductive. People learn faster and better, he argues, by focusing on tempo to get the feel of an effective, powerful swing and letting the body figure out the rest by itself.

Like many discoveries, Novosel's insights into tempo occurred serendipitously. While editing video of LPGA star Jan Stephenson's swing for an infomercial, he happened to pay attention to the frame counter on his editing program. Broadcast video is shot at a rate of thirty frames per second (or roughly thirty-three thousandths of a second per frame), and Novosel noticed that Stephenson's tempo was exactly the same from swing to swing, no matter what club she was using: twenty-seven frames from take-away to the top, nine frames from the top back down to impact, for a total of thirty-six frames, or 1.2 seconds. Curious, he started examining the videotaped swings of other top pros. The fastest swingers, like Nick Price, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, took twenty-one frames to reach the top of their backswings and seven frames back to impact, for twenty-eight frames total and .93 seconds total swing time. Another group, including Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Sam Snead, took twenty-four frames back and eight frames down, for 1.02 seconds total swing time. And a third group, including Bobby Jones, David Toms and Jim Furyk, swung consistently at a 27:9 tempo. Of the more than one hundred pros whose swings Novosel studied, only one-Ed Furgol, the 1954 U.S. Open champion-swung faster than 21:7 (he swung at 18:6), and only a handful swung slower, including Nancy Lopez in her prime (30:10). But always, the three-to-one time ratio of backswing to downswing was identical.

The only time the swings of the best players in the world diverged from this ratio was when they hit bad shots. For example, Novosel's analysis of a badly pulled drive by Phil Mickelson revealed a tempo of 3.5 to one. Amateurs, on the other hand, were consistent only in being all over the lot. Some swings that Novosel recorded took as long as three full seconds to complete. Ratios ranged from solid, quick three-to-ones for certain low handicappers to good rhythms but slow and weak three-to-ones for others (33:11) to highly erratic for most (26:11, 44:11, 66:11).

The audio files that Novosel created for players to listen to while swinging (through MP3 player or CD Walkman-type devices) come with his book in the three main, pro-quality tempos: 21:7, 24:8 and 27:9. The three-tone sequences can be played in endless loops, allowing golfers to initiate the swing whenever they are ready. Novosel directs his students to initiate the take-away in reaction to the first tone, initiate the transition between backswing and downswing in reaction to the second, and synchronize the moment of impact to the final tone. "Almost always the first reaction I get is, 'Whoa! That's impossibly fast. I could never swing that quickly,'" he said. But usually it takes only ten minutes for novices to get into the groove. Most start out with the slower, 27:9 sequence and then experiment with the 24:8 and 21:7 versions to see which they feel most comfortable with.

The results are often dramatic. A video CD accompanying Novosel's book shows the before-and-after experiences of a half-dozen players. Typical is Bruce Provo, a nine-handicapper. His form improved, his backswing significantly shortened and his five-iron clubhead speed shot from 79 m.p.h. to 99 m.p.h. after just twenty minutes of work. Our experiences hitting balls with the Tour Tempo tones, although not so transformative, were highly satisfying. When our timing was in sync with the tones, our shots were invariably straight and long; when our timing was off, so were our shots. After just a few minutes on the range with the tones, our focus over the ball shifted almost completely from mechanical considerations (taking the clubhead back on line, stopping the backswing before parallel, etcetera) to getting the timing right. Novosel said this is typical and transfers easily to the golf course.

"The purpose of the Tour Tempo audio tracks is to internalize the intrinsic tempo of the golf swing in your subconscious mind," he said. "If you are a low to mid handicapper with reasonably sound swing fundamentals, you can basically forget about mechanics once that happens. Out on the course, you won't have to worry about what starts your backswing, where you are at the top or what triggers your forward swing. Those things will happen reflexively, as they do in the swings of the pros." Novosel recommends practicing frequently with the tones to reinforce the rhythm, but never for longer than you can pay full attention to them. Five-minute sessions in the backyard or during warm-ups at the range are often all it takes to stay in tune, he says.

For experienced players without sound mechanics, Novosel teaches two simple mechanical drills designed to get your swing off to the right start. He believes that in most cases these drills, combined with practicing to the tones, will eventually get most golfers to the point where good tempo and instincts can profitably take over. For those who want more-personalized tempo training, Novosel is schooling instructors around the country to use the Tour Tempo system, and he himself is available for lessons in Kansas City, Kansas.

PRO TEMPO
With uncanny consistency, the best golfers in the world hit the ball using a 3:1 time ratio of backswing to downswing. In the videos John Novosel studied, a large group of pros, including Tiger Woods, took twenty-four frames to reach the top of their swings and another eight to make impact. Most other pros swung at ratios of 21:7 or 27:9.

THE "Y" DRILL
Even the best tempo will not produce great shots if your mechanics are dreadful. But Novosel believes that tempo training combined with two fundamental drills (developed with the help of teaching pro John Rhodes of Fort Worth, Texas) can bring almost any golfer up to speed. In the "Y" drill, establish the shape of that letter with your arms and the club at address and try to maintain it (though it will collapse a bit) as you take the club back to waist high and then through to a short finish. The key is monitoring the club's position. At the end of the short backswing, the shaft should be parallel both to the line of flight and to the ground, and the clubface should be perpendicular to the ground. Start out slowly, without a ball, then hit balls, and finally synchronize with the Tour Tempo tones.

THE "L" DRILL
Work on the same club positions in this drill as in the "Y" drill, but add ninety degrees to the angle of the club, forming the letter "L" with your arms and club at the top, and make a longer finish. At the top of the backswing the shaft should be pointing straight down. Again, start slowly without a ball to master the correct positions, then progress to hitting balls and finally to synchronizing with the Tour Tempo tones.

Tour Tempo - It Works! I got the Tour Tempo book less than two weeks ago just out of curiosity. I've read the book twice, I've viewed the DVD for a short while, and I have listened to the CD repeatedly in my car.

I have played since I was a kid, but not being a natural golfer, I have been burdened with too many swing thoughts. The best I have ever been is a 16 handicap; in the last two years playing once a week I have not broken 90. I do not belong to a club so I don't have easy access to a practice range; I sometimes swing a club in the yard. I have only played 9 holes 4 times this season. Yesterday I played in an outing at Little Mountain in Concord, Ohio. It has a reputation for being a difficult course.

In preparation for this round I listened to the Tour Tempo CD in my car on the way to the golf course. I arbitrarily picked the 24/8 tempo (27/9 sounded too slow & 21/7 seemed like it might be too fast). I alternated between track 5 (3 tones) and track 6 "Swing, Set, Through".

There is no driving range at this course, so a few swings on the first tee had to suffice.
On the course, before each shot, I took two practice swings silently saying "Swing, Set, Through" in my head.

I missed only two fairways, shot a 40-43-83 but more importantly, my biggest swing flaw was entirely eliminated. I have had a tendency to not finish my swing. With Tour Tempo, I found myself accelerating through the ball with the club swinging to finish naturally. My bad swings, which were few, were not bad swings at all, but alignment errors. Even my few mis-hits had decidedly better results.

I always knew tempo was important, but no one was ever able to tell me what good tempo is. You have not only solved the mystery, but made great tempo almost instantly accessible. I am obviously looking forward to even greater improvement. Thanks!

Jeffrey S. Young
Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Order two books -- Tour Tempo and Swing Like a Pro. Here's my story: None of my friends could believe I was an 18 handicap as hard as I worked on my game and the basic swing I had. My problem was inconsistency, and I never knew which golfer was going to show up -- the pretty good one or the hack. Breaking 90(!)became the holy grail.

Bought these two books a couple of weeks ago, and had about four 2-hour practice sessions in that time. Went out Friday, shot 82 and left at least 3 strokes on the course. Went out Saturday and finished third in our year-end tournament, winning money, golf balls and a trophy. Normally I've been disgusted after playing and VERY frustrated -- not anymore!

Tour Tempo allows you to improve without thinking, and you WILL be able to hit the ball farther and straighter. I am just crushing the ball and hitting the sweet spot on the club every time.

That said, if you start hitting the farther but not straighter, do 2 things: (1) Check your club position going back (the positions are in the book for a reason)and make sure your club is over your toeline half-way back and / or go straight to Swing Like A Pro.

The biggest help in Swing Like a Pro was the set-up. I thought there was no way I was going to be able to hit the ball from that position. Watched TV, and Davis Love looked just like the composite. It helped make my swing more efficient and consistent, in terms of path.

HIGHLY recommended. Hey, look what it did for me!

For a person who struggles for consistency, this may be the golden key. Two major swing drills are taught. These drills are so basic but so essential to the component of a swing that it must be taken seriously.

Half of the book is dedicated to how the author came across this discovery and how he applied it to golfers of all levels of play. A section about myths and tips to improve play are outlined.

The value is not so much by reading the book but by watching to provided video clips and listening to the varying cadences. In a short time, I have improved my ball striking ability significantly. Instead of focusing upon a dozen "Swing thoughts", I concentrate upon the tempo of the swing based upon the cadences from the CD.

This is a piece of the puzzle that cannot be learned from reading books or even taking lessons - tempo is the key to consistency and likely, the reason why a hiatus from the game leads to a steep learning curve.

I listen to the tracks when practicing and on my way to play. I highly recommend this system. It is proven to work.

UPDATE SEP 2008:

This book is no fad. It has kept me consistent in my game and I still have the tracks stored on my MP3 player. The tempo works for every stroke in your game.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions about this review.

I'm 30 years old and have been playing golf for 16 years. I bought this book on a whim after skimming through it at a Barnes and Noble. I bought it 7 months ago in May because the idea of practicing to "tunes" was new to me. My handicap had been a "5" for the last three years and overall I was already comfortable with my game and like everyone else looking for a new edge. The first couple of weeks after reading the book and listening only to the 24/8 tempo I was hitting the ball more solid and more consistently. The noticeable difference was how much harder I was swinging because my only swing though was to reach impact on that 3rd beat which is a lot faster than I was swinging before. My overall scores started to drop but soon after in June I hurt my back so here's my warning:

WARNING: For the average amateur the Tour Tempo drills will "psych" you into swinging harder and faster than you did before, therefore you may find yourself becoming more fatigued and sore until you get used to swinging harder. Please be careful and be sure to stretch before and after playing and do get in shape, especially with your back because to swing that hard you will definitely need to be in good shape. I'm just telling you this because I wasn't prepared and I injured my back from swinging so hard without stretching properly.

The L and Y drills are excellent for when you get off track a little but for me no instructor has been more effective in the long run to help me stop coming over the top than this book. My handicap went from "5" to "3" in 6 months which is a huge jump. I've shared this with my other golf buddies and from what I've observed the ones who have solid fundamentals to begin with benefit from this book quicker than ones who don't. If you don't have good fundamentals it's best to start with the L and Y drills. Otherwise you can probably start with the full swing drills.

I would like to set the record straight about Tour Tempo. Let's start by looking at what actual experts on the game of golf have to say about Tour Tempo:

In his new book, The Secret of Golf, George Peper - former editor-in-chief of GOLF Magazine for 25 years, singled out Tour Tempo out as one of the 47 breakthroughs in golf instruction.

From the introduction to his book:

"The true heroes of this book are the unsung innovators.. who spent their lifetimes thinking about and working towards a better way to play, then on one glorious day experienced a genuine Eureka moment. I'm referring to the likes of John Novosel and his discovery of Tour Tempo." And, "Golf's first twenty first century eureka occurred in the spring of 2000 when John Novosel discovered something he called Tour Tempo."

Then you've got articles in the following major magazines:

Golf for Women Magazine in feature article calls it the "Swing Secret no one has ever told you."

Travel & Leisure Golf in feature article says, "No one has ever come up with a way to teach Tempo, Until Now."

Golf Digest - called it the "The Unified Theory of Tempo" in it's `Swing Secrets' issue.

Cigar Aficionados - said "Tour Tempo Works!"

The British PGA Magazine:

"I listened to the 24/8 beat (the one that felt right for me) for a few hours a day, three straight days. The tones accompanied me at work, in my car, even out walking. Once the tempo was locked inside my mind, I took it to the driving range where I hit nothing but
6-irons. The first couple of shots skewed off to the side. The tempo felt a little quick and I was anticipating the first beat rather than starting the swing in response to it. But, as I adjusted to the speed, the ball started flying unerringly straight and perhaps five yards further. Those first two shots and perhaps one other would have missed the green - and I hit 90 balls! Three misses out of ninety with a 6-iron - that's unheard of.
I was staggered at how consistent my ball-striking had become in such little time, and all without a single mechanical thought. For a guy who has suffered from a seemingly chronic block the last five years, a block that has been fed every flavour of swing medicine available, the excitement was intense.
A week later, I returned to the range and immediately got into the 24/8 beat again. The results were the same. "


Golf Style Philadelphia magazine writer and pro, Wayne DeFrancesco, wrote in a feature article:

"I found (Tour Tempo) to be an amazing revelation. Here was a method to measure tempo objectively, with numbers, not vague descriptions. The data that emerges out of an analysis of the best players is unprecedented and should provide a substantially cleaner palate on which to place the discussion of how a good swing is accomplished.

And for the average player, knowing that his swing is radically different from the best players, as far as their timing goes is not a revelation. The ability to measure just how it is different, and offering a simple method to change it, is certainly a revelation of major proportions."

Wayne DeFrancesco is recognized as one of the top teachers in the country and is among the best club pro players in the country. He won the PGA 2001 Club Pro Championship and has qualified for 5 PGA Championships and one U.S. Open.

John has appeared nationally on the Golf Channel, locally on KMBC-TV9-Kansas City, and numerous radio talk shows across the country.

Golf Week Senior Writer Jim Achenbach, one of the most respected
golf journalists working today, had this to say:

"My quest started five or six years ago. I decided I would break the 100 mile-per-hour barrier. I'm talking about my swing speed with a driver. Every time I was measured, I would start out with a smooth swing and quickly progress to what I would characterize as warp speed. I visualized myself as an airplane taking off. I felt as if I was swinging so hard I was about to propel myself out of my shoes. If the truth be told, I was out of control.
And I never was able to achieve 100 miles per hour. The best I could get was 97 MPH.
So basically I gave up on my goal. I became lost in golf's wonderland of swing theories. Every new hypothesis was a ticket for a new exploration into the golf's dark underbelly of instruction.

I talked with hundreds of golf instructors, some of them famous and highly paid. I took lessons from dozens of them. They all remarked on my smooth swing, but I could never break the 100 MPH barrier.

And then I spent three days with John Novosel, the godfather of a theory called Tour Tempo.

We started at a driving range. We measured my swing speed with a 5-iron and a driver. There were no surprises. I long ago became accustomed to this kind of public undressing. I made a dozen driver swings, and every one was between 93 and 96 miles an hour.
I believe these numbers reflect some kind of consistency. Anyway, what else did I have to brag about?

Before I scream with jubilation, let me fast forward to the end of the day. After several hours of classroom discussion and drills, we returned to the range. Same driver, same measuring device: All my swings fell between 102 and 106 miles an hour. My slowest swing topped the 100 mile-per-hour barrier, and my fastest swing was 10 miles an hour faster than it had been in the morning.

I bought dinner. Drinks were on me."

And finally...It's publisher, Doubleday of New York, has this to day about it:
"TOUR TEMPO is an exciting breakthrough in golf instruction, the most revolutionary work to be published about the golf swing since the beginning of golf as we know it."

To see additional reviews about the book from actual readers, go here: http://www.tourtempo.com/emails.html and
http://www.tourtempo.com/emails2.html

In conclusion, it's a fact that TOUR TEMPO is the first book in the 600 year old history of golf to accurately and quantitatively define exactly what Tempo in the Golf Swing means. It is the first book in the history of golf to include a CD-ROM computer disc that visually explains the concepts in the book and thru audio tracks enables the reader to integrate the Tempo of the Tour Pros into their own swings producing results unheard of in the game of golf. It has been in the top 5 bestsellers for golf for over a year now on Amazon.com, at one time hitting #20 on all of Amazon. (that's #20 out of 700,000 books)

The subtitle of this book is "Golf's Last Secret Finally Revealed". There couldn't be a better decription of this book. I have for many years carried a 20 handicap. During the summer of '03, I made a major commitment to rebuilding my golf swing. This consisted of twelve lessons and loads of practice. I learned how to grip the club properly, how to set-up, how to take the club back, and how to swing through the ball. Like many players rebuilding their swing, my scores got worse initially before getting better. However, even after the changes settled in there was no net gain in my index. I could now hit my best shots really, really well, but I still hit enough bad shots in a round to cancel the really good ones. What was happening was that while I was better mechanically, I was playing with way too many swing thoughts. I was not enjoying playing because I was playing in fear of making a mistake, of not remembering something in a long list of swing thoughts.

A playing partner recommended Tour Tempo to me a couple of months ago. After adopting the lessons of Tour Tempo, results were almost immediate. Lower scores (index down to 16.8), and more fun from playing golf. Now the only thing in my mind when I step up to the ball is the target and a cadence. In fact, I believe my improvement has resulted from both my work on mechanics and tempo. I was unable to benefit from the mechanics alone, however, because the successful golf swing , it seems,is more than just the sum of the parts; it is how everything works together in time. Buy this book.

Tempo is key to balance, good mechanics, and consistency. By maintaining good tempo, the player keeps his/her body moving positively, avoiding alterations to the swing that come with lingering through it.

It feels fast to most because it is. Most of us swing back slowly, then try to rip it. But a slow backswing encourages us to hustle too fast through the forward swing. A slow backswing also gives us time to move the club off-plane. Not good.

I agree, however, that good fundamentals are vital to optimizing the results from good tempo, but good tempo can and should be learned regardless of one's other abilities. A lack of good tempo messes with good swings and destroys shaky ones.

It isn't a "system" because tempo is one component of the swing. But it's more than one component because it affects all the others.

My results? Not more distance, because when I strike the ball correctly, I fly it pretty far. But what I did get is much more consistency, hitting the ball the same way almost every time. Also, much better accuracy. I attribute both of these to moving efficiently through the swing at a good pace for me--I don't have time to mess it up, and centrifugal force keeps me on plane and moving towards the target. My backswing is definitely quicker, my transition is effortless--my McLean-style "X Factor" is increased by not pausing at the top--and my forward swing is just a wee bit faster, too. For me, the backswing was the problem. No more.

The book has some rudimentary instruction on mechanics, despite its clear desire to eschew them. As others have suggested, get another book to learn those. (My favorite has always been "Getting Back to Basics" by Tom Watson.)

Read this book. Rip the mp3 files and put them in an iPod-like device. Try different tempos to find yours. Practice while listening to the tones. Run the tempo in your head. Practice without the tones, running the tempo in your head. Play golf. Hit more greens. Enjoy.

Highly recommended!

Folks, I have tried it all. The week before I bought this book I purchased one of the PVC pipe swing trainer things that looks like some sort of sex toy. At that point I was given the nickname tin cup by my wife. Why you ask, because I had begun to experience the annual dissapearance of my game. Not that my game was ever anything to behold in the first place (I usually shot in the mid to high 80's and beyond). At the same time I bought the PVC thing I decided to get Jack's book. Went to the local books store and it was out of stock. However, the bright packaging on the Tour Tempo book kind of pulled me in. I read the thing straight through (very easy read). Went to the range the next day and hit balls worse than I had ever hit them before. A week later I was tiger. Drives are longer and straigher (with a draw) and Irons are out of this world. I now hit fairways twice as often as I did before and greens more the twice. My only problem now is figuring out my new yardages. Before the book I had never broken 80. I have done that 4 times in the last month and all on very difficult courses (with a mulli or two due to nuked shots). I have only owned this book for about a month and a half!

If you think I am exagerating I will tell you something that happened to me last week absolutely blew me away. I was in Boise, ID for biz the same time as the Nationwide Tour. I went to a local range and hit balls after meetings as I normally do on the road. As I finished up the head pro approached me and asked if I was playing in the Nationwide event. I was blown away and of course thanked him for the compliment. He replied with "you have a perfect swing". I thought he was trying to get a lesson, but he almost asked me for my autograph.

Now, I will be the first to admit that golf is a highly individual sport that demands each person find what works for them. All I can say is that after probably five years of trying to find "it" (including lessons from a golf magazine top 10 teacher) I have done it. All you have to do is take the book seriously, do the goofy drills and off you go. This book is not for someone who has never picked up a club before, but for the rest of us it is a god send. Don't listen to the nay sayers, they have an agenda. My agenda is to tell a story I have been waiting my whole life to tell, that I finally feel like I know how to play this game. This works, and you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least try it.

Play well, and see you at Q-School (my new goal)

The best money you could ever spend is on this book. If you have good fundamentals this book will make you a better golfer in a very short time. I've been playing golf for about 15 years and had experienced the same tendencies. But once I started to practice with the techniques detailed in this book I hit the ball correctly on a consistent basis. Solid straight shots were the norm. The past few times I was at the range I got the thumbs up from my fellow golfers hitting next to me. Unbelievable simple concept results in wonderful gains on the course.