Metronomic!

Oh my word. I always though that the metronome and audio Dr Bob were long shots. In practice they are working fantastically well. Went over the heath today with the metronome and it was loud enough that I didn't need my headphones. Went I wasn't concentrating on the beeps it really helped my rhythm and ball striking. Promising I though but then again I'm only hitting wedge. So tonight I took it on the practice hole of my course. Now I did feel like a prize knob beeping away but luckily there was a torrential downpour which meant I was on my own. Things started well enough but then I started to thin a few with my 8 iron. I turned the unit off and tried to keep the beep pattern in my head, rehearsing to it on every practice swing. Lo and behold it was working. Right now for a real test I though. So I put the 8 iron back in the bag and went back from the mat to a grassy bit, extending the length of the hole. Out comes the 5 iron and though the first few are good it soon starts to go awry.

It was then that I remembered a little nugget from the Dr Bob audio tape. It was all about good golfers playing shots with their eyes. He prattles on about that for ages, which is probably why it stuck. The theory is that a good golfer will look at their target, think only of their target and trust their swing. Look at the target, look at the ball, let-it-go. Now I do this when I putt so I thought it's worth a try. Now I'm not going to pretend that I turned into Rory McIlroy but that coupled to the smooth, slower tempo made a huge difference.

The next test is the big one: doing it on the course. Luckily it's a swindle this weekend so no pressure and off the yellows. If I can transfer to the course that little black box may well be the best training aid I've ever owned! Currently, working on swinging at a speed of 65BPM and you know what...the slower swing speed has turned my fade into a soft draw and cost me no distance. A glimmer of hope has returned.