Tour professionals don’t always practice at full speed. Tommy Fleetwood demonstrates why slowing down can be one of the fastest ways to improve your golf swing.
Watch professional golfers practice and you’ll notice something many amateurs rarely do: they rehearse movements slowly.
This video of Tommy Fleetwood is a great example.
Fleetwood isn’t simply standing on the range hitting ball after ball at full speed and judging his swing by the result. He’s slowing the movement down so he can rehearse it correctly and, more importantly, feel what the proper motion is supposed to feel like.
That distinction is important.
Most amateur golfers practice by hitting balls at nearly full speed. If the ball is struck solidly and flies toward the target, they consider it a good swing. If they hit it poorly, they immediately try something different.
But when you’re trying to make a swing change, ball flight and solid contact aren’t always the best measures of progress.
Your first objective should be learning the movement.
Slow-motion rehearsals give your brain and body time to recognize the positions, sequence and sensations you’re trying to develop. Once you can perform the movement correctly at a slower speed, you can gradually add speed while trying to maintain the same motion.
It’s something Tour professionals understand extremely well.
So the next time you’re working on your swing, don’t just grab another ball and swing harder.
Slow down. Rehearse the movement. Learn the feel. Then add speed.
Sometimes the fastest way to build a better golf swing is to practice it slowly.
