If you’re a typical golfer, you own a dozen or more instruction books. The titles may vary - The Seven Foundations of Golf, Power Golf, and so forth - but the contents are basically the same. How to grip the club. How to address the ball. The backswing, the downswing, the follow-through. Ninety percent of golf instruction books focus on swing mechanics. The other 10 percent counsel you on the mental and metaphysical aspects of the game - probably because the pursuit of a sound swing has left you frustrated, anxious, and clinically depressed.

This mechanics vs. mind-set dichotomy is curious, because it ignores the one quality of the golf swing that most distinguishes the touring pro from the duffer - good tempo.

Click the play button to listen to the rest of Chapter 1.

*Background music is from the Tour Tempo Tracks Vol. II 24/8 CD.