Reviewed by Andrew Brown

First- you should know I was not compensated for this review. I was not given he product for free. I bought it on the recommendation of a friend and everything after this is solely my opinion based on the results I've seen. The reason I want to make that clear up front is because I think the ideas presented by Jon Novosel in this book are revolutionary and will change my swing and my golf game forever.

Tour Tempo, Golf's Last Secret Finally Revealed by John Novosel and John Garrity. (Buy Here)

Without going into too much detail- I want to describe and explain the idea of this book and product line. What author and golf inventor John Novosel discovered is that while not every pro golfer swings at the same speed, great golfers seem to have one thing in common, their tempo. Most pro golfers now and in the past have all swung in a tempo in which their backswing takes exactly 3 times as long as their downswing. Novosel actually discovered this while editing golf swings on an old video machine that showed frame by frame times. He was able to see that the 3 to 1 ratio was the common denominator in all great swings. The more consistently you stay to the 3 to 1 ratio the more consistent your swing is and the better you can control your game. I don't want to ruin a big surprise, but do you want to take a wild guess who the most consistent golfer is at keeping an exact 3 to 1 tempo? Naturally, El Tigre.

It is a very common belief that the slower and smooth your backswing is the better off you are. Novesel contends that just isn't true.

Novosel's Tour Tempo product line includes a variety of components including a book with audio cd as well as the option to buy a special audio player and headphone set specifically for Tour Tempo use on the range and before rounds (it is against USGA rules to use any sort of aid during a round in which you are keeping score for handicap purposes). On the recommendation of my friend, I purchased only the book that includes the audio cd for $18 bucks from Amazon.com.

*Ease of Use- 9.0
I really can't imagine a product being too much easier to use. After reading the book the product is as simple as putting a cd in a player or ripping it into an mp3 to put on your audio player. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a $30 mp3 player for the sole purpose of being my "golf listening device." If you already have something, you're good to go.

Using the actual product is very simple. The audio plays 3 tones over and over and over and over (you get the idea). On the first tone you start your backswing. On the second tone you should be at the top of your swing and you set your wrists. The third and final tone lines up with your club striking the ball. While it takes some time to get used to the speed of the swing after around 10 minutes you'll be swinging easily to the beat.

Other than that, there's really no other gimmick or process. The Tour Tempo system is not designed to handle any other part of your swing. There are no positions to learn; no stopping to check you elbow position. In fact, the idea behind the product is that by correcting your tempo you'll actually fix a lot of your other glitches and hitches by default. That is not what this product is about- and I think that's awesome.

*Experience- 9.0
I'm hesitant to throw out perfect 10's right off the bat because I want to leave room for improvement for future reviews, but I really can't imagine something having a bigger effect on my entire golf game so quickly. The best part about Tour Tempo is that there are no gimmicks or tough instructions. The idea is so simple, just follow the beeps.

Getting your tempo right doesn't make you hit all of your range balls squarely. In fact, Novosel thinks you should start without any balls involved, just the beeps and your clubs. The results of your shots can distract you from the important aspects of getting your body into a rhythm. The ultimate goal is that through practice your body will learn the tempo and your muscle memory will take over and the changes will be permanent.

That aside, when I did hit the ball squarely (which became more and more frequent with practice) the results were unlike anything else I've ever experienced on the driving range. The wedges were high with spin and the irons were solid and true. My driver which is usually all over the place was hitting lasers with a slight draw down the range at distances that were consistent and long. The sound of the ball coming off the club was different. the best I can compare it to is how in baseball they say certain players have different sounds when they hit the ball, like they are in another level. I'm not saying I was hitting the ball like Tiger, I'm simply saying I was hitting the ball at a different level than I had been previous to my Tour Tempo sessions.

I really can't think of many "cons" to the system, at least not yet. I've hit about 200 balls on the range while listening to the audio portion and have read the book cover to cover. I have yet to find a real flaw in the logic or performance. I feel like if I could get out on the course tomorrow I would cut 5 stokes off my score instantly.

*Value- 10.0
At $18 I really don't know where you can wrong. You could go to the Tour Tempo website and buy more items to help the system along and spend well over $100 bucks. Even then, if it improved your game as dramatically as I've described it helping mine, wouldn't you pay $100 in a second? I would tend to agree with my recommender (if that's a word) that there is really no reason to buy anything but the book and included cd. Beyond the audio, the cd also includes videos showing the proper way to use the system.

*Overall, 9.5
What can I say that I haven't already? If I haven't convinced you with my passionate spiel above, you won't be convinced. I very much dislike training aids and fixes and it took someone four times of telling me about Tour Tempo before I bought and tried it. If that's what it's going to take for you, scroll to the top and start reading this again. As John Novosel says over and over in the book, this is not a swing aid to be added to improve you game, tempo is a part of the basics of the swing that needs to be in place before you can successfully strike the golf ball on a regular basis. I'm guessing if you are low handicapper your swing is going to already be pretty close to the Tour Tempo while a higher handicapper like myself will find that it instantly makes a huge difference.

I would (and will) recommend Tour Tempo to anyone.

For more infomation and to see the rest of John Novosel's products visit the Tour Tempo Website.