I swing too hard on the course. A launch monitor fixed it in 10 minutes.

Honestly, I'm with you on this one. I've got a naturally aggressive swing too. The second I'm standing on a tight par 4, especially into the wind, the tempo goes out the window. I know it the whole time. Doesn't help.

The whole "take a couple of deep breaths at address" thing? Tried it. It's not enough on its own. Subconsciously, even when you tell yourself not to hit it hard, the natural "hit" forces everything to speed up and tense up. The brain just wants to bash it.

What actually moved the needle for me wasn't willpower. It was data.

The 10 minute launch monitor session that fixed it

I spent 10 minutes on a launch monitor doing this:

• 5 swings at full effort. Whatever ugly thing my body wanted to do.
• 5 swings at maybe 80%. Smooth, almost lazy.
• 5 swings at what felt like 40%. Genuinely soft.

The 80% swings carried about 5 yards shorter than full effort. The 40% swings carried about 90% of the full effort number.

Yeah. 40% effort, 90% of the distance.

I don't have the most efficient swing in the world. But once I'd seen those numbers with my own eyes, something clicked. You can start to trust that you'll still get distance even without nailing the ball.

Why this fixes the tempo problem on the course

The reason "slow down" doesn't work as a swing thought is that you don't really believe it. Some part of your brain still thinks the easy swing is going to come up 30 yards short and find the bunker. So the body overrides you on the way down.

Once you've seen the carry numbers from your own bag, that argument is over. Next time you're on a tight tee feeling jumpy, the thought isn't "slow down." The thought is "you don't need it. 80% gets you there." That's a much easier sentence to actually listen to.

It's basically the same reason pros look so unhurried. They've hit thousands of shots on TrackMan. They know what their numbers are. They don't have to fight for them every swing.

How to actually do this

You don't need a fancy fitting bay. Any of these work fine:

• Local fitting studio. Usually £20 to £40 for an hour, plenty of time.
• A simulator session at a sim bar.
• A budget launch monitor at home. The Garmin R10 or the Rapsodo MLM2Pro both give you carry, ball speed and club speed for a few hundred quid. I wrote about the budget launch monitor options here.

Whatever you use, the test is the same. Hit five at full effort. Hit five at 80%. Compare the carry numbers. Then go back and hit five more at 80% with the new information in your head. They'll usually be even better the second time.

The point isn't really the launch monitor. The point is having a number in your head you actually believe. That's the thing that lets you stop fighting your swing on the course.

If you want a second trick for the same problem, try aiming 2/3 of your usual distance. Works in a totally different way and pairs nicely with this one.