Tame Your Putting Tempo, Change Your Life

We all know there are some nasty greens out there that can turn a small error in a putting stroke into a big problem for your score. Yet, under normal circumstances, an error in your putting direction that turns a make into a miss will cost you only one stroke. An error in distance control, however, often creates a tough putt coming back and may lead to the agony of a three-putt or even a four-putt.

This is all to highlight the importance of getting your distance control dialed-in in putting. And, one tool in your arsenal for getting distance control right is to practice the time-related aspects of your putting stroke to the point where they become automatic and reliable.

Let’s take some time to understand the time-related aspects of your putting stroke as well as what can be done to develop them so you can become a distance-control master. Putting tempo herein refers to the stroke speed and rhythm aspects of your putt. There’s also a spatial component that interplays with getting time-related aspects right in putting which we refer to as “symmetry in space”. This is achieved when the distance of backstroke and follow-through is roughly equal, with longer putts having longer strokes and shorter putts having shorter strokes all maintaining the same tempo.

In a sense tempo is simple in that no matter the distance of the putt, you will have the same total time for your backstroke and forestroke to impact. This total time is generally agreed to be about .79 seconds or 76 beats per minute (bpm) as determined by an average of PGA Tour professionals. But it will vary by the individual golfer. The key is to find a total time near this standard of .79 seconds to impact that works for you and be consistent. Within tempo, it’s also important to understand the rhythm between backstroke time and forestroke time to impact. Ideally it should be in a ratio of about 2:1, where the backstroke time is twice that of the forestroke time (about .526 seconds and.263 seconds respectively for our average of .79 seconds). Velocities and accelerations are at play here but the 2:1 algorithm makes it pretty simple and like total time to impact it stays the same regardless of the distance of the putt. Chip technique benefits from the same sorts of ideas with some adjustments to the relevant times.

Engaging a quality instructor is a great way to learn proper putting tempo. While tools like a metronome can help you establish a consistent beat, they fall short when it comes to teaching the rhythm – specifically, the natural flow between the backstroke and the forward stroke. A balanced rhythm, where the backstroke is slightly slower and the forward stroke accelerates smoothly through impact, is just as important as maintaining a consistent total time to impact. Now with VISYN there’s a new, innovative, and effective way to supplement your instructor or self-guided learning. With our NeuroStream Training featuring Visual Reps we demonstrate and provide the means for you to experience putting tempo, both proper total time to impact and the rhythm of backstroke and forestroke. If you do our Visual Reps daily, putting tempo will become a subconscious competency. It will dramatically change your consistency on the greens, improve your distance control, and lower your scores, changing your “golf life” forever!! 

Authors: Andy Blaylock is a co-founder of VISYN and VP with over 20 years experience as a hockey athletic skills instructor, coach, and product inventor. Charlie Levis is a Director at VISYN with over 30 years experience as a PGA teaching professional and golf innovator, and he also played college hockey. Jeff Thielen is a co-founder of VISYN and its President with many years of skills instruction experience in numerous sports, and he’s a licensed professional engineer.