Putting tempo

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turkish

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Do any of you consciously work on putting tempo?

I have been a streaky putter since I started and have had a couple of lessons on SAM and also bought welling putt Mat and use skypro to measure tempo.

I was initially putting at a 1:1 ratio but now a lot closer to 2:1 and feel my putting has improved.

Since doing a fair bit of research I found that 99% of tour players have 2:1 ratio but interestingly Jordan speith has a 1:1 ratio... so does it really matter?

I had thought my Improvement had been down to improvement on tempo but might just be the extra practice on putt mat
 
Some disagree but I work on the ratio of 1:2 backswing distance: followthrough distance. I don't know what your ratio means. I follow through twice as much as I swing back.

I will admit that although I do this in practice and feel I do it, in reality it probably isn't as much as twice as far through, especially for longer putts. I do this to keep at least even tempo through backswing and follow through. My followthrough is sometimes a little faster than my backswing but the key thing is it is not SLOWER.

I always put with the same pace, just change the swing length to suit.
 
I tried once but it just felt too robotic and difficult to control. For me putting is about switching off and letting your sub-concious take over
 
I sometimes work in this in the house. I have a metronome app on my phone and use my putting arc matt and work on it from there. I don't necessarily use the beeps with the stroke, but just hearing the beeps helps smooth out the stroke.

With the app you can set the beeps to whatever ratio you want and go from there.
 
I do 1:2 and that was confirmed on a SAM lesson and on Aimpoint. It ensures i dont decelerate on the through stroke
 
CallawayKid said:
What research? You watched the golf at Pebble Beach and listened to the commentary...?! ;)

CK
Click to expand...

Haha well yes the commentators CONFIRMED what I already knew ;)

My research I must admit wasn't exactly in depth just watching a ton of phil kenyon and Andy Gorman videos plus my pros on the SAM also reiterated the 2:1 ratio but the fact Speith putts at 1:1 threw my newfound thinking as he's an exception to the rule which makes me question it a bit
 
"Most" pros have a 3:1 ratio for full swings and 2:1 with the putter.

If you put well at whatever ratio, stick to it. If you're putting isn't so hot then maybe it's something worth trying to change if you're much quicker or slower than 2:1
 
I've worked on Skypro a lot. It did help, but I was still struggling. Somehow I'd managed to make the numbers work, but, I was manipulating it.
The reality is I'd generated a stroke pattern that matched up, but had cheated it.

I found this out when I went to see Mike (works with Phil Kenyon) at Harold Swash.
Incredible 2-hour lesson that's had more effect on my putting than anything else that I've done in the last 3-years! And I had done a huge amount and spent a fortune!

It's still work in progress but since I made the set-up, posture and stroke changes that Mike recommended my distance control and tempo have sorted themselves out. The tech. at the Harold Swash clinic is second to none. Once you know, you know.

Mike/Phil also have a special method for sorting out tempo - which I might consider early summer.
But in my case Mike wanted me to make the changes before looking at that.

I've said it before... the dark clouds have gone and I actually look forward to putting now as I know I can set the ball off on the line and pace I want most of the time.

So my Skypro is not being used at all now!
 
yeah sometimes I am a bit dubious of the results it throws up but unsure how you can cheat tempo?

For example it gives my driver swing speed of about 100-102mph but on trackman was showing nearer 95-97mph... maybe I just wasn't swinging as fast that day :D

I am still going to use mine but I do take the results with a pinch of salt if results aren't good.
 
It calculates stats and then ratios at certain points. Have a play with it, try a Snedeker pop-type stroke, a Speith 1:1 type and just mess about.
You can achieve the same ratios in different ways. So long as one part is double the other it will give you that ratio 2:1 ratio on tempo for example. Because it measures things "at address" "at Impact".
I managed to get a 2.16 ratio with 51 in/s and vastly differing "putt length @ transition" figures, with other factors very similar.

So you can slow your backswing or increase your downswing and still be changing speed during the motion and it can't pick that up. And in fact you can vary your stroke a bit too. It doesn't really deal with "closing rate" of the putter face, so if you have a bit of arc as any stroke has, you can be adding "flash" speed (accelerating) and it can't tell you that.

What I learned, is the important thing is to know what the best way is for you to putt.
And to build up momentum and tempo in the putter head the correct way.

TBH I know only a little about it... trying to work on "knowing enough" and not "knowing everything" principal for once!

That's why I recommend anyone to go see Mike, Lee or Phil @ Harold Swash in Formby.

Skypro etc. can't compete with the tech. in a Trackman or SAM etc!
And it can't do the biomechanics - cause > effect. You're only looking at outcome with Skypro

But it's still useful...
it did help me understand and learn about shaft angle, direction, path, loft, rise angle etc.
it did help me get consistent with shaft lean - although I was overdoing it.
having this knowledge made the lesson with Mike much more productive.

(edit)
Apologies, not telling you what to do or trying to sound like a "know it all".
Just sharing what I've come to know...
 
Last edited:
In addition - IRO Skypro I actually learned quite a bit doing the specific tests in the "Groove" mode
It taught me discipline in what I'm doing.
It helped me to hit putts and forget about if they went in the hole or not - which in learning/testing is something I was crap at.
I just had to see the putt go in or look like it might before I would consider the stroke to have been any good.
 
HawkeyeMS said:
I tried once but it just felt too robotic and difficult to control. For me putting is about switching off and letting your sub-concious take over
Click to expand...

This. My putting improved massively when I stopped thinking about the stroke and just concentrated on the target. Everyone already has the ability to judge pace, think about throwing a ball to a target, you automatically adjust to throw it about the right distance. Pick your target and let it go.
 
Notwithstanding above info,best thing ever happened to my putting? Chopping inches of the shaft.Used off shelf putters 33/34" models for years and was streaky and never comfy, then used a mates sons "junior"putter when I couldn't be a**** walking to where id left my bag for next hole and canned a monster!! It felt just right ,the putts kept dropping and he struggled to get it off me the rest of round!! Hacksawed my putter that night.... Now I use centre shafted 30" putter and love it! Im 5"9 ish and get plenty of stick but it works a treat just hold club and rock shoulders back and thru nothing else to do.....tempo? Not sure but it feels good!
 
Scozzy said:
Notwithstanding above info,best thing ever happened to my putting? Chopping inches of the shaft.Used off shelf putters 33/34" models for years and was streaky and never comfy, then used a mates sons "junior"putter when I couldn't be a**** walking to where id left my bag for next hole and canned a monster!! It felt just right ,the putts kept dropping and he struggled to get it off me the rest of round!! Hacksawed my putter that night.... Now I use centre shafted 30" putter and love it! Im 5"9 ish and get plenty of stick but it works a treat just hold club and rock shoulders back and thru nothing else to do.....tempo? Not sure but it feels good!
Click to expand...

Ooft my back feels sore just thinking about that. Is your posture similar to michelle wie's? trying to get straight back and straight through?
 
Trust me,youd rather be behind her than me when I'm lining up!! Hehe it just works and changed my fortunes on the greens overnight...Maybe it was watching Jack N as a kid...who knows but yes...address ball and just shoulders rocking back and forth holding club as lightly as possible...back is fine!
 
Having been to a SAM lab and got a putter that works for my stroke, I'm happy to simply pick my line, trust the stroke and trust the pace. Too many thoughts on how quick to swing can surely only be counter-productive
 
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