Stage 1

Introduction

Building Your Tempo

We need to take this approach step by step in order to get a consistent, long lasting results. And this is why we will go and build you a stroke which you can repeat always the same, this way there will be less variables you need to control.

What is tempo with putting ?

Tempo in golf, particularly in putting, refers to the rhythm and timing of your putting stroke. It’s the smooth, consistent pace at which you move the putter back and forth during your stroke. Maintaining a good tempo is crucial because it directly impacts your ability to control the distance and accuracy of your putts.

Why do I need consistent tempo ?

If tempo of your stroke will alway be different, it will be impossible to develop the feel as you can’t predict what your next stroke is going to look like. If we can manage to build a stroke which is somehow predictable and each strokes look similar to each other, it is much easier to build a feeling and predict what the ball will do.

Why Tempo is Important in Putting

Consistency:

A consistent tempo leads to a more reliable and repeatable stroke. When you have a steady tempo, you are more likely to strike the ball the same way each time, leading to predictable results.

Distance Control:

Proper tempo helps you control the speed of the ball. A smooth and even stroke ensures that the ball travels the desired distance, reducing the chances of leaving putts short or blasting them past the hole.

Accuracy:

Good tempo helps keep the putter face square to the target line throughout the stroke. This alignment is crucial for hitting the ball on your intended line and making more putts.

Mental Calmness:

Focusing on a steady tempo can help calm your nerves and keep you focused. A deliberate and measured stroke can reduce tension, leading to better performance under pressure.

How can distance be controlled ?

There are three easy you can control your speed on the green.

Same length of the backswing and changing the amount of acceleration - you can always make the same length of a backswing but you will need to change how much you accelerate forward for different lengths of a putts. Accelerating less for shorter ones and accelerating more for longer ones.

Same tempo of your stroke and changing the length of your backswing and follow through - to hit a different distances you can always make the same tempo with your putter (meaning that the time from take away to impact will always remain the same example 1second) but you change how far back and forward you tae your putter based on the distance of a putt. Longer backswing = longer putt

Combining the two above: most people change both the acceleration and lenght of a backswing which means they have to control 2 things instead of just one.

In the practice plan below you will get a step by step instruction and explanations of what to do. make sure you are not skipping any steps as they are designed to do in the specific order to make sure you can progress and improve you distance control.

Practice Plan

Module 1 - Building a foundation

Before we even take a look into controlling the speed we need to make sure you have the right repeatable stroke and system you can control.

Way we choose to control distance

As you red above there are multiple ways to control your speed on the greens. In order to get long lasting results we will choose method, where we will use same tempo of your stroke and changing the length of your backswing and follow through.

Here is why:

We are aiming to teach you control the distance of your puts like a professional, even under pressure. If you were to always use the same backswing and change how much you accelerate, it will be impossible to control under pressure as your hearth rate and mental streght will have a huge effect on how your stroke will look like. Small change is the annout of how much you accelerate will make a big difference of how far the ball goes, therefore it is very difficult to do consistently under pressure.

On the other hand, if we spend time by working on correct things we can get the same tempo in your golf DNA which will be easy to repeat even under pressure, and we also will be able to build the feeling for different distances which we will talk about in module 2 of this practice plan.

Same Backswing Same Followthrough

Our goal will be to move your putter same speed back and same speed forward, without any jerky movement, pausing in the backswing, rapid acceleration or deceleration.

We want to achieve smooth movement of the putter without big inputs.

The first step into achieving this is to make sure, your putter is moving approximately the same distance into the backswing and follow through.

Why ?

If you putter make a long backswing and short followthrough, there is a big change that it is caused by deceleration in your downswing. On the other hand if your backswing is short and followthrough is much longer there is a big change that it is caused by accelerating too much.

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Goal:

Create a stroke where the length of the backswing and follow-through are the same to prevent rapid acceleration or deceleration.

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Instructions:

Put 3 tees into the green. The middle one will mark the position of the ball and the other two will mark the end of the backswing and end of the followthrough. Make sure the tees are the same distance from the middle one.

Hit at least 100 balls with the putter making the same length of a backswing and followthrough.

Once completed move to the next module.

NOT CORRECT

Short backswing - long followthrough = acceleration

NOT CORRECT

Long backswing - short followthrough = deceleration

CORRECT

Same backswing and followthrough = no acceleration or deceleration at impact

Module 2 - Consistency is a key

Repeat with the same speed

Once you can move the putter the same length back and forward, not it is time to make sure each stroke you make, has approximately the same speed.

Example: we want to make sure that each stroke from takeaway to impact take 0.9 seconds. If one stroke takes 0.7 and one takes 1.2, the speed of the movement is inconsistent and it is very difficult almost impossible to predict how the next stroke is going to look like regarding the speed.

If each stroke has a different tempo (more specifically the time it takes from takeaway to impact) it is impossible to develop the feeling for distance control as you can’t predict how your next stroke is going to look like.

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Goal:

Create a stroke with the same length of a backswing and follow-through, and maintain the time from takeaway to impact always the same

NOTE: there is no specific correct speed for everyone. For some people ideal time is 0.9 seconds, for some, it is 1.1, and so on.

What we will do is that we find the speed of the tempo which is correct for you

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Setup:

Download the Metronome app to get an audio representation of the tempo (short beeps measured in beeps per minute)

We recommend the TEMPO APP. Click here to download for iOS

App SETUP

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Instructions

Make sure you hit the ball exactly when you hear the second beep

Start your takeaway exactly when you hear a first beep.

Note: if you feel like the beeps are way too fast try to use a lower number of beeps per minute. If you feel like the beeps are way to slow try to add more beeps per minute and find which one you like.

Remember, there is no right speed, we need to find what you like and just make sure you can repeat it with same speed over and over.

Take 10 balls, hit approximately 5m putt, and make sure that the distance between the shortest and the longest ball is not more than 2 feet.

Once completed, do the same but hit 10m putt now instead.

Repeat every day of your practice

Conclusion: If you managed to hit all 10 balls into one place with small dispersion while keeping the same length of the backswing and follow-through, it means that the speed of your tempo is the same.