Putting Tempo Made Easy: 5 Tips & Proven Drills for Better Pace and Touch
If you’re not addressing your putting tempo, then you are missing a key component to making more putts and avoiding 3-putts.
All the best putters in the world constantly fine-tune their tempo to ensure it’s the same on every putt, in every round, on every green.
Many amateurs may not realize the importance of this crucial aspect to putting, but if you start improving it now, it won’t take long to see positive results.
Many golf gurus don’t talk about putting tempo because it’s not glamorous and won’t get them views on social media. However, if you’re serious about taking your putting to the next level, start with the tips below and then apply them with the accompanying drills.
Putting Tempo (Key Takeaways)
Focus on these takeaways before, during, and after all your practice sessions and rounds. Don’t overlook putting tempo; it will prevent many three-putts with just a bit of work and understanding.
- Use a metronome to ensure consistency on all length putts.
- Control and unify your backswing and follow-through.
- Minimize wrist action to eliminate wrist flipping.
- Employ a consistent pre-shot routine before every putt.
- Always accelerate through the impact zone.
5 Tips to Improve Putting Tempo
To improve tempo, you must have an understanding of how to approach the subject. These tips will specifically address your putting tempo and apply to all length putts.
See how mastering wrist movements can transform your putting game.
Putt With a Metronome
Having rhythm only works if you know what good rhythm is, so to adjust, you need a good example.
Having a metronome is one of the best training aids for all lengths of putts. Hackmotion comes equipped with this feature and will alert you if your putting stroke is off tempo, which makes it much more beneficial than just a regular metronome app.
Since everyone has a different tempo, the app can be customized to your rhythm so you know, day in and day out, that your putting stroke is on a great pace.
You don’t want your tempo to change based on the distance of the putt; only the length of your stroke.
Having this customizable feature gives you confidence that every time you practice, you are practicing with a beneficial purpose.
Match Backswing with Follow Through
No matter the length of putt, your backswing should mimic your follow-through. If anything, the follow-through should be a little bit longer.
Those whose strokes do not follow this tip tend to have inconsistent strokes that are jerky, making it difficult to control distance and direction.
- Backswing: Use the weight of the putterhead to determine how far back to go. This creates a stable feeling with the putter that helps you transition into the downswing smoothly, preventing sudden or harsh movements.
- Downswing: As the downswing starts, it should slowly pick up speed to the point of impact, even on the shortest putts. This is where the analogy of a grandfather clock comes in, and again, you should always feel the weight of the putter head and use gravity to your advantage.
- Follow-through: Loss of momentum will determine when your putterhead stops moving. Similar to a 100m runner, you should never slow down at the finish line/point of impact. Only long after the ball is struck should the putter start to lose momentum.
Minimize Wrist Involvement
Take the wrists out of the equation. Too many amateur golfers derive power by flipping their wrists, which creates immense inconsistency.
Your wrists may flex and extend slightly, but unless you have precise measurements of the Hackmotion sensors, focus on keeping them neutral and unchanged throughout the swing.
HackMotion Putting Flexion / Extension Drill
Get a feel for the wrist movement that controls your putter’s loft.
Having Hackmotion helps you develop natural wrist action if that is your tendency. Some individuals may exhibit more movement than others, depending on their unique tempo.
Hackmotion will identify and optimize this motion on every stroke and provide tailored drills to improve.
Create a Consistent Pre-Shot Routine
Preparing yourself the same way for all putts gives you the best chance to recreate great tempo every time.
Most people have a pre-shot routine for their full swing but neglect this process once they hit the green.
A putting pre-shot routine should be slightly different than your full-swing pre-shot routine simply because of the softer nature of the shot.
While no two pre-shot routines are created equal, all putting pre-shot routines should contain these checkpoints to help you read the putt and execute proper putting tempo.
- Always start from behind the ball to read the green before taking practice strokes.
- Walk to the other side of the cup for putts longer than five feet.
- Take practice swings while looking at the hole to acquire weight and tempo.
- Line up to the breaking point of the putt, not the cup.
- Listen for the putt to drop to prevent prematurely lifting your head and shoulders.
Always Be Accelerating
The goal of maintaining a smooth and consistent tempo is to allow your putter head to accelerate into the ball and create consistent contact. This should be the case on every putt, no matter the length. Even short downhill putts, you want your putter accelerating into the ball.
Decelerating throws off your tempo and results in putts that are mishit, have poor weight control, and may be off line.
This relates to the length of your putting stroke mentioned earlier. You can only create an accelerating stroke if your backswing is slightly shorter than your follow-through. This is the best way to ensure solid and consistent contact on all putts.
Drills to Encourage Better Putting Tempo
Practicing your tempo is unique because it’s easy to get distracted by mechanics.
While doing these drills, don’t worry too much about putts dropping; just worry about getting a comfortable and consistent stroke with each putt.
Chopsticks Drill
This is a great drill that improves tempo and can be used with the Hackmotion system. While you’re working on tempo, the Hackmotion sensor will identify if you’re out of sync with your rhythm and mechanics.
It’s also a perfect situation to use the metronome feature on Hackmotion to ensure your whole body is contributing to creating smooth and consistent tempo.
- Video Timestamp: 3:00 – 6:02
Chopsticks Drill – Step by Step
- Fasten two alignment sticks together using a rubber band about six inches from one end.
- Place the long end of each alignment stick under each arm, creating a ‘V’ shape in front of you.
- Rest the bottom part of your putter grip where the two alignment sticks are attached and grip your putter as you normally would.
- Take practice strokes using your shoulders to rock the putter head back and through the impact zone.
- Maintain a steady lower body and incorporate the tips above to focus on creating consistent tempo.
Coin on Putter Drill
Use this drill for a physical representation of how your putting stroke should feel with good tempo.
The results will speak for themself when you get instant feedback. Even advanced golfers may be surprised to find out their tempo is not as consistent as they thought.
- Video Timestamp: 2:56 – 4:48
Coin on Putter Drill – Step by Step
- Place a coin on the back of your putter head so it can slide off during your backswing.
- As you draw the putter head away from the ball, concentrate on transitioning forward so the coin falls off at the apex of your backswing.
- Continue your downswing through impact and into your follow-through.
- Do not let the coin fall off at any other point in your stroke. If it does, that means you have made a sudden movement at the wrong time.
The Ladder Drill
To put your practice to the test, there is no better drill than the ladder drill.
It’s entertainingly frustrating but will improve your putting and can even be done with a partner to add a bit of competition to your practice session.
You can use this to work on various length putts and put your tempo to the test. It’s also recommended that you keep track of your scores so you can try to improve each time you do this drill.
- Video Timestamp: 0:15 – 5:46
The Ladder Drill – Step by Step
- Lay down two alignment sticks (or clubs), one about 10 feet ahead and one about 13 feet ahead, both perpendicular to your target line.
- Line up a ball so that when you putt, it will pass the closer alignment stick on the left side (for right-handed golfers).
- Ensure it passes the first alignment stick but not the second.
- Mark the spot where the ball stopped and hit a second putt past that mark but still short of the second alignment stick.
- Continue this process until one of your putts passes the second alignment stick or comes up short of your previous putt.
- A good score will be over five putts made that pass the previous ball, but stay short of the second alignment stick.
Grandfather Clock Drill
Work on your backswing and follow-through by tracking how far back and how far through your putter head travels.
For the technically minded golfers out there, this will give you peace of mind and allow you to assign steadfast metrics to achieve great tempo.
- Video Timestamp: 6:46 – 9:14
Grandfather Clock Drill – Step by Step
- Place two tees in the ground, across from each foot, a couple of inches outside your intended club path.
- Place a ball in the middle.
- Take your putting stroke while keeping your backswing just inside the back foot and tee and the follow-through just outside the front foot tee.
- Hit 3-5 putts with great tempo and record the distance they traveled. That will tell you how far that putting stroke causes the ball to go.
- Widen the tees to attack putts that are further and vice versa for shorter putts.
Final Thoughts
We all agree that to putt better, you must have correct weight and line. Instead of working on these independently, you can work on your tempo to achieve both simultaneously.
Great tempo will help you with all length putts on any type of green. As long as you have a few minutes to warm up before each round, your tempo will give you the best chance to make putts and prevent 3-putts.
Using Hackmotion is the most efficient way to improve your tempo and is the only tool on the market that is like having a professional putting coach watching over you at all times.
Combine the detailed data it provides with the drills and tips above, and you’ll be unstoppable on all greens.
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