Golf Australia – August 2019

TEMPO

Why it matters, and

how to groove yours

BY GARETH JOHNSTON

T

Fasterstroke:Keepitshortandbrisk

Finda levelareaofthepracticegreen.Setupwiththeleadingedgeofthe

puttercentralinyourstance,puttingtheballjustforwardofcentre.Nowstick

twoteesinthegroundequidistantfromtheball– oneoppositethetrailinstep,

oneofftheleadtoe.

Slowerstroke:Increasethelength

Nowexperimentwitha slowtempo.Keepthesameset-upandballpositionbut

thistimespreadouttheteepegstooutsideyourleadandtrailfeet.Thewideryou

go,theslowerthestrokeyouneedtomake.Takecaretokeeptheballdeadinthe

middleofthem.

T

empo has been

defi ned as the total

time your stroke

takes from start to

fi nish. It often gets

confused with rhythm, but as this

defi nition shows, tempo is more

about the speed you swing the putter

• slower, or faster. That said, tempo

has a direct impact on rhythm. Good

tempo evens out back/throughswing

speeds, promoting a pure swing of

the putterhead.

Putting tempo is a matter of

personal choice. But here, you’ll learn

a simple way to hone a slower or a

faster stroke, and discover which of

those may be more benefi cial to you.

Spider X on tour
Spider X got off to a fast start on Tour with Rory
McIlroy and Keith Mitchell (not a TaylorMade
player) tucking away PGA Tour wins with it before
the end of March. Undoubtedly the X has got big
shoes to fi ll, as the previous Spider Tour was
TaylorMade’s biggest-selling putter ever, and the
model that opened eyes to the brand’s fl atsticks.
Convincing the likes of DJ, Jason Day and Jon
Rahm to make the switch to Spider X will take
time. But as TaylorMade’s European Tour Manager
Adrian Rietveld told us, “All the guys out on Tour
neednewequipmentatsometime.It’smyjobto
bereadyandgetit rightwhentheydo.”

COUNT “1,000, 2,000” As before, use the tees as a

reference for backswing and throughswing lengths. But

this time, slow down your tempo by counting “1,000” for

the backswing and “2,000” for the followthrough. This

calmer tempo typically works best on faster surfaces, or

for golfers who have a tendency to charge putts past.

COUNT “1, 2” Using the tees as a reference for back/

throughswing lengths, make a brisk, even-paced stroke.

Help this tempo by counting “one” for the end of the

backswing, and “two” for the end of the followthrough.

This shorter, speedier stroke is often the best solution for

golfers who leave putts short, or play on slower greens.

golf australia | AUGUST 2019 65