An important element of good golf is keeping the tempo or rhythm of your swing consistent. You will have an ideal tempo to your putting and your swing, however keeping it the same can be challenging! Many golfers use metronomes to help with this element of their swing.
There are many different ways (and opinions on the best way!) to use a metronome to improve your swing, and you should talk to your Golf Pro about what will work for you. However, below is a quick exercise to get you started.
You can use Metronome Beats to practice both your putting and full swing:
1. Start by setting the metronome to 65BPM – 75BPM for putting or 45BPM for full swing.
2. Take several practice strokes until you are in rhythm with the metronome.
For putting practice you should have one “click” when you start your stroke, and one when you hit the ball. It can help to set the Metronome to groups of 4 beats, and use the first two beats of each group to set up your shot.
For a full swing you should time so that you have one “click” when you start your stroke, and one at the back of your stroke.
3. Make your shot in this rhytmn.
4. Repeat the previous steps to create a routine.
If you don’t want to disturb others on the course you can plug your headphones into your device. Or use the visual cues incorporated into the metronome.
You can also use Metronome Beats to determine your own tempo using the Tap Tempo feature. Take 10 swings in a row and get a friend to tap the metronome in time to your stroke, then note down the tempo recorded. You could also get someone to video you and then play the video back to the metronome later. Some people find it helpful to repeat a phrase while they swing their club to stop them making an unconscious attempt to fix the speed of their swing/stroke.
Your tempo should be the same no matter what length the putt or shot is. The only thing that should be varied is the backswing (or stroke) length. For example, in putting a long stroke, the club will have to move faster to cover a longer distance in the same time compared to a shorter stroke.