5 Ways to Master Your Putting Tempo (And Avoid 3-Putting)

Putting tempo isn’t just about rhythm. Getting your putting tempo down will help with distance control, confidence, and consistency. Poor tempo is one of the biggest culprits behind three-putts, and most golfers don’t practice it with any structure. Most of the time, players think they must work on tempo, but don’t have the strategies to do it. Here are the strategies your game has been missing. 

Use a Metronome to Build Consistent Timing

One of the best and easiest ways to train consistent tempo is with a metronome. You can search “metronome” on Google or use a free app on your phone. You don’t need to spend much money on this. 

Set the metronome to around 75 to 78 beats per minute.

Here’s the drill:

• Start your stroke on one beat and make contact on the next.
  
• Keep the same beat regardless of putt length, only the size of the stroke should change.
  

This trains your body to move with a repeatable cadence, improving distance control. You’ll stop rushing short putts and decelerating long ones.

Use Tees to Train an Even Back-and-Through Stroke

Tees can be used to help train tempo in putting. Try this drill to help you get this motion down. 

• Place three tees in a line: one for your ball, one behind the ball to mark your backswing length, and one in front for follow-through.
  
• Practice stroking the putter evenly between the two outer tees, ensuring the putter moves the same distance back and through.
  

This even stroke motion encourages better tempo and smoother acceleration through the ball. This is the key to better tempo and rolling putts the correct distance. 

Train a Pendulum Motion

If your putting stroke is not a pendulum motion, you may have a hard time getting a perfect tempo. The pendulum motion helps to reduce three-putting because it makes it easier to create an equal backswing and follow through. 

When practicing the pendulum motion make sure that the acceleration is peaking naturally at the bottom of the arc. It shouldn’t feel forced. 

You want the putter to feel like it’s swinging under gravity, and it’s easier to do this when you incorporate your shoulders, not just your hands and wrists.  

Use the Same Rhythm—No Matter the Length

Your rhythm should not change from one putt to the next. Your tempo should remain the same whether facing a 4-footer or a 40-footer. That doesn’t mean the speed or energy is identical. Longer putts will have more energy, but the beat stays the same.

Try this on the practice green:

• Use your metronome to maintain rhythm
  
• Lengthen your stroke, not your timing
  
• Roll 10-footers, 20-footers, and 30-footers with the same cadence and track the consistency of your roll-out.
  

This is how you develop distance control: by keeping the rhythm constant and adjusting the stroke size.

Stop Rushing or Starting Over Between Practice Strokes

One subtle mistake golfers make is taking one practice stroke, pausing, then starting from scratch. Instead, make several continuous strokes to feel the rhythm and flow. This will help improve your tempo when it’s time to make a putt. 

Final Thought: Tempo Is the Bridge Between Line and Speed

You can read greens perfectly and aim beautifully, but your distance control will fall apart without consistent tempo. If you are working on eliminating three-putts, implement these tempo fixes into your practice. Use tools like a metronome and tees, practice pendulum motion, and develop a stroke that feels the same on every putt.