Approach · Long iron
What is Rory McIlroy's swing tempo?
Rory McIlroy's 2010 Wells Fargo long iron is a 0.63s backswing into a 0.25s downswing — a 2.51:1 tempo ratio over 0.88s from takeaway to impact. That is quicker through the backswing than the 3:1 ratio usually quoted for tour players. Timed by hand from tournament footage to 1/100 of a second.
0.63s
Backswing
0.25s
Downswing
0.88s
Total duration
2.51:1
Tempo ratio
The three marks
Every number above comes from these, and nothing else. Read off the footage by hand, in seconds from the start of the clip.
0.00s
Takeaway
0.63s
Top of backswing
0.88s
Impact
Source footage: 2010 Wells Fargo, 15th. Raw marks: takeaway 5.76s, top 6.389s, impact 6.64s.
The shot
Rory McIlroy, 2010 Wells Fargo Championship: his first PGA Tour win, the day he shot a course-record 62 at Quail Hollow. This long iron into the par-5 15th is one of the purest swings of his career: a smooth 2.51:1 over 0.88 seconds, balanced and unforced.
Rory McIlroy's other swings
This is one of 2 of his swings timed here, and they do not all share a tempo — his ratio runs from 2.45:1 to 2.51:1depending on the club. All of Rory McIlroy's tempos
How this compares to “3 to 1”
The rule of thumb says a tour backswing takes three times as long as the downswing. This one is 2.51:1, which is quicker through the backswing than that. Across the whole library the spread is wide enough that 3:1 is best read as an average of very different swings rather than a target any one player hits.
More hand-timed swings
Swing to it, don't just read it.
Elite Tempo plays this 2.51:1 as beats you can swing along to, then times your own swing the same way so you can see how close you got.