Putting · Putter
What is Tiger Woods' swing tempo?
Tiger Woods' 2000 PGA Championship putter is a 0.54s backswing into a 0.18s downswing, a 2.98:1 tempo ratio over 0.72s from takeaway to impact. That is almost exactly the 3:1 ratio usually quoted for tour players. Timed by hand from tournament footage to 1/100 of a second.
0.54s
Backswing
0.18s
Downswing
0.72s
Total duration
2.98:1
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
0.54s
Top of backswing
0.72s
Impact
Source footage: 2000 PGA Championship, 18th. Raw marks: takeaway 3.01s, top 3.549s, impact 3.73s.
The shot
Tiger Woods, 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla. On the 72nd hole he rolled in a slick par putt to tie Bob May and force the playoff he would go on to win, his third major of that historic 2000 season. A compact 0.54s backswing into a 0.18s release, a quick 2.98:1 over 0.72 seconds.
Tiger Woods' other swings
This is one of 5 of his swings timed here, and they do not all share a tempo, his ratio runs from 2.06:1 to 3.69:1depending on the club. All of Tiger Woods' 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 2.98:1, which is almost exactly that. Across the whole library the swings run from 2.02:1 to 4.30:1, so 3:1 is an average of very different swings.
More hand-timed swings
Swing along to this 2.98:1.
Elite Tempo plays it as beats you can swing along to. Film your own swing, mark it the same way, and see how close you got.
