What 10,700 range swings say about golf tempo
Most amateur swings come down from the top faster than the classic 3-to-1 rhythm.
PocketCaddie measures the tempo of every swing at the range: how long the backswing takes compared with the downswing. We looked at every swing golfers recorded with PocketCaddie through October 22, 2026: 10,700+ swings from 540+ range sessions. No video, and no names; just the timing.
The numbers
- Median tempo: about 2.4 to 1. The backswing took about 2.4 times as long as the downswing.
- Median backswing: about 470 milliseconds. Median downswing: about 200 milliseconds.
- The middle half of all swings fell between about 1.8 and 3.1 to 1.
- More than half of all swings (54%) were under 2.5 to 1. Fewer than 1 in 5 (17%) landed between 2.7 and 3.3 to 1, the range around the 3-to-1 rhythm often taught for full swings.
What it means
Tempo is a ratio, not a speed. A slow swing and a fast swing can share the same 3-to-1 rhythm. When the ratio drops well under that, the usual reason is the same one golfers describe: the downswing starts before the backswing has finished, or the backswing is snatched away so quickly that there is no time to set the club at the top.
That is why "slow down" rarely works as advice. Slowing everything keeps the ratio the same. What changes the ratio is letting the backswing finish before the downswing starts.
Drills that work on it
- Count-to-Four Tempo: a backswing three beats long and a downswing one beat long, at any pace.
- Same-Rhythm Wedge Ladder: one rhythm for every length of swing.
- Pause at the Top: stop for a beat at the top so the downswing can't start early.
All tempo drills and the full answer are on How do I stop rushing my golf swing?
How we counted
Swings come from range sessions recorded in PocketCaddie, with the phone in the golfer's pocket. We dropped detector outliers (ratios under 0.5 or over 8) and counted each swing once. Figures are rounded down. We'll rerun this as more golfers record sessions.
PocketCaddie is a driving range assistant and no-video swing coach. Put your phone in your pocket and hit your bucket. Every session gets a Swing Score from 0 to 100, and Progress shows if you're improving.
