SHORT GAME · DRILL GUIDE
Short Game Tempo
Three tones for every chip or pitch, at takeaway, the top and impact, at one of six short-game tempos, with a wave on screen to swing along to, so every shot around the green has the same rhythm.
Free in your browser. Also on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
WHY IT WORKS
The problem, and the fix
Around the green the swing often rushes or decelerates, and a change of tempo changes the contact and how far the ball carries. An uneven rhythm makes distance a guess, and the short shots are where that costs the most.
The goal: One rhythm for every chip and pitch: change the length of the swing, never its tempo.
The app keeps the time for you. Three tones mark takeaway, the top and impact, and a wave scrolls across the screen in step with them, so you swing along instead of counting in your head.
How it works
Five steps from opening the drill to your first logged set.
- 1Pick a tempo with the slider or a quick-set button under it. They stop only on the six short-game tempos, from 24/12 (the slowest) to 14/7 (the quickest). It starts at 18/9, at a ratio of 2 : 1.
- 2Press Play. The wave scrolls toward the line: it rises to the top, falls to impact, then dips through the finish.
- 3Start the club back on the first tone, reach the top on the second and strike the ball on the third.
- 4Set up the next ball during the pause. Press Pause between sets: each set is logged with its tempo and how many strokes it lasted.
- 5Press Finish when you’re done, and write down how the tempo felt in the Notes box.
SEE IT IN ACTION
On iPad, iPhone and the web
Short Game Tempo looks the same everywhere: in your browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and in the iPhone and iPad app. On a wide screen it uses two columns, so the buttons stay in reach.
READING THE TEMPO
18/9, in video frames
Each tempo is the backswing and then the downswing, counted in video frames at 30 a second. 18/9 means 18 frames from takeaway to the top (0.6 seconds) and 9 frames from the top to impact (0.3 seconds): twice as long back as down.
The slider and the quick-set buttons stop only on these six. To use another tempo, the keyboard button types any backswing from 9 to 36 frames, and the downswing follows the ratio in whole frames (22/7 at 3 : 1, for example).
SOUND AND SETTINGS
Tones, never talk
Three woodblock-like tocks for every swing, each a little higher: takeaway, the top and impact, which rings longest. The tones are on at the start of every session, even though spoken cues are off to start in the rest of the app. Nothing is ever spoken, and there’s no hands-free here, since the microphone would hear the tones. Press Sound to silence the tones for the session and follow the wave instead. In the drill’s Settings:
The ratio you choose, Custom included (0.5 to 4), is kept for every session. Changing it keeps the backswing and changes the downswing to match.
Coaching tips
For a longer shot, make a longer swing at the same tempo. Let the tones stay the same while the swing grows.
Set up the next ball while the wave is flat. If you feel rushed, lengthen the pause in Settings.
Once the rhythm feels natural, press Sound and follow only the wave, then see if the tempo holds.
Questions
What counts as a set?
Each Play to Pause is a set, saved with its tempo, ratio, strokes (counted at the impact tone) and time. Change the tempo while it plays and a new set starts once it settles.
What does Progress show?
Your usual tempo (the one you’ve made the most strokes at), days practiced in the last 30 days, sessions, strokes and time with the metronome on, each session’s main tempo on a graph, and the tempos you practice. Open any session to see its sets.
Which badges can I earn?
First session, 100 strokes, 1000 strokes, Steady set (one set of 50 strokes) and 3 days in a week (Monday to Sunday).
Can I use the keyboard?
Yes. Space plays and pauses, and ← / → move one tempo at a time.
Does it work on iPhone and Apple Watch?
Yes. The iPhone and iPad app adds a tap with each tone. On Apple Watch you set the tempo with the Digital Crown and press Play; a ring fills through the backswing, with tones and a tap, and Pause logs the set.
Can I turn the animation off?
The wave is how the drill keeps time, so it always scrolls while the tones play. Profile ▸ Animations (or Reduce Motion on your device) turns off the ticker tape when you finish a session.
Ready for Short Game Tempo?
Open it in your browser and play your first set. Practice as a guest, or sign in to sync with the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch app. New drills are added regularly.
By David Golfs · Questions? david@davidgolfs.com