IN THIS final article in the putting series, I’ll look at the one often overlooked area — pace control.

It would be fairly safe to assume that stroke length will have some say in the distance a putt travels. The longer the stroke, the further the ball will travel. Shorter strokes for shorter distances.

Players using the same swing length on the same area of putting green can hit the ball two very different distances.

Why? The tempo of the stroke is a big factor. There are players on the tour who have different tempos. There is not necessarily one perfect tempo, but there’s a range of speeds which the top putters will lie within.

It might seem a tough one to work on, but if you turn your attention and awareness to the tempo of the stroke, you’ll start to notice the speed and also the consistency of it.

The other added bonus is, after following the last two articles, technique should become automatic and by focussing on the tempo of the stroke, it’ll take your mind off the mechanics — ideal for better course performance.

Often, players will tell me they decelerate into impact. I sometimes see that, but I also see many more who move the club back with a short backswing, followed by rapid acceleration and a much longer through swing.

Using a metronome can really help you. If you don’t have a metronome lying around the house download a free metronome app to your smartphone.

You can set the speed to any beats per minute (bpm) you choose. Aim between 70 and 90bpm (picture one).

You’ll be able to gauge what is a good and normal speed for you. Listen to the clicks and see which bpm range allows you to keep the beat (picture 2).

We’ll turn attentions to green reading once the greens become more friendly