01The short answer
How far you take the putter back and how much it speeds up through the ball set the speed of a putt together. Many different pairs of the two send the ball out at the same speed: a shorter backswing with more acceleration, or a longer one with less. So don’t rely on length alone, or on hit alone. For each speed you need, find the pair you can repeat best, check it by measuring the ball’s speed rather than by feel alone, write it down, and make that same stroke every time you need that speed.
02How backswing and acceleration set speedTwo dials. One number.
Think of every putt as two dials. One is how far the putter goes back. The other is how much it speeds up on the way through. Both feed the same thing: how fast the ball comes off the face, and on a given green, that decides how far it rolls.
- Same acceleration, longer backswing: the ball comes off faster.
- Same backswing, more acceleration: the ball comes off faster.
- So different pairs can give the same speed. A shorter backswing with more acceleration and a longer one with less can send the ball out at exactly the same speed.
Do: set both dials on every putt.
Don’t: treat backswing length as the only dial, or the hit as the only dial.
03Don’t max out either oneShaft parallel is not a plan.
Each dial has a limit, and putts fall apart at both ends.
Don’t: drag the putter back until the shaft is nearly level with the ground to get a long lag there. The further back it goes, the harder it is to bring it through the same way twice. Very long backswings tend to slow down into the ball, and the hands take over and steer.
Don’t: go to the other extreme either: a tiny backswing and a burst of speed you can’t repeat.
Do: stay in the middle of both. As the putts get longer, the backswing grows and the acceleration rises. Long putts need more of both, not just more length.
04The jab and the quitStabbed it. Then quit on it.
The two putts that cost you the most strokes both come from a pair that doesn’t match.
- The jab: too much hit for the backswing. The putter goes back a little, then lunges at the ball. The burst is different every time, so one putt comes up short and the next races by.
- The quit: too much backswing for the hit. The putter goes back a long way, you ease off on the way through, the hands start steering, and the ball dies short.
The fix for both isn’t a new stroke. It’s a better pair.
05Find your pair for each numberFeel picks it. The number proves it.
The Speed Machine reads the speed of every putt as a Speed Number, on Jarit’s own scale from 3 to 15, to a tenth. 3 is a tickle; 15 is a full-send lag. That turns finding your pair into a test instead of a guess.
Do: pick a Speed Number, say a 7. Try a few pairs: a shorter backswing with a firmer push through, a longer one with a smoother build, and one in between. Hit five putts with each and read the number after every putt.
Use feel to choose, and the number to confirm. Feel tells you which pairs are comfortable enough to try. But small differences are hard to feel: a 6.5 and a 7.5 can feel like the same stroke. The number shows you which pair actually repeats.
Your pair is the one that does both: it feels comfortable, and it lands on 7 putt after putt. When the feel and the number agree, you’ve found it.
Don’t: settle on a pair because it felt good once. Settle on it when it feels good and keeps hitting the number.
The machine reads the ball’s speed, not your stroke. You choose the pair; the number tells you whether it repeated.
06Write it down and use itSame number. Same stroke.
Do: note each pair in your own words, in a notebook or on your phone. For example: “7: back to my right toe, smooth build.” Build that list for the numbers you use, and rehearse each one.
Don’t: reinvent the stroke on every putt.
Why: on the course, all you have to decide is which number the putt needs, adjusted for that day’s greens (five minutes on the practice green tells you how). The stroke for that number is already settled. The Jarit App’s training program then makes each number yours, one at a time.
07What the research saysThe tour changes gears too.
Measurements of good putters back this up.
- The pros don’t use one acceleration. Accomplished putters keep the same tempo whatever the length of the putt, so a longer backswing has more ground to cover in the same time. That means they accelerate harder on longer strokes (Grober, 2011).
- There’s no one right style. Science&Motion measured the strokes of 99 PGA Tour players. About half build speed smoothly and evenly all the way to the ball, about a quarter give it a firmer hit, with the acceleration rising steeply into impact, and the rest are in between (Marquardt, 2007).
- Too long a backswing costs consistency. The same researchers found a backswing that’s too long is hard to swing smoothly: the putter often slows into the ball and the hands start to steer (Marquardt, 2016).
Good putters don’t share one pair. They each have a pair they can repeat.
08Questions golfers askAsked in the cart.
How far back should I take the putter?
As far as that putt’s speed needs, paired with the right amount of acceleration. Backswing length and acceleration set the ball’s speed together, and different pairs give the same speed. For each speed you need, find the pair you can repeat best and use it every time. Avoid both extremes: a backswing so long the shaft nears level with the ground, or one so short it takes a jab.
Should you accelerate through a putt?
Yes, smoothly, and by the right amount for the backswing. Too much acceleration for a short backswing is a jab. Too little for a long one is a quit: the putter slows into the ball and the hands start to steer. How much is right depends on the speed the putt needs and the backswing you pair with it.
Do longer putts need a longer backswing or more acceleration?
Usually both. A longer backswing adds speed, but it runs out: past a point it gets hard to bring the putter through the same way twice. So as putts get longer, the backswing grows and the acceleration rises with it.
How do I find the right backswing for each putt?
Pick a speed and try a few pairs: shorter and firmer, longer and smoother, and one in between. Hit five putts with each on the Speed Machine and read the Speed Number after every putt. Keep the pair that feels comfortable and lands on the number putt after putt, write it down, and use it every time you need that number.
Does the Speed Machine measure my stroke?
No. It reads the ball’s speed 16 inches after you strike it, as a Speed Number from 3 to 15. You choose the stroke; the number tells you whether it gave the speed you wanted, and whether it repeated.