# PGA US and the tempo the PGA of America teaches

Schedules and scores are on the official sites. The PGA of America teaches a steady rhythm on full swings and putts, and Striped checks yours.

By Nick, Striped founder · Published 10 Nov 2026

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A PGA US search can lead to the PGA of America, a tour or one of the big championships. For dates, tickets and scores, use the organizer’s official site. The PGA of America also teaches a steady swing tempo, and Striped measures yours with your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch.

## What a PGA US search can mean

Most of these searches want the news of who plays, where and when. For the tour schedule, use the tour’s own site or the broadcast.

For PGA US Open dates and tickets, use the championship’s official site. US Open golf scores during play are there too, or on the broadcast. This guide does not track results.

It covers the part of US PGA golf you can take to the range. That part is the PGA of America’s teaching on rhythm, and how to measure your own.

## How the PGA of America defines tempo

[The PGA of America’s article on rhythm and tempo](https://www.pga.com/story/find-a-rhythm-and-tempo-that-fits-your-game) defines swing tempo as the ratio of backswing time to downswing time. It cites the 3-to-1 ratio from the Tour Tempo method.

The article also separates tempo from speed. Golfers who swing at very different speeds can both swing 3-to-1.

That is why tempo is worth your practice time. A ratio you repeat from shot to shot can help your contact, at whatever speed you swing.

Striped writes the same idea as 3:1. At 3:1, the backswing takes three times as long as the downswing. That ratio describes tour swings; it is not a rule for yours.

## The same rhythm on a short putt and a long one

[The PGA of America’s article on putting rhythm](https://www.pga.com/story/better-putting-through-a-better-rhythm) times the stroke from takeaway to contact. That rhythm “should be the same whether you have a 3 foot putt or a 30 foot putt.” Only the putter’s speed and how far it travels change.

The article suggests a “tick, tock” cadence to hold it. A rhythm that stays the same on every length of putt can help your distance control.

[A preprint on the biomechanics of golf tempo](https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0611291v1) by Grober and Cholewicki points the same way. It describes tempo as a “biomechanical clock” that is “relatively insensitive to the length of the shot.” Its peer review is not confirmed.

## Full swings and putts in the metronome

Striped’s metronome follows the same split. The Tour pace plays 3:1, at 800 ms back and 267 ms down. Short Game plays 533 ms back and 267 ms down, and Putting plays 600 ms back and 300 ms through, so both are 2:1.

*Figure: The Tour, Short Game and Putting paces in Striped, drawn to one time scale.* Three pairs of bars on one time scale, for the Tour, Short Game and Putting paces. The Tour backswing bar is three times as long as its downswing bar, while Short Game and Putting split two to one.

Tour keeps 3:1 for full swings. Short Game and Putting run at 2:1.

Hear each pace in the [free web metronome](https://stripedgolfapp.com/metronome/), then pick one that fits your stroke. The [putting metronome guide](https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/putting-metronome-bpm/) turns the 2:1 putting pace into a BPM you can set.

## What one iron session shows

The PGA’s 3-to-1 is a reference point. Your own ratio is a measurement, swing by swing.

One 7-iron session, timed at the hands, read 2.8, 2.9 and 3.0 on its three swings (example swings from one session). The session averaged 2.9, with a backswing of 0.85 s and a downswing of 0.29 s.

| Swing | Back | Down | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swing 1 | 0.84 s | 0.3 s | 2.8 |
| Swing 2 | 0.86 s | 0.29 s | 2.9 |
| Swing 3 | 0.86 s | 0.29 s | 3.0 |
| Session | 0.85 s | 0.29 s | 2.9 |

Example swings from one session. Backswing, downswing and tempo ratio of each swing in one 7-iron session, timed at the hands. Measured with Striped.

The backswing held close to one length on every swing, and the ratio held with it. A steady ratio is the habit to practice, whatever your own number is.

## How to check your tempo in Striped

Striped works with your iPhone in your front pocket, AirPods in your ears and Apple Watch on your lead wrist. Striped times your hands. Apple Watch finds the top where your hands reverse.

1. Put your iPhone in your front pocket and your AirPods in. Wear Apple Watch on your lead wrist.
2. Open Profile → Devices. It shows whether your Apple Watch is ready.
3. On Practice, choose Irons for full swings or Putting for putts. Add a metronome pace if you want one, such as Tour or Putting.
4. Hit balls with one club, or roll putts. After each swing, you hear a soft chime, then your ratio read out in your AirPods.
5. Stop from iPhone or Apple Watch, then open the session report. Tempo, Back and Down show the average. On a putt, Down is Through.
6. In Progress, each point is one club’s average for a practice day.

Striped report, tempo card: each swing's backswing-to-downswing ratio, with the session average, the average of 10 swings from a real iron session. Tempo Tempo 3.1:1, range 2.5–3.5, Back 1.03 s, range 0.89–1.18 s, Down 0.34 s, range 0.31–0.36 s.

The Tempo card shows each swing’s ratio beside the session average, so a steady rhythm is easy to spot. Captured in the Striped app.

For putts, test the PGA of America’s advice directly. Roll short putts and long ones in one session, then check whether the ratio stays close from one putt to the next.

## Keep the tones for practice

The metronome, its tones and the spoken ratio are for practice only. [The R&A’s Rule 4.3](https://www.randa.org/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-4) does not allow audio that helps with swing tempo during a round.

So use them on the range and the practice green. Play your rounds without them, and let the rhythm you built there carry over.

## Taking the PGA’s advice to the range

When you watch a tour event, notice the rhythm as well as the score. Then give tempo one bucket at your next practice, full swings first and putts after.

Record one session with the metronome on and one with it off. If the ratio holds without the tones, the rhythm is your own, and that is the one you take to the course.

The [golf tempo guide](https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/golf-swing-tempo/) has drills for the ratio. The [PGA championships guide](https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/pga-championships/) covers how tour data describes the players.

Setup help is on the [support page](https://stripedgolfapp.com/support). [The home page](https://stripedgolfapp.com/) shows what else Striped measures, such as hip turn, head movement, swing plane and hand path.

Striped measures your swing with the iPhone in your pocket, your AirPods and Apple Watch.

[Download Striped on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/striped/id6789775738)

**About Striped**

Striped is built by a small team and tested on a growing library of recorded swings from golfers on the range and at home.

## Sources

1. [Find a Rhythm and Tempo that Fits Your Game (PGA of America, 2021)](https://www.pga.com/story/find-a-rhythm-and-tempo-that-fits-your-game)
2. [Be a better putter through better rhythm (PGA of America, 2019)](https://www.pga.com/story/better-putting-through-a-better-rhythm)
3. [Towards a Biomechanical Understanding of Tempo in the Golf Swing (Grober and Cholewicki, arXiv physics/0611291)](https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0611291v1)
4. [Rule 4: The Player's Equipment, Rules of Golf (R&A)](https://www.randa.org/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-4)
5. Striped: The paces the Striped metronome plays (backswing and downswing, in milliseconds).
6. Striped: One 7-iron session (3 swings), tempo at the hands. (example swings from one session)
7. Striped: Striped times tempo at the hands. The top is where the hands reverse, read by Apple Watch on the lead wrist.

## Cite or embed

Cite this guide: Nick. “PGA US and the tempo the PGA of America teaches.” Striped, 10 Nov 2026. https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/pga-us/

## More guides

- [What a 3:1 golf tempo means and how to train it](https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/golf-swing-tempo/): Golf tempo is backswing time over downswing time. Learn what 3:1 means and how long a backswing takes, then steady yours with three drills. (Golf swing tempo · 27 Oct 2026)
- [How to set your putting metronome BPM for a 2:1 tempo](https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/putting-metronome-bpm/): Which putting metronome BPM to use for a 2:1 putting tempo, why a steady stroke can help your distance control, and how to check yours. (Short game and putting tempo · 31 Oct 2026)
- [PGA championships and the swing habit you can practice](https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/pga-championships/): PGA championships show who won. Learn how published tour data describes the players, and how to measure the swing habit you can practice, your tempo. (Golf swing numbers · 8 Nov 2026)
- [The PGA news that reaches your own game](https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/pga-news/): PGA news tells you who won. Two stories reach your own game, the rule on audio in a round and the swing sensors in the devices you own. (Training with iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods · 7 Nov 2026)