PuttrLab tracks four key metrics that professional putting coaches use to evaluate stroke quality. Understanding these numbers — and what "good" looks like — is the first step to becoming a more consistent putter.
The angle of your putter face relative to your target line at the moment of impact. Measured in degrees. A perfectly square face is 0°. A positive value means the face is open (pointing right for a right-handed golfer); a negative value means it is closed (pointing left).
Face angle at impact is the single biggest factor in determining the starting direction of your putt. Even 1–2° of error can send a 10-foot putt several inches offline — enough to miss. Consistency here is more important than perfection; if your face angle is consistently 1° open, you can adjust your aim. If it varies between 3° open and 2° closed, your misses will be unpredictable.
Tour-level putters typically deliver the face within ±1° of their intended line. For amateur golfers, getting consistently within ±2° is a strong starting point.
The timing relationship between your backstroke and forward stroke, measured as the ratio of backstroke time to forward stroke time. For example, a 2:1 tempo means your backstroke takes twice as long as your forward stroke.
Tempo is one of the most reliable indicators of a repeatable putting stroke. Tour professionals tend to have remarkably consistent tempo from putt to putt, regardless of distance. An inconsistent tempo often correlates with inconsistent speed control — the most important skill in putting.
Research on PGA Tour players has shown that most elite putters operate at roughly a 2:1 backstroke-to-forward-stroke tempo. This doesn't mean faster or slower is bad — what matters is that your personal tempo is consistent. PuttrLab helps you find your natural tempo and track whether you're maintaining it.
Whether your putter head is speeding up (accelerating) or slowing down (decelerating) as it passes through the impact zone. PuttrLab tracks putter head speed throughout the stroke and flags whether you are accelerating or decelerating at the moment of contact.
Decelerating through impact is one of the most common putting faults, especially under pressure. When you decelerate, you lose control of both direction and distance. The putter face is more likely to twist, and you'll consistently leave putts short. Accelerating smoothly through the ball produces a truer roll and more predictable distance.
You should be gently accelerating through impact on every putt. This doesn't mean hitting the ball harder — it means your stroke should be designed so that the putter is still gaining speed (even slightly) at the moment of contact. A shorter backswing with a smooth acceleration through the ball is far better than a long backswing with a deceleration.
A comparison of the arc path your putter follows during the backswing versus the arc path it follows during the forward swing. Rather than measuring length or distance, this metric evaluates how consistently the putter head traces the same curved path in both directions.
A consistent arc ratio means your putter is following the same path back and through — a hallmark of a reliable, repeatable stroke. When the backswing arc and forward swing arc don't match, it means the putter is deviating off its natural path. For example, if you take the putter back on a wide arc but bring it forward on a much tighter arc, the club face and path are fighting each other at impact. These mismatches lead to inconsistent contact, directional errors, and putts that don't start on your intended line.
You want the arc of your backswing and forward swing to mirror each other as closely as possible. A matched arc means the putter is traveling on a predictable, repeating path — which makes it far easier to deliver a square face at impact. The specific size of your arc (slight arc vs. strong arc) matters less than whether both halves of the stroke follow the same shape consistently.
Click on the View Data button on the homescreen to display graphs. Sort by session or by date, manage data, learn more about metrics, and view data to understand what causes you to make and miss putts
Knowing these numbers turns aimless putting practice into focused improvement. Instead of rolling 50 putts with no feedback, you can identify exactly what's off and work on the specific issue that's costing you strokes.
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