Struggling with short putts

[NevinW]

I continue to have problems with missing 2-5 foots. It is really costing me and it really taking the fun out of the game for me. It is causing me to 3 putts 4-5 times around. I need some idea about how to increase my confidence with short putts. Shot 77 today and missed 4 3 footers. Suggestions or ideas about how to deal with this are appreciated.

[getitdaily]

Check tempo. Don't get too quick or too slow on shorter putts.

 

Don't get handsy. The shorter the stroke the more the hands should be out of the stroke.

 

Don't decelerate.

 

Don't look at the hole until you hear the ball fall in.

 

Find a routine where you line up, look at the hole, look at the putter, look at the hole, and pull the trigger as soon as you look back at the ball.

 

Find a spot in the back of the hole and focus on that in your routine.

 

Forget what the putter head is doing. The more you watch the putter head, the less free your stroke is.

[Jrhemming]

I could just see me not looking at the hole until I heard the putt fall and just standing there and standing there... lol

[GungHoGolf]

Follow through straight towards the cup - don’t jab at the ball or stop the stroke short.

[m111]

Buy a chalk line and see if you're rolling the ball in a straight line -- you might have an open or shut face at impact due to perhaps your stroke or not committing to the line / making subconscious adjustments as you putt ... also might be looking up to follow the ball rather than completing your stroke.

 

Use the marking on the ball and point it to the hole, set up square to that line on the ball and then trust the line even if it doesn't look right to your eye while standing side-saddle and then hit it firm.

[A.Princey]

Huge key for me, especially when I am lacking confidence that day, is to follow the putter head to the hole a hold it there until the putt drops. Follow through to the hole, doesn't have to be SBST stroke, the toe can close, just make sure the putter head is pointed somewhat at the hole when it gets there. I use a complete shoulder rocking motion as well, and make sure to hit it firm. There's a reason the ball doesn't just limp in for the pros, you usually see it rebound off the back of the hole before disappearing.

[dsmil]

Do you have confidence in your alignment? Having a putter which gives confidence in your alignment can help.

[NevinW]

Thanks to everyone. These are some very good suggestions. I'll check my alignment and try taking the putter head directly at the hole.

[PreppySlapCut]

Chalk line or laser, and remember that you don’t have to hit short putts perfectly to make them. This video was instrumental in improving my putting (shout out to David Orr):

[BCC]

Hit a bunch of Putts around 3' range while looking at the hole. Takes all the pressure off mechanics and makes you focus on a very specific spot at the hole !! Give it a serious try....

[cwglum]

Tempo and setup

 

Make sure your tempo is consistent, I practice with a metronome app on my phone

 

Setup, get eyes directly over the ball, back of your neck pointed to the sky

I also will find a straight 3-5 footer on the green and use an alignment stick for both square setup (feet, hips, shoulders) and putter path

[zoots]

Sounds to me like a confidence thing rather than a stroke issue. I know Klassen is kind of a goof ball, but this drill really helped me with not getting frozen, or overthinking on the short ones. Thee trick is to keep keep moving to the next putt and just put a stroke on it without over analyzing. Very simple but effective.

 

[SavageCy]

Try going to the claw for the short ones when you're struggling

[iHititStraightSometimes]

Buy a chalk line and see if you're rolling the ball in a straight line -- you might have an open or shut face at impact due to perhaps your stroke or not committing to the line / making subconscious adjustments as you putt ... also might be looking up to follow the ball rather than completing your stroke.

 

Use the marking on the ball and point it to the hole, set up square to that line on the ball and then trust the line even if it doesn't look right to your eye while standing side-saddle and then hit it firm.

 

Got kind of a dumb question. Is it widely acceptable to put down a chalk line on the practice green at courses?

[RobertBaron]

When I can see the hole in my peripheral vision I tend to pull putts so from that distance I really focus on the ball, keeping on the ball until after impact and really focus on a straight back and through path.

[RobertBaron]

Buy a chalk line and see if you're rolling the ball in a straight line -- you might have an open or shut face at impact due to perhaps your stroke or not committing to the line / making subconscious adjustments as you putt ... also might be looking up to follow the ball rather than completing your stroke.

 

Use the marking on the ball and point it to the hole, set up square to that line on the ball and then trust the line even if it doesn't look right to your eye while standing side-saddle and then hit it firm.

 

Got kind of a dumb question. Is it widely acceptable to put down a chalk line on the practice green at courses?

 

I used to do it all the time. Never once was there any issue. It washes off next watering or rain if it even lasts that long.

[Atrayn]

Go to a putting green. Place 8 balls in a line on a straight putt. Place the first at 3 ft and another every foot after. Start with the first and make a game out of trying to hole out as many in a row as you can. If you miss, you have to start over. Once you make 8 in a row add another ball. Pretty soon, those short putts will be money.

[BrianMcG]

I started doing a fun practice drill on the putting green.

 

I take a 3 or 5 footer and I try to really bang the ball into the back of the hole. I try to make the ball bounce up off the back and into the hole. You will be amazed at how hard you really need to hit the ball for it to not go in.

 

This helps me hit those short ones firm enough to take out the break and just hit it in. I had gotten into a bad habit of lagging those short ones in, but the slower the ball goes closer to the hole the more likely you'll miss it due to the lumpy doughnut.

[finleysg]

Short putting for those of us too lazy to practice making 12 million 3 footers in a row:

1. Banish any fear of missing. You're going to be ok, and really, would you rather have a 36 footer for birdie or par?
   
2. Don't step up until you have a read you can commit to, and be very specific with the read. Your target is a blade of grass or a mark on the cup. Don't let the shortness of the putt tempt you away from choosing a line. If you can't find any movement, still find that very specific aim point.
   
3. Step up and commit to that read. If you can't do it, step away and start over. Practice stroke here if you use one.
   
4. Roll it.
   

On the way to the next tee, do a little post-shot analysis. Good read? Solid commitment? Good stroke? If you missed, it does no good to beat yourself up and/or to whine. Just figure out why you missed, plan to do better the next time, and move on.

 

I still get mad at myself if I failed to do step 2, because that laziness typically cascades down to lack of commitment, a tentative stroke, and a gawd-awful roll. But the post-shot process doesn't change -- next putt we (my inner caddie and me) double down on getting a read we can believe in.

[m111]

Buy a chalk line and see if you're rolling the ball in a straight line -- you might have an open or shut face at impact due to perhaps your stroke or not committing to the line / making subconscious adjustments as you putt ... also might be looking up to follow the ball rather than completing your stroke.

 

Use the marking on the ball and point it to the hole, set up square to that line on the ball and then trust the line even if it doesn't look right to your eye while standing side-saddle and then hit it firm.

 

Got kind of a dumb question. Is it widely acceptable to put down a chalk line on the practice green at courses?

 

It washes off pretty quick, it’s always gone by the next day when I’m back at the course due to rain or green maintenance.

 

Always see a few guys using the line after I’m gone too.

 

I think every course should put down their own chalk lines every day — seems like something that should be standard for practice greens.

[A.Princey]

I said it before a page back, but follow the putter head through to the hole and hold the finish. Short stabby strokes are usually to blame for missed shorties. Putt "through" the ball to the hole.

[bkirkley09]

I know that I watched a video from Guerin Rife and he said for shorter puts you can pronate your wrists (turn them off) or what he calls toeing it down which takes a lot of the movement out of the swing and help with any slight pulls or pushes. Now this is assuming your alignment is correct. Here is a link to the video (talks about it around the 4 minute mark) and you may already do this but this helped me quite a bit on shorter putts but I haver never come close to shooting a 77 so this may be of no help whatsoever.

 

[psunate08]

Excess hip movement in the through stroke. Put an alignment rod through your front 2 belt loops. Don’t let the rod move at all as you make your stroke. Even wait until the ball goes in the hole to let the rod move. It’ll straighten you out. Good luck!

[joj]

My 2 year ah ha moment:

I played this weekly scramble game for a couple years. We would always have these predictable putts. You know, 10 footer, right edge. I would watch 3 guys before me miss. We all knew it was right edge, but no one could start it on that path. They would push it a cup right, start it left edge, etc. I would get up there and do the same thing and I was batting clean up. Frustrating when it’s once every couple months. Pure rage when it’s every week, almost every putt. I realized over the span of those 2 years that most people can read greens, most people can putt with a decent pace, most people have a good routine, most people spend time practicing drills, most people have high quality putters but few people can start it on their intended line.

 

This led me on a journey of trying to hit it on my line a majority of the time. The best way I have found to do this for me is to only practice 10-15’ straight or slight break putts. It’s a far enough distance that you will miss if you don’t hit your intended line. Where as 3’ers will still let you in the side door. Once I was able to find a method that worked for me on long putts, I started making all my short putts because I knew I would hit my line. I trusted it out of facts not hope.

 

Tip: Don’t practice on bad greens. You can hit good putts on bumpy greens and miss. This doesn’t give you any usable feedback.

 

[danattherock]

Pop stroke. Youtube. Brandt Snedeker, among others use it. Very old stroke for short putts. Sounds weird, just look at the Youtube videos and try it out. Too simple to screw up and if you are missing short putts now why not try. Saw 4-5 videos on it just the other night.

[8thehardway]

Do your misses have anything in common?

[Mcgeeno]

I never understood why with other sports you stare at the target like darts or basketball or horseshoes etc but golf you look at the ball the whole process haha.

 

My short make percentage sky rocketed a few years back when I started looking at the hole inside 5-6 feet.

 

Trust your read and your stroke. Once I stopped worrying about how my stroke arched or how the takeaway looked it all improved...

[BigEx44]

Change your mental attitude.

You miss 2-5 foot putts because you think you should make all of them and as a result put a lot of pressure on yourself.

How about feeling good if you just put a good stroke on the ball and then if it goes in - great. Otherwise, no big deal.

[ChrisNH]

Do your misses have anything in common?

Yes. None of them go in... ;)

[danattherock]

I never understood why with other sports you stare at the target like darts or basketball or horseshoes etc but golf you look at the ball the whole process haha.

 

My short make percentage sky rocketed a few years back when I started looking at the hole inside 5-6 feet.

 

Trust your read and your stroke. Once I stopped worrying about how my stroke arched or how the takeaway looked it all improved...

 

The book Instinct Putting is about this, looking at hole rather than ball. Originally a training method to teach lag putting at Pinehurst golf schools, Eric Alpenfels and a few others put the book together. Quite interesting, and a short read. The idea of it goes back many, many, years.