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Is leaving it short so bad?

TC said:
If it doesn't get past the hole it never had a chance of going in. A putt left short can never go in Hawk. I do think it's important for longer putts to be conscious of where you might want to leave it.


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I agree with TC. I'm not the greatest putter in the world, but you have to get it there to make it. I'd much rather run one by a foot or two than to leave them short over and over.

Same can be said of approach shots on to the green. Hank Haney gave a great tip some time ago in one of the golf magazines that given the fact most of us are now using a GPS or a rangefinder, you should always go with the number to the back of the green most of the time, because you force yourself to hit a perfect shot each and every time if you go with the distance say to the pin. We are simply noy good enough to be going at an exact number, like the pin distance each and everytime.

Since I have applied Hanks thought, I have been closer to the pin more in the past year than before by simply going with the longer yardage coming in. If I off, it is normally short so now when I'm short, I'm closer to the center of the green than before where I went with the pin yardage and ended up being short of the green over and over. There will always be times when long is no good and then you have to go with the lower number, but nine times out of ten, I'll use the longer yardage from my GPS when hitting approach shots.
 
TC said:
If it doesn't get past the hole it never had a chance of going in. A putt left short can never go in Hawk. I do think it's important for longer putts to be conscious of where you might want to leave it.


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This, plus when you hit the ball past the hole you get a read on the line coming back. If you leave it short you got no read on what you have coming back, on top of the fact that it never had a chance.
 
Great question Hawk. I tell you what ALWAYS happens to me. I tend to have pretty good alignment, but I suck with speed. I can't tell you how many times I have had a putt going center cup only to come up a few rolls short. This angers me so much. If I would have had the speed to run it 3 feet past every time, my handicap would probably be at least 2 points lower.
 
Its a great question and alot of opinons on this, I mean alot of teachers say aim 3 feet past so you get it there, but then they tell you not to look at the hole look at a mark about a foot past your ball so you have the line, but my problem is speed as well nothing worse than hitting a 30 foot putt and it pops out b/c you hit it to hard or it hits th elip and shoot off another 8 feet past the hole, personally I don;t mind hitting it short b/c most of the time im just inches away from the hole then I 2 putt im good, its th eones I try to make when I hit it past the hole that leave me 3 putting b/c I hit it past the hole and it just kept going. maybe it is just me with that issue.
 
coolbreeze said:
This, plus when you hit the ball past the hole you get a read on the line coming back. If you leave it short you got no read on what you have coming back, on top of the fact that it never had a chance.
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Great thought as well! I know I'm one that often looks the other way, looks down or something out of frustration from missing the putt, only to miss reading the line on the miss. I'm working on that part this year. I notice the pro's always make sure to get a good look at the miss. Another good lesson there.
 
Is leaving it short so bad? I say YES!!!!! When I am on the putting green, I am trying to make everything.
This means when I do miss, the ball will to go "PAST THE HOLE" and for breaking putts will miss on the "ON THE HIGH SIDE".

I HATE leaving any putt short! Yeah, having a 2" tap-in for par is nice, BUT not when it is center-cut and short, that hurts bad . I'd rather have a speed-misread resulting in a 3-5'er coming back. Putting is about confidence and you will be shocked how your confidence grows when you drain a couple 15 -20'ers because your getting the ball consistently past the hole and a few go in. You do get use to those 3' come-backers and the key is to watch the ball closely as it goes by the hole.
 
thedue said:
My step dad was always a joker and was always saying "97.4% of short putt's are missed putt's", lol. Duh!
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I heard this stat went up to 98.1%...:D

For me, I never try and ram it too far by, but a foot past is better than a foot short.
 
I try to miss with the easiest putt coming back, I don't mind being short if it means an uphill straight putt to finish. If going past means I am left with a downhill 4 footer with 6 inches of break I might want to avoid that. Putts are no different than any other shot, there is such a thing as a good miss - or a better miss.
 
I was taught that a ball dying into the hole gives it more of a chance to go in because it can fall in from the side whereas a faster putt has a smaller area to go into. Of course, you still have to get it to the hole. My problem with trying to die putts to the hole is that I often leave them short. I've become a more aggressive putter and make many more putts because of it. If you're good from 3' in, why not take the risk of going past the hole if you know you will make it coming back?
 
I try to hit through the back of the cup. If it doesn't get there, no chance at a make.
 
I think most people can agree that we always want to get it there to give it a chance but if im putting up hill I would perfer my miss to be three feet short rather than three feet past and having to come back down hill.
 
I was told to never leave something short...but I still "lag" everything to the hole because I would rather be close if I miss instead of 5 feet past.
 
< 20 feet - EVERY putt has enough speed to go in.

> 20 feet - Try to make, but lag is OK.

I leave myself a lot of 3 or 4 footers with this method, but the only way to get better at them is to do it.

I don't hit any putt with any other thought than to make it.
 
Years ago I coined a phrase I think says it all.

Never up, never in.

Yep, that was me.

Kevin
 
Esox said:
Years ago I coined a phrase I think says it all.

Never up, never in.

Yep, that was me.

Kevin
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Look at her over there, saying that.

:p

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tapatalk
 
Very interesting discussion, thanks Hawk. I think I agree with TC about giving yourself a chance, I am going to try to apply this for a few rounds and see how it works out for me.
 
A couple of thoughts: (1) Did I miss it or did someone mention the difference in grasses on the green surface? I like dying it into the cup on bent greens but that is almost impossible on greens with grain--to die it into the hole. Most bermuda greens require you to hit it into the hole. The newer bermuda grasses don't have as much grain so they are more like bent.

(2) On fast bent greens with some slope, that three feet past the hole stuff can turn into 8 or more feet with only a slight error in pace.

Those two things shape my ideas on putting. I never want to putt it 3 feet past the cup. I want to make it if possible. If I don't make it, then I want to make 100% of the next putts. Inside 15 feet, I try to roll it into the hole and if not made then leave it inside a foot from the hole (short, long, right, left, doesn't matter.) On long putts, I try to roll it into a circle within 18 inchs of the hole. On bermuda greens I try to hammer short putts into the hole. The goal is to NEVER have worse than two putts.
 
I couldn't care whether or not I miss short or long, as long as it's not more than 2 or 3 feet. If it's short, it never has a chance of going in, if it's long, it doesn't either. A miss is a miss. The ball is sitting somewhere that isn't the hole. My goal is just to miss by a small amount if I do. Avoid 3 putts, you know?
 
Damaikis said:
I couldn't care whether or not I miss short or long, as long as it's not more than 2 or 3 feet. If it's short, it never has a chance of going in, if it's long, it doesn't either. A miss is a miss. The ball is sitting somewhere that isn't the hole. My goal is just to miss by a small amount if I do. Avoid 3 putts, you know?
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But from what distance? You shouldn't be just trying to two putt every time. Some putts you need to charge the hole. That's where birdies come from.

Kevin
 
I think I'm going to blame this thread for leaving so many dang putts short this afternoon!! Left 1 birdie and 3 par putts about two inches short!
 
Esox said:
But from what distance? You shouldn't be just trying to two putt every time. Some putts you need to charge the hole. That's where birdies come from.

Kevin
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My intent is to make every putt I hit. While my goal is to make it, I realize I won't every time. So I try to hit my putts so that if they don't go in it is an easy tap-in. Otherwise I would just slam every putt at the hole.
 
Hawk said:
My feeling is almost the exact opposite of what Seth said. I don't mind coming up short any more than missing long, simply because I missed either way.
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It's physically impossible for a ball that comes up short to go in. Never in golf history has it ever happened for anyone in the world. If it goes past, there's a chance. A slim one, but there's a chance. Going past is better.
 
For me it depends on the distance. If I'm 6-10 feet out I don't want to leave it short but I don't want to go 3 feet past the cup either. I want it to die in the hole and if it doesn't then I want it to be within a foot of the hole, that way no matter where it is it is just a straightforward miss. If I'm further out than 10 feet than I'll still try to sink it but I won't feel as bad if I leave it short by a foot. It's still a miss whichever way I do it unless I'm intentionally leaving it short of the cup... which I would never intentionally do.
 
Esox said:
But from what distance? You shouldn't be just trying to two putt every time. Some putts you need to charge the hole. That's where birdies come from.

Kevin
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Rockinar said:
It's physically impossible for a ball that comes up short to go in. Never in golf history has it ever happened for anyone in the world. If it goes past, there's a chance. A slim one, but there's a chance. Going past is better.
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This discussion should end right there. If youre not looking to make a one putt every single time I think youre going about it in the wrong way.
 
Kmac said:
This discussion should end right there. If youre not looking to make a one putt every single time I think youre going about it in the wrong way.
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I guess thats the thing. If your deliberately leaving it short then your not giving yourself a chance but if you leave it short by mistake for whatever reason then it is no different to just missing, it's still a miss and depending on the green it might be a better miss than running it past. But I agree, the mindset should never be to leave it short.
 
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