You line up the shot. You read the break. You get your practice shots. You feel safe. Then he hits him and watches him die two meters from the hole. Again. You left another one short. You know you’ve made it before you even finish your shot. The ball never had a chance.
Keeping them short it’s the most frustrating mistake in golf because you know better. The problem isn’t that you don’t know you should hit it harder; that’s why you’re not hitting it harder in the first place.
You are afraid to pass
That’s the real reason you’re leaving short. You are more afraid of one three putt how much you miss a potential bird. You’d rather leave it short and get a knock than go over it and face a four-foot return. So you unconsciously lighten the blow. You slow down. You give it up. The ball comes in short.
This fear is backward. A putt that misses the hole has zero chance of going in. Even if you miss, you’re hitting the other with three legs instead of two. This is not a disaster. This is golf.
You are being slowed down by impact
Watch your shot on the next short shot you hit. Does your shooter speed through the ball or slow down? If you’re making cuts, you’re slowing down. You do a backflip and then get on the ball. This is slowing down and killing you distance control.
A good placement shot speeds through the ball. Not violently. Not in one fell swoop. But no problem. Your return is shorter than the one you followed. This creates consistent speed and consistent distance.
Practice this with a simple exercise. Make the backswing go back to a point and then make your follow up go twice as far. If your back bend goes back six inches, your line should go 12 inches. This forces you to accelerate. Do this enough times and it becomes automatic.
Your turn back is too long
If your backswing is too long, you need to slow down to avoid hitting the ball too hard. You back the putter too far, realize you’re about to drop it past the hole, and subconsciously slow down. The result is a weak, tentative shot that leaves the ball short.
Shorten your back bend. A shorter backswing forces you to accelerate through the stroke to get the ball into the hole. You can’t slow down from a short back and still get the ball there. Your body knows this, so it automatically speeds up.
For a 10-foot putt, your backswing should be small, perhaps six to eight inches. That’s it. It feels like nothing. But if you accelerate through the ball, this little backswing is enough.
You are not committing to the line
When you are unsure of your reading, leave them short. You think the putt breaks more than it does, so you aim higher and hit it softer. Or you think it’s right, but you’re not sure, so you lighten up just in case. Either way, you are not committed. And when you’re not committed, you don’t make an aggressive shot.
Pick a line and commit to it. Even if you’re wrong, a hit is better than an attempt. A ball hit down the foul line at good speed has a chance of going in. A ball hit down the fairway at poor speed has no chance.
You are thinking about the result instead of the process
As you stand over the putt, you’re thinking about making it. Or he misses it. Or three-place. Or what your play partners will think. You’re thinking about everything but the one thing that matters: making a good shot.
Stop thinking about the result. Think about your process. Your only task is to launch the ball into your lane at the right speed. That’s it. You cannot control whether it enters. You can only control your shot. Focus on hitting a smooth, accelerating shot that sends the ball past the hole if it misses.
The workout that fixes everything
Here’s a simple drill to help you stop short shots. Take to the practice green with 10 balls. Place all 10 balls from eight feet into the same hole. Your goal is to get all 10 balls through the hole. You are not trying to do them. You’re trying to hit them with enough speed that they get at least a foot if they miss.
This workout reprograms your brain. It teaches you what “fast enough” feels like. He removes the fear to pass. After doing this exercise a few times, you’ll be good to go hitting shots with better pace on the course. You will stop shorting them.
The simple truth
Leaving short words is not one stroke problem. It is one commitment problem. You are not committing to getting the ball into the hole. You are protecting yourself from the past. Stop protection. Start attacking. Hit the ball with enough speed to get it through the hole. Accelerate through influence. Shorten your back bend. Commit to your line. The ball can’t go in if it doesn’t get there. Give it a chance.
