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Is leaving it short so bad?

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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I am not sure I agree. If you are 25 feet out with an uphill putt, leaving it short by 3 feet means you have an uphill putt left. Going past it means you have a putt downhill left. Depending on where you play, that can be a huge difference in making your 3 footers.

While the notion of going past the hole gives one the ability to make the putt, there is a case where leaving it short is the "better miss". I know on the internet nobody ever misses 3 footers, but in the real world on fast greens, that 3 foot downhill putt is missed quite a bit. :D
 
roswellj said:
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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Yeah I agree about a lot of the comments when you have certain putts and lengths its not all that bad to not run way past the hole etc etc. But lets keep this simple. If it never gets to the hole its NEVER going in the hole. Simple as that. Cut out all the this and that and whatnots. If it doesn't get there it doesn't go in. And if you think of in that sense I think its fairly clear that you have to get it to the hole and at least give yourself a chance. I think an aggressive putter is always going to beat a passive putter.
 
For me it's all about the speed and slope of the greens. I try to give it just enough that if I were to miss it would roll no more than a foot pass the cup. At all costs I do not want the pressure of having to hit a 3 or 4 foot downhill to make par or bogey, in a case like that I will try to stop it at the cup or just short.
 
DANNY.P said:
I would say that I put quite the same. If I'm a foot short or long I'm good. What sucks is 4 foot short or long
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I've heard those BackStryke's are nice for those 4 footers. LOL.
 
I thought it was a pretty good conversation and I did take away the idea that there are situations where I could be more aggressive. In the end, I'm always trying to get the ball in the hole. I just haven't ever been more upset if I misjudged my speed a little short vs a little too hard. Thanks for the thoughts.
 
GrantD said:
If you run it past, you can see the break as it goes by. That will help you when you putt it back. I was taught the 18" rule. I try to put it about that past the hole.
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I agree with this thought, i'd rather see the line when it rolls by than leaving it short and not knowing what to do unless its obviously short by less than a foot
 
I think something thats important here is the difference between lag putts and putts you are trying to make. If you are hitting a lag putt then it makes the most sense to give yourself the best possible second putt you can. If it is an uphill putt then it might be better to leave that lag short and not run it past the hole as JB said, but if you are within 15' and you are trying to make the putt, I don't think there is any excuse for leaving it short. You just gave yourself no chance at making it.
 
coolbreeze said:
I think something thats important here is the difference between lag putts and putts you are trying to make. If you are hitting a lag putt then it makes the most sense to give yourself the best possible second putt you can. If it is an uphill putt then it might be better to leave that lag short and not run it past the hole as JB said, but if you are within 15' and you are trying to make the putt, I don't think there is any excuse for leaving it short. You just gave yourself no chance at making it.
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Couldn't have said it better myself, these are my thoughts as well.
 
Pelz did the science. He says 17 inches past the hole means that the ball was rolling at the speed that gives the putt the best chance of going in. Slower and the putt can be deflected by bumps more easily; faster and lip-outs are more likely.

When putts go in I am delighted regardless whether they barely crawl over the edge or bounce off the back edge, leap in the air and fall in.

I think that dying most putts in is a sign of a lack of confidence and many putts are likely to be left short.

Putts need speed and line to be successful. Don't give up one in favor of the other.
 
I would like to leave it within 3ft and uphill. So if that is short or long I'd rather have an uphill putt to clean up.
 
I spent about 3 hours at the range this morning working on my short game and spent about an hour putting. I don't like leaving it short at all. One thing I noticed, besides the obvious that the ball will never go in, was that it frustrates me to no end not getting the ball to the hole. I honestly don't know if I can find any silver lining or stisfaction by leaving a putt short.

How many times to you putt one that burns the edge or even catches the hole, that afterwards you can walk off the green thinking "I gave it a good roll and a chance but it just didn't fall?" That's a confidence booster for me. If it doesn't get there I start pressing, making sure that it gets there. This causes me to stab at and not stroke the ball.

Just some observations while putting today.
 
TC said:
How many times to you putt one that burns the edge or even catches the hole, that afterwards you can walk off the green thinking "I gave it a good roll and a chance but it just didn't fall?" That's a confidence booster for me. If it doesn't get there I start pressing, making sure that it gets there. This causes me to stab at and not stroke the ball.
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Quoted for freakin truth! I can't tell you how many times I have had one going for the center of the hole just to wind up a little short.
 
I seem to agree with the common theme of never up never in. Also, I do not want it to die into the hole, but to just roll in smoothly. I am not saying to ram it into the back of the cup, but to know it is going to get there as soon as it is struck is a good feeling that I don't think you can have if you are trying to die it into the hole.
 
I agree that some times it's not so bad to err on the side of leaving a putt short when there's a lot of slope. The last thing I want after my first putt in that setting is a slick 2 foot downhill sidehill breaking putt. Having said that, what I find is that I know I'm putting well when every putt goes by the hole by a foot or so. What I mean by that is that I notice with me is that the number of times I leave putts short relates to my confidence on the comeback putt that follows. If I don't worry about the 2nd putt I then hit better 1st putts. Conversely, when I'm scared to death about how cruddy I'm putting those short ones, my first putts become more and more tentative. This is why I spend most of my practice putting time at the course just hitting 1-2 foot putts from all types of positions around the hole--especially the downhill, or sidehill breakers. It really helps to free up and unclutter my mind, if that makes any sense.
 
This was one big problem for me while using the D.A.R.T. putter last year, I was always right in the middle of the cup but a foot or so short and it just drove me absolutely crazy. I'm talking on putts of 20 feet and under when I'm trying to and expecting to make some of them.
 
I look at it like this, "I've never made a birdie leaving it short." I struggle with leaving it short early in the season, but I always try and put the ball in the back of the cup...sometimes it backfires and sometimes it doesn't.
 
Adam0304 said:
I look at it like this, "I've never made a birdie leaving it short." I struggle with leaving it short early in the season, but I always try and put the ball in the back of the cup...sometimes it backfires and sometimes it doesn't.
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True, but I've never made one by being long to the right or the left of the cup either. I know I've only been playing a relatively short time and all the "Experts" say miss long, but to me a miss is a miss
 
This is talking about hitting putts too hard not missing your line.


RonInThornton said:
True, but I've never made one by being long to the right or the left of the cup either. I know I've only been playing a relatively short time and all the "Experts" say miss long, but to me a miss is a miss
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And youll never make a putt that doesnt make it to the hole.
Damaikis said:
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.
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TheIceThainn said:
This is talking about hitting putts too hard not missing your line.
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Hmmm, well not sure here but it seems like if you're putting to 18" of the back of the hole you would have to miss your line or it would go in. Am I missing something here?
 
Just read through this entire thread and I enjoyed all of the different opinions on the subject. I am with the majority here, (if I miss) I would rather run it by about 18". Obviously there are scenarios where leaving it a bit short is better than running it by, but I always try to "give it a chance".
 
I don't use a line on the ball because that that causes me to focus too much on the line and not on the distance, I tense up and leave all of those putts at least a foot short of the hole. It is sort of like flubbing a chip that you normally would make a good stroke on because you tense up and bear down too much on it trying to hit it too perfectly. I don't think that just thinking about getting it there is 'the most' important thing, making a good smooth stroke moving through the ball is for me the most important thing, those usually don't end up short and some go in.
 
Yes you absolutely are. You want it to run through the hole. But lets say the hole were drawn on the green with a marker, it would run through that circle 18" past.

No one is saying AIM 18" past. Theyre saying have enough speed to roll 18" past (if you miss) and adjust your line to hit the hole.

RonInThornton said:
Hmmm, well not sure here but it seems like if you're putting to 18" of the back of the hole you would have to miss your line or it would go in. Am I missing something here?
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I can see both sides of this, but in my case, I find that playing to roll about 18" by the hole helps me visualize the line better. I can predict the path more accurately if the ball's got that little bit of speed on it at the end. If I try to die it in, I find the ball often breaks hard at the end and I'm not even really close...although I'm facing an uphill putt to finish.
 
What do you have to lose by having an 18" come backer? Nothing. You gave yourself a chance at holing it.

What do you have to lose by missing short? Bogey. Par. Birdie. Eagle.

A guarantee is a guarantee. Putts can be holed by rolling too fast. Im so confused how there is another side to this... (when not lagging)
 
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