How to Fix Hitting Golf Shots Short

Nothing in golf feels quite as demoralizing as a perfectly struck shot that lands 15 yards short of the flag. You committed to the swing, aimed at the pin, and it still came up short. Frustrating, right? This article will walk you through the most common reasons golfers leave their shots short and provide you with clear, actionable Cures and drills to help you start hitting the ball your true, full distance with confidence.

The Real Reasons Your Shots Are Coming Up Short

Leaving shots short isn't usually about just one thing, often, it's a mix of a few factors. Before we get into the fixes, it helps to understand what might be going wrong. For most amateur golfers, the distance-robbing culprits fall into a few main categories:

• Deceleration: This is the number one cause. Out of fear of a mishit - hitting it fat, thin, or offline - golfers subconsciously slow the club down right before impact. Instead of accelerating through the ball, they try to simply "guide" it toward the target. This cautious swing bleeds power and speed.
• Poor Contact: Where you strike the ball on the clubface has an enormous influence on distance. Hitting it on the toe, heel, or low on the face can cost you 10-20% of your potential distance, even if the swing felt okay. The center of the face is where the power is.
• Bad Weight Transfer: Many golfers hang back on their trail foot through the swing, a move called a "reverse pivot." They believe this helps "lift" the ball into the air, but it does the opposite. It kills your power and often results in fat or thin shots that go nowhere.
• An "All-Arms" Swing: A swing that relies only on the arms and hands for power is weak and inconsistent. True golf power comes from the ground up, using the rotation of your hips and torso as the engine. An armsy swing is a recipe for short, weak shots.
• Using the Wrong Club: Golfer ego is a real phenomenon. Many of us refuse to admit that our 7-iron only goes 145 yards, not the 160 yards we hit that one time, downhill, with a 30 mph wind at our back. Taking too little club forces you to overswing, which throws off your timing and actually costs you distance.

Now, let's look at how to fix these common faults and get that ball pin-high.

Fix #1: Ditch the Tentative Swing and Accelerate with Confidence

The mental side of this problem is huge. When you stand over the ball thinking "Don't hit it in the water," or "Don't skull this chip," your body's natural response is to tighten up and slow down. You make a tentative, delicate swing, almost “quitting” on the shot before you've even made contact. You can't hit a powerful, accurate golf shot this way.

You have to trust the club and commit to the swing. The loft of the club is designed to get the ball in the air - you don’t need to help it. Your only job is to rotate and accelerate through impact toward a full, balanced finish. Think of it like throwing a baseball. You wouldn't stop your arm right as you let go of the ball, you follow all the way through. The same principle applies here. Your focus should not be on the golf ball itself, but on a spot about 18 inches past the ball, ensuring your speed is at its maximum precisely where it matters.

Drill: Hold Your Finish

One of the best signs of a committed, accelerated swing is a balanced finish position. A golfer who decelerates will almost always have a short, awkward-looking finish. This drill forces you to swing through the ball rather than at it.

1. Hit a golf ball at the range as you normally would.
2. After contact, don't stop your swing. Continue all the way to a full finish, with your chest facing the target, most of your weight on your front foot, and the club resting comfortably behind your neck.
3. Now, try to hold that finish position without moving for a full five seconds. If you feel wobbly or fall backward, it’s a good sign you weren't balanced and likely decelerated.
4. Repeat this until holding a balanced finish feels natural. The intention to "stick the finish" will naturally encourage your body to accelerate through the ball to get there.

Fix #2: Master Center-Face Contact for Maximum "Smash"

Modern golf clubs are incredibly forgiving, but physics is physics. The point on the face that transfers the most energy to the golf ball is the sweet spot. When you miss it, you get a lower "smash factor" - the ratio of ball speed to clubhead speed. Put simply, an off-center hit is an inefficient hit that robs you of distance.

If your shots are coming up short, the first thing to check is where you're striking the ball on the face. You might be surprised to find a consistent pattern of toe or heel hits you weren't even aware of.

Drill: Find Your Strike with Impact Spray

This is one of the most effective drills in golf, and it's incredibly simple. It gives you instant, undeniable feedback on every single swing.

1. Go to a drugstore and get a can of aerosol foot powder spray or dry shampoo.
2. Lightly spray the face of your iron. It will leave a thin white film.
3. Hit a shot. The ball will leave a clear imprint on the face, showing you exactly where you made contact.
4. What do you see? Are your shots all over the face? Consistently on the heel? Always toward the toe? This information is invaluable. Continue to hit balls, making small adjustments to your setup or swing path while trying to get that imprint right in the middle of the clubface.

Fix #3: Generate Effortless Power with Proper Weight Transfer

As we mentioned earlier, power comes from your body, and a big part of that is moving your weight correctly. The goal is to hit the golf ball first, and then the ground. The only way to do this consistently is by getting your weight moving through the shot and onto your front foot.

A good golf swing is a sequence. You load your weight onto your trail foot in the backswing, and then the downswing is initiated by a slight shift of the hips toward the target. This "bump" to the left (for a right-handed golfer) starts the unwinding process and makes sure your low point is in front of the ball, producing that crisp, compressed iron shot. Hanging back means you'll either hit the ground early (fat) or catch the ball on the upswing (thin) - both of which are massive distance killers.

Drill: The Step-Through Swing

This drill can feel a little strange at first, but it is phenomenal for building the feeling of a proper weight shift and getting your body to move dynamically through the ball.

1. Set up to a golf ball with your feet together.
2. As you begin your backswing, take a small step back with your trail foot (your right foot for a righty). This helps you feel the "load" into your back hip.
3. As you start your downswing, take a step forward and toward the target with your lead foot (your left foot).
4. Swing all the way through, finishing with your feet apart and your body facing the target. The act of stepping through physically forces your weight to transfer from your back foot to your front foot.

Fix #4: Stop Swinging with Your Arms - Start Using Your Body

The golf swing is a rotational action. The core philosophy of a good swing is getting the bigger muscles of your body - your hips, torso, and shoulders - to power the movement. When you try to swing with just your arms, you are relying on small muscles that are easily timed incorrectly and not very powerful.

The away from the ball, the "takeaway," sets the stage for the entire swing. If the first thing that moves is your hands picking the club up, you are already setting up an arms-dominated swing. A proper takeaway is a "one-piece" movement where your arms, hands, and the club move away from the ball together, powered by the rotation of your chest and shoulders.

Drill: Headcover Under the Arm

This classic drill is great for building connection and making sure your arms and body are working together.

1. Take a headcover and tuck it under your lead arm (left arm for a righty), up in your armpit.
2. Take some half-swings, focusing on keeping the headcover from falling out.
3. To keep it in place, you are forced to keep your lead arm connected to your chest. This encourages you to turn your torso to swing the club back and through, instead of letting your arms run away from your body.

Final Thoughts

Beating the frustration of coming up short is about understanding the root cause - whether it’s flawed mechanics or a tentative mindset - and applying the right fix. By focusing on accelerating through the ball, finding the center of the face, transferring your weight properly, and using your a body-powered rotational swing, you'll start compressing the golf ball and hitting it with the authority it deserves.

Even with great mechanics, tough on-course situations can cause doubt, leading to the tentative swings we're trying to avoid. Making smarter, more confident decisions is another big step toward better golf. That's why we at Caddie AI built a personal golf coach that lives in your pocket. If you're stuck between clubs or facing a tricky lie that threatens your distance, you can get instant, expert advice to remove the guesswork, letting you commit to every swing and finally get the ball pin high.