Nothing in golf feels worse than watching a three-foot putt slide past the hole. It turns a potential birdie into a par, a simple par into a frustrating bogey, and single-handedly ruins an otherwise solid round. This article will give you a simple, repeatable system to take the fear out of short putts. We will break down the essential components - setup, stroke, and mindset - so you can step up to every short putt with the confidence that it’s going in.
Consistency on the greens begins before you even start the stroke. A poor setup invites inconsistency, forcing you to make mid-stroke compensations. A solid, repeatable setup creates a stable foundation that allows a simple, pendulum-like motion to work every time. Here is how to build your putting fortress.
Think of your putter grip like holding a small bird. You want to hold it firmly enough that it can't fly away, but gently enough that you don't crush it. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being a death grip), your grip pressure should be around a 3 or 4. A tight grip activates smaller, twitchier muscles in the forearms and hands, which is the last thing you want on a 'must-make' putt. A lighter grip encourages you to use your bigger, more stable muscles - the shoulders and chest - to control the stroke. This keeps the putter face square and your rhythm smooth.
For short putts, your stance should be narrower than your full swing stance, about shoulder-width or even slightly inside your shoulders. A narrower base helps prevent swaying and promotes a more rotational stroke centered around your spine. The ball position should be just forward of the center of your stance, positioned directly under your left eye (for right-handed golfers). This placement ensures you make contact with the ball slightly on the upswing, promoting a pure, immediate roll instead of a backspin-inducing skid.
The saying "keep your eyes over the ball" is fantastic advice. An easy way to check this is to get into your putting posture and hold a golf ball up to the bridge of your nose, then let it drop. It should land on or very close to your ball on the ground. When your eyes are directly over the line, you get an accurate, undistorted view of your target patch. If your eyes are too far inside the line, you might tend to push putts, if they’re too far outside, you might pull them.
Your setup should create a stable triangle with your shoulders, arms, and hands. To achieve this, bend from your hips, not your waist, and allow your arms to hang naturally from your shoulders. Your arms shouldn't be rigidly pressed against your body or awkwardly reaching for the ball. They should hang freely. This 'triangle' is the engine of your putting stroke. By maintaining its shape and rocking it back and forth with your shoulders, you eliminate unwanted wrist and hand movement, making your stroke far more reliable under pressure.
The best putting strokes are simple, repeatable, and devoid of unnecessary movement. The goal on short putts isn't to be stylish, it's to be brutally efficient. This means getting the ball started on the correct line at the correct speed, every single time.
Imagine a grandfather clock. The pendulum swings back and forth from a single pivot point, consistently and rhythmically. That pivot point in your putting stroke is your sternum. The motion should be driven entirely by the rocking of your shoulders. Think of moving that stable triangle you created at setup as a single, unified piece. The hands and wrists are just passengers, they should remain passive. Any flick of the wrists will change the putter face angle at impact, sending the balloffline.
This is arguably the most common and most destructive fault on short putts. Out of pure anxiety or excitement, we lift our heads to watch the ball drop into the cup. The problem is, when your head moves, your shoulders and torso inevitably move with it, pulling the putter off its line right at the moment of impact.
Commit to a new rule: "Listen for the sound of the ball dropping into the cup." Keep your head perfectly still, eyes focused on the spot where the ball used to be, until you hear that sweet, rattling sound. It will feel strange at first, but this one change can instantly fix a multitude of putting ills.
For a short, straight putt, there is no need to actively open and close the putter face. Just think about keeping the face pointed squarely at your target line through the entire motion - backswing, impact, and follow-through. A helpful visual is to imagine a laser beam shooting out of the center of your putter face. Your only job is to keep that laser pointed at the target from start to finish.
You can have a perfect setup and stroke a dozen times in a row on the practice green, but golf has a way of short-circuiting our brain on the course. Winning the battle on short putts often comes down to winning the battle between your ears.
A simple, consistent pre-shot routine is your best friend when faced with pressure. It gives your mind something to focus on besides the consequences of missing. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Here's a simple, effective routine:
Mindless practice just reinforces bad habits. Purposeful practice is what builds skill and confidence. Here are three simple drills that directly address the fundamentals of making short putts.
This classic drill builds rhythm and confidence from all angles. place four golf balls around the hole at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions, each about three feet away. Work your way around the "clock" a few times. Don't leave until you've successfully holed every putt in a row at least once. This exposes you to straight, right-to-left, and left-to-right breaks, all from that dreaded short range.
This is the ultimate test of starting your putt on the right line with a square face. Place your ball a couple of feet from the hole. Then, stick two tees in the ground just in front of your ball, creating a "gate" that is just slightly wider than your putter head. Your goal is to swing the aputter cleanly through the gate without touching either tee. Hitting the inside tee means you came from the outside, hitting the outer tee means you pulled it from the inside. It gives you instant, undeniable feedback on your path and face angle at impact.
To really feel the shoulder-driven pendulum motion, practice stroking some short putts using only your lead hand (your left hand for a right-handed golfer). This forces you to engage your shoulders and chest to move the putter, as your hand and wrist simply aren't strong enough on their own to produce a stable stroke. It's fantastic for finding your rhythm and eliminating the "yips" that come from an overactive minor hand.
Mastering the short putt is not about some secret technique, it's about building a simple, repeatable process founded on a solid setup and a pendulum stroke. By focusing on your grip pressure, alignment, and keeping your head still, while reinforcing it all with focused drills, you can transform this area of weakness into one of the most reliable parts of your game.
Building this kind of lasting confidence comes from getting your questions answered the moment they pop up. Imagine being on the practice green trying the Gate Drill and still feeling unsure about your aim. Being able to access instant, specialized advice right then and there can be a huge help. Tools like Caddie AI give you access to that personal 24/7 golf coach in your pocket, providing the quick answers and strategic insights you need to get rid of guesswork and start sinking more putts.
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