Ever stood over a two-foot putt, your heart pounding more than it did on the tee box? You’re not alone. While the most common name for a very short putt is a tap-in, there's a huge difference between knowing the name and confidently dropping the ball in the hole. This guide will cover the official and unofficial names for these crucial shots, but more importantly, it will give you the practical coaching, step-by-step techniques, and confidence-building drills you need to make every short putt feel like an automatic two-putt secured.
In golf, we have a few colorful terms for putts inside that nerve-wracking three-foot circle. Understanding them helps you talk like a seasoned player and understand the context of the situation on the green.
While "gimmes" are great in a friendly round, relying on them can create a serious weakness in your game. To become a great putter and lower your scores for real, you must master the art of the tap-in.
On paper, a two-foot putt is simple geometry. In reality, it’s a massive mental hurdle. Professional golfers often say the most important shot in golf is the next one, but for many amateurs, the most challenging shot is the three-footer to save par. Here’s why these seemingly simple putts are so frequently missed.
This is the most common culprit. After lagging a 40-foot putt stoné dead to two feet, you feel a wave of relief. The hard part is over, right? You walk up, don’t take a proper stance, and casually slap at the ball. The result? A shocking miss. You took it for granted. You failed to give it the same respect and focus you gave the long putt, and the golf gods punished you for it.
The closer you are to the hole, the higher the expectation to make it. From 30 feet, a two-putt is a great result. From three feet, anything other than the ball disappearing is seen as a total failure. This pressure creates tension in your hands, arms, and shoulders, preventing the smooth, pendulum-like stroke required for accuracy. The fear of missing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Many golfers assume a two-foot putt is dead straight. That is rarely the case. Almost every putt has some degree of break, however subtle. By failing to read the putt, you aim directly for the hole when the break might require you to aim at the right edge. It doesn’t matter how good your stroke is if your aim is wrong.
To conquer the short putt, you need a routine - a repeatable process that is identical every single time, whether it's for a tap-in or a 20-footer. This removes emotion and doubt, replacing it with procedure and confidence.
First, make a mental commitment. Never again will you treat a short putt as an afterthought. From this moment on, every putt receives your full attention. This mindset shift is the foundation of becoming a great putter.
Don't just glance at the hole. Walk around it. Look at the putt from behind the hole and from the low side. Are there any old ball marks? Is the grain heading toward or away from you? Pick a specific target - not the whole cup, but maybe the right-center or a blade of grass just in front of it. Even a small error in your read will cause a miss from this short a distance.
A consistent setup promotes a consistent stroke. Follow these checkpoints:
The perfect short putting stroke is not powered by your hands or wrists. It’s a simple rocking of the shoulders, creating a pendulum motion.
Imagine a triangle formed by your shoulders and arms. Your goal is to move this entire triangle back and forth as a single unit. Your hands and wrists stay quiet and passive. The backstroke should be short and controlled - just enough to get the ball to the hole. The follow-through should be slightly longer than the backstroke, ensuring you accelerate through the ball. Think “short back, long through.”
One of the biggest mistakes golfers make is "peeking" - looking up too early to see if the putt went in. This subconscious movement causes you to lift your head and shoulders, which alters the putter's path and often leads to a pulled putt. Instead, train yourself to keep your head perfectly still until you hear the satisfying sound of the ball dropping into the cup. Trust your read, trust your stroke, and just listen.
Confidence isn't found, it's built through practice and positive reinforcement. These drills isolate the key skills needed to dominate short putts.
This drill is all about starting the ball on your intended line. Place two tees on the ground just wide enough for your putter head to pass through them. Place your ball in the middle. The objective is to make a stroke that doesn’t hit either tee. It provides instant feedback on your putter path and helps you develop a straighter, more reliable stroke.
This is a an excellent drill for handling pressure. Place four balls ina circle around the hole at a distance of three feet (one each at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions). The goal is to make all four putts in a row. If you miss one, you start over. This drill teaches you to handle putts with different breaks and to focus when the pressure is on to complete the set.
Many short putts are missed because of a weak, decelerating stroke. To fix this, practice putting with a book or your golf bag placed about 12-18 inches behind the hole. Your goal isn't just to make the putt, but to hit it firmly enough that if it missed, it would hit the "backboard." This drill trains you to hit short putts with positive, aggressive speed, taking subtle breaks out of play.
So, what is a short putt called in golf? A tap-in, a gimme, or a kick-in. But what a competitive golfer calls it is an opportunity - an opportunity to close out a hole with confidence and build momentum. By developing a rock-solid routine and focusing on a pure, simple stroke, you can turn your biggest fear into your most dependable skill.
Building that routine is all about removing uncertainty and trusting your plan. We believe that philosophy should extend to your entire game, which is why we built Caddie AI. Our app acts as your personal, on-demand golf expert, giving you the kind of strategic advice that takes the guesswork out of every shot. From analyzing a tricky lie in the rough to giving you a clear strategy for the fairway, Caddie AI provides a confident second opinion so you can commit fully, just like you would over a three-foot putt.
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