Short putts get missed for boring reasons. The stroke is rarely the culprit, because a four foot putt does not require much of a stroke. What it requires is a putter that starts on line, and that is decided at address.
1. Your eyes are not over the line
If your eyes sit inside the ball you tend to see the line right of where it is, and you push putts. Outside the ball and you tend to pull them. Either way you make a good stroke to the wrong place, which is maddening because the stroke felt fine.
You cannot feel this. It is invisible from the inside, which is exactly why a mirror is the standard fix.
2. Your shoulders are open
Open the shoulders a couple of degrees and the putter starts left. On a four footer that is the whole hole. Most golfers set up open without knowing, because the trail hand sits lower on the grip and pulls that shoulder forward.
3. You are decelerating
Fear of running it past makes people slow down through impact, which twists the face and takes the pace off. A short putt should be struck, not steered.
The fix, in order
- Check eye line. Drop a ball from between your eyes and see where it lands relative to the ball.
- Check shoulders. A mirror or a club laid across your chest will show you in one second.
- Then, and only then, work on the stroke.
The drill
Six balls in a circle at three feet. Make all six, then move to four feet. The aim is not volume, it is finishing on a made putt so the last thing your body remembers is success. A putting mirror under the ball turns this from guesswork into a checkable routine.
