How to Stop Missing Short Putts

Few things in golf sting like watching a three-footer slide past the hole while your playing partners look away. If you want to know how to stop missing short putts, the fix is simpler than you think.

Misses from short range come down to a handful of repeatable habits - face angle, tempo, alignment and nerves. This guide fixes each one, so shorter putts become the easiest part of your round.

Why short putts miss?

Inside six feet the margin is tiny: start the ball two degrees off line and it lips out. The usual culprits are an open or closed putter face, deceleration through the ball, poor alignment and tension when the putt matters.

Fix your setup and face angle

Face angle at impact decides where a putt starts, far more than stroke path. The fix begins at setup: square the face to your start line before you take your grip, not after.

Lay an alignment stick on the putting green pointing at the hole and check the face is truly perpendicular to it. Most golfers discover they have been set up open for years. Practice on a straight three-footer first to isolate face control.

Stop decelerating through the ball

Deceleration comes from a backswing that is too long, forcing the brain to apply the brakes. Keep the ratio around 1:2 - a follow-through roughly twice the length of the backswing - and commit to it.

The gate drill helps: place two tees just wider than the putter head, a foot ahead of the ball. Roll ten in a row through the gate with an accelerating stroke before every practice session.

Missing short putts to the left?

A consistent left miss (for right-handers) almost always means the putter face is closed at impact. The common causes are a right hand that gets too active through the stroke, shoulders aimed left of the target at address, and eyes set inside the line of the ball, which distorts your view of the start line.

Check three things. Soften your grip pressure so the face cannot rotate shut. Set your eye line directly over the ball - drop a ball from the bridge of your nose to test it. Then rehearse holding the face square to the target for a beat after impact. If putts still pull left, film your stroke from behind on the practice putting green and compare your face position at address and impact.

Build a repeatable putting routine

The best mental protection under pressure is a 15-20 second routine: pick a specific start line, square the face to it, take one rehearsal stroke for feel, one look at the hole, then go. Specific beats vague - "one cup outside the left edge", never "somewhere left". Vagueness breeds hesitation, and hesitation kills strokes. Learn how to build a pre-shot routine that works under pressure.

Reading the line of the putt

From short range, most golfers over-read break. The ball has less time to move, so play less break than you think, aim nearer the centre of the cup and let firm pace hold the line of the putt. Grain matters too - Bermuda greens move shorter putts more than bent grass. Understanding golf grass types helps on courses you have never played.

Putting drills that build consistency

The circle drill is the classic: six balls in a circle three feet from the hole, and you hole all six or start again. It forces a full routine on every putt and builds real pressure. When six from three feet feels routine, move the circle out to four feet, then five.

At home, a straight strip of carpet works for face-angle checks and tempo work. Ten minutes of these putting drills a day beats an hour of aimless rolling - consistency comes from focused reps. There are more short game practice ideas you can do at home here.

Track your putting stats

Track putts per round and your make percentage inside six feet - those two numbers tell you almost everything. Hole19's Advanced Stats break down your putting round by round, so you can see whether misses cluster on faster greens or late in the round. Proof that practice is producing better golf beats gut feel every time.

Start holing the putts that matter

Knowing how to stop missing short putts comes down to fixing repeatable habits: square the face at setup, accelerate through the ball, commit to a specific line and trust your routine. Address them one at a time and track your progress.

Download Hole19 free and watch your putting numbers improve from your very next round.

Short putt FAQs

Should I look at the hole or the ball?

Look at the ball. Some golfers try hole-focus inside three feet, but for most amateurs, eyes on the ball produces cleaner contact and a squarer face.

How often should I practise short putts?

Five to ten minutes before a round using the circle or gate drill measurably improves your make rate. Little and often wins.