Reading Short Putts

There’s a common reason why you miss short putts. I mean putts of four feet or less. The reason is that you don’t read them correctly and a putt that should have gone straight in slithers off to the left.

How did that happen?

I think you know that when you read a 20-foot putt you pay attention to what is happening in the last few feet around the hole. That, and you’re reading the putt from about 25 feet away from the hole, make local slope, and the overall tilt of the green, clearly visible.

But with a four-foot putt, you might glance at it from seven or eight feet away, and that’s too close to detect what you can see from far away.

The answer is to back up and read those shorties from at least 15 feet away. Farther back would be even better. From there, you can see where the ball will roll to.

3 thoughts on “Reading Short Putts”

  1. I have started to use a modified version of Aim Point on all putts even short ones.

    Your eyes can lie but your feet cannot. Standing on even a short line really helps

  2. Thanks for this tip, Bob — I’ll have to give it a try. I’m willing to try most anything to avoid missing these short putts — the missing of which is truly ANNOYING!

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