Low-handicaps reveal their secret to making short putts

1. Ditch Your Fears

Dylan Dethier (+3.3 handicap): Committing to trying your best. There are two keys here:

1. Take your time

2. Ditch any fear of failure.

The hardest thing about short putts is the fear of embarrassment if you miss. But putts of any length are difficult. Ditch that fear! Ditch that embarrassment! And practice ‘em, too.

2. Fast And Commit

Josh Sens (2.5 handicap): I wish I knew. But on days when I putt well, I find myself doing two things.

1. Not spending too much time over them.

2. Focusing on accelerating through impact and trying to hit the ball at the back of the cup, rather than trying to coax the ball in.

I’ve had some success with the Jordan Spieth method of looking at the cup instead of the ball; it seems to minimize the yips I developed a few years ago. But, as I noted about swing tips above, that has worked only off and on over the years.

3. Listen To The Ball Drop

Ashley Mayo (3.1 handicap): Confidence. Read the putt, pick a spot you want to aim to, burn a hole in that spot with your eyes, then fire away with 100 percent confidence. And listen to the ball drop. Gary Player once said that the only reason we peek at the ball on those short putts is because we’re not totally sure we’ve committed to the right line. If you keep your head down and listen to the putt drop (which is a lot easier said than done!), that confidence will help you make ‘em more often.

4. Confidence, Confidence, Confidence

Joe Summa (4.9 handicap): Confidence! Follow through the ball, forcing yourself to not decelerate as you impact the ball. So many short putts are missed because they were hit too soft, breaking just before the cup to the left or right. Hitting a short putt with confidence and normal putting stroke will increase your make percent at an alarming rate. Don’t worry about missing and having to make the return putt, if you putt the ball with confidence you’ll have to worry about that much less frequent. Another small tip I find useful is picking a spot 6 inches in front of the ball that’s on your line. Don’t even look at the hole, putt the ball directly over that marked spot, and your ball will always be on line!

5. Focus On The Process

Luke Kerr-Dineen (2.2 handicap) When I was putting my best, On short putts I’d draw a line all the way around my golf ball, point it at one of five spots (left edge, left center, center, right center, right edge), and after that, the only thing I cared about was rolling the ball end-over-end. I didn’t care if the ball went in the hole or missed. I really didnt. If the ball rolled end-over-end — clear enough that I could see black line rolling straight — I truly didn’t care about anything else.