How to Make Short Putts: 5 Tips & Drills to Stop Missing Inside 4 Feet
Out of all the frustrating parts of golf, and there are many, missing a short putt for birdie or to save par has to be one of the most painful.
You know you should make it, you have the skill, and if given a mulligan, you would make that second putt 10 out of 10 times. So why can’t you make it on the first try every time?
Amateur golfers don’t spend enough time practicing this aspect of the game. And if they do, they don’t practice efficiently
To shoot your personal best, you’ll have to make a few short putts, so instead of fearing them, you should be embracing them. And you will be with the tips and drills below.
There’s even a drill you can do at home so you can start working on your short putts right now. (Well, not right now, finish reading this article first.) Then put your newfound knowledge to the test and start making short putts on a consistent basis.
Make More Short Putts (Key Takeaways)
Understanding how to make more short putts starts with these key takeaways that so many amateur golfers overlook.
- Keep your wrists steady and in a neutral position throughout the putting stroke.
- Maintain a still head and lower body, and avoid any unnecessary movement.
- Always accelerate through impact, even on fast putts.
- Grip the putter lightly but with confidence.
- Read every putt to give your body all the information it needs to be reactive to any short putt.
See how mastering wrist movements can transform your putting game.
5 Tips to Make More Short Putts
Making more short putts is about knowledge and execution rather than mechanical perfection.
A short putting stroke requires very little movement, so golfers must understand the difference between consistent putters and those who struggle. These tips are what all consistent putters have in common.
Stabilize Your Wrists
Taking the wrists out of the equation is the first step to making more short putts. This does not mean they should be rigid. Keeping them neutral and relaxed is the best course of action.
Monitoring their movement is made easy with the delicate sensors that Hackmotion employs. Since wrist movements can be so subtle, having a system that measures your wrist action in detail will help you improve more quickly.
HackMotion Putting Flexion / Extension Drill
Get a feel for the wrist movement that controls your putter’s loft.
You can also stabilize your wrists by changing your grip to the claw grip or using a long putter. Various pros have used these two methods to some success.
However, this would require more practice and getting used to them than improving your current wrist action with Hackmotion.
Keep Your Head and Lower Body Still
Many amateurs lose consistency on short putts by moving or lifting their head before impact. This is common because a short putt stroke is vastly different than a regular golf swing with any other club.
The club head is moving much slower and therefore is tough for the body to adjust, especially in situations like a long par 3 where you’ve hit a great 6-iron to a couple of feet and now have to make the short putt.
Before addressing your short putt, make use of practice swings to keep your head and lower body steady. Only your shoulders are needed to provide power to a short putt.
- Head: Focus on keeping your nose the same distance from the ground at all times. Instead of looking to see if your putt dropped, listen for it to encourage a steady head.
- Lower Body: Have your weight evenly distributed or slightly favoring the lead side (60% at most). Have your toes pointing straight ahead, with your knees directly over your toes and hips directly over your knees. Stable but relaxed.
Accelerate Through Impact
A decelerating stroke leads to offline putts and poor distance control at any length, but especially in short putts.
Always accelerate the putter head through the ball, even on very short putts. Trust your read and make a confident stroke, ensuring the putter moves smoothly past the ball.
To ensure this happens, always make a shorter backswing compared to your follow-through. If your backswing is 4 inches, then your follow-through should be 6-8 inches.
Using Hackmotion helps you fine-tune this while also keeping a consistent tempo. The app alerts you when your stroke is out of sync and prompts you to get in the right positions with the correct timing.
Even on the fastest, downhill, 3-foot putt, your putterhead should always be speeding up as it approaches impact. The extended follow-through allows this to happen.
Maintain Light Yet Stable Grip Pressure
A death grip ruins tempo and feel. Hold the putter just firmly enough so it’s controlled but not too tight.
This allows for a smooth stroke, better feel, and more reliable face control, which is especially crucial when putts are just a few feet long.
The legendary Sam Snead said:
“Always grip the club like you were holding a baby bird, tight enough that it doesn’t fly away, but not so tight that you hinder its breathing.”
This is excellent advice for all clubs, but it is even more important on short putts, as the pressure and stress are magnified.
Read Every Putt, No Matter the Distance
Even the shortest putts can cause your ball to do funny things. Gravity is always in play.
Take the time to read each putt from behind the ball and the hole. This ensures you start the putt on the correct line and commit to it, rather than taking any chance.
Most of the time, a confident stroke to the back of the hole will yield the best results, but on firm greens, this may not be an option.
Even if you think there is no break, confirm your suspicions by always going through your pre-shot routine.
- Start from behind the ball and evaluate the break and slope.
- Walk to the other side of the hole via what you think is the high side.
- Confirm your read from behind the hole.
- Walk back to your ball via what you think is the low side.
- Take your practice strokes while visualizing the speed and path of the ball.
- Execute.
Effective Drills to Stop Missing Short Putts
Practicing your short putts may not be glamorous, and some may even consider it boring.
But if you want a guaranteed way to shave strokes off your game, then making knee-knocking putts is the best way to do just that.
Pencil Wrist Drill
Use this drill to stabilize your wrists on short putts. It provides a physical feeling of how your wrists should react throughout the entire putting stroke. For added benefit, use it with the Hackmotion system to monitor even the smallest of movements.
This drill combines old-school creative methods with cutting-edge technological monitoring. Since there are no big movements in a short putting stroke, it’s immensely beneficial to have both when trying to knock strokes off your game.
- Video Timestamp: 1:21 – 7:21
Pencil Wrist Drill – Step by Step
- Using a pencil (or chopstick), secure it perpendicular to your lead wrist with an elastic or the Hackmotion straps.
- The bottom of the pencil should be just past your thumb bone, and this is where you’ll insert a coin. It should be comfortably pinched between the pencil and your thumb bone, just below your wrist.
- Take a few practice strokes first to ensure the coin and pencil are secure with your wrist, but will fail if your wrist changes angles.
- Line up 3-5 short putts and hit them one after another to get in a rhythm.
Chopsticks Drill
This drill helps anyone who is self-diagnosed with the “yips”. It keeps your body stable and puts the focus on driving the swing with just the shoulders.
You can also use this drill with Hackmotion to maintain steady wrists, club path, and tempo.
Hackmotion helps with more than just wrist action; it’s a complete game improvement system.
- Video Timestamp: 3:00 – 6:02
Chopsticks Drill – Step by Step
- Attach two alignment sticks with an elastic band about six inches from one end.
- Place the long ends of the alignment sticks under each arm, creating a ‘V’ shape.
- Rest your putter on the outside of the ‘V’ and take your grip.
- While keeping the alignment sticks secure under your arms, take practice strokes that focus on moving the putter head via your shoulders.
- Hit short putts without looking up to train your body to follow through without moving your head or lower body.
Aim Small, Miss Small Drill
Putting would be much easier if the hole were bigger, but since that will never happen, we can train ourselves to think the hole is bigger.
This drill can be done at home or on the golf course, so there are no excuses to start sinking more short putts.
- Video Timestamp: 9:14 – 10:50
Aim Small, Miss Small Drill – Step by Step
- Using an open part of the putting green, away from any cups, place two tees in the ground about three inches apart.
- Use your club or an alignment stick to measure a straight line from the middle of the two tees to a spot about 2 feet away.
- Place a ball and try to hit your putt through the two tees.
- You can modify the drill by moving further back or moving the tees closer together for a more challenging experience.
One Rail Putting Drill
Train your mind’s eye and your body how to make the same stroke over and over again with this drill. It’s not a groundbreaking drill, but it’s been used for decades because it works.
The magic lies in its simplicity and will help you put all the tips above together into one unmistakable motion.
One Rail Putting Drill – Step by Step
- Find a flat and straight two-foot putt to a hole on your practice green.
- Set a ball down and address it with your putter.
- Lay an alignment stick or iron down that connects the toe of your putter with the outside edge of the cup.
- Hit short putts so that the toe of your putter never leaves the alignment stick and follows through to the cup.
Final Thoughts
A player who consistently makes short putts is a skilled player. The chances of shooting your best scores with this skill are greatly improved. It doesn’t take much to improve, but you’ll have to make a conscious effort to do so.
Practicing short putts is not as exciting as smashing driver, but with the help of Hackmotion, you can speed up the learning process and still have time to smash driver.
Start draining more short putts to take the pressure off the rest of your game, and you’ll see your scores start to drop rapidly.
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