Is there anything worse than leaving a putt short? Yes – disease, famine, war – there are many things in this life far worse than a missed putt. But you know what I mean. This sting which follows when the ball stops its rotation before reaching the cup is singular. What could have been? You will never know. You didn’t bother to put the ball in the hole.
If you’re in a season of your game where you’re leaving a lot of putts short, try this tip from Nancy Lopez. She shared it for the first time in the May 1979 issue of Golf Digest. She was in her second season on the LPGA Tour, having won nine tournaments as a rookie in 1978. Five of those victories were consecutive.
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“Being aggressive is the key to a good pout, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s the only way to putt,” Lopez explains in the story. “I’d much rather have it past the cup than leave it short.”
Lopez goes on to say that often, amateurs leave putts short because they are trying to avoid three-putts. Instead, she says they should drive more aggressively and try to sink the first putt. (Within reason, of course. If you’re considering a 50-footer, it’s best to delay it and do what you can to keep a three-putt out of the equation.)
“A drill I use frequently is to imagine a hole a foot behind the actual hole. I putt toward that imaginary hole. This is an effective way to overcome the tendency to leave the putt short,” says Lopez. “If you don’t make the putt, it’s better to leave it a foot long than a foot short.”
Try Lopez’s aggressive putting strategy and you’ll get the ball in the hole. A few might even get in there.
