Dear Dave,
Your insights, as usual, are excellent!
You are quite correct about the differences in feel for short putts. The size of the stroke is not big enough to generate an adequate sense of timing and "feel" as with longer strokes.
The trouble really is in the notion of "feel."
Putting distance control is timing, not feel. So long as the timing is correct, even on short putts, the distance control will be correct. The special timing problem on short putts is in making a sufficiently long and slow stroke that the usual tempo is not altered. In the short range of motions of the shoulder frame back and thru (under 1-foot backstrokes or thereabouts), the ruts of habitual motion are so deep and wide that it is easy to make a backstroke with the usual expectation that the gravity-sponsored "flow" will transpire in the downstroke as usual, as it will in larger stroke motions that subtantially tilt the shoulder frame rear-side up in the backstroke. But instead, the backstroke just stays at the top of the backstroke in these itty bitty strokes. This is probably something to do with the responsiveness of the stretch reflexes in the muscles not being taxed sufficiently to generate the downstroke spontaneously.
My solution for this is to tighten up the whole body system a little to get the "elasticity" of the muscles more reactive in the backstroke, while also staying with the "one potato ... two" tempo. Deliberately MAKING the stroke motion come out with good timing, instead of relying upon gravity to handle the timing, is not illegitimate -- when necessary, you get the same results in distance control. A putting robot has no "feel," just stroke amplitude and timing patterns. Human "feel" is deceptive in this regard -- if you really want to be a putting robot, forget "feel" and focus on timing -- at least for distance control.
The matter of short-putt accuracy of form (rather than distance control) is a slightly different kettle of fish. Once the muscles become involved in moving the putter head, the risk of putter face manipulation and stroke path error goes up. For these putts, I like the Don Pooley drill of sticking two tee pegs in the ground so that this "gate" faces squarely on the intended line of a short putt, perhaps 4-5 feet or less, and then setting the ball in front of these pegs with the back of the ball slightly protruding behind. Making a stroke that impacts the ball solidly and squarely online also impact the two tee pegs simultaneously with the heel-side and the toe-side of the putter face. Making a nice handful of these strokes and then removing the tees and continuing the same impact form of square, online delivery of the putter face thru impact helps tremendously with short putts.
Identifying the point where short putts become troublesome for timing and form is very helpful. If, given the green speed and length of the putt and uphill-downhill effects, you can make a stroke with sufficient size that you do not need to do anything from the top of the backstroke for the stroke to complete itself, then you are outside of this difficult short-putt range, and no specific adaptation is needed. On most greens and most putts, this seems to be about 4-5 feet. The 'doubt" that comes into the stroke when near or just inside this range is partly attributable to the timing and feel differences for these short putts. Consequently, taking time to recognize the change-over boundary with some clarity will help clearaway these latent doubts about how to make the short strokes.
Another point in recognizing this change-over zone or range is whether the initial aim of the putt needs to be outside the hole or seriously close to the edge of the hole. ALL putts are breaking putts, except for two: putts straight uphill or straight downhill -- truly level regions on a green are as rare as Santa elves in Hell. Whether the break on a short putt inside 5 or so feet needs an aim line that is on the edge or starts outside the hole depends on the combination of tilt plus speed and also on the "capture profile" of the hole at various quicker ball delivery speeds needed to take some or all of the break out of the putt. If the tilt is mild, the green speed is much less important than otherwise.
So the first "rule" we can make is that if the tilt is mild, the putt's aim line is not likely to be outside the hole on these short putts. The change-over range where something different in the stroke dynmaics is needed is much shorter and closer to the hole for mild tilts.
The second "rule" is that on slow greens, there is not much break, so again the change-over range is closer to the hole. Don't use a different stroke dynamic unless you need to.
The third "rule" is based on setting an aboslute maximum speed you are willing to deliver the ball into the cup. The faster the delivery speed, the smaller the "capture profile" of the hole (the more center-cut the putt has to be to stay in the cup). As the delivery speed increases, the likelihood of a slight off-line delivery that just misses the capture profile goes up. In other words, the quicker the stroke delivers the ball to the rim, the more likely the ball will lip out. Roughly speaking, anything above a delivery speed of about 4 revolutions per second at the lip is pretty chancey since this makes the capture profile of the hole narrow in comparison to your skills at putting straight. The better you are at putting straight, the less a concern this is. But in general, a 2-degree error in the intended line is not uncommon. A 2-degree error over 2.5 feet (30 inches) is a line that arrives at the lip one inch off to the side of the intended entry path. The hole is 4.25 inches in diameter, but there is only 2.125 inches off to the side left or right of the center-cut line, so a 1-inch error is pretty large -- it's like throwing out 50% of the available hole! When you combine this with the normal tendency to aim for a "line" that crosses over the left side of the hole to begin with (an inside-left putt), the intended path is crossing at a point where the intended path is only (say) 2 inches across from front edge to back edge (not 4.25 inches as in a center-cut putt). When that is the case, the "room" for error to the left of that intended path does not allow for a 2-degree error in the line of your actual putt, so you need to keep the putt's delivery speed as low as possible. Any delivery speed on an inside-left or inside-right putt that is much above 2 revolutions per second at the lip is headed for a lip out if there is a standard line-error in the stroke to the wrong / same side.
Because of this third "rule" or approach, the standard lore to "take the break out" of short putts whenever possible is bad advice. It is not necessarily bad to reduce the break with a little extra delivery speed, but it is absolutle bad advice to "take the break out" of short putts regardless of the narrowing of the capture profile of the hole at too-high delivery speeds. Your ability to putt the ball as straight as you must in these cases is probably not as good as required to do so over 90 percent of the time, so taking the break out comes at a high cost of lip outs over the long haul. My solution to this is to adopt a maximum delivery speed of about 3-4 rvolutions per second to use in taking out any break, and never to go above that speed. his limit simply does not allow me to take the break out on some putts, and I accept that and respect the break with appropriate touch by not blowing thru the break and suffering a lip out or a miss. This seems to mean that if there is some slope and green speed quickness, I probably will not be gunning to take any break out whenever the putt needs to aim at the side edge of the hole or outside the hole, as bringing a putt like this back into the hole will require a delivery speed that jeopardizes the success of the putt with too-narrow a capture profile.
Roughly speaking, on most greens and most putts, it is not a good idea to try to take MUCH break out of any putt; not a good idea to try to force a putt's aim back into the hole in contrast to respecting the break that is implied by a normal delivery speed; not a good idea to try to take the break out of a putt much over 2-3 feet in length; and only acceptable to try to take SOME break out of a putt when it is needed to gain a little better control over the form of the stroke that cannot otherwise be gained; and only acceptable to try to take SOME break out of a putt when to do so does not exceed your maximum delivery speed.
The main cause of missed short putts is the lethal combination of added speed and stroke error for line. Lip-out misses are far more common for short putts than misses due to speed error alone or line error alone. Staying away from added speed unless really necessary to preserve accuracy of line and form of stroke should be the main rule for handling short putts. If you aim to stroke the ball so that the ball strikes the back wall of the cup, just remember that striking the back wall instead of dropping to the bottom is only useful AFTER the ball drops one-half or more of its diameter before hitting the back wall. It is not a good plan to "bang the ball into the back of the cup," as this glosses over the required dropping of the ball before impact. All putts have to get DOWN inside the hole, not be sent AT the hole as if it were a circle on the grass.
A combination of tight and slow is better than fast and reckless.
Short putts have a host of other problems as well. The apparent size of the cup is so large in vision that the golfer gets a false sense of aiming accuracy. The full aimibng routine is called for every time, especially on short putts.
Psychologically, the notion that short putts are easy makes the likelihood of embarrassment higher, and this increases anxiety and dread over short putts. So this notion is inherently harmful to success. Besides, it's just not true. Short putts are NOT easier. On a per-foot basis, short putts are about twice as likely to get missed as a long putt. Per foot, the chance of missing a 6-footer is about 50%/6 or 8.3% per foot. A 10-foot putt has a similar per-foot chance of missing closer to 70%/10 or only 7%. A 20-foot putt has a chance of missing per foot of about 85%/20 or 4.25% per foot. As the break is more spatially spead out on longer putts, in comparison to short-putt breaks where the break is spatially less spread out and more "subtle," the speed control on short putts is more critical more often. Any break on a short putt that cannot safely be reduced with added delivery speed HAS to be respected with a commitment to a starting line and a touch that does not blow thru the break. he whole scenario counsels LESS added speed above normal, and NO added speed unless required by a need to better handle accuracy of form.
Another problem is surface-ball interactions at low speeds. If the ball is traveling too slow, it might react off-line to some surface irregularity, like a spike mark, ball mark, grain or the like. This problem is not so much about avoiding a too-slow delivery speed -- the normal delivery speed is probably fine and dandy for overcoming these problems; but the fear of these surface problems should not counsel excessive delivery speed. Don't baby the putt; don't gas the putt. Either approach is a sign of fear that is not called for by the circumstances. In my experience, the normal delivery speed is plenty for almost all surface irregularities, but if you have a specifically identifiable concern that the Rules do not allow you to address before hitting the putt, then add only the speed required to deal with the obstacle or challenge, and NO more. Boldness in putting does not come with agressive speed, but in the certitude that accompanies the RIGHT speed, which is almost always the minimally required speed for the surface, the break, and the body's aility to putt straight.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
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