Don’t “miss out on misses”

Once we get to the green its easy to get worked up. We go through our routine, we commit and make the putt and we watch anxiously as the ball makes its way towards the hole. It gets closer and closer and then like a spooked deer veers abruptly to the right and we see that it will miss the hole.

Our immediate inclination is to react, to be disappointed or to panic about how this putt will ruin this hole or round for you. But all of those thoughts are doing something that makes a missed putt even worse. They’re preventing you from continuing to watch the ball and focus on the next putt! The moment you realize you are going to miss, now is the time to buckle down and be laser focused on what the ball does once it passes the hole since that is vital information you can use for your next putt. But if we are too preoccupied with being upset or disappointed we are robbing ourselves of really valuable information we will need in a moment, which if we don’t take advantage of, will make things even worse.

So once we make a putt, watch the ball. But once the putt gets within a foot of the hole watch it even closer. Start to read the next putt even if the ball goes in the hole and you don’t need that information. If you get in the habit of doing this it will become easier and easier and you will never miss out on the opportunity to see the line back to the hole again for the inevitable times you do miss.

Its not ideal, but crowning around some holes is a reality of golf. A poorly cut hole can make the zone around it particularly tricky to account for. So a close missed putt is a rare opportunity to see what is happening right around the hole. If it is crowned at all or has any abnormalities you need to notice this or your putt back even if its a close one might be a disaster.

Don’t “miss out on misses”. Watch your putts and watch your misses even more and your will have a lot more information at your disposal when you need it the most.