Which missed putt mentally hurts you the most?

[bkuehn1952]

A missed putt always means at least one more stroke.  For me at least, some misses are more mentally injurious than others.  I would select the lip out on the high side. For me, the putt looks like it is tracking well, it has the proper speed, my read was spot on, it is going to fall into the hole side door ... and ... then ... gravity deals me a losing hand.

Anyone else?  Or is a miss a miss for everyone else?

[Ernest Jones]

I chose way long but could have went with way short. In my mind, speed is the most critical aspect because if my speed is good my misses generally leave tap-ins. I find it takes longer to dial in my speed when it's off than my line, could take several holes, and the resultant misses are more penal. 

In any case, I don't find any of the misses are mentally challenging, it's just a question of how may holes it'll take to adjust and I find the speed will take more holes to correct and therefore do more damage to my scoring capacity. 

[David in FL]

Missed 3-footer.  Very easy to let that get into your head.  In match play it can also give a real emotional boost to your opponent.

[Golfingdad]

9 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Missed 3-footer.  Very easy to let that get into your head.  In match play it can also give a real emotional boost to your opponent.

Same, although my vote would include anything under 3 feet as well, and not be limited to early in the round.  Basically, any putt where you really, really should make it.  And if you didn't, then it was probably something stupid you did, like rush it.

[DeadMan]

Way long or way short. My lag putting is atrocious, so if I get into my head, it can go south in a hurry. If I make the second putt after a bad lag, it somehow doesn't bother me as much.

Missed 3 footers are annoying as well, but I just figure that I'm due to make the next one (or ones).

[saevel25]

I would have said the ones that look like they should catch the edge, almost like they defy gravity.

I am voting under 4 feet. Just because it's a putt you expect to make majority of the time. That expectation causes the most mental anguish when you miss it. 

Though the long putt stopping short is a tough one. Again, less than 5% chance of making a putt. Not really expecting it to go in. 

[jbishop15]

Missing early short putts sometimes put me in a position where I start giving myself pep talks, which leads to me losing focus, which leads to me scoring badly.

[colin007]

4 putting for bogey. You do the math. Has happened several times ugh...

[dchoye]

Mine is the slider. Short putt usually inside 6 feet that I know breaks left to right and I slide by the low side.  Left to right breakers always gives me trouble 

seems like a mental block to me.  My ball never even touched the hole to lip out/in 

for whatever reason I very confident on the right to left breakers 

[billchao]

I voted for missed read. After three separate AimPoint classes, if I missed the direction of the break I should just give the game up.

[Patch]

I am almost never short. When I miss a putt, I usually have a 3-4 footer coming back.

I voted for break mis-read. This happens to me more than the other choices. 

[inthehole]

What gets me are missing the 4-5 footers at such a high rate. I make probably half the 3 footers & if I miss one it doesn't kill me.   What does kill me is missing every 4-5 footer regularly ... Just the frequency of missing the 4-5 footers is the most frustrating part of putting for me ...

[rkim291968]

3 footers or shorter putt misses 

[Fourputt]

Missing that early 3 footer can occasionally be a problem later on, especially if I'm not feeling comfortable with the putter that day anyway.  

Most of the time I can shrug it off, because I usually know what I did to cause the miss and I can correct it.

[RandallT]

Good topic. 

I voted for missed read. If I miss one I should make, I think of that as correctable, and just percentages that I'll miss some of those.

But when my read is way off, it makes me think my equilibrium is off for the day. Some days I feel like the reads come easy- some days my reads just stink. A couple early "iffy" reads, and it gets to me because I think I need to "feel" my way out of it, and it's tough to have feel when you start getting doubts over a putt.

[Wally Fairway]

To me it is being 4 foot short would be the biggest problem. My "target  for getting the speed right could be visualized as an ellipse that starts at the front of the hole and extends behind the hole maybe a foot and is skewed to the high side of the break. I'm a firm believer in getting the ball to the hole; have never been on to try and make putts that drop in as their last act of dying at the cup. (note: the target ellipse changes size based on the length of the putt, but never exceeds a tap-in come backer if I miss)

[vangator]

I voted leaving it in the heart  1/4 turn short.

I did that exact thing (maybe a couple inches) in a scramble this last summer which we tied for first place but lost out on comparing cards.  If either of those putts falls, I win $300.  I still think about them.  All other putts fade soon after the round.

[djfajt71]

 

19 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Same, although my vote would include anything under 3 feet as well, and not be limited to early in the round.  Basically, any putt where you really, really should make it.  And if you didn't, then it was probably something stupid you did, like rush it.

I couldn't agree more!!