2026-09-20 · Birdia Blog

Why Do My Long Putts Come Up Short or Long?

The root cause: powering with the hands, not pendulum length

If some long putts come up short and others race past, it's almost never a read problem: it's distance control. The classic fault is trying to add or take away power with the hands and wrists on the downstroke, instead of letting the size of the motion dictate the distance.

Dave Pelz, after thousands of measured putts in his Putting Bible, argues the stroke should work like a pendulum with constant tempo: the same cadence for a 10-foot putt as for a 50-footer, changing only the length of the backstroke and follow-through. When you accelerate or decelerate to "adjust," you introduce a variable that's impossible to repeat.

Stan Utley describes it the same way in The Art of the Short Game: the rhythm doesn't change, the arc does. Quiet hands, shoulders that rock.

Pelz's number: 17 inches past the hole

Pelz gives a concrete figure: the ideal putt should die 17 inches (43 cm) past the hole. That's the pace that yields the best capture rate, because a ball rolling too slowly gets thrown off by every imperfection near the hole, and one rolling too fast lips out. Don't aim for the ball to "die in the hole": aim for it to roll 17 inches past if it misses.

This turns an abstract goal ("just get it there") into something measurable. If your long putts are consistently short, you're almost certainly trying to have them die right at the edge, and your entire margin of error runs backward.

How to calibrate stroke length

Harvey Penick summed it up in his Little Red Book: don't think about hitting, think about rolling the ball to the hole, letting the hands stay quiet. Dave Stockton insists on one last look at the hole and then pull the trigger: no recalculating on the way down.

Practice calibrating distances by stroke size, not by force. A backstroke to the trail foot for X feet, to mid-shin for double that. Birdia measures your tempo and the relative length of your stroke with your phone camera, so you can see whether your rhythm stays constant or whether you accelerate on long putts —which is exactly the variable that makes some come up short and others run long.

Fuentes

• Dave Pelz — Putting Bible.
• Stan Utley — The Art of the Short Game.
• Harvey Penick — Little Red Book.
• Dave Stockton — Unconscious Putting.

Frequently asked questions

Should I hit long putts harder?

No. You should make a longer backstroke with the same tempo, not hit harder. Pelz proved the stroke cadence stays constant and that distance is set by the amplitude of the pendulum. Accelerating with the hands on the downstroke is exactly what wrecks your distance control.

How far past the hole should I aim on a long putt?

Aim for the ball to roll 17 inches (43 cm) past the hole if it misses, Pelz's number for the best capture rate. It's a positive, measurable target that avoids the classic mistake of leaving putts short by trying to have them die right at the edge.

Does wrist breakdown cause this?

Yes, it's one of the main causes. If your wrists break down at impact, you lose control of your tempo and distance becomes unpredictable. Keep the shoulders as the engine of the pendulum and the wrists passive; Birdia detects whether your stroke relies on active hands or on a stable shoulder motion.