Why is short better from a running perspective?
A short miss does not add route distance. You run to the ball and continue toward the hole.
A shot that finishes (d) yards long adds about (2d) yards of running because you pass the hole and come back.
At 7:00 per mile:
- 10 yards long costs about 5 seconds
- 15 yards long costs about 7–10 seconds
- 20 yards long costs about 10 seconds
Is a 20-yard short miss better than a 60-foot putt?
Usually not.
Approximate expected strokes to hole out:
- 60-foot putt: 2.21
- 20-yard fairway pitch: 2.40
- 20-yard rough pitch: 2.59
- 20-yard bunker shot: 2.53
After converting strokes to SGS seconds and adding 3–5 seconds to switch from wedge to putter:
- Fairway pitch costs about 14–16 seconds more than the putt
- Rough pitch costs about 26–28 seconds more
- Bunker shot costs about 37–39 seconds more after including roughly 15 seconds for rake handling
What does that imply?
A modest long miss may be cheaper than leaving the ball well short of the green.
For example, going 10 yards long might cost only 5–6 seconds of extra running. Leaving a 20-yard fairway pitch instead of a 60-foot putt may cost about 15 seconds.
When is missing short preferable?
Short is favored when:
- The front of the green is open
- The recovery is uphill
- The back is rough, downhill, bunkered, or hazardous
- The short miss still finishes on the green
- The golf consequences of short and long are otherwise similar
When is missing short not preferable?
Short may be worse when:
- It leaves a pitch instead of a putt
- The front is bunkered or in heavy rough
- The back is open
- A longer club greatly increases green-hit probability
- The player is deliberately leaving too large a margin short
Should speedgolfers aim at the flag?
Not automatically. The target should minimize expected SGS across the entire shot pattern, not maximize the value of the perfect shot.
What is the better rule?
Prioritize hitting the green, then bias the dispersion toward the safer part of it.
When front and back are otherwise similar, favoring the front half is sensible because long misses add backtracking. But deliberately centering the shot pattern short of the green is often too conservative.
Bottom line
“Always miss short” is not a sound universal rule.
A better speedgolf strategy is:
Get the normal shot pattern onto the green, favor the front when the miss consequences are roughly equal, and avoid bunkers, rough, and other expensive outcomes.