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PGA Tour

PGA TOUR compiles the worst lip-outs of 2025 — agony on the cup

Burnt edges, horseshoes, heartbreak: the PGA TOUR’s 2025 lip‑out reel shows how fine margins on fast greens turn makes into near misses.

If you’ve ever watched a putt do a victory lap and spit itself back out, you know the unique pain the new PGA TOUR compilation is built on. The “worst lip-outs of 2025” montage packages the year’s most agonizing near-misses into one clip — a reminder that even at the highest level, the difference between birdie and bogey can be a single dimple and a fraction of pace.

For golf fans, lip-outs are oddly magnetic: they’re cruel, dramatic and instructive all at once. This reel showcases exactly that. From short testers that catch the high side and horseshoe to longer efforts that burn the edge at speed, the patterns are familiar to every player who’s spent time on quick, modern greens.

Worst lip-outs: why they happen

Most lip-outs are born at impact, not at the hole. Start line and pace decide whether a putt arrives with enough “capture speed” to fall. Too slow and the ball under-reads; too fast and it reduces the effective width of the cup. When the entry speed is high and the ball meets the high side of the hole, it rides the rim and spins out — the classic horseshoe. On the low side, gravity simply never has a chance to help.

Green speeds and firmness amplify the effect. On slick surfaces, a putt that would drop at medium speed can lip out because there’s less friction to kill momentum. Subtle slopes matter as well: a ball approaching from a steeper entry angle is fighting a side-force that increases the likelihood of a roll-around. Even tiny variations — a fraction of a degree in face angle, or a few centimeters long on pace — can be decisive from Tour ranges.

What the reel tells us about Tour putting

Three themes stand out. First, precision is relentless. Tour players start putts frighteningly close to their intended line, yet the margin for error shrinks as pace climbs. Second, aggression is a trade-off. Many attempts in the montage are struck with the intent to take break out — a valid strategy that also raises lip-out risk if the ball meets the edge. Third, short doesn’t mean simple. Several misses inside makeable range show how a slight pull or push at firm speed can turn a “must-make” into a 360° heartbreak.

There’s also the psychological sting. Lip-outs feel worse than straight misses because they confirm the read and nearly reward the stroke. For pros managing momentum over four rounds, those moments test resilience. The best respond by trusting their process and letting probability even out over time.

Practical takeaways to avoid lip-outs

  • Own your capture speed: Train a consistent roll that would finish 30–45 cm past the hole on a flat putt. This widens the effective cup and reduces violent rim interactions.
  • Match speed to entry: On faster greens or steeper slopes, favor a dying pace that uses more of the hole rather than trying to “jam” it in.
  • Prioritize high-side starts: Give the ball a chance. Putts that arrive on the high side at appropriate speed are more likely to fall than low-side “wish” lines.
  • Gate-drill your face control: Two tees just wider than the putter face will quickly reveal micro-misses that become lip-outs under pressure.
  • Commit to a true roll: A centered strike reduces skidding and side-spin that can exaggerate rim-outs when the ball meets the edge.

The TOUR’s clip is a tough watch for anyone who’s lipped out to lose a match — and a useful one for players who want fewer “almosts.” It underlines the eternal putting equation: pick a line you believe in, roll it with matching pace, and let the numbers work over time. The edges will still bite now and then. That’s golf. But they don’t have to bite as often.