If you watch a pro golf tournament, you'll see a player in a precarious situation and hear the announcer say the golfer has short-sided themselves. That term, short-sided, doesn't necessarily explain itself, so let us explain what short-sided means.
When a golfer is short-sided, their ball is positioned relative to the hole where they have less green to work with between the ball and the hole compared to the other (or another) side of the green.
For example, if a hole is located in the middle of the green but to the left side, and a golfer's ball winds up missing the green to the left, then the golfer is short-sided. That's because, for their next shot, the golfer has less room to land the ball and get close to the hole as opposed to missing on the right side. If the golfer had missed to the right, they would likely have more room and a slightly easier time trying to get the ball in the hole in the least number of strokes possible.
When a golfer is in a difficult situation and cannot get to the green easily, the smart play is to have a "good miss" but finding a spot to not hit the green that gives plenty of room to get up-and-down in two strokes.
While being short-sided is in and of itself difficult, it gets even tougher when the player is left with a shot that's downhill with little room to land the ball.
