Definition: "Die in the hole" is a phrase applied to putts that just barely make it to the hole - but that do make it into the cup. Picture a putted ball rolling toward the hole. It begins to slow as it approaches the cup, and just barely has enough momentum to get there. With what seems like its last possible rotation, the ball drops into the cup. That ball "died in the hole."
Sometimes, because of green conditions and the type of break involved in the putt, the best golfers will do this intentionally. These golfers are said to be trying to "die it into the hole."
