Next time you're in a C172, try this...

Establish level slow-flight, 30-degrees of flaps, at flaring speed..  Then.. apply full throttle and retract even just on notch of flaps, and watch the altimeter. Then imagine you were 10 feet above the runway when that happened.. and throw in the loss of lift from the transition out of ground-effect..


(you'll be cancelling carb-heat on short final after that    )

Truth be told, I don't ever remember having to perform a go-around that close to the ground to be in ground effect. IIRC, that's a half-wingspan or about 18'. I don't even remember practising those.

Most of the go-arounds at KCPS and other local (and some not so local) airports were at least 50' or higher called by the tower controller or myself. A miss was at least 200' or better depending on the approach.

I don't disagree with your loss of lift at slow speed, but I should have corrected myself as the flaps were brought up a notch at a time and not UP as I wrote earlier.

I do remember flying the aircraft in ground effect down the runway aways before landing it. The hangar and turnoffs were way down from the approach end of 30L on a 7500' runway. Gotta watch that Hobbs.