Pressure Putting Drill

If you cannot make 3-footers consistently, you cannot score. This drill is designed to induce anxiety and simulate the pressure of a tournament round.

The Setup

Find a relatively flat hole on the practice green. Take 4 tees and place them exactly 3 feet from the cup, at North, South, East, and West positions.

The Execution

You will take one ball and start at the first tee. Make the putt. Move to the next tee. Make the putt. Continue moving around the circle.

You must make 25 consecutive putts. If you miss putt number 24, you start back at 0.

The Psychology

The first 10 putts are easy. You are just rolling the ball.

By putt 15, you start to think about mechanics.

By putt 20, your heart rate elevates. You realize that if you miss this 3-footer, you have just wasted the last 10 minutes of practice. Your stroke gets tight. You might decelerate.

This is exactly the feeling you have standing over a 3-footer for par on the 18th hole to break 80. You must learn to execute your stroke while feeling that pressure.

Variations for Advanced Players

The 4-Foot Circle: Move the tees back one foot. The make percentage drops drastically for amateurs outside of 3 feet.
The Sloped Hole: Pick a hole with significant break. You now have to hit an uphill putt, a downhill putt, and two breaking putts in every rotation.
The 50-Putt Challenge: Same drill, 50 putts. Only for the masochistic.