Looking for putting drills to simulate tournament pressure.

Anyone got any good putting drills to simulate tournament putting as best as possible? I'm ramping up my tournament schedule this year and need to figure out a way to make more putts. I don't necessarily putt poorly in tournaments but just not as well as I do in a casual round. As we all know a few holed putts here and there can make a huge difference in a good tournament and a bad one.

I typically work pretty hard on my putting, 30+ mins inside almost everyday just working on my Big Moss just to get stroke dialed in and then a few times a week outside on a putting green and I always putt very well in practice.

It's completely different under the lights of a tournament and I need to make more putts in tournaments. I know that playing in more and more tournaments will help but anything I can do to speed up the process will greatly help. What drills are you guys/girls using to help?

I guess the one that I always use is called drawback with one ball. Putt to a flag and wherever your ball stops bring it back one putter length and hit the next putt from there and keep drawing it back until you hole the putt. You are only using one ball so you don't have the luxury of scraping another up to hit now that you have seen the line already. I think this is more effective than sitting at a fixed location with four balls and hitting one after another.

I've been practicing my putting with only one ball for several years. You've got the time to repeat your routine over and over and you don't get only focused on your motion. I took it from Bob Rotella and I simply stuck to it. It's made a remarkable difference in my putting game. It mostly emulates what happens in a round. And routine helps a lot when you have to cope with pressure, especially on the green.

Put a tee every foot from 1-10 feet. Start with 3 balls. You get 3 "chances". Start at 1 ft, hole putt move back to next tee. If you need any of you chance balls to hole the putt you lose it moving forward. So lets say you miss the 4 footer on first try, you take 2nd ball and hole it. Now you lose that ball and only have two balls left to finish last 6 putts. Works really well when you're down to one ball and have to make a 9 and 10 footer to finish.

If you run out, start over.

6 tees around a cup thats on a slope, so you have uphill, downhill, R2L, L2R, etc all in a 3 foot circle. (use your putter to measure).

Must make 50 3 footers in a row. If you miss, you must start over.

Way harder than people think. I would wager 99.9% of "good golfers" cant do it without lots of practice.

Play a few rounds of golf with some serious money on the line and where making a 3’ putt has some real meaning other than on your scorecard.

Drills are fine, but I don’t think they simulate the pressure of tournament putting. The trick is betting for something that’s a bit out your your comfort zone and that will teach you to control nerves.

Like Treveno said " Betting $10 dollars with only 5$ in your pocket, now that's pressure". Seriously find a putting partner and put a dollar each in the hole, pick a putt to putt and whoever makes it clean wins the money.

Make a 3 foot circle around a cup with a dozen or so balls. You have to make all 12 or you reset. You don't go home till you make all twelve.

I’ve never really found a good drill that can replicate tournament pressure. I’ve always found it easier to get rid of the pressure in the tournament rather than practice adjusting to it.

A short game teacher once showed me a drill that wasn't supposed improve your stroke or aiming but to replicate the stress and processing of information you have to deal with under pressure.

You need to bring a friend along to do this. Put a ball on the green and keep another two balls within reach, take your stance and then close your eyes. Have a friend quickly put three markers (or tees) on your line on random distances between maybe 2 and 6 yards. Then open your eyes, turn your head and look at the markers for a few seconds trying to memorize the distances. Then look back down and quickly hit your three balls, one to each marker, without looking up again. Keeping three distances in your head at once in practice should equal hitting a single putt under pressure.

Hard one for me was always make 10 in a row from a spot 6 foot or more. Make all 10 before you can leave. The last 8th, 9th and 10th putts always had more pressure

I grew up doing 3’ 6’ 9’ footers

Take 3 balls and you can’t miss ... if you miss you start over

I’ve been on the practice green for hours as a junior....

You can also gamble on the putting green lol

Posted this in a few places, but here it is again:

For this game you only need a putting mat or you can do this on a putting green. You have 2 holes about 10 feet apart. You start with 15 balls at one end and putt them all to the hole. Then, whatever didn't go in, you have to putt back to the first hole, and so on and so forth. BUT. you have to take 2 out of the hole and return them to the game.

So for example, let's say you make 7 out of 15, so you have 8 left to putt back. You then have to return 2 of those 7 to the game, so now you have 10 left to hit back to the original hole. You make 8 of those, but you have to take 2 out so you're 4.

The only way to win (or stop practicing) is to make everything in a turn, which can be pretty frustrating, getting down to 3 balls and missing one really sucks.

Also, the best way to play this game is to play on a gentle slope so you have alternating breaks for each direction.

Whatever drills you wanna do, do calisthenics before you hit the putt, nothing crazy, just get the heart rate up. I'll do push ups or jumping jacks. Yeah it looks dumb, but knowing I can calm myself down helps. And have a buddy throw stuff at your feet while putting. I'd have my caddy snap a towel at random times not every putt, but just enough to mess someone up.

No drill will ever simulate tournament pressure.

Make a 3 foot circle around a cup with a dozen or so balls. You have to make all 12 or you reset. You don't go home till you make all twelve.

This, or you can do it with 4 balls around cup, start at 1 foot, if you make them all, go a foot further out. If you miss, start over for that distance. Once you get out to 6-7 feet it gets tough

Play for money, your money, real money. I guess thats about as close as you can get.

Agree with everyone on playing for money and the various drills, but make sure that even in casual rounds you putt everything out every time no exceptions. If you front load your work this way tournament day might seem like just another round. Plus, you'll know your tendencies.

ALWAYS HOLE EVERYTHING OUT!

Whatever drills you wanna do, do calisthenics before you hit the putt, nothing crazy, just get the heart rate up.

This is great advice. Learning how to putt when your heart is beating out of your chest is awesome practice for simulating pressure putts.

I also like to imagine what the putt could be for, e.g. “This is to birdie 18 to win the Club Championship.”

Then, when faced with a similar situation in real life, it’s like you’ve already done it successfully 1000x.

Gamble on the practice green.

$1 a hole. Aces only with carry overs.

After about 8-9 holes of carry overs with 3-4 guys playing that pot starts getting pretty big.

While playing a round, pick a putt that in your imagination will be the winning putt on the 18th at the US Open. Put a $20 bill in the hole. If you miss the putt leave it there and move on.

Like Treveno said " Betting $10 dollars with only 5$ in your pocket, now that's pressure". Seriously find a putting partner and put a dollar each in the hole, pick a putt to putt and whoever makes it clean wins the money.

Exactly, you can't simulate pressure, because there's no consequences. You need consequences.

PUTT LIKE A CHAMPION:

put 18 (!) tees around a hole, 6 at 3 feet, 6 at 6 feet, 6 at 9 feet. level 1 is you get 3 3 footers, 3 6 footers, 3 9 footers, and have to make 6/9 putts. If you make 6 then you have a 6 foot "pressure cooker" putt, and if you make that you go to level 2. level 2 is 4 3 footers, 3 6 footers, and 3 9 footers, and you have to go 7/10, then another pressure cooker. Each time you add one to the shortest distance (add a 3 footers, then a 6, then a 9, then a 3 again), until you get to have 6 of each distance, and go 15/18, then make a final 6 foot pressure cooker putt. if you fail a level, you restart the level (don't go all the way back to level 1).

This drill takes a very long time (to complete it for a really good putter takes about 2 hours).

Those who stay, will be champions

No drill will ever simulate tournament pressure.

Yes, that’s why I said earlier to play money games that have some real coin riding on a putt. That’s REAL pressure and VERY similar to tournament pressure. Drills will never mimic what your mind/body will do under stress.

In my experience, those "make putts before you can go home" type of drills do nothing to actually simulate pressure. They might help you focus a bit better, but that's about it.

The main problem with money games on the practice green is finding like-minded players to participate. Most of my friends prefer spending their cash at the bar, not on the putting green.

Put a tee every foot from 1-10 feet. Start with 3 balls. You get 3 "chances". Start at 1 ft, hole putt move back to next tee. If you need any of you chance balls to hole the putt you lose it moving forward. So lets say you miss the 4 footer on first try, you take 2nd ball and hole it. Now you lose that ball and only have two balls left to finish last 6 putts. Works really well when you're down to one ball and have to make a 9 and 10 footer to finish.

 

If you run out, start over.

Sounds like a great drill, but i would run out of balls before i got half way through.....perhaps if I started with 20 balls.

Make a 3 foot circle around a cup with a dozen or so balls. You have to make all 12 or you reset. You don't go home till you make all twelve.

I would need to have a mailbox installed at the course.

All the practice techniques posted will help only to a certain extent, but until the pressure is applied do you get the practice you need. You juat have to become determined to overcome pressure, to look forward to being in those situations. It's only a game for most of us, and that's how you should look at it. Golf is great, but it is not bigger than life.

During a tournament any time your nerves get to you:

Inhale deep and slow through nose, hold for a second, exhale twice slower through mouth, hold for a second. Repeat once or twice. Lowers heart rate and anxiety.

I practice putting after taking really quick breaths to mess up my anxiety level. Quick in, quicker out.

Here this will probably give you a good amount of pressure lol....