After closing the 2026 WM Phoenix Open with a stellar Sunday charge, Chris Gotterup credited much of his success throughout the week to his ball-striking and consistency.
“The first couple rounds, I definitely did a better job of keeping it in the fairway and hitting it in the right spots on the greens. Friday and Saturday, I felt like I was trying to do the right thing, and I still didn’t,” Gotterup said in a post-round press conference.
While his game relies on power, Gotterup knows that speed without control is a gamble — especially at TPC Scottsdale.
“You can get yourself in some funky spots on this course pretty easily, especially with the rough being up and how firm it was. Did a better job of managing my game and made a couple putts when it mattered,” Gotterup said.
To manage his game under those conditions, Gotterup uses two drills to dial in his swing and produce a repeatable move that holds up under pressure.
Gotterup’s band drill
One drill Gotterup relies on regularly is his resistance-band drill. To do it, he wraps a light circular exercise band around his torso, tucking his lead arm underneath the band while leaving his trail arm free. He then adjusts the band so it runs across his chest and sits just above his lead elbow.
As he makes a few swings, Gotterup explains that the goal of this drill is to create connection and awareness in his takeaway and backswing, helping ensure he starts on the right plane every time.
“I want it to go this way [more inside] and keep my left arm flat across my chest,” he says, “I have a tendency to kind of get out this way [more outside], and that kind of gets steep, and I drop down on it.
“When I’m taking it back with this band right here, it just kind of pulls me this way,” he says, “It’s something that I like to use because it’s not interfering with my swing like crazy and doesn’t bother my feels.”
Gotterup’s towel drill
Another staple in Gotterup’s practice routine is the towel drill, a simple feedback tool he uses to sharpen his strikes.
To set it up, he places a towel a few inches behind the ball, positioned along the target line — roughly in line with his trail foot. From there, the objective is straightforward: make swings while avoiding the towel.
“This is something that just contact wise, promotes driving into the ball and getting clean contact,” he says, “if I hit the towel I’m probably coming from the inside or shallower than I’d like.”
Which, as Gotterup explains, produces a miss pattern that causes his shots to leak to the right.
“That’s going to produce the ball going right for me, and I don’t want that,” he says, “I want it starting left.
“This [drill] kind of, in a very generic way, this promotes me kind of hitting down and through it and starting the ball left.”
This kind of instant feedback allows him to know when he’s coming too far inside or if he’s delivering his club correctly and maintaining a predictable ball flight.
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