Learning how to handle pressure is one of the most difficult and rewarding aspects of the game. On the course, pressure abounds in ways both big and small: hitting a tee shot in front of strangers, carrying an obstacle to reach the green, draining a clutch putt for par, maintaining your composure on the back nine to shoot a career round, or executing a crucial shot that leads to a 1 up win.
Becoming a functional player who not only survives but thrives under pressure is often a result of experience and practice. It’s hard to simulate the pressure situations you’ll face on the course during your practice time, but it can be done. And GOLF Top 100 Teacher Trillium Rose has two keys it will help to remember when you’re faced with a pressure situation on the course.
“Whether you’re a professional or you’re a recreational player, you’re always going to want to play your best,” Rose says in a video posted to Titleist’s YouTube page.
So what’s the best way for players to ensure they have their best on every shot when it counts? Rose has some ideas.
2 keys to success when facing a shot under pressure
1. Trust your swing
This might seem obvious, but it’s important.
“In tournament play or in a round that really matters, it’s not the time to go back into the manual and think about all the little details of the mechanics of your swing,” Rose says. “The time to really do that is on the driving range or in practice. When you want to play your best, you’ve got to feel it.”
Instead of thinking about swing mechanics, Rose recommends positive visualization instead.
“What do you want the ball to do? What do you want to see out there and how can you feel that movement?” Rose suggests asking yourself. “I’m going to go for the feel of the shot that I know I can trust. I’m not going to try to think about doing something new.”
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2. Choose a small, specific target
“I want my target to be narrow,” Rose says. “I want my focus to be on what I’m doing right now.”
Positivity plays a role in this, Rose says, because you want to keep your focus on what you want to do, not what you don’t want to do.
“Keep it in the moment,” Rose says. “You don’t want to be thinking about the water on the right or the trees on the left. You also don’t want to be thinking about the shot you had three holes ago or what you’re going to do at the end of the tournament — if you’re going to win or not. You have to be thinking about each shot as it comes to you. Trust your swing.”
To summarize: Swing your swing, and avoid thinking about the details of your motion. Stay positive, stay in the moment, and start executing those pressure shots successfully.