Peter Finch: Pressure Putting Practice
Peter Finch suggests a great pressure putting practice drill in which you stop aiming at the hole itself and aim at something on your line closer to you
Peter Finch suggests a great pressure putting practice drill in which you stop aiming at the hole itself and aim at something on your line closer to you
PRESSURE PUTTING PRACTICE Many golfers have trouble over short putts when the pressure is on. They feel comfortable from 20ft, but the pressure builds from close range as they feel they should be holing it from this distance – the psychology of golf!
Forget the hole To take your mind off this added pressure, I would suggest that you stop aiming at the hole itself, and rather aim at something on your line closer to you.
This will help take your mind away from the ultimate goal of holing the putt and give you an intermediate target to roll the ball over. It’s amazing how quickly this can change your mindset.
Watch all 7 videos in Peter's 'Keys to Consistency' series...
- Understanding impact basics
- Golf's set-up essentials
- How impact varies from club to club
- A new way to pitch
- A bullet-proof chipping action
- Fringe putting drill
The tee gate You can practise this either by picking out something on your line, or actually creating a small gate with tee pegs, as I’ve done here, through which your ball must pass if you’re to hole the putt. Set up to the hole, then have a quick glance at it simply to tell your brain how hard you need to hit it.
Now, forget the hole and focus only on getting the ball rolling through the middle of your tee gate. There’s nothing more of it then that. If you can do that, then as long as your pace is okay, your ball will find the bottom of the cup.
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Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.
Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf
Jeremy is currently playing...
Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft
3 wood: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft
Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft
Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Putter: Kramski HPP 325
Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)
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