Drills That Develop Champions ByJASON VOIGTS andMARIA CASTELLUCCI

Have you ever experienced that instant fear that comes with standing over a 6-foot putt knowing that the putt stands between you and beating your best bud or worse,between you and a championship trophy? It's a feeling most of us are familiar with but never want to admit.Some instructors would tell you that it's a feeling that won't ever go away or that it can't be controlled,but there are steps that you can take to ease the pressure of those situations and turn them into an advantage for you.This is one benefit of practicing with a specific purpose in mind.

One way to practice this skill is through drills.We have found that these two drills not only allow you to work on your putting fundamentals but also allows you to simulate the feeling of being 'under the gun' to actually simulate that moment of fear without something being on the line.My father used to tell me all the time,if you can't do it in practice, you will never be able to do it when it counts.One of our favorite drills is called the 3,6,9 putting drill.

The following steps describe how to set it up and complete it:

1. Place your putter head inside the cup and put a tee down at the length of the club.Most putters are 33 to 35 inches.

2. Go another putter length back from that tee which would be 6 feet and then another from that tee which would be 9 feet.

3. Take three golf balls at the 3-foot tee and putt,if you make all three of those golf balls consecutively then proceed to the 6-foot tee.Putt those three golf balls and if you make those three consecutively,move to the 9-foot tee and make those three in a row.

4. If you make all nine balls in a row,you have completed the drill but the first ball that you miss takes you back to the beginning with the 3-foot tee where you start the drill from scratch.

The purpose of the drill is to put you in a make-or-break situation.The pressure increases as you move back and when you reach that eighth or ninth ball,you will have simulated effectively that true feeling of pressure.This is not an easy drill to successfully navigate.There has been more than one occasion where my father has had to turn on the car headlights to illuminate the putting green so that I could finish it.One thing that we can promise is that this will make you a better pressure putter and those 3-foot putts will no longer be viewed as knee-knockers.

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The second drill is known as the 3-Foot Circle. The following steps describes how to set it up and complete it:

1. Take 10 balls and 10 tees.

2. Put the tees in a 3-foot circle surrounding the hole. This can be done by placing the putter head in the cup and slowing circle the hole, placing tees at the length of the putter.Most putters are 33 to 35 inches.

3. Place one ball at each tee.The objective of this drill is make all 10 balls consecutively without missing.If you miss,you must begin again.

The purpose of this drill is to help ease the stress that 3-foot putts cause.Additionally,this drill assists with allowing the player to repeat their pre-shot routine at every putt so that they can understand that routine and confidence combats the fear of failure.

These drills do not take away fear alone,but it provides an opportunity to replace the fear with confidence. PGA professionals have a success rate of putts from three feet at 96% and 88% from four feet. This only goes to prove that emotions and confidence plays a major roll in success.The pros put themselves in these situations daily in practice so that when it happens in tournament play,they have the confidence to make the putt because they have done it a thousand times.

Give these drills a try and see if you reach your success goals and improve your overall performance.

Jason Voigts and Maria Castellucci are teaching professionals at The Club at Diamondhead (Mississippi).

Voigts is a champion and elite-level coach that has helped juniors and adults reach their golf potential and achieve their dreams.Voigts has coached the 2016 US Kids National Players of the Year,both male and female.He has developed national champions in multiple associations such as AJGA,Florida Junior Tour,Louisiana Junior Golf Associations,Kelly Gibson Junior Tour, Golfweek Amateur Champions Tour and several female and male state high school champions from both Mississippi and Florida.

Castellucci is a former professional golfer who played on multiple tours such as LPGA and the Futures Tour.She also had a successful junior career where she won the AJGA Francis Ouimet Trophy for lowest stroke average along with Tiger Woods in 1990.She also had a successful college career at Florida State University.