Tip Tuesday: The Up-and-Down Drill for Practicing Under Pressure

Getting ready for tournament play? Eddie Young of the Classic Swing Golf School at Legends Golf Resort in Myrtle Beach, S.C. is here to help you prepare with his “up-and-down” drill designed to simulate real competition circumstances both physical and mental.

Eddie Young:
All right, so this is the up and down drill. This is a drill that I do when I’m getting ready for tournaments or just to maintain my touch around the green and up and down. I’m going to take two balls, my wedge that I’m going to use and my putter, and I’m going to start at each hole, and then I’m going to chip and one-putt both of these balls. If I don’t, I’ve got to stay in the same line and keep doing it again. And if I do, then I can move to the next hole, which I’ll illustrate in a second.

I’m going to show you what I’m doing here. I’m taking the first ball and I’m throwing it maybe eight to 10 feet off the green. Wherever it lands is where I’m going to play it at. The next one I’m going to throw out to about 10 to 15 yards out, which is a very common distance that you’d see a lot when you’re around the green, somewhere in that range. So then I’m going to go out there and chip both of these to this hole and try to one-putt both of them.

So the reason I like this drill is, it kind of helps me get better under pressure situations, because now and then if I don’t get up and down, there’s a consequence and I’ve got to come back and do it again. Versus just sitting here hitting 10 chip shots to that hole, I’m practicing more about feel versus mechanics. So I go through my pre-shot routine, just like I’m out playing. I’m going to focus on my landing area and I am not going to hit the shot until I feel comfortable with my practice swing.

Okay, now I’m going to go back here to the 10- to 20-yarder, wherever it’s at to where I’m playing. If it’s in a divot, I’m still going to play it out of the divot. If it’s on a hill, still playing off of a hill. Same thing. I’m going through my pre-shot routine, just trying to get feel in this shot. All right, now I’m going to go putt them.

So now I got the little two- and three- and four-footers, which now that I got to make the putt or I’ve got to stay here and do it again. So once again, I’m going to go through my pre-shot routine, just like I was out playing. I’m going to read the putt, take my time with it, go through my pre-shot routine, find my line, and just do everything I’d normally do in a pressure situation.

Same thing on this one. Instead of walking over and hit it, I still want to practice my pre-shot routine. I made both of those, so I got up and down. Had I not made them, I would have to do the same shot again, but if I made it, now I can move to the next hole. And I try to do this with nine holes on this green to finish to complete this exercise. So if you’ll look over here, I’m going to show you the next one. It makes it a little tougher.

So now then I’ve got a lie where all of a sudden I’ve got a pretty tricky downhill chip shot, and the next one, you may not be able to see it there, but there’s also a bunker over there so now I’ve got to go out of the bunker to here and get up and down to do this shot. So it’s a great way to practice pressure putts, pressure chips, and your short game, and hope you like it!