Nicklaus making his famous putt on 17 in The Masters
Many moons ago I found myself on the last tee of a four-ball tournament where my partner and I faced a two-shot deficit.
The last hole was a long par 5 by 1980’s standards at about 550 yards and that day there was no helping wind.
By some sort of miracle, I was able to reach the green in two after hitting a persimmon driver off the deck for my second shot.
I was faced with a 25 foot eagle putt, but it was a side hill curler.
Since our competitors didn’t appear to have good chances for birdie, I figured if I made that putt, we could force a playoff.
Somehow, with my hands shaking, I managed to make that putt, capping off the greatest hole I ever played.
However, immediately after that, our competitor rolled in a downhill slider from about twelve feet to make his birdie and clip us by a shot.
That was as clutch a putt I had ever witnessed in person.
If you had ever watched the career of Tiger Woods, you would’ve witnessed something similar several times.
The 72nd hole at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open and a couple times at Bay Hill come to mind.
At the same time, you’ve probably witnessed more than a few meltdowns on the final hole of a tournament where a short putt has been missed.
I personally blew a four-footer on the final hole of the PA State high school championship back in the day that would’ve sealed a big victory for me.
My nerves got the best of me.
So how is it that some golfers like Nicklaus and Woods have been able to thrive under pressure, where others could not?
One can argue that these two had the strongest minds in golf and that is why they seemed to thrive under pressure.
But how does that mind get developed?
One of the big themes I present in The Samurai Golfer training program is disciplined practice.
Most people simply don’t have the discipline to do what it takes to reach their golf potential.
Now, consider that you are finishing up a practice session on the practice green after hitting a bucket of balls.
Most golfers will hit a few long putts, a few short putts, and then call it a day.
What did Tiger Woods do?
He finished his sessions by making 100 three-foot putts in a row.
First of all, it takes tremendous discipline to do that.
Secondly, by doing that after each session, making those putts became second nature to him.
This is why it was so rare to see him miss a short putt when he absolutely needed it.
My coin drill
After I missed that four-foot putt to lose the PA high school championship, I vowed to never let that happen again.
Somewhere I had read about a drill where you set a coin at distances of 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet and 5 feet from the hole.
You then make ten in a row at each distance before moving on to the next coin.
I would perform that drill at the end of my practice sessions, and before heading out to play a tournament round.
I felt that this gave me the confidence to at least make the short putts (I didn’t seem to make many long putts back then).
This worked well over the next few years when I was playing most of my competitive golf.
My friends would comment now and then how I never seemed to miss any short putts.
That was just one drill that I employed and it helped me develop the mindset that I would never miss a short putt.
Final Thoughts
Becoming a clutch putter has nothing to do with a new putter or specific technique.
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods had vastly different putting styles and both were outstanding putters overall and in the clutch.
Clutch putting is all about mindset.
The best way to develop that mindset is through regular disciplined practice.
Now get to work!
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