In this video I’m at a charity event hitting drives off a par-5. It’s a great chance for me to practice hitting for both distance and accuracy.

With the Regional Championship just a couple days away I’m going to be focused on two things that will help me in the competition:
1. My Pre-Shot Routine
2. My Target Focus to help with Accuracy

Standing in the sun for 6 hours pounding 150 to 200 drives makes for a long day. Plus there’s some risk of injury (it’s how I tore my rotator cuff a couple years ago) and being too fatigued coming into the Regionals.

But I’m always the optimist. And it’s for a worth cause.

Watch the video to see how I turn even a charity event into a learning opportunity.

Aim Small to Miss Small

Even though the grid in Mesquite is 50 yards wide there are times when the pressure rises that it seems more like 50 feet. So practicing on a par-5 with a 25-yard wide landing area may actually work to my advantage. By the time I get to the Regionals I’m going to feel like the grid is 100 yards wide.

That’s the thing about tightening up the performance parameters when you practice: make it hard enough in practice and the real thing seems easy.

I remember growing up and having a basketball hoop that was barely wide enough for the ball to go through. You’ve probably seen half-sized cups on some practice greens.

Same concept.

Get good at practicing to a really small target and the real one seems easier.

The first time I practiced on one of those half-sized putting cups I spent about an hour hitting putts from 3 to 10 feet. At first it seemed impossible to make a putt. But eventually I got used to it.

When I finally switched to the regulation-sized cup it seemed as big as a basket!

How to Practice For Accuracy Under Pressure

I encourage students to pick out 15-yard wide markers on the range and hit 10-ball sets to see how many they can keep in. By the time they get to a 30-yard wide fairway they feel a lot less pressure.

One more thing – even though this is a fun event and there’s no competitive pressure per se, I still have the pressure of performing in front of an audience. They expect me to hit the ball well and to hit it far.

The more times I have to perform under pressure the more comfortable I am in every other pressure situation.

TAKE AWAYS

1. Aim small to miss small. Keep tightening up your performance measures on the range and you’ll hit a lot more fairways
2. Practice under pressure. Even when there is no real pressure, invent some. The more familiar you are with pressure the easier it will be to face the real thing.