As we saw yesterday it was a fantastic win for Ripper GC in Adelaide! There were lots of pressure on the team but they came through showing resilience and courage right up until the last putt. As you may have heard from Marc and Cameron in the Post Presser, they were both very nervous over their putts on the first playoff hole. I like many thought that the Stingers most likely had this won as they hit their approach shots just beyond the hole.
Incredibly the Stingers both missed their putts and Marc was faced with a 12 foot par putt as well Cam with a 4 foot par putt. What happened next is why those two are true Gladiators of the sport. What was so impressive was that Marc approached the putt with the exact same routine as he had the whole round. This is the real key in pressure clutch moments. Yes you are aware of the pressure but you know you must keep the same routine no matter what.
A lot of the time when there's pressure we can go too fast or too slow with our routine but Marc was committed to keeping it the exact same. This is why I talk about dividing your range practice into technique and oncourse routine. This simply means that if your game is three days away, practice technique on the first day, oncourse routine (Walking in from behind the ball each time just like you would on the course) on the second day and then playing on the third day. When you do play, you want your last session just on pre-shot routine so that you are fully aware on what this feels like before you play. Your goal then is to keep this the same no matter whether you're going well or having a bad round.
Cam's 4 foot putt was arguably harder as there can be more pressure on holing a putt that you should make versus one that you may not. Cam has an incredible putting stroke and just like Marc, just kept the same routine as he had done all day. To build incredible resilience in putting, I often talk about practicing putting from short distances, typically within 4 feet. This range is great to build your mental strength as it's one of those awkward distances where it's not a tap-in but it's a putt you should make meaning their will be typically an increase of expectation to hole the putt.
The Rippers did extremely well and is just another example of never giving up and also sticking to your routine no matter what the circumstances. If you have any issues with your putting or want to find out how to be more consistent just enquire at David Waters Golf.
