Recovery shots
How to Practice Recovery Shots Under Pressure
Pressure drills that make recovery shots hold up when the match, card, or carry matters.
Add a consequence
Pressure practice for recovery shots should make your hands feel a little different. For a recovery shot, give yourself one ball, one target, and a score. Before the hero gap tempts you, if the shot would cost you on the course, it should cost you in the drill.
Putting the feel on record
FocusGolf can make recovery practice less random. Using a Wear OS, Apple Watch, or Garmin watch, you can track shots and review swing metrics without adding sensors to the club. When you find a compact motion that gets the ball back in play, saving it in your session history or best-shot highlights makes it easier to repeat under pressure.
Try the up-and-down test
When the ball is in trouble, drop five balls in five different awkward spots. Finish each recovery as a mini-hole. When the ball is in trouble, give yourself two points for an up-and-down, one for a safe bogey position, and zero for staying in trouble. Keep that escape score for several practice sessions.
Breathe, pick, swing
When the ball is in trouble, under pressure, simplify the routine: breathe, pick the landing spot, make the swing. Before the hero gap tempts you, the less you negotiate over the ball, the more your practiced motion has a chance to show up.