These 2 keys will help you shoot under pressure

Learning to handle stress is one of the hardest and most rewarding aspects of the game. On the course, pressure mounts in two ways, big and small: hitting a shot in front of strangers, carrying a handicap to reach the green, pulling a clutch putt for par, maintaining your composure on the back nine to shoot a career round, or making a crucial shot that leads to a 1-up win .

Becoming a functional athlete who not only survives but thrives under pressure is often the result of experience and practice. It's hard to simulate the stressful situations you'll face on the course during your practice, but it can be done. And Top 100 Golf Instructor Trillium Rose has two keys to help you remember when you're faced with a stressful situation on the course.

“Whether you're a professional or a recreational player, you always want to play your best,” Rose said in a video posted on Titleist's YouTube page.

So what's the best way for players to make sure they have their best every shot when it counts? Rose has some ideas.

2 keys to success when dealing with a gun under pressure

1. Trust your swing

This may seem obvious, but it is important.

“In a tournament match or a really important round, it's not the time to go back to the handbook and think about all the little details of your swing,” Rose said. “The time to do that is actually on the driving range or through practice. If you want to play really well, you have to experience it.”

Instead of thinking about swing mechanics, Rose recommends better visualization instead.

“What do you want football to do? What do you want to see out there and how can you feel that movement?” Rose suggests asking herself. “I'm going to go and feel a shot that I know I can trust. I'm not going to try to think of doing something new.”

2. Choose small, specific targets

“I want my goal to be small,” said Rose. “I want to focus on what I'm doing right now.”

Positivity plays a role in this, says Rose, because you want to focus on what you have search do, not what you don't do it i want to do.

“Keep it for now,” said Rose. “You don't want to think about the water on the right or the trees on the left. You also don't want to think about the shot you had three holes ago or what you're going to do at the end of the tournament – if you're going to win or not. You have to think about each shot as it comes to you. Trust in your turn.”

Summary: Swing yours swing, and avoid thinking about the details of your movements. Stay positive, stay in the moment, and start making those stressful pictures more effective.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia's first varsity golf class, Jessica knows how to outrun everyone on the golf course. He can pass them through the office, too, where he is primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF's first Style Issue, which began in February 2018. His first interview series, “A Round With,” released in November 2015, and appeared in both magazine and video form on GOLF.com.