Whether you view a putt as pressured or not really depends upon you as an individual. Some golfers feel pressured by three foot putts, some by 30 foot putts.

It really depends upon your view of the situation. A pressure putt just means that you are placing a stressful demand upon your attention. It is something that we all create and assign to different situations.

Think of the following two very different situations. You are on the practice putting green, no one else is around and you are three feet away from the hole, where you have been practising the putt from for the last 10 putts. Compare this to being on the 18th green, with everyone in the club house watching and you have a three foot putt to win the match. Both are three foot putts but the situation that contains that three foot putt is very different and the stress of one situation against the other can make you view the putt very differently indeed.

The best way to deal with any stressful situation is to have a routine to follow that you trust and know that it works. A routine that helps you focus your attention on the task that you face and a routine that helps you to cope with the stress or pressure and allows you to achieve what is required, in this case holing the putt.

The routine that you follow needs to be consistent so that you always follow it exactly the same, time and time again and it needs to be simple, containing performance cues that focus you on the given task that you face – getting the putt into the hole.

If you work on training yourself to follow your routine, so that it becomes second nature to follow it, you will learn to focus on completing your routine and on what is important to getting you to complete the task, rather than be distracted away from what will help you.

The routine that you want to follow should be as simple as possible. Initially, read the green. Crouch down directly behind the ball, in line with the ball and the hole and look at the slopes on the surface of the green. Work out how the putt will move as you play it across the green. Now still behind the ball practice the stroke that you need to use to hit the ball at the speed you want it to roll at. Keep imagining the ball travelling towards the hole on the line you believe will result in the ball going in the hole. Place the putter head next to the ball and aim the face down the line you want to start the ball on. Take your stance up and then take another look down the line that the ball is going to travel on to the hole. Focus on the line and stroke the putt down it.

Whilst doing this you may also find it helpful to work on relaxing. Being relaxed will help you to hold the putter lightly and to move smoothly during the stroke. Take long, deep, slow breaths and imagine you are somewhere where you feel comfortable and at ease.

Write down the routine that you follow, what you do when you are making putts and then practice copying this every time that you putt. If you learn to follow your routine, then your training will kick in when you are under pressure and you will be successful and achieve the outcome that you are looking for.