Two Drills That Will Transform Your Ball-Striking Under Pressure
When Chris Gotterup closed out the 2026 WM Phoenix Open with a strong final round, he wasn’t relying on luck or raw power alone. Instead, he credited something far more reliable: consistency and control. And here’s what struck me about his post-round comments—he understood something that separates good golfers from great ones. Power without control is a gamble you’ll lose more often than you’ll win.
In my fifteen years of teaching, I’ve watched this pattern repeat countless times. A student comes to me frustrated because they hit the ball far but inconsistently. They make great swings one moment and “funky” swings the next. The problem isn’t usually talent. It’s that they haven’t developed the feel and feedback systems needed to groove a repeatable motion that holds up when it matters most.
Gotterup solved this problem with two simple drills that you can use this week. Better yet, they don’t require expensive equipment or hours at the range. They require intention and understanding.
Why Your Takeaway Matters More Than You Think
Let me ask you something: do you know how your backswing actually starts? Most golfers I work with can’t answer that with confidence. They have a general feeling, but when pressure arrives—like a tight fairway or a crucial tournament moment—that feeling abandons them.
This is exactly what Gotterup was addressing. He explained his natural tendency clearly:
“I have a tendency to kind of get out this way [more outside], and that kind of gets steep, and I drop down on it.”
Does that sound familiar? An outside takeaway leads to a steep downswing, which produces inconsistent contact and directional misses. The chain reaction of one small mistake compounds into a full swing problem.
But here’s the encouraging part: Gotterup identified his tendency and built a tool to fix it. You can do the same.
Try This: The Resistance Band Connection Drill
Gotterup’s band drill is deceptively simple, but it teaches your body something your conscious mind struggles to learn: what a connected, inside takeaway actually feels like.
Here’s how to set it up:
Step 1: Grab a light circular resistance band (the kind used for physical therapy or Pilates). Wrap it around your torso at chest height.
Step 2: Tuck your lead arm (left arm for right-handers) underneath the band. Leave your trail arm free. The band should sit just above your lead elbow and run across your chest.
Step 3: Make some slow practice swings. The band acts as a gentle restraint, pulling your lead arm inward and keeping your chest connected during the takeaway.
Why does this work? The band provides real-time feedback without fighting your natural swing motion. As Gotterup explained:
“It’s something that I like to use because it’s not interfering with my swing like crazy and doesn’t bother my feels.”
This is key. The best practice tools don’t fight you—they educate you. The band teaches your muscles what an inside, connected takeaway feels like without forcing an artificial position. After ten to fifteen repetitions, your nervous system begins to remember this feeling. Eventually, you can groove it without the band.
In my teaching experience, golfers who use this drill consistently report two things: first, they stop hitting the ball offline as much. Second, and perhaps more important, they regain confidence because they understand their swing better.
The Towel Drill: Your Feedback System for Clean Contact
Now that you’ve improved your takeaway, you need to guarantee that improvement carries through to impact. This is where Gotterup’s towel drill becomes invaluable.
Here’s the setup: Place a towel on the ground a few inches behind the ball, positioned along your target line and roughly in line with your trail foot (right foot for right-handers). Your goal is simple: make swings while never touching the towel.
The towel creates an invisible boundary that forces you to make one critical commitment: hit down and through the ball with a steep enough angle of attack.
Gotterup was direct about what the towel teaches:
“This is something that just contact wise, promotes driving into the ball and getting clean contact. If I hit the towel I’m probably coming from the inside or shallower than I’d like.”
When you hit the towel, it’s not a failure—it’s information. You’ve just learned that your angle of attack was too shallow, which typically produces shots that leak right. By respecting the towel boundary, you train yourself to compress the ball consistently.
Bringing It Together Under Pressure
Here’s what I love about these two drills: they’re progressive. The band drill establishes the foundation—a consistent, connected takeaway. The towel drill builds accountability at impact. Together, they create what Gotterup called the ability to “manage the game” and “make a couple putts when it mattered.”
But let’s be honest about what’s really happening. It’s not magic. It’s that Gotterup developed trust in his swing through deliberate practice with specific feedback tools. When pressure arrived at TPC Scottsdale, his system held because he’d trained it to.
You have access to the same tools right now. Spend twenty minutes this week working through both drills. Feel the difference. Let your body learn what a consistent, high-quality swing actually feels like. That’s not just practice—that’s the beginning of real improvement.
