During his prime, there weren’t many better putters than Sir Nick Faldo.
Faldo won 43 professional tournaments around the world but he excelled when playing under the most intense pressure during the major championships.
The Englishman recorded six major victories – only 11 men have won more throughout the history of the game.
- Read also: Sir Nick Faldo’s ‘stupidly simple’ method to help amateur golfers cope better with first tee nerves
Do you think you could win The Masters if you started every hole on the green?
If not, how many shots would you also need?
Since he gave up playing competitively, Faldo has provided plenty of golf tips for amateurs who are desperate to improve their games.
There are so many different golf tips out there readily available for all of us to access.
However, Faldo’s latest advice concerns how to change your mentality when putting, rather than your technique.
Nick Faldo’s advice for amateurs who want to putt better under pressure
It’s amazing how even a tiny bit of pressure can adversely affect your putting stroke.
The reason why PGA Tour players are so good when putting under pressure is because they work so hard on their stroke that they have full faith in their ability when performing under the gun.
Meanwhile, most amateur golfers have the complete opposite feeling and that is where the pressure comes from.
If you have no trust in your own ability, there is a good chance you will not perform when the heat is cranked up.
Faldo was asked for advice on how to cope better when putting under pressure, during a putting masterclass instructional video on the GOLF LIFE YouTube channel.
“That’s another important part,“ Faldo said.
“I promise you, we’re huffing and puffing inside, but you’ve got to calm yourself down. You have to get very insular, and you can do it now as a trick.
“If you’re standing here, you can imagine people are looking at you, can’t you?
The winners of the four majors in 2026 will be…
Let us know who you are backing to triumph in next year's biggest events
“Or you can imagine you are looking at the people. You can stand and think, ‘I’m looking at everybody’, right?
“It’s a cool, it’s a very good little trick, because obviously it’s more nerve-racking when you think everybody’s looking at me. Rather than me going, ‘I’m looking at looking at everybody’.
“Then all you see is the colours. You can feel the atmosphere, but you’re over it, and then you can really feel quiet.
“And then when super quick greens, you’re quiet, you do exactly that, you quiet yourself down, and you quieten your body and your mind.
“I’m just in my body, just me, and then I can control it, I can get super quiet. Then you can be lovely and calm, and you look, you know, obviously you’ve got focus. You’ve made your decisions, you’ve got your focus, you know what you’re doing.“
Does pressure statistically affect PGA Tour players’ putting?
Despite the fact that players on the PGA Tour are used to performing under the most extreme pressure, they are still human.
Data collected by the PGA Tour proves that pressure affects even the best players in the world.
On the PGA Tour, players make around 95% of putts from inside three feet.
However, that figure drops to somewhere around 92-93% during highly pressurized situations.
This data was collected from regular PGA Tour events and then compared with how players performed during the FedEx Cup playoffs.
So it’s fair to assume that those percentages would come down even more during major championship weeks.
Of course, it’s all relative, but the pressure that amateur golfers feel when trying to make a putt to win a tournament at their club or to halve a match against their friends is not that different to what the pros experience.
Faldo’s tip may well actually help amateurs perform better on the greens under pressure. It’s all about changing your mindset and there is absolutely no harm in giving Faldo’s advice a go.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
