Technically, ‘Hole Out’ is the last shot that a golfer plays on any given hole. According to the official Rules, a ball is considered holed when it is at rest in the hole after a stroke, and the entire ball is below the surface of the putting green. It seems easy on the surface, but there’s nothing more frustrating than missing a putt from inside four feet that you expect to make. It can ruin your day and the scoreboard in an instant.

But it’s something you can master with everyday practice and some mental exercises. Here are 3 drills you can follow if you feel your short game has these issues.

Tip 1: Face the pressure with the Mickelson circle

Mindlessly hitting balls without a plan will never help you win a big tournament. You need to set a goal that has a scary price for failing. Start by trying to sink 15 three-foot putts in a row without making any mistakes. If you miss just one ball, you must go back to zero and start.

This rule teaches your brain how to stay calm when the game is close. And as you get stronger, your target will rise to 40, 60, or even 100 three-foot putts in a row.

Phil Mickelson used this drill, and his technique is famously known as the Mickelson Circle. The 45x Tour winner places 10-12 golf balls in a 3-foot radius around a hole and attempts to make all of them in a row. He practices this 3-4 times a week.

By placing 10 balls in a three-foot circle around the cup, you encounter every possible break—uphill, downhill, and side-hill. And it’s the reason why this technique amazingly works. But it isn’t enough to calm your body. For that, you will need something else.

Tip 2: The 4-7-8 breathing technique

You can fix your shaky hands by changing how you breathe before you swing. When you feel scared, your heart works fast, and your muscles get very tight. This tension makes your stroke look stiff. And here the 4-7-8 breathing technique works like magic.

Start by breathing in through your nose for a slow count of four. Hold that air inside your lungs for exactly seven seconds to calm your nerves. Then let the air out of your mouth for a count of eight. This simple pattern turns off the fight-or-flight alarm inside your brain and makes your shoulders feel soft. Your hands stop squeezing the club too hard, and you can easily feel the ball. Dr. Andrew Weil first proposed this idea.

Tip 3: Master the clock for your skill level

Golf commentators often criticize players for taking too much time over a putt, and research from Sian Beilock at the University of Chicago proves they are often right.

Beilock’s research found a “reverse speed-accuracy tradeoff” among skilled golfers. For novice golfers, taking more time to plan and monitor their stroke step-by-step actually improved performance. However, expert golfers performed significantly better when they putted faster. When experts were forced to speed up, it prevented the mind from interfering with the routines they had spent years developing.

Key Takeaways:

1. If you are a low-handicap/skilled golfer, spend less time over the ball. Once you have read the line, step up and react.
2. If you are a high-handicap/novice golfer, do not rush because your putting stroke is not yet automatic.

Improving your ability to hole out is a massive task. And while the tips above will surely help, there are literally more than 3 techniques that can help you to refine your game.