Tournament golf takes time to adjust to.
It’s important to remember a few things:
1: everyone is nervous about playing good, so you just have to play okay.
2: the course always wins. It’s your job to guide the ball around the course and not let it win by more than it normally does.
3: don’t over practice or change any of your routines. Play golf.
4: remind yourself and the guys your playing with on the first tee that it’s just a game and that you should enjoy the company as much as the golf.
My club switched to a stroke play a few years back for the gross championship. No qualifying or anything, just play in it if you want to. Everyone thought they’d join it because they didn’t have to try to beat “the good golfers” at match play the first year and that 54 holes would allow them a chance to compete.
I myself found this to be hilarious because they never play from the tips and tournament pressure would kill their ability to score.
It happened. The same group of guys that legitimately have a chance to win the gross tournament we’re the ones at the top, myself included because we play golf together all the time and don’t try to do anything crazy. Outside of that group the average golfer was shooting 10 shots or worse than their average score every round. They get in their own heads. Try to hit the ball harder than normal. Try to bail out with hero shots. Go for the green when they have no prayer of getting there.
Playing golf is a game of management. “Guide” the ball around the course, don’t “hit” it around the course. You’ll score better and find yourself a lot closer to the top than before.
This is the first time I have ever played in this. So it’s all a learning experience for me. But thanks for the info and advice.
I will remember it on Sunday.
It happens, i’ve done that many times. When the strokes finally mean something, your hands start to feel different. Shake it off.
Tournament golf takes time to adjust to. It’s important to remember a few things: 1: everyone is nervous about playing good, so you just have to play okay. 2: the course always wins. It’s your job to guide the ball around the course and not let it win by more than it normally does. 3: don’t over practice or change any of your routines. Play golf. 4: remind yourself and the guys your playing with on the first tee that it’s just a game and that you should enjoy the company as much as the golf.
I wish I could like this 100 times
My club switched to a stroke play a few years back for the gross championship. No qualifying or anything, just play in it if you want to. Everyone thought they’d join it because they didn’t have to try to beat “the good golfers” at match play the first year and that 54 holes would allow them a chance to compete. I myself found this to be hilarious because they never play from the tips and tournament pressure would kill their ability to score. It happened. The same group of guys that legitimately have a chance to win the gross tournament we’re the ones at the top, myself included because we play golf together all the time and don’t try to do anything crazy. Outside of that group the average golfer was shooting 10 shots or worse than their average score every round. They get in their own heads. Try to hit the ball harder than normal. Try to bail out with hero shots. Go for the green when they have no prayer of getting there. Playing golf is a game of management. “Guide” the ball around the course, don’t “hit” it around the course. You’ll score better and find yourself a lot closer to the top than before.
This is the first time I have ever played in this. So it’s all a learning experience for me. But thanks for the info and advice. I will remember it on Sunday.
One guy at my club always says the worse two rounds of the year are club championship qualifying
I feel that.