[Tyk]

Just curious what you all think and if you guys experience it, what you do to calm yourself down.

I play a decent amount of competitive golf, I play on our course's Cup Team (a Ryder Cup format played against other area courses), I play in a couple different match play brackets, in our Club Championship and in several "serious" tournaments a season.

I really enjoy competing on the golf course, I love to play "when it matters". My problem is I get pretty amped for a match, butterflies in the stomach, a little tense, etc. For big matches, I've been known to have trouble sleeping the night before! I have a hard time getting myself relaxed for the match. The nerves start building on the practice range usually, and it takes me 2 or 3 holes to settle down and focus on the task at hand - hitting good shots. Once I get into the flow of match and find my groove, competition can bring out the best in my game. My best 3 or 4 career rounds have come in competition, so the nerves and pressure are not at all a complete negative and in some respects I thrive on it. But it usually takes a few holes to get there.

If I could figure out a way to relax and START the match (or even decrease the time it takes for me to relax) in the same competitive zone I currently have to work myself into, I know I would be a much better competitor. Anyone else experience this, if so, what do you do to get yourself into competition mode?

[JBones]

I do it Tin Cup style......I drink heavily on the night before a tournament. Not so much that I'm sick or sluggish, but right on the border of that. It seems to work well. The last tournament I played in, I took three shots of tequila in the parking lot an hour before my tee time, that also worked. Alcohol is the only thing that works for me.

[cheymike]

Aiming oil has never worked for me, but it makes me not really care.

[Tyk]

Aiming fluid definitely has its place in my game, but it presents its own difficulties! Gotta have enough to take the edge off, then maintain at the proper pace, because there's no going backwards, and once you fall off the edge, its game over!

[pughdog]

Tyk, on 17 June 2010 - 02:34 AM, said:

Aiming fluid definitely has its place in my game, but it presents its own difficulties! Gotta have enough to take the edge off, then maintain at the proper pace, because there's no going backwards, and once you fall off the edge, its game over!

I certainly wouldn't recommend drinking!

Bear in mind, what you are describing here is exactly what every other golfer goes through. Be it the beginner playing with a much better player for the first time. A single figure guy teeing up in his once-a-year' Club Championship or even a Ryder Cup Rookie standing over the opening tee shot quivering, unable to swallow or draw the club back!

The secret? Well, I've certainly never been able to get rid of the first tee nerves completely. In fact, I miss them most of the time as the lack of them signifies a less important tee shot / round of golf. Yes. Good golfers get jitters too! How they deal with them is key, they manage to still make solid(ish) contact and settle down into their round quicker. How.....?

Ok, the boring predictable answers...

Routines

There's a lot of talk about pre shot routines but also consider pre round routines. Ideally the time you spend directly before you tee up should be the same regardless of the importance of the round. Many golfers will usually rock up to the club 15 minutes before, quick swing of 2 clubs, maybe a putt or two and then they're off. No time to build up nerves.

Then, on the day of a more 'important' round they'll deliberately arrive an hour or more beforehand. Time will be spent on the range, chipping, putting (all the things that should be done on a daily basis before a round but is usually neglected!) All this time whilst useful to warm the golfer up physically can often turn into time spent overthinking about the round of golf ahead.

"I really want to play well today", "I wonder if I should take on that dog-leg on the first, I never make a good swing off the tee so early in the round, maybe I should just hit an iron and play it as a three shotter", "what time is it? Is it my game on the tee yet? Why am I getting so worked up, relax, RELAX!!!!" etc etc Sound familiar?

Good players will have a certain amount of time that they use to prepare for a round. Some as little as 20 mins, others well over an hour. The secret here is not so much how long you spend preparing but that you keep it consistent where possible to avoid over doing it on 'important' days. The guys you see on TV getting ready to play in the last round of a major will probably have done as much as possible in the hours leading up to the round to take their mind off the importance, to avoid exactly what you are describing. A good caddie will distract the player, keep him talking about stuff that keeps the mood light. No doubt some players call in Psycologists for pep talks before hand, I can assure you their role will be to calm down the player and again, distract them from thinking ahead of themselves.

When the time comes, all focus will be on getting to the first tee and going through another routine. Keeping the same pre shot routine as on the range / previous rounds helps again to lessen the importance of that opening tee shot. I know it's a corny expression that's banded around an awful lot but taking the round 'one shot at a time' really is what keeps the top golfers from getting ahead of themselves and over thinking the start of a round. Some do it better than others. You've only got to look at poor old Dustin Johnson's start in the US Open today to see even the big guys get nervous!

Sorry, waffled on there a bit!

Basically, don't worry! You're not alone! Settling down and learning to 'enjoy' the butterflies is a skill that you can acquire. It may seem hard now but over time, learning to block out distractions and focusing purely on hitting your ball to your target on the first few holes (all 18 ideally but that's another posts worth!) will help calm the nerves.

Remember, the guy you're playing probably feels the same! Even if he's not showing it

[Manavs]

pughdog, on 20 June 2010 - 11:30 PM, said:

Ok, the boring predictable answers...

so to quote monty python... and now for something completely different.... lol

lets take a quick look at the chain of events happening here.

person is nervous / unsure / scared or all of the above.

any bit of certainty in ones golf swing or abilities will create a doubt, and this void that certainty is supposed to be filling gets now filled up with thoughts.

these thoughts create biochemical responses which now trigger hormones and create a whole cascade of effects and you no longer have control of your body. fun stuff huh.

first and foremost is your ability. practice with a purpose and figure out what has to be done to move your ball from point a to point b.

Remember walking into a test in school where you knew all the answers and finish it in 10 mins and walk out, then you had those tests that you didnt study for and sat there for the entire period looking like an idiot? Well its the same thing. Stress hormones excrete when you are not certain in your abilities. and when you know, then its easy.

two - give your body enough sleep and then feed it the proper nutrients it needs in order to keep it in a focused state.

Humans need to eat good sources of protein in order for them to break down into amino acids in order to repair muscle tissue. Problems arise when your body calls onto your bloodstream in order to find the required amino acids to repair and you dont have them floating around in your blood stream , then your body will cannibalize itself and now your screwed. Cortisol and Adrenaline now spike and that is never a good thing.

You can truly compare it to one of those funny betty white snickers commercials where they say "your not yourself when your hungry" thats true, but eating a snickers will make you MORE not yourself. foods that are high in refined sugar will make you crash, and crash hard - stay away from them. Your not yourself when you dont have amino acids floating around in your bloodstream.

so moral of the story - be certain of the action you and your instructor are working on, drill them till youve mastered them. Get enough rest, and then fuel your body with good quality foods and supplements that benefit your performance, not inhibit it.

[pughdog]

Manavs, couldn't agree more. Being confident before the round begins is a huge part of it but I didn't even want to scratch the surface of that topic!

A good nights sleep and good food are very valid points too.

[Tyk]

Thanks for taking the time and posting such well thought responses Pughdog and Manavs!

I have a Cup match Thursday, and our Club Championship is this weekend, so I'll be putting your advice to alot of use this week!

[PingManKMB]

ONE GIANT DEEP BREATH IN.......... ONE GIANT DEEP BREATH OUT.... SET THE CLUB AND............ GO!

[Tyk]

I felt really good in our Cup Match yesterday. I was a bit jumpy on the first hole, but it wasn't too bad and by the 2nd shot of the 2nd hole I was into the match. It probably helped that my partner was playing excellent and we took the lead on 2 and never lost it.

[Moody]

Glad to hear you did well!
When I get the jitters before a match I head straight for the practice sand. I figure if I can stick a couple close I'm in pretty good shape.

[pughdog]

Tyk, on 26 June 2010 - 12:15 AM, said:

I felt really good in our Cup Match yesterday. I was a bit jumpy on the first hole, but it wasn't too bad and by the 2nd shot of the 2nd hole I was into the match. It probably helped that my partner was playing excellent and we took the lead on 2 and never lost it.

Good work!

If you can just focus on trying to enjoy it! Afterall, you could be at work

[Tyk]

Aight, its Club Championship Day 1! I tee off in 3 hours, and am already a little geeked up! Not in a bad way, but sensing the anticipation. Had a good stretch out this morning, body is feeling good. I'm going to get to the course in about an hour and chill for a bit and get settled in. I'll hit the range about an hour before tee time and start my prep routine.

[Dave]

Not to threadjack here, but do all you guys get to the course 1-2 hours before you tee off in a tournament. If I did that I'd never leave the car. I tend to jump out of the car, hit 5-6 putts and go. That includes in National Amatuer tournamnets as well. Whatever works I suppose.

[pughdog]

Dave, on 27 June 2010 - 02:10 PM, said:

Not to threadjack here, but do all you guys get to the course 1-2 hours before you tee off in a tournament. If I did that I'd never leave the car. I tend to jump out of the car, hit 5-6 putts and go. That includes in National Amatuer tournamnets as well. Whatever works I suppose.

Whatever works indeed. My back physically needs loosening before a round, especially an early start. I also like to chip and putt just to get the 'feel' dialled in before playing a round that's important.

I spend more time putting than a friend spends on his whole warm up! Who's right? The guy with the lowest score I suppose It's about finding what works for you I agree.