Playing in First Tournament Ever...Just Looking For Advice

[FreddyTheBearCat]

This Sunday, I signed up for a 4 man scramble on a whim. I've been paired with a 9, 11, and 3 Handicap. I'm a 28.  Feel like I'm in over my head and it's gonna be terrible. Don't get me wrong, I'm getting better and improving but, I think playing with these dudes is just gonna kill my confidence.  Should I back out, or just suck it up? 

[elight]

I met up with some old out-of-town buddies a few months a go and we played golf. One of them has basically never played and I had to bring him a few of my old clubs to use on the course. He got about 45 minutes on the range and practice green and we were off. Over 18 holes, even he contributed a few shots (chips and putts).

So I say go for it, have a good time, and play within yourself. 

[JerryB]

The best part of playing in a scramble when everyone is better than you is that you have no pressure at all.  You can go out and just swing.  If you all end up using any of your strokes, that's a happy bonus.  Unless these guys are absolute jerks, they'll be encouraging the whole way.  The neat thing for me, when I started, was playing with others who were better than me and just watching what they do.  It gave me confidence and something to strive for on the course.

Enjoy the round!

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

20 hours ago, FreddyTheBearCat said:

This Sunday, I signed up for a 4 man scramble on a whim. I've been paired with a 9, 11, and 3 Handicap. I'm a 28.  Feel like I'm in over my head and it's gonna be terrible. Don't get me wrong, I'm getting better and improving but, I think playing with these dudes is just gonna kill my confidence.  Should I back out, or just suck it up? 

got out. have fun. Learn from it. No one cares how good you are at golf. We are all too worried about our own play. Plus, your handicap will help your team score better (hate to say it, you are the sandbagger add (i know you arent a sandbagger), to help their scores look better). Enjoy the course. Be in tune with yourself.

[MacTourney]

20 hours ago, FreddyTheBearCat said:

This Sunday, I signed up for a 4 man scramble on a whim. I've been paired with a 9, 11, and 3 Handicap. I'm a 28.  Feel like I'm in over my head and it's gonna be terrible. Don't get me wrong, I'm getting better and improving but, I think playing with these dudes is just gonna kill my confidence.  Should I back out, or just suck it up? 

You are over your head.  Go to a range Saturday and hit your favorite club that you can count on 100 times and roll some putts too.  Sunday, two shots of gold tequila before first tee, and have at it.  

[Fred Mitchell]

On 5/25/2023 at 10:02 PM, FreddyTheBearCat said:

This Sunday, I signed up for a 4 man scramble on a whim. I've been paired with a 9, 11, and 3 Handicap. I'm a 28.  Feel like I'm in over my head and it's gonna be terrible. Don't get me wrong, I'm getting better and improving but, I think playing with these dudes is just gonna kill my confidence.  Should I back out, or just suck it up? 

Double down on short game and putting practice before the tourney, if you hit some chips up tight and sink some 5 plus footers they wont care if your handicap is 58.

[FreddyTheBearCat]

Yours and everyone’s advice is appreciated! My name is also Fred Mitchell, made me laugh when the notification came up. 

[Fred Mitchell]

2 hours ago, FreddyTheBearCat said:

Yours and everyone’s advice is appreciated! My name is also Fred Mitchell, made me laugh when the notification came up. 

My real name is not Fred Mitchell . Many years ago joined FaceBook to look around and to trade o guns [ yes back in the day you could trade guns on FB] but didnt want a bunch of friend request and personnel stuff so I used my Grandfathers name lol. 

[FreddyTheBearCat]

Whelp, little update on the tournament. I messed up my first drive cause of nerves but,  the 3 guys I was paired with were good dudes and could all play well. Gave me lots of good tips, they were generally pretty friendly...ended up using a lot of my drives, and I played well enough not to be a drag.

Ended up 9 under for the round and with the help of my 28 handicap we came in 4th in the final standings.  Pretty good experience, glad I decided to come out and play after all. 

[pma531]

Great job!! Glad you had fun.

Edited May 29, 2023 by pma531

[FreddyTheBearCat]

1 hour ago, pma531 said:

Great job!! Glad you had fun.

Thanks! It was a good time yeah

[FreddyTheBearCat]

Thanks Bruce, I don’t get to practice much and I only really started to get serious about it this year. So yeah I’m trying not to be too hard on myself, golf is hard no matter what really. I’m happy with any improvement at all at this point. 
 

Cheers for the comment!