Playing My First Competitive Round

I just signed up for the local amateur qualifier which takes place this Thursday. I have never played a competitive round before and I'm very excited. I have never played the course so I'm making a little yardage book with google earth and whatever notes I can get from their website. I was told that an 89 made the cut last year, so I'm hoping a controlled game will get me to the amateur tournament, maybe even post a competitive number.

I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me a bit about what goes on before an event like this and what I'm supposed to be doing after I get there and before I play? It would be nice to get there and not be completely confused and unfocused before I even hit a ball. I would appreciate any input.

Not quite the same in my experience, but I played an open for one of my vendors a month ago. I was nervous.
sure scrambles I've played. But play your own ball? on a virgin course, yeah it was hairy. I shot a respectable 93 and the course was 6860 yards 72/139. The back nine was a 44 so I settled down. Not quite the same scale as your event, but good luck. It helped me to hit the driving range and work off some nervous energy, so I got there over an hour early. You may want to get there early yourself so you feel less like a deer in headlights, if you get stuck in traffic and have to scramble around the tents, your frame of mind will not be set for competition. Oh the score after my HI was 4th place overall. Some scratch guy shot 5 under, jeez to win it. Good luck

Most amature tournaments pars will win or come close. Eliminate the big numbers, 18 pars will be a good score. Fairways and center of greens.

Get there a minimum of an hour early so you can register and get your self settled. Go through your normal routine of range, chipping, putting etc. When you are on the range focus on a smooth tempo and staying relaxed and try to bring that to the first tee. I think that being aware of your grip pressure and tension level will help you to stay loose throughout your round.

Make sure to update this post and let us know how it went.

Well, hit a little snafu before I get to play. I cracked my driver face while practicing. Too bad nickent is out of business. Now I gotta look for a new one. I was thinking I could pick up a r9 460 for a lot cheaper than the most recent supertri as I was looking to go back to taylormade. The pro at my range did offer to let me borrow his Nike sumo for my round so I'll at least have something to keep me afloat. That's 2 busted clubs this month.

I've also never played a competitive round, so no advice. Just seconding that you should update with how it goes.

My thought would be to aim for more than hour. One hour early with 10 minute warm-up/stretch, 15 minutes on the range, 10 minutes chipping, 10 minutes putting, 10 minutes to relax and clear your mind before tee off only leaves 5 minutes to figure out any logistics, check-in, etc. I'd aim for 90 minutes early myself...

Well, my first experience turned out to be a bit disappointing on a few levels. First off, I shot my worst score of the season by 6 strokes, a 91. The nerves were going when I got out there and didn't settle for 7 holes. My first hole, I 4 putted for a 7 haha! That may be the only positive experience of the day, playing with that kind of nervousness. I also ended up 3 putting my final hole which kills me. My bogey tap in hits the rim of the cup under the lip and bounces back out at me! What are you gonna do?

Anyways, what was extremely disappointing were my playing partners. 2 police officers who were blatantly cheating. I walked and they rode in the same cart. Between them both, 15 provo balls hit, 0 tee shots claimed lost. They were "finding" balls I saw splash at hazard edges, grounding clubs in hazards, talking about club selection, and worst, is those lost balls... they'd put the cart between them and me, and put two balls down close to each other with open shots at the green with amazing lies in the woods and rough. Made me sick signing the card, but the consequences and repercussions of saying something way outweighs doing the right thing. I really don't want to have 2 cops abusing their resources against me which isn't all that uncommon.

I just gotta get back out there and give it another shot. After getting those first time jitters out, I think I can show my potential much better. I also wish I played that course before as I hit a lot of good shots that greens did not receive, just because of course knowledge of green shapes and elevations. Live and learn, keep playing with a smile.

Sorry to hear that your experience wasn't as pleasant as it should have been. Putting your partners aside, I would say that it was a pretty good outing. You need to get back on the horse and play in more of those events so you can learn to channel your nervous energy into something positive. I personally enjoy playing competitive rounds and wish I could play more.

Your partners cheating is very disappointing. Especially since this was a tournament and they were police officers. They should be ashamed of themselves. I would have walked off the course and demanded a refund for a tournament being run in this way. Also, riding carts? I didn't think people rode carts in tournaments. Either way, keep it up man. Getting that first round out of the way should shake loose a lot of those nerves.

Thats unfortunate.

Bleep that - repercussions my arse. I wouldn't have signed their card IF I had undeniable proof that they both cheated. To Protect and Serve...the scorecard from cheaters...