Jump to content
IGNORED

I played in my first tournament and learned the following


the-infidel
Note: This thread is 3172 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

I played in my first ProAm this weekend. It was a German sanctioned event. The Pro I played with played pretty dang well. The practice day I played ok. The day of I played worse than I have ever played in my life.

A little historical info.

I am by no means decent at golf. I have had my moments with birdies, eagles and many many pars. I have a higher handicap, 22 at the moment.

I had a buddy of mine caddy for me, and he was awesome! He excels at training folks in various work related things and excelled at helping me with chips and putts. When I was on the range things were going great. I was making good solid contact with all of my irons. My drives and woods/hybrids were all crisp. We were joking around with each other (as we always do) and it seemed like a regular day of golf. When we got called to the tee box everything changed. I instantly became quiet and started to become filled with regret that I agreed to play.

There were a few people on the tee box (we started on 10) but by no means many. I would guess roughly 15 to 25 people there watching. Everyone seemed to be on the #1 tee box to watch people. We watched the 2 groups in front of us tee off and i became more and more nervous. When it was our turn our Pro tee'd off and made a nice long smooth drive. When it was my turn i started shaking so bad my buddy said it appeared my club head of my drive had 15 shots of espresso. Right before I reached the top of my back swing I closed my eyes (no clue why I did this) and swung... OB. I honestly felt like I was going to puke. Our Pro told me to relax, which was easier said than done. I took my penalty shot and blasted it down the middle of the fairway, about 270'ish (best guess).

When we all walked to our shots I did not say a word, where I would usually cut up or talk about my next shot. My buddy tried to engage me but i remained quiet. My second shot (which was my 4th) made it just shy of the green and I ended up 2 putting. If it was not for my buddy walking with me I would have likely quit by the 3rd hole and went home.

It carried on like this all day long. I would not rotate through a swing, I would sway. I would not release the club, I would pop up, pull my head up and look at the sky during shots, etc. Needless to say I was not only embarrassed as all hell I was rightfully ashamed of my self. I apologized multiple times to our Pro for such shoddy play, but he took it in great stride (he won a little money after all so I am very happy for him).

My buddy did his absolute best to try to help me get my head back in the game but for the first time ever, I shut him out when he was talking. When we finished we all had a very nice dinner, but I felt physically sick. I did eat, but it was more of a forced meal because I had not eaten since lunch. As we are sitting at the dinner table I knew the day was over and I slowly started to open back up and crack jokes, etc. At the end of the night I was back to my old self.

I woke up yesterday morning and I felt like I had been in a fist fight. I felt physically exhausted, and still do a little bit today. I did a little reading today and educated myself on what emotional reactions can do to the body physically. I had no idea this could happen as I guess that I have never had an emotional event traumatizing enough to do this to my body.

Overall what I learned for the first time is how much golf can impact nerves. I have always heard about it when watching on TV or talking to our club pro. I had no idea it could impact a person so much. I think the only thing I can honestly do to get over this is try again. Continually putting myself through the same process would (i assume) make things a little easier. I believe that it would never be "easy" if you could call it that, to compete in any type of tournament, but practice (playing them) would make things a little more bearable. I have found that there are many league/tournament style events near me that I can play in to get some practice in this and I am going to take advantage of it. Like I had said previously, it could only help the situation by exposing myself to it more and more.

All of the above is based on my personal experience only. I am sure others have been affected differently. I am now looking at this as a learning experience.

TL;DR

I played in a tournament as an amateur and learned a lot about nerves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Mental game is tough. In small competition within a foursome I play better because it's like playing a casual round, but in large tournament type competition, my tempo gets all off. I think I simply don't enjoy it.

Julia

:callaway:  :cobra:    :seemore:  :bushnell:  :clicgear:  :adidas:  :footjoy:

Spoiler

Driver: Callaway Big Bertha w/ Fubuki Z50 R 44.5"
FW: Cobra BiO CELL 14.5 degree; 
Hybrids: Cobra BiO CELL 22.5 degree Project X R-flex
Irons: Cobra BiO CELL 5 - GW Project X R-Flex
Wedges: Cobra BiO CELL SW, Fly-Z LW, 64* Callaway PM Grind.
Putter: 48" Odyssey Dart

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

To me, what the original poster is describing is more 'attitude' and 'experience.'  He did not state his age, but due to his writing and conversational skill of his post, I'd say he's not a kid, but rather a well-rounded adult.

Why I say it's 'attitude' more than experience.  I've played with people that USED to intimidate the heck out of me.  A tour pro would certainly qualify.  Totally ruined my game from imploding over the self-induced pressure I'd heap upon myself.  Now, I could play with anybody on the planet and not have these fears.

Tour pros are the best golfers on the planet.  I would truly enjoy the opportunity to play alongside one, marvel at his (or her) game, learn a thing or two and just enjoy the experience.  I'd still play like crap compared to that individual, but it wouldn't be any different than my usual game.

Now, and on the other hand, if I would hand that same tour pro one of my day gig work projects and ask him to design and implement a global supply chain strategy for Nike Corp, he would fail miserably.  We all put on our trousers one leg at a time.  He's a golfer; I implement global supply chain solutions for my customers.

We all have our areas of expertise.  And when you are able to put aside the fact that 'suck' is relative, you probably could have and would have performed much better.

Some folks just don't like the spotlight. The time you had between the groups on the tee is probably what sealed your fate.  You had too much time to think 'bad things' and it crept into your game.

What should have been a great time didn't end up well. Maybe the opportunity will come again for you.

dave

The ultimate "old man" setup:

Ping G30 driver
Ping G Fairway woods - 5 and 7 woods
Callaway X-Hot #5 hybrid; Old school secret weapon
Ping G #6-9 irons; W and U wedges
Vokey 54 and 58* Wedges
Odyssey Versa Putter
Golf Balls

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I didn't have as big of a nerves breakdown like you described at my first club championship, however I did hook 3 balls OB on the first tee and made a 13 on my way to an 89. I shot 89 again the second day only to shoot 76 the last day.

Just get out more an put yourself in those situations where you can begin to form a plan on how to control it. It could be next time, or 5 times, who knows unless you try. Great job finishing and not withdrawing from the tourney.

Kyle Paulhus

If you really want to get better, check out Evolvr

:callaway: Rogue ST 10.5* | :callaway: Epic Sub Zero 15* | :tmade: P790 3 Driving Iron |:titleist: 716 AP2 |  :edel: Wedges 50/54/68 | :edel: Deschutes 36"

Career Low Round: 67 (18 holes), 32 (9 holes)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator

Overall what I learned for the first time is how much golf can impact nerves. I have always heard about it when watching on TV or talking to our club pro. I had no idea it could impact a person so much. I think the only thing I can honestly do to get over this is try again. Continually putting myself through the same process would (i assume) make things a little easier. I believe that it would never be "easy" if you could call it that, to compete in any type of tournament, but practice (playing them) would make things a little more bearable. I have found that there are many league/tournament style events near me that I can play in to get some practice in this and I am going to take advantage of it. Like I had said previously, it could only help the situation by exposing myself to it more and more.

Experience will truly help you get over it.  I've played regional pro-ams with our head pro, and I play in a bunch of tournaments, and every one is a new challenge.  Where I once was nervous, now I'm excited.

I learned a little about defusing pressure on my first visit to the Old Course in St Andrews.  Everyone who plays their first round there is nervous, and there are people just wandering around the streets behind the first tee all day long.  So on my first day there, I watched for a while.  I believe I saw a shank, a snap hook, a worm-burner, a slice OB, and everything in between.  The thing I learned was that everyone is nervous, and everyone makes a bad swing some time, I wasn't any different.  That thought helped me to relax when it finally got to be my turn.

So my advice, go do it again, and remember that everyone there is nervous, you're not alone.

Dave

:callaway: Rogue SubZero Driver

:titleist: 915F 15 Fairway, 816 H1 19 Hybrid, AP2 4 iron to PW, Vokey 52, 56, and 60 wedges, ProV1 balls 
:ping: G5i putter, B60 version
 :ping:Hoofer Bag, complete with Newport Cup logo
:footjoy::true_linkswear:, and Ashworth shoes

the only thing wrong with this car is the nut behind the wheel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

If any pro or anyone for that matter tells you they aren't nervous on that first tee they are lying...This same type of thing happened to me during my first Pro-Am last year, It was a 3 day tournament and my game was very good heading into it and on the range before the rounds. I ended up shooting 77 (respectable, but still felt like an 87), shot an 83 the 2nd day, and a 86 the final day...talk about embarrassment.  I had the slice bug, duff bug, and didn't feel comfortable over any shot.  Its just nerves and playing in a tournament where at the end of the day or the tournament everyone has a chance to see what you shot.

That tournament is coming up for me in a little over a month, and man am I looking forward to it again.  Im sure I will still be nervous, but its a been there done that type of thing now so hopefully there will be less nerves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I can totally see myself having a day like this at golf, as this happened to me in both high school golf team try outs and I should have easily made the team. I always made the team in every sport I tried out for as I am a very good athlete. I played baseball and basketball and also bowled varsity and went to state both years I bowled for the team. Yet golf scares me. I don't feel like I'm the best and I doubt myself. With a 22 handicap you are likely in the same boat and golfing with a pro with people watching would be very hard for your first time.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I have played in a lot of tournaments, but yesterday played in a state golf association sanctioned event --- at a current 5.5, I had one of the highest handicaps in the tournament (most of the field was college-aged kids near scratch).  I have NEVER felt so much pressure in my life -- I swear I couldn't breath and couldn't feel my legs standing over my first putt.  At times I hit some bad shots and struggled on a couple holes (a triple and a double did me in), but what a great, great challenge and feel great about standing up and hanging in there.  You should too......the experience of facing those types of situations is so much more important than the result/score........

"Getting paired with you is the equivalent to a two-stroke penalty to your playing competitors"  -- Sean O'Hair to Rory Sabbatini (Zurich Classic, 2011)

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Thanks for the post(s) Gent's and Gal's. One of the main reasons I put so much pressure on myself was because it was my first time at anything even remotely close to something like this. I have played in many, many 4 man tournaments before with friends, best ball of course, and they were all just plain fun. They had nothing to do with money or fanfare which is probably why they did not bother me in the least. My main thought the entire day was that I did not want to disappoint the Pro I was playing with. I know that at what I typically shoot I would not come close to Par and since I was being scored on Stable-ford I thought I had some what of a chance. I talked to the Pro yesterday briefly and had him take a look at this thread. He told me I put way to much pressure on myself for no reason at all. He says we are going to do it again, but in order to prepare myself start using some mental tricks. One of which was to stare down the fairway at address and imagine the tree line as people. I went to the range and thought about this, thinking it would make zero difference. I picked a spot on the range that was to the right of the tree's and tried. Sure enough, when I took a second and imagined the tree line as a line of people, it made me step back for a second. Though the anxiety was no where near as bad as it was this past week, there was still a tinge there.

We have these weekly contests at this place down town that is a mirror image of Top Golf back in the states. You pay (i think) something like 20 Euro and get to smack 15 balls, picking your longest and straightest one to enter and you usually go against 10 other people at a time. The top 5 advance, something like an NCAA bracket type thing, winner gets a certain amount of money and some stuff from the venue. These always draw a crowd of people to watch, as I have been going to them on Saturday afternoons for a few weeks now just to watch them. I might embarrass myself again with my pathetic game, but I will do so in front of people, hoping that it will help me get used to having the nerves come out a little again, and allowing me to learn how to focus out the distraction's that caused the adverse side effects I felt.

On a closing note I wanted to make sure I let you good folks know I did not post this to receive any type of praise, or 'atta' boy's from anyone. I posted this to share an experience from a novice golfer's perspective only

thank you for all the positive comments, input, and constructive criticism

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I woke up yesterday morning and I felt like I had been in a fist fight. I felt physically exhausted, and still do a little bit today. I did a little reading today and educated myself on what emotional reactions can do to the body physically. I had no idea this could happen as I guess that I have never had an emotional event traumatizing enough to do this to my body. Overall what I learned for the first time is how much golf can impact nerves. I have always heard about it when watching on TV or talking to our club pro. I had no idea it could impact a person so much.

Lot's of truth to this. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape but a tense situation can definitely drain you physically and mentally. After playing in Men's league last Wednesday, I chaperoned on a two hour hike at 11,000 feet on a muddy & rainy trail. As I was sitting in the cabin afterwards, I commented to a few of the moms how tired I was and added that I had played Men's league that morning. One asked if it was a basketball league (I'm tall and used to play) and she basically laughed at me when I said it was golf. That day, I played with my toughest competitor in league, a 2.7 index former pro, and we were neck and neck all day- he was -1 at the turn and I was -2. We were both -1 after 14 and he was 1 shot up on me on the 18th tee until hitting one OB. Even though I played well and won that days competition, it was a more tiring round of golf than normal. I have no doubt that some of the mistakes we see late in major tournaments come from mental fatigue (which, as the OP states, has physical affects).

:mizuno: MP-52 5-PW, :cobra: King Snake 4 i 
:tmade: R11 Driver, 3 W & 5 W, :vokey: 52, 56 & 60 wedges
:seemore: putter

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Note: This thread is 3172 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...