How do YOU keep relaxed during a round?

[Sherlockian]

I drink.

You nailed it.

One six pack helps me relax on the front.

On the back, the second six pack helps me not give a rip.

[RCF]

I drink beer but no more than one per hour and I take in or study the landscaping of the course and the joy of just being there. If I'm having a really bad time I stop keeping score and use the round as practice.

[shortgrass lover]

A good, repeatable routine helps me stay focused on the shot im about to hit. not the one i just hit, or the next one i'll hit, but the one im about to take. My routine is:

Step behind the ball and make a smooth practice swing, ppick out a small, precise target far away, then a small target just a few feet in front of my ball to align my clubface with. Then as i set up to the ball, i think about swinging as if i'm just hitting balls into the ocean. i ry not to think about where the target is, because i know i'm already aligned with it

[ItsAllRelative]

Great ideas so far everybody, thanks a lot.

I think I get anxious on the course because I haven't shot a complete round that really represents how much my game has improved lately. I feel like I've fixed the "major" flaws in my swing and shotmaking ability this season, but don't have a definitive score to show for it and guage my progress. I'll get a great round going, and blow up on 16 and 17 (or something similar) and end up with a score I'm not happy with.

I'm hoping that when I finally shoot a "good" score (whatever that may be), I'll be able to relax a bit and just play golf.

[right handed phil mickelson]

Ah the old get-to-the-last-few-holes-and-notice-I'm-playing-well-and-get-excited-mentality. Used to get me every time. What I did to fix that is one of two things.

1- Don't focus on the scores. Try and stay away from scores as much as possible. When you are keeping your own score, quickly write it down and don't pay attention to it until the end. This provides suspense and helps you focus on every shot, and not what you have to do. :)

2- If you find yourself rushing a little bit or getting a bit off your game, look back at what you have been doing the whole round to get some good scores. Have you been doing a certain routine? Were you going at a fast pace? Slow pace? Did you find yourself relaxed? Were you extremely focused? Did you do a certain thing, such as park the cart/ put your bag on the right side of the ball? (its weird but it could help. it gets your mind in more of a comfort mentality when you do things in a certain way). Were you swinging with ease/without effort, and then found yourself trying to swing a certain way? Looking at these things can help determine what conditions you play best in mentally. Work on this a little bit and you will help your game.

2a- Maybe listen to some calming music before a round/during a round to keep your mind calm. Don't try to over-think things. I know everybody says that so I'll simplify it. If you are thinking about hitting it high, or low, or left to right, or right to left, or 156 yards instead of between 150-160, or a stinger, or with a lot of backspin, or if you should bank it off that tree and scare the living nuts off the squirrels in the 2nd branch, don't. Just take your club, and hit it. If you have to think about something like the wind, or the lie, just do it before you hit. Decide what you are going to do, and then hit the ball.

Hope this helps! ~RHPM

[sp33d]

haha great responses on this thread lol.

Thinking is your enemy. Better yet YOU are your own worst enemy. If you want to hit clutch shots. This is what I do and it works (for me)

I have a routine for everything, Drives, irons, wedges, and putts. I practice this even when Im on the range. You do it enough it makes it a habit, before too long instint will just take over.

For instance on my drives I take a half assed practice swing just feeling the motion, I set my club face directly behind the ball with my feet together at an angle I then position my feet according to where i want to hit. I set my body/arms hold it for like 2 seconds and swing. Its become so much of my game if i dont do it I cant drive. HOWEVER it gets my mind off the shot when the presure is on.

People always tend to try and screw with me why I golf (even I dont know them) Monday went out, slow play (pisses me off) guys behind us were sitting there waiting for us to tee off, I crush one 320 yards (rare) get to the next tee box guys caught up to us again, and were all talking junk. "Hey tiger" lets see it again, Bet you $10 you cant do it again. etc etc. So I felt the pressure, but Instints kicked in, got free beer money :)

[ItsAllRelative]

I set my body/arms hold it for like 2 seconds and swing. Its become so much of my game if i dont do it I cant drive.

I like this idea. I have a routine for putting and chipping, and somewhat of a routine for iron play. I realized today that I need a set, concrete routine for my swing. I like the idea of getting set up, then count to two and swing, regardless. I stood over the ball for what seemed like forever many times today, trying to clear my head so I could swing. Going to the range sometime soon to sort out some issues, and I will definitely focus on a routine of set up, count, swing. Thanks for the idea.

I played today, and the front 9 was awful. I warmed up on the range and everything felt GREAT. Couldn't get relaxed and just play golf. On the back I managed to stop caring about my score and shot 10 strokes better. First time I've ever played 9 holes with the same ball haha. Thanks for the ideas, people.

[Scratch (+20)]

Music has really helped me. Good mix of 50s, 60s, & 70s rock & country does the trick. Just put one headphone in & tuck the other one in the buttons on your shirt. Can still carry on conversation too.

[DMaxwell]

I don't really have a problem relaxing, but having a good cigar with me helps. I think my biggest problem is if I hit a bad shot, I keep thinking about it and worry about messing up the next shot. This usually spirals into hitting 3-4 bad shots in a row. These are the times I like the course to be a bit crowded so I can clear my head.

I think I play best when I try to stay as focused as possible, which is hard when you are playing with friends. When I focus the entire round, especially around and on the greens, I usually have no problems with being relaxed, because I am playing a lot better. Its hard to stay focused when people want to talk or when others don't take it as seriously.

[MonkeyClaw]

I plan every hole starting with my next shot (helps a lot when hitting from trouble or par 5s), then concentrate only on the shot I'm about to hit. Never use the word 'don't' in my swing thoughts. Clear my head, use a good routine, concentrate on the ball during the swing and let nature take over.

If I start saying 'don't do this' or 'what if', the shot does exactly what I don't want it to do.