Mental toughness, Competition thoughts?

[spduffey]

I have played about 10-12 rounds of golf this year, all in the low to mid 80's except for 3 recent rounds.  A 93, 102, and 91.  My main focus normally is no 3 putts and no bogeys, usually yielding a lower round in the 80's.  My 93 had to back to back 8's with one on a par 3 over the water(2 miss hits off the tee) and my 102(worst round in 8 years) came in a tournament where I compete against 8-12 handicaps.  Miss hits all day, 2 8's, 3 7's, and just struggled to get around the course.  Albeit a new course, still played irregularly inconsistent.  I am on the GolfChannel amateur tour and just started that this year.  The 102 was my second tournament, 86 on the first.  I am looking for suggestions, advice, etc... Am I approaching the tournaments wrong?(no doubles no 3 putts) What are some tips tricks I can get through a mental tough time of my game?

[PirateJim]

How to handle pressure is certainly a very personal thing and what works for one person may not for others.  That said, I personally think that thinking about things like "no doubles" and "no 3 putts" is too abstract.  I'm not a very good golfer, but I used to be a pretty good trap shooter (clay targets).  In that game, you have to focus on the next shot exclusively and put everything else out of your mind.  I don't think golf is much different in this regard really.

If you are, for whatever reason, laying 3 and still 30 yards off the green on a par 4 hole, is it really productive to be talking to yourself about double bogies?  You have a pretty simple little pitch shot to make, just focus on that, not on how many strokes you may have afterward.

Play in the moment...  Rolls off the tongue real easy.

[spduffey]

Thanks for the feedback

[notsohard]

.....are you a 10 handicap?

[midwestswing]

I use to get pretty nervous during tournament play. The first few holes were normally the worst. I now make a game plan before each round. I download a scorecard of a new course and based off the layout and yardage, will decide what I am going to hit off of each tee before I get to the tournament. This puts me at ease that I have a plan in place. After the first day, if I need to adjust I will, but I will not change my game plan in the middle of a round. FYI - for par threes I will have three clubs to pick from based on wind.

[spduffey]

I'm sure the handicap is up now.