How to get in a players head?

[Jacob Smith]

How can you get into a players head? :-P

[Motley01]

Why? You should be concentrating on your own game, not trying to get your playing partner flustered.

[Jacob Smith]

Yes but what is the harm? And it can come in use when for example they are one ahead with one left! I do concentrate on my own game but why not?

[Motley01]

Look man, this is golf. Its not football where you have guys talking trash all game.

Respect the game, respect yourself, and don't say anything. Just talk with your game. You don't have to say anything, if you birdie the last hole, and he bogeys. Nothing has to be said.

[Jacob Smith]

Honestly I respect the game! I have better ettiquete than the majority of the other juniors but I just want a few tips as golf is mostly mental game! I wouldn't be trash talking just dropping little bombs through the round! Nothing malicious!

[boogielicious]

Honestly I respect the game! I have better ettiquete than the majority of the other juniors but I just want a few tips as golf is mostly mental game! I wouldn't be trash talking just dropping little bombs through the round! Nothing malicious!

Jacob,

You can do that with your close friends, but really avoid it with competitors and people you don't know.  I used to be very competitive with a very close friend of mine.  We've been friends since the 7th grade.  Over the years (I'm 54 now) the competitiveness has gone way down.  We never let it get too heated and always were good sports about losing.

Just playing well can be as effective as saying or doing something to mess with them.

[Golfingdad]

Honestly I respect the game! I have better ettiquete than the majority of the other juniors but I just want a few tips as golf is mostly mental game! I wouldn't be trash talking just dropping little bombs through the round! Nothing malicious!

I've always been the guy that believes the best way to get into the other players head is with your game.  As you get older and get better, you will always come across some players with weaker minds; guys who will get flustered by your gamesmanship.  But, you will also find that over time, those guys will get weeded out and the better players (physically and mentally) will prevail.  At which point, your verbal shenanigans will become pointless.  Once that happens, then what do you have to fall back on?  Your game, and your game alone.  So why not just skip the first part, and concentrate 100% on your game from the git-go?

When you start competing against the same players for a long time, you'll eventually get a reputation.  So, do you want a reputation as a guy like Ian Poulter who talks a bigger game than he plays?  Or do you want to be more like a Tiger Woods type guy who beats you down with great shot after great shot, all the while never saying a word?

[Big C]

There have been a handful of threads about match play strategies posted here in the past. If you search "gamesmanship" I believe some of them will come up. There are a number of little things you can do (erratically conceding putts, pulling out a driver when you really intend to hit 3 iron, etc.), some of which are fairly innocuous, and others which blur the lines of good sportsmanship.

In my experience, there is only one strategy that consistently works in match play against anyone you square off against. And that is maintaining a steel focus on your own game and not showing an ounce of frustration or mental weakness at any point during your match. Sound simplistic? Yes, but it's easier said than done.

An opponent who commits himself 100% to every single shot, and never concedes a hole is the toughest opponent there is. Far easier by comparison is the opponent who pulls out every mental game in the book, but throws his driver in frustration after slicing a tee shot into the trees. Your goal should be to make your self a tough opponent, not someone who has to resort to mental gamesmanship.

[Hardballs]

Wait till they address the ball then tell em the shape of their ass is exactly the same as your grandmas! And make sure you tell them you've never seen them play so bad, it makes them try harder! And Ask them if they're considering buying new clubs as the ones you've got arnt working! I've plenty more if ya struggling

[Jacob Smith]

Thanks for all the replies but I think now I should just play the game and not look like an idiot! Thanks guys

[Motley01]

Thanks for all the replies but I think now I should just play the game and not look like an idiot! Thanks guys

Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Make sure you tell us about what happened in your next match play event.

[scopek]

There have been a handful of threads about match play strategies posted here in the past. If you search "gamesmanship" I believe some of them will come up. There are a number of little things you can do (erratically conceding putts, pulling out a driver when you really intend to hit 3 iron, etc.), some of which are fairly innocuous, and others which blur the lines of good sportsmanship.

In my experience, there is only one strategy that consistently works in match play against anyone you square off against. And that is maintaining a steel focus on your own game and not showing an ounce of frustration or mental weakness at any point during your match. Sound simplistic? Yes, but it's easier said than done.

An opponent who commits himself 100% to every single shot, and never concedes a hole is the toughest opponent there is. Far easier by comparison is the opponent who pulls out every mental game in the book, but throws his driver in frustration after slicing a tee shot into the trees. Your goal should be to make your self a tough opponent, not someone who has to resort to mental gamesmanship.

That's what Hogan did and it messed with the players in his grouping. I'm not sure he intentionally tried to intimate his partners as he was simply hardcore focused on his game, but I'm sure he was aware of it and didn't do anything to alleviate his partner's intimidation.

[Golfingdad]

Thanks for all the replies but I think now I should just play the game and not look like an idiot! Thanks guys

Congrats, I think that's a smart choice!!  Good luck!

That's what Hogan did and it messed with the players in his grouping. I'm not sure he intentionally tried to intimate his partners as he was simply hardcore focused on his game, but I'm sure he was aware of it and didn't do anything to alleviate his partner's intimidation.

Sounds similar to Tiger in his heyday.  (Yes, I'm sadly implying that his heyday is long gone I hope I'm wrong, at least for @colin007 's sake)

[scopek]

Congrats, I think that's a smart choice!!  Good luck!

Sounds similar to Tiger in his heyday.  (Yes, I'm sadly implying that his heyday is long gone   I hope I'm wrong, at least for @colin007 's sake)

I don't think he'll ever be "the old Tiger" and intimate the way he used to. There are just too many talent players who can handle the long courses and are working out and very athletic. But I think TW will continue do what he's been doing over the last couple of years--oscillate between having hot streaks and low points, just like any great top 10 pro on tour right now. I think he'll break Sam Sneads record (which would be a freaking amazing feat in this day and age) and he'll get at least one or two more majors. But it will take time as he's now a mere mortal.