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Your best tip for "bringing it to the course"


JPK1988
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Just wondering what everyone's mind set is when trying to bring a good pre-round warm up or even a practice session from days earlier to the course?  Especially interested in those of you who play in a lot of tournaments.  I struggle big time with pre-round jitters even in casual rounds and can almost never carry that looseness often found on the range to the first tee.

Case and point, I played yesterday and always end my warm up with 5-10 drivers (or first tee clubs), depending on how well I hit them.  The course I played has a tall net at about 275 out, and I ripped 5 straight high draws into the net on the fly and thought wow, this is gonna be a great round.  Proceeded to hit 2 fairways (both with less than driver) and mixed in about 5 toe hooks and a few heeled cuts right over the course of the round and shot the most foul 83 you've ever laid eyes on.

So, who's got a good strategy to stay loose and "bring it to the course"?

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I just smoke a cigarette, crack my knuckles, and tell myself I'm just gonna poke this dimpled piece of s#%t 200 yards into that fairway! Because the harder I try, the wider it fly!

Gaz Lee

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In my own experience, the more you play and get use to the pressure, the better you will become at "bringing your game to the course."

Some people naturally thrive under pressure (fortunately I happen to be one of those) and others will find it extremely difficult to perform under pressure.  I am by nature "an adrenaline junkie."  I love the rush of adrenaline when competing or working out.

There is a thread started by Iacas that in essence talks about how you got to enjoy to pressure if you want to perform well under pressure.  (Sorry, I am taking a short break from work, so I don't have a time to do the search right now  :-P)

Don

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Just wondering what everyone's mind set is when trying to bring a good pre-round warm up or even a practice session from days earlier to the course?  Especially interested in those of you who play in a lot of tournaments.  I struggle big time with pre-round jitters even in casual rounds and can almost never carry that looseness often found on the range to the first tee.

Case and point, I played yesterday and always end my warm up with 5-10 drivers (or first tee clubs), depending on how well I hit them.  The course I played has a tall net at about 275 out, and I ripped 5 straight high draws into the net on the fly and thought wow, this is gonna be a great round.  Proceeded to hit 2 fairways (both with less than driver) and mixed in about 5 toe hooks and a few heeled cuts right over the course of the round and shot the most foul 83 you've ever laid eyes on.

So, who's got a good strategy to stay loose and "bring it to the course"?

So when you are on the range, are you concerned about anything else except just hitting the ball?  I would say probably not. On the course you have trees, water, OB, sand. All sorts of things that can cause negative thoughts to enter your head.

Basically what you do on the range means S*** compared to the golf course. Particularly why I like to play golf more than I practice because it gets me use to multiple situations. Basically I just don't care if there is OB, or there is water, or about hitting fairways. All these golfers worry about water right, or OB left, or having to clear this or not hit it there. Its all rubbish. All I care about is putting clubhead to ball the way I want to. Its all I can try to control. The outcome is what it is. This is how I practice, and its how I play. I play a course that has OB right for the first two holes, the fourth holes has Hazard left, the fifth hole has water in front of a green that can play anywere from 170-190 yards. All that stuff, doesn't bother me at all. Have I hit golf balls OB, yea, but I've also stripped drives as well. Its golf.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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I think I have most of those things you guys talk about working against me.. I'm the opposite of an adrenaline junky... im generally pretty anxious (as in diagnosed by a doc anxiety disorder), and I definitely am way too focused on not screwing up, rather than shutting it all of and letting the rest take care of itself.

I'll have to look for that thread about dealing with pressure.

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I would think this is a personal thing and you have to try different stuff.  For me I try to do my pre-shot routine on every shot.  My routine is to one, pick a line and club two, pick an intermediate target (hopefully just a few feet in front of the ball) three,  address the ball making sure the club is square to the target line and grip is neutral (I have a terrible hook when I let my grip get strong) and ensure the ball is located at the proper place in my stance.  My final thought before beginning the back swing is "low & slow back then slow start down" (because I tend to over swing).

On putts my last thought before I move the club is "see the green below the ball before you look up".

The short version of this develop a pre-shot routine that works for you and gets your brain thinking about the process and not the results.  Save results oriented thinking for the practice facility and process thinking for the course.  Good luck & have fun (the most important part).

Butch

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Here you go @JPK1988 , the "Enjoy Pressure" thread.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/53453/the-mental-game-in-two-words

Yours in earnest, Jason.
Call me Ernest, or EJ or Ernie.

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Just my opinion because you are better than me but I just try to make sure when I am on the range I am finding a mark to aim at. A distinct mark that I can tell if I hit or not. Then I line up to that the way I do (for me I find something on the ground close that lines up with the mark and aim my club face to that) I also move my tee or ball position and target around a lot so I can't just get in a groove on one target. Perfect practice makes perfect. I wish I could hit 275 on the fly though maybe I would be better at golf then,.

James

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So, who's got a good strategy to stay loose and "bring it to the course"?

Yeah, enjoy the pressure and I also like how Fred Couples does it. He says he just pictures the best shot he hit on the range that day and that "calms" him down.

Mike McLoughlin

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I think I have most of those things you guys talk about working against me.. I'm the opposite of an adrenaline junky... im generally pretty anxious (as in diagnosed by a doc anxiety disorder), and I definitely am way too focused on not screwing up, rather than shutting it all of and letting the rest take care of itself.

I'll have to look for that thread about dealing with pressure.

If you're so bothered with anxiety, how did you get your index to a 4.3?  Clearly you are capable of playing good golf and block the nerves out.  Figure out what you thought and how you felt the days your scores are good and try to reproduce that situation every time you play.  If that doesn't work, train for stress.  Make practice sessions more stressful - visualize specific tee shots and approach shots.  Never play unless you're playing for something - money, lunch, dinner, etc...  Play more tournaments.  The more you do it, the easier it will be.  I've come to realize that a tournament weekend is the same as any other.  My last piece of advice, chew gum.  I find this helps me release some stress.

I feel your pain with this.  If my range swing where my game swing, I'd be scratch!  I've said it before and got chastized - golf is 90% mental and 10% physical.  Good luck.

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The range is where I'm able to get rid of all my jitters before a big tournament. Since you said that doesn't work well for you, I'm afraid I'm not much help. If I had to guess though, I would say it's an issue with trusting yourself. When you step on that first tee, just trust yourself to make the same swing that you were able to duplicate over and over on the range. When doubt starts creeping in you begin to make adjustments in an attempt to make sure you don't hit it left/right, which usually results in you doing just that or over compensating.

When I'm on the first tee, I think of all the good drives I've hit this year, and all the good shots I just hit on the range. This helps me settle down and realize that I've put in enough work to prepare for this one round of golf, and then I just try to trust myself to do what I know how to do... That anxiety, though frustrating at times, is why I love playing competitive golf so much.

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I just play.....................................

With respect to my game, I "bring it to the course" every time because my game never sees the range.  LOL

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I think what is more amazing than a golfer with a 4.3 index that has on course anxiety problems is a golfer with a 2.6 index that never uses a practice range.  Boy am I ever doing something wrong.

Sorry, I usually try to ignore some obvious disconnects  but this morning the "devil made me do it".

Butch

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Note: This thread is 3642 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!

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