Tight Fairways, and Recovering From Too Much Golf

[gstrittmatter]

Ok, so, I am on my high school golf team. Last week I was told that in 13 days I would be playing in my first ever tournament...... District no less. Oh ya did I mention that I have the #1 golfer in the state of Texas on my team? So i'm worried about playing bad and messing up my teams scores. So this has created two problems for me. 1. I have been playing a ton of golf like literally everyday have spent 2-3 hours at the golf course, hitting 10-100 yard shots in my backyard (I have 5 acres) and on the weekend I went to the driving range for 2 hours and putted for 2 hours. Well today I went and played and I normally shoot 100-110 so I do not consider my self good whatsoever, but, i played awful, like we just were practicing so we went to different places on the fairway, and I was hitting 150 yards, grabbed my 8 iron (which I normally hit well) and hit two balls well left of the hole. I understand that it's not my swing or my game itself that's off, I understand it's that i've played way too much, so any tips on getting back into it VERY FAST, my tournament is in a week. 2. The tournament is being played at a golf course with very tight fairways, i'm just looking for tips on playing conservative, I would like to be able to play bogey with the occasional double, which I understand it's hard to give tips on the internet, but I would just like tips on playing easy shots with good strategy to hit the fairway often and the green 1 maybe 2 over GIR, but put it close so i can 1 or 2 put for par, bogey, double maybe, any tips? Any and all tips are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

[SavvySwede]

1. No such thing as too much golf, especially at your age.
2. Tips for playing a tougher/tighter course? Off the tee hit the longest club you are confident you can keep between the trees. Don't go for hero shots. Never leave yourself a second chip/pitch, get it somewhere on the green even if you have to aim away from the hole.

[chilepepper]

Sounds like you need to relax a bit and lighten up on yourself mentally. I understand it's a big deal for you but......chill out. Keep practicing, but try to stay loose and have fun. 

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, gstrittmatter said:

I understand that it's not my swing or my game itself that's off, I understand it's that i've played way too much, so any tips on getting back into it VERY FAST, my tournament is in a week. 

Stop worrying about messing up. Golf is hard. If you score 100-110 I don't think the expectations would be astronomical for this much pressure. 

1 hour ago, gstrittmatter said:

2. The tournament is being played at a golf course with very tight fairways, i'm just looking for tips on playing conservative, I would like to be able to play bogey with the occasional double, which I understand it's hard to give tips on the internet, but I would just like tips on playing easy shots with good strategy to hit the fairway often and the green 1 maybe 2 over GIR, but put it close so i can 1 or 2 put for par, bogey, double maybe, any tips? Any and all tips are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

What @SavvySwede said. Play the longest club you can play that keeps your ball inside the ropes. The ropes being out of the trees, brush, bushes, water, OB, ect.. Then on your next shot advance it as close to the green as possible. Keep the ball in play and you will not make a big score outside the random short game mess up. Certain holes will just turn into three shots for you. Other short holes you will still be able to try to get a GIR. 

A week before the tournament stop hitting so many golf balls. Just work on your short game and putting. Maybe go to the range a few times that week just to keep loose.

On the course if you have a shot over 80 yards then aim at the center of the green all day long. Don't even worry about the pin. The only time you might shy off the center is if half the green is really thin and surrounded by water or bunkers. Play to the biggest parts of the green. Your goal is to get as many GIR and Near-GIR as possible without putting yourself into trouble. 

 

[gstrittmatter]

Thank you all for the advice!!!!

[SavvySwede]

3 minutes ago, gstrittmatter said:

Thank you all for the advice!!!!

Be sure to stick around. There is a ton of great material on this site.

[Pretzel]

3 hours ago, gstrittmatter said:

I understand that it's not my swing or my game itself that's off, I understand it's that i've played way too much

I'm with @SavvySwede on this one: there's no such thing as too much golf. The summer before my senior year of high school I went out and played at least 18 holes for 5-7 days of the week, and sometimes up to 72 holes in a day, throughout the entire summer with at least one bucket of balls to go along with them. It really helped me improve, shooting me from about an 8-9 handicap down to a 2. 

One other thing to remember is that, at least in Colorado, the highest score from your team is dropped at the tournament and not counted. Don't worry about messing up your team's scores, just enjoy yourself and play the best you can! If you play well you'll help your school out and they'll use your score. If you don't, that's fine too and it won't hurt your team.

Also, by the #1 player in Texas I take it you're referring to Ryan Grider?

[gstrittmatter]

I will!!!

 

[Yukari]

In general don't think about the outcome but the swing. There is a saying that goes "the ball got in the way of my swing" or something to that effect. Just concentrate on your swing motion. 

For me this seems especially true on tight fairways. 

[paininthenuts]

13 hours ago, gstrittmatter said:

Ok, so, I am on my high school golf team. Last week I was told that in 13 days I would be playing in my first ever tournament...... District no less. Oh ya did I mention that I have the #1 golfer in the state of Texas on my team? So i'm worried about playing bad and messing up my teams scores. So this has created two problems for me. 1. I have been playing a ton of golf like literally everyday have spent 2-3 hours at the golf course, hitting 10-100 yard shots in my backyard (I have 5 acres) and on the weekend I went to the driving range for 2 hours and putted for 2 hours. Well today I went and played and I normally shoot 100-110 so I do not consider my self good whatsoever, but, i played awful, like we just were practicing so we went to different places on the fairway, and I was hitting 150 yards, grabbed my 8 iron (which I normally hit well) and hit two balls well left of the hole. I understand that it's not my swing or my game itself that's off, I understand it's that i've played way too much, so any tips on getting back into it VERY FAST, my tournament is in a week. 2. The tournament is being played at a golf course with very tight fairways, i'm just looking for tips on playing conservative, I would like to be able to play bogey with the occasional double, which I understand it's hard to give tips on the internet, but I would just like tips on playing easy shots with good strategy to hit the fairway often and the green 1 maybe 2 over GIR, but put it close so i can 1 or 2 put for par, bogey, double maybe, any tips? Any and all tips are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

My tip would be to have a few beers before you start, and then a few more after the first nine. It won't make you play any better, but you won't care as much when you don't. If you don't drink, marijuana is a good substitute. 

Anyway, what school has a bloody golf team. I am from the UK, and that is almost unheard of, NO, it is unheard of. We have football teams (soccer to you) Rugby teams, and cricket teams. 

Despite what someone else said, you can play to much, and that can be said for all sports. My tip would be to play frequently, but not for long. A bucket of balls one day, 9 holes the next, then a bucket of calls, 18 holes, and then a days rest.  

[9wood]

14 hours ago, gstrittmatter said:

Ok, so, I am on my high school golf team. Last week I was told that in 13 days I would be playing in my first ever tournament...... District no less. Oh ya did I mention that I have the #1 golfer in the state of Texas on my team?  I normally shoot 100-110 so I do not consider my self good whatsoever, 

Scratching my head on this one

I don't understand why the #1 golfer in the State would be on the same team as another person who shoots 100 - 110

Can you explain?

[SavvySwede]

1 hour ago, 9wood said:

Scratching my head on this one

I don't understand why the #1 golfer in the State would be on the same team as another person who shoots 100 - 110

Can you explain?

Not much to explain. Unlike other high school sports the coaches don't really teach their players how to play and more or less get who they get. When I played in high school one of our rivals had a girl who was scratch and wound up playing on the Futures Tour for a while. Good players just show up sometimes.

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, 9wood said:

Scratching my head on this one

I don't understand why the #1 golfer in the State would be on the same team as another person who shoots 100 - 110

It's a high school not a college. I doubt high schools recruit golfers. It's possible if this is a smaller school that there could be this difference, especially if they struggle to get kids to try out. 

[gstrittmatter]

My school does not do cuts for certain sports, golf is one of them. I am actually not even the worst on the team. If you can believe that. But its basically anyone who wants to play can no matter skill level, you can only be turned down if you get in trouble at school (expulsions or suspensions) or having more than one failing grade in a class.

[9wood]

1 hour ago, gstrittmatter said:

My school does not do cuts for certain sports, golf is one of them. I am actually not even the worst on the team. If you can believe that. But its basically anyone who wants to play can no matter skill level, you can only be turned down if you get in trouble at school (expulsions or suspensions) or having more than one failing grade in a class.

I wouldn't worry about how good you are. You're young and will continue to experience improvements and lower scores if you stick with it. Just have fun.

[newtogolf]

See how your warm up goes and which clubs you hit best.  If the fairways are tight and you're wild with your driver in warm up then hit hybrid or 5i off the tee and keep the ball in play to avoid the big blow ups.