Oh what have I done???? HELP

I have just been offered and accepted the opportunity to have a freebie round at Wentworth on Sunday [East Course I think].

Its not the fact that its more testing / less forgiving than my normal course that worries me [I've played difficult courses when I wasn't as "good" as I am now] so much as the nerves.

My swing can freeze - and produce my speciality duck hook - on the first tee of the local pay & play in a "for the beers" four ball let alone with a Wentworth starter observing every flaw

Obviously I couldn't turn down the chance but has anyone got any suggestions on how I should prepare for that first shot.

Hi Mate,

Well great news to get this oppertunity (I am envy now lol). As regards to advice about controling nerves. I know what I would do. Just forget your playing that course and treat it like your own course or better still think that your a member of it. Now that will boost your confidence. Also dont take out your big stick go for a rescue or iron and hit it, but if anyone ask's say your playing the statistics of the hole. That should throw them.

Cheers
Mark

I would venture to say that starter has seen it all off the first tee. You wont do anything that hasnt been done. I would swing easy and put the ball in play then enjoy my free round of golf.

Now tell us how your getting these free rounds of golf .

Robin,
dont worry!
just make sure you have a spare pair of undies

Hit your putter off the tee. It will give you every excuse.

free round at wentworth
you lucky barsteward!
how did you wangle that?

OMG what have you done!!!!

Just kidding, just take a nice big deep breath and then breathe out slowly, pick a spot on the fairway you want to land, then swing easy.

Believe it or not, your ability to hit a small white ball with a hunk of metal/carbon has no bearing on your worth as a human being and people do not have photographic memories for all your bad shots, they are probably as nervous as you.

Just enjoy it mate.

well said snowman
just take enough time to set up correctly then pull the trigger!

You know, I think that is the most sensible thing anyone has ever said to me about first tee nerves - I'll bear it in mind and just try and enjoy the day.

I Honestly think you should COMPLETELY re-write this post and change it from being scared and negative to being confident and positive.

Focus on what an tremendous experience it is going to be, and how you are going to send your best drive straight down the middle.

Thinking about duck hooks won't help!

Don't worry Mox; I'm not that worried, I'll enjoy the day - playing with a good mate and my brother, might even have a beer afterwards.

I'm looking forward to it - with butterflies perhaps but also with spare undies and a desire to have fun - I'll take the big dog, take a big breath and let rip.

YEE HAW

My advice is stay positive, visualize the shot you want to hit. If you think about not to hit a hook, some how it occures anyway or you push it way right.

You know what to do mate, swing easy, let what will be be, and just have the time of your life out there.

More importantly - TELL US ALL ABOUT IT!!!! Can't wait to hear!

I find that brown trousers are a great help

Failing that: Pick out the target and consider only what to do to get the ball there.

Blank out any thoughts like: Hope I don't, < fill in here anything you don't want the ball to do >

Many thanks to everyone for their advice and encouragement; some of it [“spare undies” – Slats and “brown trousers” – Brian) less useful than other bits ]

I can’t manage a hole by hole report but for those wanted to know how it went here is a general (but, I apologise, not brief) report.

I’ll start with the conclusion: It was an unbelievable experience (not just the golf, the whole thing), if you get the chance just do it even if you have to pay – and if you have to pay then get a “day ticket” and play two courses. As you know, it is horrendously expensive and hard to justify except as a one off luxury treat, however we were lucky; we were using bearer cards [effectively transferable memberships] from one of the big city firms so could play, for nothing, on the Sunday which is a member only day. On which note apart from wondering just how people get to be so incredibly rich as to live on the Wentworth Estate I have to say that everyone was incredibly polite and pleasant [especially given the pace we were crawling round at] – something many other private club members would do well to copy.

OK overall impressions then: Despite the torrential rain [the sun came out at 9 am and we had glorious sunshine all day] of the last few days the course was in immaculate condition; it would only be a slight exaggeration to say that the fairways were smoother than some of the greens on the public course I play on. Come to think of it that’s not an exaggeration at all, they were smoother.

The greens themselves were just much faster and so much more difficult to read than anything I’d ever played before. The bare facts are these: I took 41 putts including 7 3s and a 4. No one else fared much better which is probably one reason why we had a slow round.

How about the round itself? Let me start by telling you about the 4 putt because in a way it led to my improvement on the back 9. The 162 yard 4th hole is one of the five Par 3s that the East Course is noted for, according to the course guide:

“The first of the five difficult par 3s on the East course whose yardage can considerably alter depending on the teeing ground in use on the day. The tee shot is played over a road to a sloping green with a narrow entrance, well protected by many bunkers. Club selection and feel for the wind direction is essential.”

With the pin 27 yards on and only 4 from the left I hit my 24 degree rescue to 10 foot from the hole; putting uphill my first missed by a whisker and ran 6 past, coming back I didn’t read the break and ended about 8 past, came back (very slowly) to within a foot and tapped in rather shelled shocked.

The round began under the friendly and welcoming eye of the starter, no seriously he was , and another lesson perhaps for the officious jobsworths you get at some courses. The good news, despite feeling nervous I got it away a reasonable length and up the right, the bad news it faded a bit too far right and whilst playable I was left with a nothing shot [very high risk / reward] so took my medicine and chipped sideways. I then found the greenside bunker, got out and 3 putted. Not a great start but no-one else did much better; it also set the tone for the 1st 9. We are all used to much more forgiving courses especially from the tee (on my course you can generally play from an adjacent fairway - not here!) so were dropping shots like confetti.

Reloads, drops, and “medicine” cost me 6 shots and I managed a woeful 21 putts – at home 15 or 16 is average for 9 – to turn round in 58. Yes I know it’s not good but to put this in perspective my brother is off 14 and turned round in 52; the other two were in between. The back 9 was much better though

The Back Nine.

By nowI was tightening up with the driver. As the course description puts it:

“This intimate layout, with its undulating and springy fairways that zigzag in amongst the woodland setting, calls for accurate driving and precision shot-making into the well-bunkered greens; another classic Colt trademark. Position, not power, is the name of the game here.”

I was being far from accurate and precise, however I had hit another cracking rescue from the tee on the 217 yard Par 3 to get a 4 and a number of shots from the fairway so at last the penny drops. The Big Stick stays in the bag. Ironically the 10th is another Par 3 and I smack the rescue wood tee shot into the woods; but reload to 12 foot and two putts.

From now on it’s the 20 degree from every tee and it is generally 200-210 yards down the middle. Game on. Unfortunately I never got used to the greens [one member told me that the first 10 years are the worst] and took another 20 putts however I did come back in 49 and was the only one of the group, including a 14 handicapper remember, to break 50 either going out or coming back (though actually the course is a more of a circle).

My “Shot of the Day”

Not any of the rescues in fact but a sand iron. The 13th is “A gentle left to right dog leg with fairway bunkers and a bank of heather on the right. The tee shot should be aimed at the two left-hand bunkers and the second shot played uphill to an elevated green recently lengthened on the left-hand side. The tiered green rises from front to back and from the wrong level the player faces a difficult putt”.

I, naturally, put a short tee shot by the right hand bunkers where I can’t see the green and have to play my second back across the fairway. Into one the aforementioned left hand bunkers .

Unbelievably I hit the sand iron the 92 yards to the green and two putted for my bogey. To be fair to them my playing partners just stood and applauded the bunker shot.

At the end of the day I carded a 107, four behind my brother and just ahead of my mate who organised the day. Normally I’d be very disappointed but you know what it was just so enjoyable I don’t care and in any case between the greens and the need for real accuracy it was a test I was just wasn’t used to. Next time though! Oh yes fingers crossed we might get another go towards the end of October.

So as you can tell we had a great time.

A high proportion of the holes consist of an elevated tee, a decent carry over what appear to light rough but is actually nasty heather, leaving an uphill fairway shot to a raised green. This means that I’ve seen criticisms that it is a bit “samey” but that is only a superficial view as each hole poses a different question within that design. A word of warning though, if the Sally Gunnell features in your tee shot repertoire then this might not be a fun a day for you.

Sorry for the length of this but Bulldog did ask.

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I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.