is it psychological?

I need some help on this matter the last few weeks I have started to fall out with the beautiful game. On Thursday I played 9 holes with my father and went around in 4 under which I do quite regularly in practise rounds, I hit most of the greens in regulation, but for some strange reason when I go out to play a competition I seem to lose it all my driving goes bad, my chipping is dreadful and my putting just goes out the window. I got my handicap down to 7 last year and all of a sudden I find myself getting .1's back all the time, myself and my friend a regularly winning four balls and I know that people are beginning to think that I am trying to look after my handicap for this but I'm not, when it comes to singles I lose it. Is there anything I can do to practise; is it all in my mind or what?

Mark.

Mark,

Great question!

It is always all in the head. Physically we know we can execute those shots under no-stress situations - range, playing w/ friends for your $2s and a leisure round with your father (my best rounds always come with him...he hates that). Then you put the stress of competition in there and you tense up, causing the head to think about the consequences of you missing this shot, what that means to your score, how that will affect your round, and how you don't want to loose...all these statements are negative in nature. Even your 4 ball tournaments are not putting you under that much pressure because you have 3 others to count on if you make a mistake. That takes your thoughts of consequences out of the picture so you can execute under optimum conditions.

The solution is not as simple as saying, "Then don't think about it". That also is a negative statement. You are telling yourself to think about not thinking about it...that never works because you just put that bad thought back into the forefront of your mind. The real solution is going to take time by practicing handling stresses at the range. Put your mind into as much pressure as you can during practice. This will desensitize it. The more you do this, the better you will be when it comes to real pressure. The saying, "Practice like you play and play like you practice" sounds corny, but it is true.

Lee Trevino wanted to beat Jack Nicholas. Lee knew did not have as much raw talent as Jack, so he had to practice. So he would hit shots at the range UNTIL he holed 3 out the bunker. This put the consequences on each shot simulating competition because Lee knew that the only way to beat Jack was to make these types of shots in competition, and Lee would not leave the range until he did just that.

We don't have to beat Jack, but we do need to add consequences to our practice sessions if we want to get better at handling the added stresses of pressure situations.

Start with putting. Take 1 ball, never 3 or 4. You only get 1 in competition, why practice with more unless you are working on mechanics. Play to each hole. Start having to 2 putt every hole in sequence. Do not leave the green until to do this. If you do this the first time, then make it 2 times around...(don't want to cheat yourself the time of practice).

The go to chipping. Chip to each hole having to be within your acceptable range (like 3'-4'). Then start adding having to hole at least 1 of them. This really makes you think about the breaks and how far the ball needs to fly and executing the perfect strike on the chip. This is my favorite drill. There is something much more exciting about holing even a short chip then a long putt.

At the range, long irons and drivers - you should picture boundaries in your head. Can't go any farther left then this point, and right of that. Make all 10 inside those boundaries. Miss one, and start over.

Short irons have to land inside the acceptable range (like the chipping).

The greatest thing about this type of practice is that anyone can do it...all they do is find their acceptable ranges and that puts consequences inside the head to start simulating the stress of competition or a crucial shot.

Think about this: You just nailed 9 drivers down the middle, and now you have to execute this last one to go home. Miss it, and you start over. You only see 5 more balls in the basket. It's getting late. You really don't want to go back to the shack and buy another small bucket if I miss because this damn pro on this website told me I had to do this. So your heart starts to beat a little harder...why? The adrenaline just kicked in. That causes your body to physically react...the mussels will be eager to willing to do what ever your mind tells it to, almost to the point where they will do it to their extreme. This is very bad in the cases of short, delicate shots where the mussels need to be under control. This is not such a bad thing on drivers and big moving shots where the added adrenaline is a good thing helping you execute that shot at the end of the round...so in this case you stripe that shot down the middle even farther then all the rest. You go home very happy leaving those last 5 balls for the guy watching you from the other stall impressed at your level of concentration at a driving range.

But like I said, this adrenaline has to be controlled under the short game. The more you put this stress into practice, the better you will be under real competition where it is inevitable that this will happen. You telling your mussels to ignore this powerful force and relax, the better you will be in executing those short shots you know you know how to make under ideal conditions.

Hope this helps! And good luck in competitions.

Remember that you still have a job after the round that pays for the tournament you just played in…win or lose. Enjoy the competition for what it is, and the fun feelings you get from them. These feelings are why we compete. Some people are just better at handling them then others. Be the type that can handle them better then the next guy by practicing more under them and you will do better in them.

Thank you Greg,

I am playing tomorrow so I will try it out, fingers crossed, and thank you again

Mark

Greg, I jus read your posting... Very Interesting... I think that I could use this advice not only to learn golf (I am new to it...) but at work with a different twist...

Thank you
Sonia

What line of work do you do?

Profile says pharmacist. My wife falls into the same line of work - and there's a ton of golf to be played through the association. Golf should be a course at university if you're in your last year of pharmacy.