Slowing Down for Tournament Play...?

[acekun]

1 hour ago, PepsiDuck said:

 

Well, odds are more like 75%.

 

And wouldn't go as far as to say that my primary objective is to play a fast round, i.e., I don't put my tee in the ground on the first hole and think to myself, let's see how fast I can play today.  I just play fast without actively thinking about it.  So when other players are going through their routine, take a practice swing, and then suddenly stop, turn around, and stare at another player wondering whose turn it is, I get a little annoyed by it.  And it's probably further aggravated when my score goes to poop right off the bat.

 

I do have a pre-shot routine that is probably the most consistent thing I do.  It's just that I can do most of it, to include the shot analysis and practice swinging, while others are hitting, so when it's my turn to hit, I can immediately address the ball and hit.  Are you suggesting I wait until everyone else is done playing their shot before I start my routine?

 

I don't need credit for speeding up the group.  Making my contribution is fulfilling enough for me.

 

The reason why I said that your primary objective is a fast round is because of how you described your round in your first post ("four-putted a couple greens just tapping it back and forth around the hole rather than stopping and marking because I wanted to speed up play for the group"). At that point, you were prioritizing speed of play more than your score. If you're doing anything at the expense of your score, that means you've put a higher priority on that than your score.

 

No, not suggesting you start your routine when everyone is done. If you're doing one already while others are hitting, then great. I was guessing you weren't doing one and thought focusing on process might help you not think about pace of play so much. But I don't think you should immediately address the ball and hit after someone hits.  There should be some short ritual standing behind the ball and taking a breath, one practice swing, etc.) between someone finishing their shot and you addressing the ball. There should be some sort of trigger so you're 100% focused on your shot. 

 

Good luck -- I read my first post and it came off more critical than I intended. Hopefully it didn't offend. 

 

[PepsiDuck]

1 hour ago, SNIPERBBB said:

I would try waiting till at least the player whose turn is last person to hit before it's your turn is about to hit.

 

I'm going to try that for Saturday's final round; find something I can put in my pockets or attach to my bag that I can play with until it's time for me to start my pre-shot routine.  This will be something I just need to make a conscientious effort to do.

[PepsiDuck]

1 hour ago, acekun said:

 

The reason why I said that your primary objective is a fast round is because of how you described your round in your first post ("four-putted a couple greens just tapping it back and forth around the hole rather than stopping and marking because I wanted to speed up play for the group"). At that point, you were prioritizing speed of play more than your score. If you're doing anything at the expense of your score, that means you've put a higher priority on that than your score.

 

No, not suggesting you start your routine when everyone is done. If you're doing one already while others are hitting, then great. I was guessing you weren't doing one and thought focusing on process might help you not think about pace of play so much. But I don't think you should immediately address the ball and hit after someone hits.  There should be some short ritual standing behind the ball and taking a breath, one practice swing, etc.) between someone finishing their shot and you addressing the ball. There should be some sort of trigger so you're 100% focused on your shot. 

 

Good luck -- I read my first post and it came off more critical than I intended. Hopefully it didn't offend. 

 

 

No offense taken; I appreciate your feedback and insight.  I've received much worse on WRX.  And yes, I would agree that as the round wore on and I realized I'd be lucky to break 100, it was about speeding up play and getting off the course.  I'll be taking these ideas out on the course Saturday, so we'll see how it goes.  At least we're not the lead group this week, so there won't be any pressure to maintain pace.  In reality, we're probably going to be standing around quite a bit being the 5th group out.

[Obee]

15 hours ago, magnus7319 said:

You sound like a buddy of mine who invites me to his member guest at his club every year. He gets terribly nervous...

 

Now I get that you being hyper aware of others and letting slow play get to you is a bit different but... my prescription remains the same. 
 

I make him go to the bar and do a shot and drink a beer before we tee off. 
 

RELAX 

Some people absolutely need to be "medicated" to play their best golf.

 

Have you ever tried to take a shot 30 minutes before tee off, Kelvin?

 

Not recommending or demonizing this one way or the other, but I know quite a few very, very good ams who carry a flask with them and take a nip every couple holes all through a round.

 

I would at least try a shot* one day before you play and see what that does to your ability to calm yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I am not a doctor. Try this at your own risk! ?

[PepsiDuck]

12 hours ago, Obee said:

*I am not a doctor. Try this at your own risk! ?

 

I'll add it to the list of things to do on Saturday! ?

[Mcgeeno]

I'll say two things here.

 

1) When I got back into golf from being an accomplished junior (From my part of the world) I couldnt even put a tee in the ground in a tournament without having some booze in me. I'm better now. I look forward to the challenge, but some guys carry that burden for whatever reason. It just wears you down over years and years of grinding. Golf is hard. At its worst I couldnt sleep, I couldnt hold a club and I struggled to even want to show up. The alcohol helped relieve some anxiety and inhibitions for me. I don't recommend it for everyone but it helped me to get back into having some fun.

 

2) As far as slow play goes my biggest rival at my club is the slowest player I've ever met. I'm a fast golfer. You just deal with it. You walk slower, you take time lining every shot up and you just suck it up if you want to win. 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by Mcgeeno

[oikos1]

As hard as it may be, the worst thing you can do is try to manage everyone else on the golf course.  When waiting to hit, try turning your back, make practice swings and talk to yourself about your next swing or whatever floats your boat.  Peek over your shoulder every now and again to see if it's your turn to hit. While I don't do it all of the time, I find not watching other players swing to be very liberating.

 

Fully support the flask concept.  In my parts, we call it "medicine in case of emergency".

[PepsiDuck]

Alcohol it is! ?

[PepsiDuck]

So I focused entirely on keeping mental focus on the golf course today and staying patient with every shot, and I'd say it was a rousing success.  I shot 12 shots better today (82 vs 94 last week); this was probably the best score I could have shot with the garbage golf swing I was using.  The mental game really got me through the round.

 

To start the day, I misread my tee time, so I got to the course a lot later than I wanted.  I didn't have time to go to the range, so I just chipped and putted and hoped for the best.  I remembered to start off with a shot of scotch, and strangely enough, it helped.  Enough to feel it but not too much that it impaired my motor function... ?

 

A few things I did during the round:

• Never played before it was my turn.  And I never walked too far ahead of the group or the person playing his shot.
• When we fell a hole behind around 12 and got yelled at by the marshall, I didn't change anything about my routine or my approach.
• No putts with the back of my putter.  I marked everything outside of 6".  I putt great today; had a lot of good par saves.
• Rather than go right into my routine when I got to my ball, I actually watched my playing partners play their shots.  Sometimes I get tunnel-visioned into my own shot and forget that I can be a spectator too and appreciate good shots from others.
• Aside from my better score, even the guys I played with commented that I acted and played differently this week, in a good way.

I have another tournament round tomorrow at a course I've never played before...going to take these concepts and continue to apply them.  Now I just need to figure out a better swing.....

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and recommendations.

[b_f_c_99]

Many will disagree with me but  I would suggest not 'warming up' by hitting balls before a round.  Just putt some across the practice green from fringe to fringe to get the feel for the speed.  Then make a half dozen 3-4 footers to get the visual of the ball going in the hole.   Golf , especially tournament golf is largely standing around then hitting shots dead cold.  So by the time you even get to the first tee assuming it's not some sort of shotgun start your going to be cold anyway.  You simply have to find a way to produce solid shots dead cold.  The practice swing is for reminding yourself what a good swing/move/thought is that will produce a solid or at least acceptable result.  If you don't have that worked out yet your not finding it on the range before the round.

[pinhigh27]

3 hours ago, b_f_c_99 said:

Many will disagree with me but  I would suggest not 'warming up' by hitting balls before a round.  Just putt some across the practice green from fringe to fringe to get the feel for the speed.  Then make a half dozen 3-4 footers to get the visual of the ball going in the hole.   Golf , especially tournament golf is largely standing around then hitting shots dead cold.  So by the time you even get to the first tee assuming it's not some sort of shotgun start your going to be cold anyway.  You simply have to find a way to produce solid shots dead cold.  The practice swing is for reminding yourself what a good swing/move/thought is that will produce a solid or at least acceptable result.  If you don't have that worked out yet your not finding it on the range before the round.

Are there any tour pros who don’t warm up before their round ?

[b_f_c_99]

7 hours ago, pinhigh27 said:

Are there any tour pros who don’t warm up before their round ?

Pepsi isn’t a tour pro.  Have you followed his golf journey on here over the years?  He jus t played 12 shots better with no warm up.  Which for him is no time to cycle through a bunch of swing ideas before he plays.  There was also a time Sergio did the no warm up thing.  To be transparent I did learn the game on a course with no range.