LA City Championship / First Tournament in Forever

[dvq9654]

I just signed up for the LA City Championship (Net) which is a couple weeks out. Will be the first tournament I've played since high school (20+ years). Not expecting much and won't be getting much benefit from the net part, but figured it would be a fun way to spend the weekend. I'm a little high strung, honestly, so hopefully that doesn't get the best of me. For those who play tournaments regularly, any advice for some stepping back into the ring for the first time in a while? 

 

Also - anyone on here playing this year? Anyone played in the past? Curious if any advice specific to the event. 

[Shades234]

Welcome back to tournament golf. Was going to type something up but looks like the event has already past. How did you play? What did you learn?

[dvq9654]

I played great for the first 12 holes. Was leading the group and striking it consistently. Left a couple on the course by missing some short-ish putts, but they were on the wrong side of the hole, so hard to complain too much. 

 

On 13, an uphill ~200 yard par 3, I somehow hit a ~220 yard 5 iron (must have hit hardpan / rolled forever) which proceeded to nestle against the OB fence long of the green and under some trees. Had to take an unplayable and chip out sideways. That derailed me for the next couple holes, which wasn't my best look. Definitely odd cause I wasn't necessarily frustrated and didn't feel derailed, but my game just disappeared. Got it back, but it was too late at that point. Definitely a learning experience. 

 

Then, on Sunday, tweaked my back while warming up so had to WD.

 

I think what I learned is:

1) My A game is good. My best shots, especially my drives and wedges, were longer, straighter and closer than the scratch / ones I was playing with 

2) The nerves early in the round actually helped me slow down and hit some great shots. Those same nerves sped me up and destroyed me later in the round. Need to learn to harness the nerves for the positive

3) I can putt better. Not that I putted poorly, but I never really made anything. Was more or less a 2 putt machine, which isn't going to sustain or make for a great round

4) My driver needs to be more consistent. It is always the first thing to go and when it goes wrong it's not salvageable. This doesn't happen with other clubs. Need to limit the magnitude of misses with my driver if I ever want to be effective under pressure and consistent over a two day period  

 

Will definitely look for more opportunities to play in tournaments going forward. It shows a lot about your game that you fail to realize and/or minimize when playing casual rounds. Also was nice to play with some solid golfers to compare my game against - doesn't happen all that often

[Dannyboy44]

Nice write up. Playing in my first tournament this weekend (2 days) and I'm pretty nervous. My partner is all about having fun so that's all my expectations are is to have a good time and hit some good shots.