Not playing well in competitions: What to do to improve?

NevinW · September 10, 2023

I played a lot in senior golf this summer and I am consistently 3-6 strokes worse that my regular golf rounds even though I usually play for some money and putt most putts out. I seem to always be tight and seem to make more double bogies that ruin rounds (typically miss green early in round, chip up and three putt, I rarely have penalty strokes). I won one tournament this year when I shot 76 and everyone else just played worse that day for some reason. I am stronger thanks to working out and my swing is improved but when get into a tournament and things do not go well. Any thoughts or suggestions on how to improve this area? I've got 3 more tournaments for the season coming up.

aggiegolfer21 · September 10, 2023

I think the biggest thing to think about mentally is this - you don't have to be perfect to play great golf. Hitting some bad shots is inevitable - win anyways. Thinking this way really helped me free up on the golf course and play well in competition.

doctor220 · September 10, 2023

4 hours ago, NevinW said:

I played a lot in senior golf this summer and I am consistently 3-6 strokes worse that my regular golf rounds even though I usually play for some money and putt most putts out. I seem to always be tight and seem to make more double bogies that ruin rounds (typically miss green early in round, chip up and three putt, I rarely have penalty strokes). I won one tournament this year when I shot 76 and everyone else just played worse that day for some reason. I am stronger thanks to working out and my swing is improved but when get into a tournament and things do not go well. Any thoughts or suggestions on how to improve this area? I've got 3 more tournaments for the season coming up.

Probably related to mental but maybe your lag putting/speed control needs work. If you’re chipping onto the green you should be within vicinity of hole so 3 putting from there is pretty bad generally . Your starting distance should be much closer than if you hit a GIR but were on wrong side of green and 50-60’ away or etc in which a 3 putt is more reasonable and common.

umamimami · September 11, 2023

Gotta develop some techniques to bring the excitement down. For example, breathe in and out through nose for two seconds each. Then pause until you feel the need to breathe - not holding breath - just waiting until you feel a need. Then in for two and out for two and cycle again and again. This helps promote diaphragm breathing and also gets you back in touch with your senses.

Another technique I use is staring at the trees or the local scenery and admiring the beauty. Or touching the steel of your club shaft and sensing the temperature and texture.

Do some googling to find a few techniques that work for you. Bring ‘em to the practice area / practice round and really get yourself worked up then try and employ the techniques. Such as by making a bunch of rigours swings or otherwise getting your brain excited. Make an intention to not do anything about the upcoming putt until you feel ready to.

Tiger woods apparently used to practice this by jogging around the green to get his heart rate up and then would try and get his excitement down as well he could.

Lastly, it’s okay to have feelings about a shot. You really gotta try and fully process the shot before moving on. You might not fully succeed but keep the intention of processing, accepting, and levelling yourself back out mentally before you go on to the next shot. Honesty is key here. If you think you’ve accepted it and then you catch yourself ruminating 10 minutes later - you’re not over it.

larrybud · September 11, 2023

You get better in tournaments by playing more tournaments, to the point where the nerves don't get the better of you.

getitdaily · September 11, 2023

Tournament play, what's usual for a "newbie"...

1. Everything speeds up - you have to find a way to slow things down.

2. You think you have to be better than you are. You go play a casual round and hit 7i to 30 feet and all is good. Get in a tournament and you think you have to stiff that same 7i.

3. Course mgmt and bogey avoidance - in tournament play you have to avoid bogies or worse. You often try dumb shots or just play too aggressively in tournament play until you learn that you don't have to be as aggressive as you think.

4. Why is every putt a pressure putt? In tournament play you think you have to make everything. You forget that you're more likely to miss than make from almost every distance but you put pressure on yourself to make everything. Relax. But make everything from 6 feet and in.

5. You get "peeky". Because you don't trust yourself in tournament play, you start to peek early on most shots. You keep driver in play but it's just not as good as "usual". Your iron play is just a bit off and you don't know why. Your chipping isn't crisp....all signs of "peeky".

Edited September 11, 2023 by getitdaily

bluedot · September 11, 2023

If this is the first year you’ve done much of this, then you’re doing fine. Averaging 2-3 shots higher in competitive rounds, plus a win, isn’t bad at all. The more tournament golf you play, the better you’ll get at it.

We all have to find our own way through this situation, but here are a couple of thoughts that might help? (I’m 71, and I play 20 or more senior tournaments every year)

1. Put me firmly in the camp of NOT saying “Just relax” or some version of that. The excitement of competition is why I play, and when that goes away, I’ll stop.

2. Do NOT go into a tournament round with a score in mind. Scores are an outcome of a good process, and the process is the goal. It’s a macro version of not evaluating a single shot by the result, but rather by the process and approach. Learn to stay in the moment and play the shot in front of you, and “pre-accept” whatever result, good or bad, that shot gives you. And do this in your practice rounds; you need to practice your mental approach as much as your swing.

3. You WILL have bad shots and even bad holes, but so will everyone else all over the golf course. There is a tendency to add pressure by thinking we have to play great, and that’s just not true. Lower your expectations not only for yourself, but for everyone else in the field. (Go back and reread what you wrote about the other players in the tournament you won.)

4. Talk to yourself during the round like a caddie and a player talk about shots. Put the focus on what you want to do, rather than what you think it might mean in your round. Forgive physical mistakes you make, but do everything possible to avoid mental mistakes.

5. If at all possible, play a practice round on the course where the tournament will be held. This is a BIG deal!

6. If you haven’t already, read Mark Broadie’s book, and make sure you understand the percentage of putts that are made by Tour pros from various distances; it might take some pressure off? Thinking that you “ought” to make a putt isn’t a good place to be, and often leads to obsessing over the line at the expense of getting the speed right. If you get the speed right, you’ll have a tap in; if you get the speed wrong, there IS no correct line!

7., if you’re serious about playing tournament golf, approach practice like athletes in every other sport; overload the difficulty of practice. I play my home course from a set of tees about 500 yds LONGER than the yardages in the senior tournaments I play, and anytime I break 80 from those tees, I’ve played pretty well. When I play a tournament round, I’m not only hitting MUCH shorter clubs into greens, which is a comfortable feeling, but I also find that I’m more accepting of a bad score on a hole.

Good luck, and enjoy the heat of the chase! Most of the guys at your club avoid it like the plague; pat yourself on the back for wanting to be in the arena!