Entering a Senior Open - Advice?

Nspiel58 · June 26, 2012

Just after turning 54 in July, I'm going to enter my first tournament in a long long time. I don't have a registered handicap though I shoot anywhere from the low 80s to mid 90s on our city course. There are two groupings in the tournament, those with registered handicaps and us other sporadic players. Any thoughts on how I should approach the whole thing?

Nspiel58 · July 18, 2012

Well. The tournament is now history. I shot a 91, 19 over and golfed with the nicest 60 year old guys I could possibly have imagined. We were a threesome and had a very leisurely and enjoyable round together. I was a basket case last night, trying to figure out what clubs I should play as well as what I should wear. I have played 9 holes three times in the last couple of weeks, my only games this season, so I don't really have "gamers". I decided to go with my Hogan 99s (4-E), Apex persimmon 3 & 5 woods (they're great fairway woods), Big Ben driver, 3 Riviera wedges and Yes Sophia putter. We began on the 9th hole, a par five, which I double-bogyed, then did the same thing on the next hole, another par 5. The rest of the round was up and down, with some flashes of brilliance, by my standards. At 54, I still believe I can become a very good golfer (hit 2, 300 yard drives), but reality dictates that I can't play much. So, what do you do? I understand from this experience that I need to be more conservative off the tee, and work on my wedge play to become more consistent at making contact and getting the proper direction of my ball flight. What I also learned is that I shouldn't get so messed up about how well I'm going to do. I also learned that I'm a pretty good putter and that's very satisfying. The other very noticeable observation I made is that my 60+ year old playing partners can hit the ball very accurately with the most awkward and mechanically wrong swings. It was quite inspiring to watch their 230 yard drives start left and fade into the middle of the fairway on almost every hole. So, all in all, just a great day, even though I would have liked to score about 10 strokes better. Golf is such a fricking awesome game!!! Thanks to those of you who read my post.

zargaro · July 18, 2012

Nspiel58,
Don’t beat yourself up too badly, at least you competed, and it sounds like you had alot of fun. You shouldn’t expect high expectations with what few rounds you got in for practice. And don’t get to hooked up about swings, Jim Furyk but that myth to bed a long time ago. It’s all about swing repeatability, and consistency, especially how to be consistent when under pressure. It sounds like you have great distance for a senior, now you just have to work on the consistency part. Learn from your weaknesses, and practice them till you feel more confident. Something else to keep in mind, when you tee it up with other people, is to stay focused and learn to play your own game, not theirs. Discipline yourself to focus only on your game and understand on what you can and cannot control. Ultimately when you have control over your thoughts and actions you’ll become a better and confident player. As someone said, “Golf is 20% skill & 80% mental”.
If I enter a tournament and I feel I’m not playing my best, I get these damn little demons in my head. When this happens I try to focus on better course management skills. For instance, even though I think I can reach a par 5, I may lay up as feel more comfortable hitting a short wedge, then possibly exposing a short game weakness. Or I'll try hitting full shots over half shots, even though I may come up a little short to the flag.

And your right golf is an awesome game!

Nspiel58 · July 19, 2012

Zargaro. Thanks for your feedback. I hear what you're saying about the mental side and course management. It's so easy to fall out of a routine after a bad shot. That's something I have to keep in mind all the time - stick to the routine!!! Even though my fellow players today generally hit the ball consistently, and they play regularly, I noticed that frustration affects them as well, so I'm not alone in that regard. Great advice. Thanks for your time.

teevons · July 19, 2012

You can feel good though that you had the best looking sticks in your bag!!

Nspiel58 · July 19, 2012

[quote name='teevons' timestamp='1342674988' post='5306094']
You can feel good though that you had the best looking sticks in your bag!!
[/quote]

Hi Tim. You're right about that. Not that I knock guys for using the offset cavity backs, but basically I didn't see anyone else with blades yesterday. Kind of sad.