Extreme Nervousness

[RJC59]

How do you deal with being extremely nervous? Theres times where I've had to back off twice and felt I can't even take the putter back, and when I do the putter shakes and goes absolutely everywhere.. How do you guys deal with this? Its happend to me twice now where I find it impossible to take the putter back because of my shakey hands. I don't think its lack of belief, its more of a matter of caring what people think (gallerys) and knowing the importance of the putt.

[specialblend218]

To me it just came with experience. It was kind of a tough road for me but once I screwed up enough it didn't really bother me. The more you're in that position the easier it gets. Just keep yourself in tough positions and it should go away.

[jimmyjames]

Routine, routine, routine. It can't be emphasized enough. Always go through your routine and remember that you have prepared to make that putt or shot or whatever it might be. Once you feel nervous, just be sure to go through your routine exactly and then let it go.

 

And always remember, we play this game for FUN. If your not having fun, you may want to rethink playing this particular game.

[crew_138]

I totally agree... just back off a sec a collect yourself.

[Rabidpenguin45]

i'll back off, take a deep breath or two, then do my pre-shot routine again... believe me though, there are times in life when you get much more nervous then you do in golf though... ;) :crazy:

[RNF]

Put it in the correct perspective it's just golf.

It's not who you are, it's just a game you play.

[Hairpie]

The routine is everything....Watch the good free throw shooters....same thing every time....same # of dribbles...same looks at the bucket , then go......Focusing on the routine helps to turn the brain off a bit....I try to do the same thing every single time, whether its a 10 footer for triple or a 2 footer for eagle....The key is to focus on the process, rather than the result.....

[mikpga]

It is easier said than done...Stick to a pre-shot routine...

 

You have to get to a point where you welcome that nervousness...

 

It has to transition from being a negaitive to a positive...

 

Welcome the nervousness, turn it into a positive, and committ...

[Seve424]

I've found that I play better when I've got a little nervousness going. Helps me concentrate better, I think it slows down my swing as well.

 

I was leading my club championship after the first day this year and I blew up in the 2nd round because I WASN'T nervous.

 

The final group on day 2 included a couple of my friends so I was a little too relaxed and didn't play well. It was like a normal Sunday round and I couldn't focus. Being too relaxed doesn't help me.

 

Mikpga is right, you've got to roll with the nervousness, embrace it.

[SheriffBooth]

Another thing that's helped me, besides deep breaths, is having a mental mantra that helps you block out your surroundings.

 

I personally think of the "I am Tiger Woods" commercials. You could think about Ty Webb and "na na na na". Or whatever else might help you block out the outside world.

 

Notice how Tiger cups his hands around his hat reading putts sometimes? It's to block out the world. You've got to figure out a technique for blocking out your group, teammates, gallery, whatever, and just focus on the ball and the hole. It'll be individual for everyone - some guys can just do it with concentration, but I found I had to distract my mind with alternate thoughts.

[raehtz10]

Here is a method I used in high school basketball. Make your routine as quick as possible. My free throw routine was toe the line, shoot the ball. The less time I had to get nervous, the better. When you are shooting a free throw in front of a few thousand people, you can get a little nervous. However, I had shot thousands of free throws in practice, so it was just routine. Just focus on the task at hand, and there is nothing else to worry about.

 

Maybe try reading the putt, one practice stroke and go.

[theinsider]

The biggest thing I found that helped (I was a nervous nelly as a teen golfer) was to learn to focus on the process and accept the result, no matter what.

 

The biggest problem is "not wanting to miss" whether it is a putt or a swing.

 

Like was said previously in this thread, focus on routine but learn "not to care" about results. Once you hit the ball it is gone - you can't do anything about it but walk up and hit the next shot.

 

Once you accept that - things will get much better.

 

Good luck, it is a tough one to deal with.

 

Get yourself a copy of "Golf Is Not A Game of Perfect" by Bob Rotella; you will gain a lot from it to help you with your current issues.

 

:crazy:

[raehtz10]

Agreed. Best book I have ever read.

[thusgone]

I agree with the adivce re routine. Another thing that works for me is to take a couple of deep breaths concentrating on exhaling very slowly. Another thing that I have found that helps is stretching, particularly arms over head, and back bends. For some reason these techniques let me relax enough to perform.

 

Hope this helps you.

[DaveyH]

Long deep breaths,Stick to routine just picture the shot and when it feels right, go in for the kill.

[BJG718]

pfff...its JUST golf... :crazy: thats what YOU think. this happens to me quite often. i have a lot more talent than my father but hes more consistent than i am because im always trying way to hard to beat him. i end up doing very poorly making risky shots when im with him. any of you have tips for how to zone out or ignore comments from the gallery (my father)?

[DaveyH]

Play Your own game.If your going head to head take it as your playing your dad as a player not the course.

Play the simplest shots which enable you at a chance at the lowest possible score.Im sure that more than likely one or 2 putts will fall.Or Become stubborn and try and ''out b****'' your dad and make him psyched into doing things he may not normally do like.''hey dad long drive?'' he goes for it comes of it and wacks one out right.You steady one down the fairway simple things like that.Or every putt your dad takes question his line like ''right to left?'' this makes him think and the mind soon alters and many thoughts run through the players head.

[RNF]

pfff...its JUST golf... :crazy: thats what YOU think. this happens to me quite often. i have a lot more talent than my father but hes more consistent than i am because im always trying way to hard to beat him. i end up doing very poorly making risky shots when im with him. any of you have tips for how to zone out or ignore comments from the gallery (my father)?

 

Play "old man par" not your opponent, in this case your Dad.

 

Old man par never wavers. Wind, rain, shine, topping, shanking doesn't matter, he still makes par. If you can beat him (or even "your" old man par), you'll beat your Dad...or most everyone for that matter...unless your Dad has a scoring avg better than even par?

 

 

 

And yes, it's just a game. Don't judge who you are by the score you make playing a game. Just enjoy it.

[emc]

To stop dhaky hands just grip the putter as tight as you possibly can before you set up to adress. The tension will all be gone and your hands will be nice and relaxed

[Jer-Jer]

To me it just came with experience. It was kind of a tough road for me but once I screwed up enough it didn't really bother me. The more you're in that position the easier it gets. Just keep yourself in tough positions and it should go away.

 

Haha sounds like me. Once you screw up enough you begin not to care what you shoot. Not that you don't care if you play good but that if you do bad you're like ok try better next time.

[RJC59]

old thread but I found out the main reason of my nervousness when it comes to pressure situations and galleries, I have an anxiety disorder. lol.

 

can't really put the "its just golf" cliche on that, I get very nervous in all situations of life. Its something Im going to learn to have to deal with as I dont want to take any medication for it. One thing that has helped a lot is closing my eyes and taking deep long breaths or staring into the sky. to help the shakes keeping my hands active and gripping the putter tight as im preparing helped a lot too.

[Spliffic]

That was my first guess when I read your first post (just now) and your final reply is that you might have a bit of anxiety. Are you anxious because of the people around you and the pressure to perform, or are you just anxious about the putt in general (e.g. if you were playing a game on your own at 7AM, would you still be nervous?).

 

Just curious as I suffer from a bit of anxiety myself, but mine comes on from things like public speaking (I have "attacks") and major social scenes where I am the center of attention.

[RJC59]

That was my first guess when I read your first post (just now) and your final reply is that you might have a bit of anxiety. Are you anxious because of the people around you and the pressure to perform, or are you just anxious about the putt in general (e.g. if you were playing a game on your own at 7AM, would you still be nervous?).

 

Just curious as I suffer from a bit of anxiety myself, but mine comes on from things like public speaking (I have "attacks") and major social scenes where I am the center of attention.

 

 

 

its because of the people around me and pressure to perform, i also have a major anxiety when it comes to public speaking, I almost flunked out of highschool because I'd skip every presentation I had. It doesnt happen all the time, usually the first couple holes, once im used to it, it sort of fades.. at least thats how it has gone over this summer. I had it worse last year, but im also taking public speaking classes and it may have helped contribute to overcoming my anxiety in golf tournaments.

[charles321]

Picture everyone in their underpants :P.

[Shaitan]

Like someone said earlier, nervousness is a good thing, but u need to embrace it. I find that nervousness comes more in the easy things - an easy chip, a putt from 3-6ft, stuff that you normally can do all the time but u begin thinking about wat you're doing and wat u've done during the round. I try not to think about how good my round is going, but sometimes it is inevitable. At these points I rely on all of my memories of making these shots and strokes. I focus on them and take a practice stroke - the stroke is smooth - I've been there before. I step up to the ball, set up, get my aim right and have the exact same memory in my head. Bang, back of the hole - let's get ready for the next hole. If you miss, don't get down on yourself - it's a game and the one we play can be a real b****!

[Golfchicago]

When I play in a tournament I know I will always have a few butterflies and that is o.k. When it starts getting extreme, then i back off and think of ideas to control my thinking. i remind myself that this is just another round of golf. That works like a charm for me. it calms me right down. I think a lot of positive thoughts like this putt is easy, I CAN make this one. The best advice I can give is to control your thinking and don't let it control you. Also take a few deep breaths and don't change your routine. Remeber it is just another round of golf, no big deal, you have done this before. The key is to proactively instruct yourself to think like a winner. Good luck.

[sebastian]

I love to feel nervous. I play a lot better if I am nervous. Especially my pressure putting inside 10 feet improves drastically. I played with Markus Brier (about nr. 90 in the world golf ranking) a couple of weeks ago and I was really really nervous. I only played six holes with him, but those I played even par. You have to love pressure and adrenaline.

[ccacandy]

beta blockers

[Shaitan]

beta blockers

 

;)

[SHERO]

If you are not nervous you don't care,