Tournament Prep?

[KS_Swinger]

I just found out I'll be playing in a city-wide "corporate challenge" event next weekend for my company. Needless to say, I'm excited to be playing in a large tournament, however, the nerves are starting to eat me up. It's a two-man scramble, and my partner is pretty good (from what I can tell while practicing on the chipping/putting green at our office), and I feel I can hold my own, I just don't want to embarrass myself.

My question: How do you prepare for tournaments in the week beforehand? I doubt I'll have time to play the course before the actual tournament, so how can I prepare for the course without playing (I've looked at the layout on the website)? More importantly, how should I practice and "fine-tune" over the next week or so? Is it okay to play a full round the day or two before? Or is that just asking for soreness and broken confidence?

Just looking for some good tips and confidence boosters.

 

[Jank]

At least you have a little more leeway since it is a scramble, so that helps alleviate some of the pressure, theoretically. I wouldn't change up your practice habits too much. You will not find a miracle cure in one week, but one thing you can work on is getting in a groove and becoming more comfortable with the current state of your game. This means putting in a lot of practice time over the next week though. Practice around the greens especially, but I would think that your team would hit the majority of the greens in a 2-man scramble.

As far as soreness from practicing, that is different from person to person. I would only practice until it remains helpful. Once you start to tighten up or you get sloppy, you should take the rest of the day off. I would take off 2 days before the tournament (if needed) and just do a light practice the day before the tournament; maybe a medium bucket, 30 minutes chipping, 30 minutes putting. Also, give yourself enough time to have a nice paced practice before the tournament tees off.

I'm sure you can get a lot better advice from more experienced golfers, but these are just my two cents. Good luck!

 

[Mulligan9111]

I believe it was Buckjob who had a thread recently (well within the past year) that described and went through his preparation for a Pro-am event he was playing in. I will try to find the thread and post the link in here. It had a ton of good information in it.

Here is the link: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...rep-and-Trip-to-my-first-PGA-sponsored-PRO-AM

 

[MarcH]

Biggest thing is don't try and suppress the nerves. You're gonna be nervous at first...just make yourself enjoy the nervous feeling.

Other than that just practice as much as you feel like and do a good bit of putting/chipping. GL

 

[Speiser]

and my partner is pretty good (from what I can tell while practicing on the chipping/putting green at our office), a.

*mumbles insults*

 

[KS_Swinger]

Ha! Yeah it's a nice perk. It's actually a really nice green complex with two bunkers and is elevated. I spend plenty of lunch hours out there.

 

[TheHeez]

I would also start a line of communication with your partner to get an idea of his game and start to figure out where you can pick each other up. You might have different styles and knowing that beforehand will take out some of the guesswork.

When it comes to practice, I'd try and find a course with similar green speeds and get out and play a round 2-3 days before the tournament. I like range time but you need to feel confident in your on-course game. Take your time and chip and putt a few extra times, short game confidence can make a tournament exceedingly successful.

All said, just have some fun! Scrambles take some pressure off so just get out there and play your game.

 

[obrientf]

I would just practice my short game as much as possible-- shots under 100 yards and putting. You'll help your group a lot if you can drain a few putts.