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How do you get mentally prepared for tournament play?

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DevRickus

DevRickus

The Dirty Jerz
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So with the MC coming up, it's something I have been thinking about a lot. I have never played in any tournament let alone match play. I know I can practice as much as possible but that won't help with the mental aspect of it. So I ask you my fellow THPers, what do you do to get yourself ready for a tournament? Any drills you do? Books you read? Routine you go through?
 
I'll be interested in the responses posted in this thread as well. My match play experience in the unofficial gauntlet was unlike anything I ever did on a golf course.
 
Great thread Dev. I look forward to following along in here.
A lot of people will have their own routine. For me its not about matches, but playing with in myself.
So its about teaching myself to practice with a purpose. Work on things I know I will see or think I will see.
And creating certain shots that are go to so when things dont go as planned I have a fall back.
 
We would always play mini-matches on the days leading up to the tournaments.

If just by yourself, you could try different scenarios on the course where you are in major trouble, and need to get up&down for a half.

It really depends on your strategy or style of play. Are you a player that takes it to the opponent, big risk taker? Or are you a player that wants to hang around until the opponent makes a mistake... and then pounces.
 
I will do some visualization, mentally play the course in my head to get a feel for what shots I may face in the tournament, and I can create a game plan for each hole. I will also work on breathing so that I can stay calm before shots, ideally I would like to be able to stand over a shot and have everything except the target fade out of sight like in Bagger Vance.
 
Should be a wide variety of answers here and truth be told, none of them will be wrong.

On the day of the event I try my best to make it just like any other round of golf. If I allow myself to get too amped up on the first tee things don't usually go well for me. It's easier said than done, but I can look back at the events I've played well in and I see that I was mentally relaxed as the day and the tournament began.

I also like to listen to music on the way to a big event. It helps me maintain my relaxed state if I can keep a favorite song in my head throughout the round. I find that I can think or concentrate too much on the situation at hand if all I think about is golf, so between shots I'll "turn the music on" so to speak and let that song in my head play.
 
I like to have a loose routine. I tend to warm up the same way when I play well. Not necessarily the same sequence, but the same things. Like others, I like music, but don't necessarily have a favorite song but more of a type of rhythm. If I can listen to music with a certain rhythm, I can usually take that to the course and, you guessed it, it helps MY rhythm.

Finally, if I play HAPPY golf, my mental state is always better and I recover better from bad swings or outcomes.

JM
 
Preparation for a match is all mental for me. I try to play thru some scenarios on days leading up to it, and maybe even on the range. In the end, I know my game and what I'm capable of doing, I just have to stay out of my own way. Preparation for adversity is also something I strive to do, but struggle with. Golf is fun, and don't let competitive play change that fact. Hopefully you get some great advice and feedback Ricky!
 
Some quality responses already, thanks everyone. Outside of a match play league and the THP Outing / Invitationals I've been to, I don't really have that much experience with tournament play...great thread, Dev.
 
DevRickus said:
So with the MC coming up, it's something I have been thinking about a lot. I have never played in any tournament let alone match play. I know I can practice as much as possible but that won't help with the mental aspect of it. So I ask you my fellow THPers, what do you do to get yourself ready for a tournament? Any drills you do? Books you read? Routine you go through?
Click to expand...

1. Trust what work I've done leading up to it. Nothing you can change about your swing now.

2. Know I'm going to hit good and bad shots, but so are my opponents.

3. Do whatever Tiger does.
 
Practice practice practice. ..with a purpose

Play my own game...don't deviate from the plan and try to be a hero. Wait for opponent to make the mistakes.
 
mikedean441 said:
Practice practice practice. ..with a purpose

Play my own game...don't deviate from the plan and try to be a hero. Wait for opponent to make the mistakes.
Click to expand...

This is so good. I learned last year in competitions that I will make enough mistakes without trying to be a hero. My opponent will make them too, so if I take out the hero shots, I can then just try to make fewer than he does.

JM
 
I'll only hit the range a few days before the event. Like JB said I'll practice a lot of shots I don't necessarily have in my normal practice routine. I'll practice shots that I know I can pull of, but have difficulty to them. Hooding a low punch shot around a tree, playing the ball up in my stance to get it over a tree, spend time in the practice bunker. I'll envision myself on the course in all these situations. Depending on the course and if I know it or not, I'll try and play holes that I'm familiar with on the range. Meaning if I hit a bad tee shot I'll play the next shot as I envision it ending up after the bad tee shot. If it's a course I know, the night before I'll go through and play each hole in my mind. I've found doing that really really helps my course management.
 
Great thread Dev.

I have never played in a tournament so I have a question.

For all of you who have a preset game plan, how hard is it to stick to the plan if things don't go as well as you hoped?

For example, if before the tournament you say to yourself you will play every par 5 with 3 shots (Zach Johnson @ Masters). Do you find yourself deviating from that if things aren't going well?

I ask because I think this would be something I'd struggle with. They always say you can't win it early on one hole but you can certainly lose it.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
 
Lots of interesting thoughts already guys...thanks for sharing them.
 
The few things I have found that have worked for me during tournaments would be:

1. Break down each hole before the round:

I do this for confidence so I know that if I play well I have a realistic target. (This was one I did a few years ago I based the ideal score off previous rounds)
2i0dfr5.jpg


2. Know your scoring clubs:

I hit certain clubs better than others and so I try to hit to certain distances. 100 and 120 are my favorites (52* and PW)

3. 1 bad shot does not ruin a round...thinking about that shot does.
4. Take it hole by hole on the course.
5. Play your game

And the most important...

6. Have fun!!! (You will play better)
 
For me, clear your head. You have worked your butt off on the range and now the day has come. It's time to shut your mind off and just go out there and do what you know how to do.

The more you think about this that and the other the tougher it will be on yourself. Establish a routine with a few mental thoughts so that when you get on the course you go through your routine and your mental thoughts and just let the body take over. It's not easy and takes awhile to train yourself but it has helped me quite a bit. I am still working on it to this day.
 
Great thread, I have zero match play experience and almost no competition golf experience. Very interested in every body's response

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
 
The MGA that I was in the last two years does multiple tournaments and of course the club championship. I remember my first few holes of my first round --I was yanking puts shaking etc.. Luckily that was only the first time out. It got to where I crave the challenge and the competition. Sometimes I have a hard time getting that focus on regular rounds--so my main prep in the practice session it to establish a preshot routine and allow that routine take me into complete focus for that shot.
Now for a major upcoming event, take every tournament or challenge you possible can before hand--learn to turn that nervous energy into focus. If you can afford it play skins--make those holes worth something.
 
WardF said:
The MGA that I was in the last two years does multiple tournaments and of course the club championship. I remember my first few holes of my first round --I was yanking puts shaking etc.. Luckily that was only the first time out. It got to where I crave the challenge and the competition. Sometimes I have a hard time getting that focus on regular rounds--so my main prep in the practice session it to establish a preshot routine and allow that routine take me into complete focus for that shot.
Now for a major upcoming event, take every tournament or challenge you possible can before hand--learn to turn that nervous energy into focus. If you can afford it play skins--make those holes worth something.
Click to expand...

skins with handicap? I might have some singles for our round tomorrow :D
 
This will definitely be an important thread for a lot of people. Good idea for a thread Dev.

Playing in several Amateur tournaments/qualifiers, you figure out a routine to go by to start your day. Stick to a routine. If you don't have one because it's your first tournament, create a scenario. Next time you go out and play, treat it like a tournament. You need to have a reward if you play well/achieve the goal you set. Say, eating out afterward if you exceed or meet your goal. I remember when I first started to get good but struggled in tournaments, I had to come up with a way to simulate tournament play. So, I treated every round like a tournament round. You get serious about every shot and treat the day like one. Then, when you actually are in a tournament, nothing changes. Outside from a little extra adrenaline, You treat each pre-game move the same way. Will they be the same? Obviously not. You'll still get nervous. Everybody does. A wise man once said that If you're not nervous, you don't care. The point is to try and create an atmosphere where you're as nervous as possible so you're used to it for a tournament.

Now for during the tournament stuff, I'll answer Tim's question below.
TimG3394 said:
Great thread Dev.

I have never played in a tournament so I have a question.

For all of you who have a preset game plan, how hard is it to stick to the plan if things don't go as well as you hoped?

For example, if before the tournament you say to yourself you will play every par 5 with 3 shots (Zach Johnson @ Masters). Do you find yourself deviating from that if things aren't going well?

I ask because I think this would be something I'd struggle with. They always say you can't win it early on one hole but you can certainly lose it.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The way I've figured out how to play is to know your limitations. If you're not comfortable hitting that 3 wood into that green, don't do it. Just because the long hitter your playing with is going for it, it doesn't mean you have to too. Even if you feel pressured to do it, rely on your strength. Strength of my game, Irons and wedges. I rely on that to carry me through my round. I will hit 3i off most tees while guys hit drivers. Does it leave me with a 7i instead of a wedge? Yeah, but I like my iron game and I'm comfortable with it. Play YOUR game. It sounds easier than it is, but that's part of why you have to focus so much in the moment. Because, you can't focus on everyone else's game. Just yours.

Also, during the round, I try to do 2 other things. 1) Don't take the round too seriously. Laugh and talk about anything other than golf. 2) Don't dwell on the bad. Focus on what you can do next to hit the next shot the best possible way. I know I know. 1 sounds like you don't care and 2 is way harder than you think. Just hear me out, I thought the same way. The most I enjoyed a tournament round was the last School tournament I played. I shot a 72 and I don't remember a moment where I was overly stressed. I laughed, we talked about school, and we talked about sports. It felt like a round with buddies. I played loose and without a care. It's the best round I've ever shot in a tournament, by a long way. If you're loose and your mind is elsewhere between shots, you start to relax. #2 is ridiculously hard. Trust me, I struggled with it forever. The way I got over it was actually really easy. My coach told me that we can dwell on the bad shot for 10 seconds. After that 10 seconds, you think about something else or the next shot and how to execute that. Once I really put my mind to it, It did wonders for my game.

I know that's alot of information about a tournament, but I feel it's kind of necessary. Tournaments aren't normal rounds. There's more riding on that one round you play than any normal round you will play. The best advice that I hope anyone can take away from this is practice makes perfect. Not range practice, but situational practice. Make each round a tournament round and treat it with just as much attention. Have a prize or reward for succeeding. The more you succeed and the more comfortable you are with being nervous, the better off you will be.

I hope this helps guys.
 
I really like to get up a little early and have time by myself at a short game practice area, or better yet play a few holes on a par three course. I get the first holes of the day out of my system away from the spotlight and I can start mentally thinking about scoring. If I do this I find I'm much more relaxed and ready to hit the ground running right from the get go when the match starts.
 
I played match play in our club champs last year. To be honest I never had a game plan or even thought about how I would play against him, I just treated it like any normal game I play. I hit a few bad shots the first round and he went up, but I never gave or showed that I was worried. If you show your opponent that you are worried they will play that against you, golf is a very mental game, try not to show them that. Just play your game and if they start worrying they will make mistakes.
 
JTnumbers said:
This will definitely be an important thread for a lot of people. Good idea for a thread Dev.

Playing in several Amateur tournaments/qualifiers, you figure out a routine to go by to start your day. Stick to a routine. If you don't have one because it's your first tournament, create a scenario. Next time you go out and play, treat it like a tournament. You need to have a reward if you play well/achieve the goal you set. Say, eating out afterward if you exceed or meet your goal. I remember when I first started to get good but struggled in tournaments, I had to come up with a way to simulate tournament play. So, I treated every round like a tournament round. You get serious about every shot and treat the day like one. Then, when you actually are in a tournament, nothing changes. Outside from a little extra adrenaline, You treat each pre-game move the same way. Will they be the same? Obviously not. You'll still get nervous. Everybody does. A wise man once said that If you're not nervous, you don't care. The point is to try and create an atmosphere where you're as nervous as possible so you're used to it for a tournament.

Now for during the tournament stuff, I'll answer Tim's question below.
The way I've figured out how to play is to know your limitations. If you're not comfortable hitting that 3 wood into that green, don't do it. Just because the long hitter your playing with is going for it, it doesn't mean you have to too. Even if you feel pressured to do it, rely on your strength. Strength of my game, Irons and wedges. I rely on that to carry me through my round. I will hit 3i off most tees while guys hit drivers. Does it leave me with a 7i instead of a wedge? Yeah, but I like my iron game and I'm comfortable with it. Play YOUR game. It sounds easier than it is, but that's part of why you have to focus so much in the moment. Because, you can't focus on everyone else's game. Just yours.

Also, during the round, I try to do 2 other things. 1) Don't take the round too seriously. Laugh and talk about anything other than golf. 2) Don't dwell on the bad. Focus on what you can do next to hit the next shot the best possible way. I know I know. 1 sounds like you don't care and 2 is way harder than you think. Just hear me out, I thought the same way. The most I enjoyed a tournament round was the last School tournament I played. I shot a 72 and I don't remember a moment where I was overly stressed. I laughed, we talked about school, and we talked about sports. It felt like a round with buddies. I played loose and without a care. It's the best round I've ever shot in a tournament, by a long way. If you're loose and your mind is elsewhere between shots, you start to relax. #2 is ridiculously hard. Trust me, I struggled with it forever. The way I got over it was actually really easy. My coach told me that we can dwell on the bad shot for 10 seconds. After that 10 seconds, you think about something else or the next shot and how to execute that. Once I really put my mind to it, It did wonders for my game.

I know that's alot of information about a tournament, but I feel it's kind of necessary. Tournaments aren't normal rounds. There's more riding on that one round you play than any normal round you will play. The best advice that I hope anyone can take away from this is practice makes perfect. Not range practice, but situational practice. Make each round a tournament round and treat it with just as much attention. Have a prize or reward for succeeding. The more you succeed and the more comfortable you are with being nervous, the better off you will be.

I hope this helps guys.
Click to expand...

Damn JT. That's a hell of a post. Thanks buddy as for everyone else, thanks for your input. There have been some awesome responses. Keep them coming.
 
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