dealing with nerves / excitement

[MrC]

hi all

When playing a reasonably important game I find I am a cross between excited and nervous and I cant play my best. By the time I have played badly for a few holes I relax more and play better.

I have tried various things to do with pre-round routine but still the same.

has anyone any tips for dealing with this?

Also the same with short putts (up to 6') where I become nervous and do not deliver a consistent stroke

Any help appreciated

 

[Norrin Radd]

the more you play in competitions the easier it gets. there isnt really a way around it ,im sure people will come on here and say just relax and treat every game as a knock with your mates ,but it isnt as easy as that for some.

for a slightly quicker cure a large brandy just before you go out will help.

 

[patricks148]

i find getting absolutely lashed solves any nerves and I always think Ive played well after

 

[Foxholer]

The 2nd best player at an old club once suggested to 'play for enough money for it to sting (but not so much that it really hurts)!'!

A few weeks in the 'big swindle' with precisely that on the line (and some 'interesting' adrenaline filled moments') changed my entire attitude to 'important' rounds!

Not for everyone, but worth considering! Certainly made me focus on every shot, but with 'relaxed intensity'!

 

[njrose51]

a few words of wisdom have come my way on this subject, but the best ones I have found:

Firstly, nearly everyone will get nervous, tense etc. even the Pros. We will not hit every shot perfect otherwise we'd all be Professionals and not secretly looking a the Forum whilst at work!

The calming doesn't start with the PRE S. R. Make sure you are at the course early enough to warm up, practise and try to counter the nerves and excitement. Also, this is not a life or death situation, unless yhou have really harsh playing partners! Nor do you need to sink the putt to pay your mortgage! So relax! it is only a game after all.

Try to put pressure on yourself when practising especially at the driving range. I'm always visualising hitting drives from various tough holes, so I pick two spots on the range and try to hit my drives or irons between these those spots to simulate the 'fairway' or green.

Also play an actual hole in your head when at the range, say the stroke index one at your local course. Start with the driver, then if its good shot, pick the club you would naturally hit next and so on.

There is a putting practise as well where you try and sink 6 balls from the same distance and if you miss one you start again.

good luck!

The more you put yourself in pressured situations will help.

 

[Capella]

I am normally dealing well with 1st tee nerves. Actually, I like it and have the feeling that being nervous that way makes me better. Same for when there is an audience of some kind. It actually makes me focus more on what I am doing. But I often struggle later in the round when I realize that I am doing well or that a certain shot/putt will make me break my handicap or something like that. I think that is partly because on the first tee, or in situations where there might be someone watching, yes, I do get a bit nervous, but I realize that and I can consciously counter that. I am pretty good at creating a kind of bubble around myself that no distraction from the outside does penetrate. But when I get distracted by thinking about the score or how important a certain putt is, I find it much harder to distance myself from that. Not sure if that is because it is happening inside my head instead of somewhere outside, or if I don't really realize that it is making me nervous until it is too late.