First competition

[sulgolf]

Hi I’m 16 and playing in my first competition, the Junior Club Championship in the next few weeks. I wondered if anyone could give me advice and tips on playing a serious strokeplay competition, and anything I should know before playing.
Cheers, Sulaiman

 

[Tashyboy]

Heyup Sulaiman. First and foremost welcome to the forum. Secondly, don't put yourself under any pressure. Golf is there to be enjoyed. Your first comp, I would not look at it as serious. Use your shots, if you hit a bad one, take it on the chin and don't go for the glory shots. Remember you are playing in a competition. Nigh on everyone else WILL make mistakes.
Enjoy and let us know how you go on. 👍

 

[Beezerk]

Tee it up and enjoy mate, you'll have nerves on the first tee but so will everyone else so don't sweat it.
Like Tash says, don't try the hero miracle shots, think about the shot after and don't compound mistakes.
Best if luck.

 

[williamalex1]

Welcome along, relax and try and enjoy it , it's only a game. best of luck

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Relax and enjoy it. Don't put any pressure on yourself or go out with any pre-conceptions of what you need to score. Just treat it like another round. If you have a question regarding the rules, don't touch the ball or do anything until you've spoke with your PP's and come to an agreement on how to proceed. Keep it in play, use your shots and have fun

 

[pendodave]

Relax and enjoy it. Don't put any pressure on yourself or go out with any pre-conceptions of what you need to score. Just treat it like another round. If you have a question regarding the rules, don't touch the ball or do anything until you've spoke with your PP's and come to an agreement on how to proceed. Keep it in play, use your shots and have fun

On the subject of rules, pop a copy of the rulebook in your bag. Saves a lot of trouble.
But don't get worried about it - most rounds pass peacefully without a single ruling.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

First comp, everyone is nervous. Main thing is try to relax and just enjoy the game with fellow golfers.

Hope the weather is go, company is good and you play well, if its none of these just enjoy.

Best of luck

 

[sulgolf]

Heyup Sulaiman. First and foremost welcome to the forum. Secondly, don't put yourself under any pressure. Golf is there to be enjoyed. Your first comp, I would not look at it as serious. Use your shots, if you hit a bad one, take it on the chin and don't go for the glory shots. Remember you are playing in a competition. Nigh on everyone else WILL make mistakes.
Enjoy and let us know how you go on. 👍

Cheers, Im going with the attitude that I’m not there to win it, just put in a decent performance and don’t embarrass myself, I know I can play so I’ll just try to hit nice shots and post a half decent score

 

[sulgolf]

Relax and enjoy it. Don't put any pressure on yourself or go out with any pre-conceptions of what you need to score. Just treat it like another round. If you have a question regarding the rules, don't touch the ball or do anything until you've spoke with your PP's and come to an agreement on how to proceed. Keep it in play, use your shots and have fun

That’s one of the things I’m concerned about, making an error regarding the rules or just doing something plain stupid

 

[Orikoru]

Just don't build it up too much in your head. If you've been playing well, treat it as just another round rather than anything special. Just hit comfortable shots you know you can hit, don't try and shoot the lights out or it can go wrong quick.

No need to worry about inadvertently breaking a rule, just make sure whenever you're in doubt about a ruling, speak to the other players in your group about it so you can agree the right course of action. Don't imagine that you have to know every single rule like the back of your hand, in my groups I nearly always check with my group before proceeding with a rule. This also ensures they know what is happening and won't be in any doubts as to whether you've counted a drop or not, etc.

 

[chrisd]

Go out and enjoy it, nothing else to worry about at this stage in your progress

 

[HomerJSimpson]

That’s one of the things I’m concerned about, making an error regarding the rules or just doing something plain stupid

We've all done it. Stop, take a breath and ask. If you are just playing with other juniors, either check the rule book (you should keep a copy in the bag!) or worse case scenario phone back to the pro shop if you really don't have any idea (and let the group behind through). Don't let it worry you, chances are nothing weird will occur. Simply play to enjoy it, have fun, and plot your way round as best you can.

 

[Orikoru]

We've all done it. Stop, take a breath and ask. If you are just playing with other juniors, either check the rule book (you should keep a copy in the bag!) or worse case scenario phone back to the pro shop if you really don't have any idea (and let the group behind through). Don't let it worry you, chances are nothing weird will occur. Simply play to enjoy it, have fun, and plot your way round as best you can.

Come on mate, he's 16, I'm sure the R&A phone app would be the preference here.

 

[sulgolf]

Come on mate, he's 16, I'm sure the R&A phone app would be the preference here.

At 16 mate I’ve never even owned a real book😉😂

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Every shot - just play the shot that will give you the easiest next shot (a Tommy Armour tip)

So don't try and play the shot that might give you the very best result you could ever hope for. Just do as Tommy suggested

 

[sulgolf]

Every shot - just play the shot that will give you the easiest next shot (a Tommy Armour tip)

So don't try and play the shot that might give you the very best result you could ever hope for. Just do as Tommy suggested

That’s a good idea, I can eliminate hard chips and just leave myself an easy full pitch shot instead