First Tee Fear

iku

iku

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Apr 20, 2011
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Being new to the game (I started last October) sometimes I'm still terrified when I have to hit my first tee shot, particularly when there are loads of people ready to start after me and I'm playing alone. My pro keeps telling me not to worry of what other people might think if I miss a shot but sometimes I simply freeze. Once the first 2-3 shots are gone I normally relax and enjoy the round.

Is everyone really there looking at me ready to have a laugh!? :( ;)
 
Nope.

It's either scarey for everyone, or it used to be scarey for everyone.

Just make sure you're physically warmed up, make the smoothest swing you can, and get away from the bloody tee as quick as you can ;)
 
funny you should post this...

I always seem to cock up my 1st tee shot, even more so when people are watching/waiting. Usually I have a range session the day before and hit the ball sweet, tee up and top/thin/slice you name it. I have realised that I am forgetting my routine and getting over excited and trying to smash the bugger.

Swing slower and remember your pre shot routine (if you have one)

Hopefully tomorrow at Beau I will be able to follow my own advice lol
 
Yep I hate it, all the anticipation & hopes build the pressure, the you get a gallery and pow you can't move. Then as said above instead of nice steady swing and all your practice go out the window and you try to bash the White thing into next week!! I didn't hit a decent tee shot at my first for about 6 weeks after joining!! They are now a minority but still did it at the weekend! Also agree after the first hole I tend to loosen up and just enjoy the round.
 
funny you should post this...

I always seem to cock up my 1st tee shot, even more so when people are watching/waiting. Usually I have a range session the day before and hit the ball sweet, tee up and top/thin/slice you name it. I have realised that I am forgetting my routine and getting over excited and trying to smash the bugger.

Swing slower and remember your pre shot routine (if you have one)

Hopefully tomorrow at Beau I will be able to follow my own advice lol
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dont worry Gibbo not everyone will be on the 1st tee watching when you start , I will be though and you'll be able to feel my eyes (and those of 20 others) boring into you. Have a good round mate :D
 
I used to be really really bad.

However, ever since I teed off at Carnoustie and smoothly hit away a 5 wood to A1 position, with about 50 people watching from the bar, nothing ever seems that bad.
 
It doesn't tend to bother me too much these days. Used to get very nervous though.

I look at it in the way that I know I can boom a drive down the middle, so I'm going to walk up and do just that, like the pros do.

Works most of the time.

the 3rd hole is worse on my course as the tee box and hole is right in view of the clubhouse.

There was about 3 people outside yesterday watching people on the 3rd tee.

I completely top-hooked my 1st tee shot about 45 degrees to my left into the longest grass you've ever seen. Then re-loaded and topped my next shot about 80 yards. :(

Couldn't even find my 1st ball, which is annoying as it was a shiney new TM PentaTP. :mad:

But don't worry about your shot on the 1st. Everyone's been there and even the most seasoned of golfers have nightmare shots.
 
I had this in our club medal Saturday.

1st tee, 2 groups waiting, more milling around outside the clube house.

I just focused on my pre-shot routine and tried to forget about the crowd.

I hit a lovely drive to the middle-right of the fairway. Nerves disappeared after that.
 
Similiar example to hindmarshsl, I used to be far too worked up on the 1st. I then played at another course (silloth possibly?) with every window filled with somebody looking out.

Creamed a drive down the middle (for once) then strutted off!

Everybody has been a starter/new member at some point and everybody will have hit at least one/ten bad'uns off the first at some point.
 
Used to be terrified of being watched on the tee but had a few therapy sessions with one of my 'stickler for the rules' mates. You know the type, "If they think they're going to shove in at the 9th they've got another think coming".
The result being that we've ended up regularly driving in front of very niggly foursomes who've been firmly asked to 'step aside'. Surprisingly, they don't seem to want you to hit a belter? - you can just feel the love!
 
Everyone laughs quietly and feels a little bit smug when they see someone else spaz one off the first tee. It's even funnier when it's a miserable git that does it.

Everyone hits a stinker sometimes (and hates it) and everyone enjoys seeing someone else do it (unless it's each member of a fourball you are about to follow on a busy day).

My best advice would be to learn to laugh at yourself and don't pour fuel on the comedy fire by being a misery guts.

You'll only stop doing it when you get a more reliable technique and even then you'll still do it sometimes.

Warming up helps too.
 
Everyone laughs quietly and feels a little bit smug when they see someone else spaz one off the first tee. It's even funnier when it's a miserable git that does it.

Everyone hits a stinker sometimes (and hates it) and everyone enjoys seeing someone else do it (unless it's each member of a fourball you are about to follow on a busy day).

My best advice would be to learn to laugh at yourself and don't pour fuel on the comedy fire by being a misery guts.

You'll only stop doing it when you get a more reliable technique and even then you'll still do it sometimes.

Warming up helps too.
Click to expand...

Here here! My thoughts exactly. You can still laugh off the bad uns while taking it seriously. There's nowt you can do to change it once it's happened.

I remember my uncle, when he used to play, on the first moving the ball only with the divot he'd taken 4 inches behind the ball with a gallery watching. He is an old sour puss and i was actually crying with laughter while the old sod just picked it up and refused to play the 1st!

On the 15th at my ex course there tends to be a pile up as the 14th is a small par 3. We were waiting on the 14th green for the group ahead teeing off when we heard BANG BANG! I nearly had a brown baby boy thinking someone had shot a gun! Anyway we looked up and the guy on the 15th tee had hit the worst and most powerful duck hook in history and put it through the window and far wall of the greenkeepers shed. The most amazing thing was he had to hit it at about 80 degrees to manage it.

Still to this day when i seee the 2 prov-1 shaped holes i have a good chuckle.

It's a silly game sometimes
 
We have a nice 229 par 3 opener into the wind with OOB right and a pond short left and trees coming into play about 30 yards short and right. Not an easy shot at the best of times but as the first hit of the day it is pretty tough. Everybody has mucked it up at some point and the best thing to do is either reload, or find it and hit it again and move on.

I agree with the comments about making sure you are loosened up if possible (hit a few on the range or in the net) and stick to your pre-shot routine. Trust the swing, aim and fire
 
It's not easy and I still get nerves sometimes after 3-4 years of playing.

I try to make sure that I don't laugh at someone else's misfortune (unless they do, in which case joining in usually lifts the mood) in the hope they will return the favour - and the vast majority do.

Not only were were all in the same position once - we all will likely be there again. Let's face it Poulter slipped and fell awkwardly down a slope while winning the Volvo match play tournament over the weekend. Did anyone laugh out loud?
 
Had this problem on Saturday. A company outing were waiting at the 1st tee(16 players), my playing partner(also a newbie)froze under the pressure and hit his tee shot with the mother of all 'power fades' OOB. I line up slightly bricking it and nail a drive straight down the middle(260 yards) of the fairway to the dog leg right to people complementing me with 'lovely drive' and 'nice shot'. I then proceeded to duff my next shot OOB and ended with a double bogey on a par 5
 
I am with you Iku, I hate it, once, after a series of terrible tee shots I caught up to a bottleneck around half way round. Realising, that I would be watched, and that due to the delay I would be watched by 8 people, my partner hit a beauty and stood behind me to watch my shot. I placed a tee, put down an imaginary ball, hit the imaginary ball to within 20 feet of my partners, and we both walked down the centre of the fairway. The thought of cocking up in front of two four balls would have been unbearable.
 
I placed a tee, put down an imaginary ball, hit the imaginary ball to within 20 feet of my partners, and we both walked down the centre of the fairway.
Click to expand...

Mark, I think you've cracked it :)

Will slay the ball manufacturers profits though ;)
 
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