First tee jitters

You should take a good look at the hole you are going to play. 1st holes are usually a gentle (ish) introduction to the course so not overly long. Work out what you need for your second. A driver isn't always needed. What is needed is a shot from the short stuff. If you can hit two 5 irons instead of a driver wedge there is nothing wrong with that. A solid 4/5 will set you up for a good round. The pressure to stripe a driver 300 is massive.
 
drawboy said:
You should take a good look at the hole you are going to play. 1st holes are usually a gentle (ish) introduction to the course so not overly long. Work out what you need for your second. A driver isn't always needed. What is needed is a shot from the short stuff. If you can hit two 5 irons instead of a driver wedge there is nothing wrong with that. A solid 4/5 will set you up for a good round. The pressure to stripe a driver 300 is massive.
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Yup this, couple of swishes, stick to your pre shot routine and rip it!

If I'm swing badly that week I sometimes look at the safe miss, ie our first is trouble all the way down the left, so if things are not clicking I set up for the safe miss which is up too 230 yards and right hand side. Knowing your safe miss can ease pressure ;)
 
drawboy said:
You should take a good look at the hole you are going to play. 1st holes are usually a gentle (ish) introduction to the course so not overly long. Work out what you need for your second. A driver isn't always needed. What is needed is a shot from the short stuff. If you can hit two 5 irons instead of a driver wedge there is nothing wrong with that. A solid 4/5 will set you up for a good round. The pressure to stripe a driver 300 is massive.
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That would be all well and good but prior to Sunday gone, I'd hit my 3 metal off the tee, knowing I could hit it well, but only to fail spectacularly, or not as the case maybe, but yes I do take you point in that hitting a club you know you can hit even if it is not the driver, just so the first shot stays on the fairway, would help relax the situation.
 
I enjoy the pressure of having people watching me for my tee shot, yeah I feel a bit nervous but I relish the chance to "show off"
 
Khamelion said:
That would be all well and good but prior to Sunday gone, I'd hit my 3 metal off the tee, knowing I could hit it well, but only to fail spectacularly, or not as the case maybe, but yes I do take you point in that hitting a club you know you can hit even if it is not the driver, just so the first shot stays on the fairway, would help relax the situation.
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Do you think you might be putting too much emphathis to that first tee shot? If you pull a tee shot later in the round, which you did, is it burned into your brain so painfully?

The tee shot on the first hole is just another shot, nothing more nothing less. If you hit a good one, great, if not, so what. You have a further 17 holes in which you will recover that shot... seem to remember you putting for an eagle later in the round.
 
Hobbit said:
Do you think you might be putting too much emphathis to that first tee shot? If you pull a tee shot later in the round, which you did, is it burned into your brain so painfully?

The tee shot on the first hole is just another shot, nothing more nothing less. If you hit a good one, great, if not, so what. You have a further 17 holes in which you will recover that shot... seem to remember you putting for an eagle later in the round.
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You're right, I did pull other shots, apart from my first tee shot and yes I did putt for eagle on one hole, which is all well and good, but I lack the consistency on the course, my head seems to wander. I play a bad shot then on the next rather than just relax and play golf my head goes into over drive trying to remember what I was told in a lesson to try and correct what I previously did wrong and rather than clear my head and swing, I'm still thinking do this do that while I'm swinging and invariably the result is a poor shot.

While technically my swing may not be perfect and I may not hit the ball a long way, I know that in me I have the ability to put a sequence of shots together in order to play a round and shoot a low score, but be it complacency, lack of concentration, distraction through something happening on the course, my own thought processes or my playing partners comments, at the moment I'm not able to put that sequence together.
 
I have found a simple solution and that is that I do not think that I have played more than one forum meet without a hangover due to a few friendly imbibements the night before (Hillside was by far the worst). Having to focus on making sure your breakfast stays where it should takes your mind off all other things.

The worst tee shot that I have hit off the first tee at a forum meet was the only one when I was feeling 100% and that was last year's H4H event.

At my home club I think that I have seen people of all levels hit their first shot to just about every possible position both good and bad of the first tee so what I do really does not worry me much.
 
GB72 said:
I
At my home club I think that I have seen people of all levels hit their first shot to just about every possible position both good and bad of the first tee so what I do really does not worry me much.
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I couldn't give a hoot about the mickey taking etc, having to play with a skirt on or having to play with the auld fella out (could do it on a cold day as no one would notice) due to not making the ladies tees is all part of the banter. It's the standing over the shot and thinking must do this, that and other, having my head full of lessons, is what I struggle with clearing out.

I used to struggle as a kid getting to sleep and the docs put it down to an over active brain and told me to think of a blackboard with nothing on it, might try that on the first tee, trouble is I might fall asleep.
 
Khamelion said:
While technically my swing may not be perfect

Do NOT worry Dave , nobodys swing is

and I may not hit the ball a long way,

The figures YOU have quoted on here recently, would suggest YOU were
You quote 7 iron at 171yds and 5 iron at 200yds
Theyre Pretty long and Above Average
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If I had real bad nerves and could 'Flush' a 5 iron 200yds , 8 times out of 10
Then its a NO - BRAINER
Id hit 5 or 6 iron off the 1st every time
200yds or just short of, would be good enough for any opening hole anywhere....
Less can go wrong hitting a 5/6 iron than the 'big dog'........Surely......??

The 1st hole last sunday was about 360-380yds ( approx , guessing )
So an iron would have left you another iron to green
Probs a 7 iron 2nd shot.....??
Which would also take the water out of play aswell
It was SI 5 aswell , so You had a shot , so you should take that into account too

My 1st ever membership was at Garesfield golf club
1st hole, short par4 , about 290yds if memory serves
I used to hit a 6 iron off the tee every week in the comps
Nice easy swing , in play , gets round off to a good start

Im sure You will get there , you put a lot of work in for sure
 
DAVE
Id just like to add
I think you may well have heaped too much PRESSURE on YOURSELF this year
By setting yourself a VERY VERY DIFFICULT challenge
Of dropping from a 17 H/Cap down to SINGLE FIGURES ..... 9 H/cap or BELOW ...... by H4H day this year.......!!!
You may not think you have , but subconsciously , you may well have done just this....??

I know its got plenty people talking
Its probably got plenty people now watching too
And YOU could be sensing / Feeling this................??
 
The thing is that if you do hit a duff and get it ripped out of you then believe me in the course of the 80-90 shots the average handicap golfer will take you will have ample time to give it back and when you get the chance take it and relish it. Men can be bigger bitches than women ever can especially in a group.
No one is perfect at this great game anyone who thinks they are will soon get brought back down to earth. So just remember on the first tee you are there to enjoy your time off work not win the Masters, do the best you can in that moment and enjoy the ride.
 
if you duff your tee shot off the 1st it means your saving someone else from getting ripped. Someone is bound to duff one so may aswell be you. Then again you could muller one and everyone panics cos they might be the 1st to balls it up!

food for thought
 
drawboy said:
The thing is that if you do hit a duff and get it ripped out of you then believe me in the course of the 80-90 shots the average handicap golfer will take you will have ample time to give it back and when you get the chance take it and relish it. Men can be bigger bitches than women ever can especially in a group.
No one is perfect at this great game anyone who thinks they are will soon get brought back down to earth. So just remember on the first tee you are there to enjoy your time off work not win the Masters, do the best you can in that moment and enjoy the ride.
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You are dead right
Every golfer in our group on Sunday will have played ATLEAST 1 duff shot, me....a lot more than 1
But that's golf
Were all handicappers
So it's always gonna happen
I play for enjoyment and to have a laugh/banter
The day I can't have this, or laugh at myself, then I will just rap it all in
It's just a game
If I had to play the game with no banter, and a bunch of straight laced types as partners, I'd lose interest too

And the most pressure on us, is normally applied by ourself
 
G1BB0 said:
if you duff your tee shot off the 1st it means your saving someone else from getting ripped. Someone is bound to duff one so may aswell be you. Then again you could muller one and everyone panics cos they might be the 1st to balls it up!

food for thought
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I've had bit of both in my last 2 rounds
2 rounds ago
I had to tee off 1st at silloth in a group of about 20
Was bricking it, ha
But thankfully went well
Then at Rockcliffe on Sunday, I was 2nd away, having to follow Lump who had ripped one a canny way down the 1st
My thoughts were, just keep it smooth, don't care how far it goes , and worst that can happen is, I top it and give everybody a good old laugh
The latter wouldn't have worried me anyway, I'm thick skinned, and can laugh at myself
 
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