hints for nervious first tee tomorrow!!

[Richie13]

playing in my first competetive round tomorrow with the club im joining, and tbh im bricking it lol

first hole is a long par4 409yards very strait and my nightmare hole i cant seem to get it right always score atleast a 7 last week there was around forty guys play it wont be so bad if im in the last group!

so any tips hints you guys use/d when you first started and everyone is watching?!

 

[chris661]

playing in my first competetive round tomorrow with the club im joining, and tbh im bricking it lol

first hole is a long par4 409yards very strait and my nightmare hole i cant seem to get it right always score atleast a 7 last week there was around forty guys play it wont be so bad if im in the last group!

so any tips hints you guys use/d when you first started and everyone is watching?!

Nope I actually think I was terrified.

 

[jammydodger]

It's golf and its only one shot. The pressure is only in your head and its only you that can ignore it. Just dont make a big deal of it in the first place , already by having started this thread you're ramping up the importance of this one shot. It isn't important except that it counts as one shot on your scorecard in one round of golf in one small club in amateur golf. Not very important really is it ?

Just tee it up and hit it and get on with your round.

 

[jimjoachim]

Yeah I get pretty nervous too especially if your playing with people you don't know.

My advice would be to hit a club your confident with. I would sometimes hit hybrid or 5 iron off the first just to get away safely.

Although maybe better advice would be to choose the club you normally hit and "trust your swing"...

Good luck..

 

[Imurg]

Plenty get 1st tee nerves. You wont be the only one bricking it.
Your choice is either to play your normal dhot, trust what you can do and get om with it -
Or choose a safe shot. Pick a club you can safely get off the tee. A decent first shot can set the tone for the whole round so get it right and the nerves will settle.

 

[Alex1975]

Make a plan for the hole and stick to it, even if the plan is three 7 irons and 2 putts make it and stick to it.

Also I know its easy for me to tell you but there is no need to be nervous as whoever you are playing with will not care at all how you play. Even if you take 8 every hole as long as you are polite, organized and in control of yourself you will be fine.

 

[Fyldewhite]

Just do whatever you normally do. Get on the tee and hit the damned thing. If you mess it up just try to hit a good second shot and put it down to experience. The one thing I can guarantee is that the next time you are on the tee in a comp it won't seem as daunting.

 

[john0]

Just remember one thing as your stood over the ball ready to hit it... everyone WILL be watching and if you top it, miss it, shank it etc then they will all laugh out loud and always remember you for that one shot.... No pressure though

Seriously though, dont worry about it, everyone is capable of hitting a crap shot on the first tee (also the other 17) and regularly do so.

 

[One Planer]

playing in my first competetive round tomorrow with the club im joining, and tbh im bricking it lol

first hole is a long par4 409yards very strait and my nightmare hole i cant seem to get it right always score atleast a 7 last week there was around forty guys play it wont be so bad if im in the last group!

so any tips hints you guys use/d when you first started and everyone is watching?!

Breath easy, swing smoothly and most importantly ENJOY yourself

 

[Smiffy]

Just do whatever you normally do.

I think he's looking to do better than make a 7

 

[G1BB0]

take a hybrid or fairway wood if needs be and most of all just relax and swing easy, even a 3/4 swing just to get that 1st shot down the fairway

good luck

 

[USER1999]

From my experience of watching the first tee, about one in three will make an absolute horlicks of it. You won't be alone if you mess it up, so why worry? No one will think any the less of you.

 

[The19thHole]

I actually like the 1st tee nerves, anybody else here the same?

 

[USER1999]

I actually like the 1st tee nerves, anybody else here the same?

Yes, because at this point I still have a card going.

 

[Smiffy]

I actually like the 1st tee nerves, anybody else here the same?

Yes, because at this point I still have a card going.

 

[jimjoachim]

one thing i do hate is the honour going to the lower handicap players on the 1st. so you watch 3 cracking drives go off and pile extra pressure on yourself!!

for one hole can they not give the honour to us lesser beings??

 

[Alex1975]

I actually like the 1st tee nerves, anybody else here the same?

Yes, because at this point I still have a card going.

hehe...

 

[Curls]

Richie,

Lots of good advice above, and a couple of rotters

If its your nightmare hole, and low on the SI, think about what the hole plays to your h/c. Do you have a shot on it? Then why not play it like a par 5. Step up with a 4 or 5 iron if you know you'll hit the fairway with it. So what if you have 250 left, thats another 5 iron and a pitch in, who knows you could even put that pitch dead and walk away with par.

Can't remember who it was but someone said "always choose the shot that lowers your heart-rate". If you make a 4, amazing, a 5, great, if its a 6, big deal! Last comp I played in the 5 h/c in the group ahead of us took 6 on the first, an easy par 4. He finished 6 over. Its one hole, one shot, and you will be nervous, but there'll be another 80 plus shots to come with only a couple of people watching so don't blow it out of proportion.

As for what to do on the tee, there are excellent things you can do to calm yourself. The first is the most obvious but one a lot forget - breathe. Take deep breaths, shallow restricted breathing is a natural reaction to any fearful situation, but full deep breaths release a lot of tension.

The second is to play in slow motion. Walk slowly to the tee, tee up, step back, slow long swings, visualise your shot. Then when it comes to teeing off, swing back slowly. Tension will make you swing fast, a tendency to "want to get it over with". As our club pro said to me, "you dont hit anything swinging backwards". Make a nice smooth swing, put the ball on the fairway, even if its 160 down the fairway, and walk away with your head held high. This isn't the most important shot ever, if you mess it up the world (and your round) will still go on, but there's no reason with a mid-iron you cant stand up and split the fairway, setting the tone for your round.

When its out of the way, have fun, it is a game after all!

Good luck, slow down, and breathe.

 

[CMAC]

A lot of pro's swear by tense up your shoulders then relax them, do it twice to get some tension out them, also 2 slow and deep breaths, it absolutely works in slowing the heart down a tad and getting some tension out the big shoulder and back muscles.
Then on the tee think "7 iron swing" no matter what club you have in your hand, you will be then be walking after a sweet shot on the fairway.

EVERYONE gets nerves at the start, if you don't your not human or your dead

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Last time I played my first shot caught the heel of my driver, hit the 'please replace divots' sign, trickled over the path and onto the fairway. It must have gone less than ten yards.

We all do it