Nerves and Pressure - How do you cope?

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njrose51

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Whether its a crafty nip of whisky before the round starts, calming breathing sessions, pressure anchoring ala Mr Jason Day, visualisation or a "nerves don't bother me!" attitude, I'm just interested to see how the Forum members cope.

For me, I have Seve in my mind - his attitude, his smile, his audacity, his courage. Calms me down and helps me focus or move on from a bad shot/bad lie.


seve.JPG
 
Dash of whisky does help in winter.
I used to just try and ignore them and focus on ignoring them and focus on my swing. Never has worked.
Now I visualise my shot and accept I am nervous. Once you accept the nerves use them and just think about the shot you have visualised.
 
Pressure is for tyres, said by a fourteen year old 5 H/cap when on course for his best round ever on Saturday during a comp. Shot a gross 69.
 
njrose51 said:
Whether its a crafty nip of whisky before the round starts, calming breathing sessions, pressure anchoring ala Mr Jason Day, visualisation or a "nerves don't bother me!" attitude, I'm just interested to see how the Forum members cope.

For me, I have Seve in my mind - his attitude, his smile, his audacity, his courage. Calms me down and helps me focus or move on from a bad shot/bad lie.


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i remember i am lucky to have my health to play golf, so try and make the most of it, and would rather be playing golf than work. obvs
 
Part of the issue about pressure relates to how good you are. I played other sports at a decent level and loved the pressure then as I knew I could stand up to it. I'm not a good golfer so the slightest bit of pressure and I know my swing will struggle. The confidence and skill level are not there. Now I know how people felt in lower teams when I was feeling cocky. The youngster with a h/c of 5 speaks like that because he is good and trusts his skill level.

Best for me is to slow down think of a couple of key points, slow take back, straight left arm. Nothing more.
 
Imurg said:
Is that in or out on the back swing..?
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It's mostly one or two deep breaths before I even start swinging :D I then start my backswing with the next breath in ... but that's more to kick myself in the butt to start swinging at all and not remain frozen over the ball like a dead rabbit. After that I could not say if I breathe at all, but since I have never fainted from suffocation, I would assume that I continue breathing normally during or after the swing.
 
Used to get nerves on important 1st tee shot but found it just spoils the point of playing the game, you just have to tell yourself this is for fun (even comps & money games)


Now when I take over the teebox a brief PSR of relaxing swings, shot visualization, mental focus process, risk analysis, consider flight/landing & roll out conditions, go through posture/grip/alignment steps, a few practice swings beside the ball (no more than 5 though) reset posture grip etc over the ball, a few waggles to compose, one more backswing stopping the club head at ball to check alignment a last time (maybe 2 of these) then pause, control breathing, listen for unforeseen distractions and if all good start the backswing after 10-15 seconds. Anyway it’s all over in under 3 minutes and you can head off down the fairway but time well spent I think everyone will agree





If I need to hit a provisional I just drop it and hit off the deck the moment it stops moving
:whistle:
 
when i first started playing golf i was feeling it on the first tee ,and when i started playing mens football aged 15 i was definitely feeling it when some huge centre back came in with a crunching tackle .and when i started fishing open competitions against real quality anglers i was feeling it .
but ,the more i played the less i felt it ,unless it was for a knockout final in golf ,then i felt it a little ,and a couple of cup finals i felt it a bit ,especially when i was keeping and had a penalty against me ,[i saved it].
but the more i played the less i felt and im sure that is it for most people ,you become ,i wouldnt say immune to it ,but you feel comfortable with it and dont let it get in your way ,accept it and learn to play with it is the way to go.
 
I remember it is just a round of golf, and that there things that actually matter and will impact my life that are worth getting nervous or feeling pressure over. Playing golf is certainly not one of them.
 
I play better under pressure. Slows me down both in my swing and thinking about the shot ahead. Got a nasty habit of laziness/complacency when I'm more relax. Perhaps why I do better in a matchplay or 1 on 1 situation.
 
I think that everybody tends to get 1st tee nerves, or nervous when playing the last few holes when in contention for a prize. Generally speaking, nobody dies and the worst that can happen is you look like a complete prat. Other players will be more sympathetic than you think, because they have all been through it!

Most people's swings get too fast when under pressure, so my tip for dealing with pressure is to make a few very slow motion practice swings, which gives you more chance of making a normal speed swing when you play your shot.
 
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pressure is most definitely for tyres!!
I used to let them get the better of me, and was quite a bad tempered player starting out, read a book called Zen golf which really helped my focus and breathing etc.
Now, I just enjoy it, as a family we have had a few tough years recently so golf is a pleasure, i dont need to win to pay the bills so its just good fun with friends, of course I always try to play well, and keep going to the last, but there are more important things in life than golf.
I have a 74 and a 75 so far this year, so its going ok at present!
 
Davey247 said:
I play better under pressure. Slows me down both in my swing and thinking about the shot ahead. Got a nasty habit of laziness/complacency when I'm more relax. Perhaps why I do better in a matchplay or 1 on 1 situation.
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To be honest, I don't think it makes that much of a difference in my game at all. I hit good and bad shots under pressure and I hit good and bad shots when I am out all alone on the course (and I do the breathing thing when I am on my own as well ... it's less about pressure, it's more to make me focus and put all technical thoughts away as well) . It's more that the pressure shots stay in my memory longer, the good ones as well as the bad ones. The only trap I can get into (and then I really tend to hit way more bad shots than good ones) is when I do get nervous but don't really realize it consciously. Then I start to rush things.
 
We are playing golf for a hobby and it's not our living so for me don't ever believe there is any pressure.

First tee nerves a few times and if doing well but no pressure to do well
 
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