First Tournament EVER

[Festus]

Have never played a tournament in my life.
Playing to a 9 handicap right now.

Not getting any younger so I want to try to play some organized tournaments through our county golf association.

We just had the county amateur and I walked with one of the better threesomes just to get a flavor of their game and interactions with each other. It was more laid back than I expected with a lot of yardage discussions among the group (but of course, no club talk). Each had a laser range finder which I don't have. Nobody did anything spectacular and scores ranged from +1 to +4 which was in the top 10. They just didn't have many poor shots and no train wrecks.

The tournament I'd like to play is an 18 hole mid amateur open to 30 years old or more. (-3) won last year so obviously I'd be playing for net division honors.

This tournament is in about a month.

So to prepare, I'm playing the ball down everywhere, playing from the tips whenever possible, trying to play "official" rules whenever possible, and a lot of short game and bunker practice. Now realize my regular group is pretty casual with improving lies and even the occasional foot wedge so playing by the true rules is different for me.

So what advice do you experienced tournament guys have for me for the next month and especially before and during the round on tournament day.

Thanks!

 

[Richie3Jack]

Putt everything out from now until the tournament.

Try to think more about the process than the result. For me, I try to set goals for myself like 'no 3-putts' and 'nothing over a bogey' and 'hit at least 12 GIR.' So, I don't think about score...I think about those things and if I get them down the score will take care of itself.

Remember that you can't win the tournament in one hole, but you can lose the tournament because of one hole. In other words, if you hit a bad shot or two...blowing a gasket isn't helping.






3JACK

 

[dcg1952]

I play very little competitive golf. The first thing that always strikes me is how long those 2 foot putts are when no one is "giving" them to you! I just try to mentally remind myself that golf is fun and whatever score I make isn't going to affect the world. When I first started playing in my club championship events I realized I was standing over shots FOREVER. Now I remind myself of Bob Rotella's mantra--look at the target, look at the ball, and swing. I also tend to tighten up and not finish my swing under pressure----try to guide the ball. When I start doing this I focus on my finish as my only swing thought. Have a great time.