Tournament Prep

[softconsult]

What I love about the Seniors league that I play in twice a week is that it is a tournament with competition, albeit mostly down played. The prize money is in merchandise script, and never amounts to much. This year I'm at around $275.00 so far.

It is flighted, so everyone has a chance to win. The two horses that are pretty much always at or below par are catchable on the right day.

On Monday, I shot 79 with 3 birds, but 5 three putts and a 4 putt. Key was that I never was in trouble off the tee, and hit a bunch of greens. I won the 1st Flight by 4 shots, and missed tying one of the horses by just two shots. He had a bad putting day and shot 77.

I can't wait to try again on Thursday. Focus is going to be on Putting distance control. Question is, if that aspect is corrected, what other aspect isn't going to show up.

 

[holeout]

I consider myself pretty seasoned in tournament play, so hopefully some of my advice can help. There's honestly almost too much to put down in writing, but I'll try and hit the main points.

1. Have fun. These guys that say they can't have fun are either a) seasoned enough to know how serious/light-hearted they need to be to play their best, or b) taking it all far too seriously. Why do you think tournament scores are SO much higher for most guys? The pins may be moderately more difficult, but it's still the same course! Almost all of them get too concerned with their score/swing/stroke and forget to just play. After you've played in enough tournaments, you may alter your approach if "having fun" makes you too careless, but for now you will have a huge leg up on the field if you can legitimately have fun out there.

2. Practice your putting. Nothing helps you more than a good putter. Practice speed on putts 20+ feet, and practice lots of putts from 6-7 feet and in. 50% of your practice time should be with the putter. Promise.

3. Be conservative. This doesn't mean hit 3 or 5 wood off every tee, but it does mean picking conservative targets and hitting conservative shots (i.e. playing to your natural shot-shape). Your round will be much more stress-free if you're not sweating cutting a dogleg or hitting right at a tucked pin.

If I think of more, I'll let you know. I won my club championship before turning pro and have played a lot of tournaments as a professional. If I can pass along any advice I'd be happy to help.