Rehearse
For
Competition
Golf
One
of the
most
common
stories
in golf
has to
be the
player
who plays
absolutely
brilliantly
in practice,
only
to bomb
out badly
on competition
day.
This
can happen
due to
many factors,
but the
main one
is simply the
stress
of competition. And
one of
the main
reasons
for stress
is simply
that no-one
plays competition
as regularly
as they
practice.
If a golfer
played
five times
in a week,
the odds
are that
only one of
those times
would be
actual
competition,
and the
other 4
would be
practice
rounds.
This is
absolutely
fine, except
that in
a way,
it also
means that
they might
be getting
more practice
at practicing than
they are
getting
at competition!
The
way around
this
is to practice
your
'competition
golf'
during
practice as
well
- both
physically and mentally.
For
instance,
many golfers
relax so
much in
practice
during
the week
that they
often practice
shots that
they would
never,
ever try in
a competition
situation.
Whilst
it's good
to do this
at certain
times for
the purpose
of experimentation
and further
development,
it also
makes sense
to practice
the shots
that you
will truly
need (and
honestly
use) under
the true
heat of
competition
play.
Practice
the shots
that
you would
normally
choose
to hit if
you were
playing
competition, and
you will
find
that
these
shots
will
become
stronger,
more
consistent
and more
reliable
when
you actually
play
competition.
Of course,
feel
free
to practice
your
more
daring
shots
as well,
but take
care
not to
ignore
the shots
you would realistically
use in
competition.
Many
players
practice
shots that
they simply
are never
willing
to try in
the heat
of competition,
and so
much of
their practice
time is
actually
wasted
- as they
are not
practicing
the shots
they really
need on
the big
day.
It's
also
important
to mentally rehearse
for competition
as well,
and the
practice
course
is also
a great
place
to do
this
during
the week.
Here's
how you
do this.
Throughout
various
times in
your practice
rounds,
mentally
imagine
that you
are actually
playing
a competition
shot instead. Regularly
remind
yourself
that the
practice
shot you
are about
to hit
is actually
a vital
competition
shot, as
this allows
you, even
just for
a moment,
to build
a small
level of performance
anxiety before
the shot
- and yes,
this is good!
Doing
this allows
you to
become
more acclimatized to
competition
pressure,
and you
will progressively
become
more adept
at handling
stress,
even in
real competition. I
know what
you're
thinking
- "There's
no way
I can pretend
it's competition
when it's
not!" -
but yes,
you actually can. I
call this bending
reality a
bit. You
have the
world's
most powerful
imagination
that can
conjur
up absolutely
any scenario
you choose
to command
it.
So
from now
on, always
keep your
comp in
mind while
you are
practicing
- it will
make you
a much
more effective
competition
player
on the
weekends.
