A late afternoon tee time for competitive golfers provides an abundant amount of time to obsess or excessively analyze their upcoming round. Nervous anticipation can lead to thoughts of previous bad rounds, bad scores and undesired outcomes. However, developing a well-organized plan or a ‘pre-round’ routine will lead to an efficient use of time and improved results.
Here are some ideas to facilitate better rounds on tournament day.
Before you get to the course
- Sleep/Hydration/Nourishment – Your brain needs fuel!
- Body Warm-up – Get the blood pumping throughout your body.
- Devise a Game Plan – I call this a round plan. Use your knowledge from previous rounds. Know what club to hit on the Par 3s.
a) Know which Par 5’s to attack in two shots
b) When do I hit a 3 wood off the tee?
c) Imagery – Write or record a self-affirmation and use it before you play.
At The Golf Course
- Provide yourself plenty of time – Speeding through the parking lot with speed up your tempo.
- Check-in – Obtain scorecards cards, understand local rules and greet your group.
- Warm Up – Develop a warm-up routine to get your body ready to swing a club from head to toe. Do not rely on hitting balls to warm-up.
- Range – Develop tempo with your swing. Do not use it to warm-up your body. Keep both tasks mutually exclusive.
- Chip and Putt – Develop that “feel” you will need on the golf course.
During the Round
- Maintain Tempo – Trust your pre and post shot routine.
- Stay hydrated – Your brain will dehydrate and affect your play.
- Emotions – There will be many ups and downs throughout your round. Maintain
- composure and trust the game plan you developed earlier.
These are suggestions developed from best practices of PGA tour players and experts in the field. Each player needs to develop a routine that works best for them. Fine tune a plan that will work the best for you!