Tournament prep

Question
QUESTION: I have a child who is starting to play in competitive golf tournaments on a national level.  She has played in local tourneys for a couple of years.

What should she be doing the day before the tournament ?  Should she be playing golf?  Going to a driving range ?  Just practice putting ?

What about the day of the tournament?  How much of a bucket should she hit for a "warm-up"?

Is there anything different to do if it is a multi-day tournament ?

Thanks for the help.

Regards,
John

ANSWER: Hi John:

She will develop her routine as she continues to play.  She will know what is right and what is too much.  But let me answer your questions to start with.  

Day before a tournament:  Be a kid.  Do whatever kids do.  She should focus on her golf game ii she is allowed a practice round.  Usually best to play the practice round the day before the event to get a good feel for the course conditions.  I would suggest if she wants to practice after her round, to just chip and putt.  Chipping and putting is where she will improve and/or save shots.  If she cannot play the day before, I would have her practice for about 2 hours, working on wedges, drivers and chipping and putting.  No need to "try to find it" the day before an event.  

Day of Tournament:  Eat breakfast...something healthy to get her engine started (not sugar crap).  Arrive one hour before her tee time.  Hit balls and warm up starting with wedges and proceeding through bag hitting her driver last.  About 40 balls maximum, no more than 25 minutes.  Remember, she is just loosening her body and feeling what she has that day.  She is not working on her swing.  It's about time to go play golf, not work on your swing.  Next, go to the putting green.  Get a feel for the speed of the greens.  Hit some lag putts concentrating on nothing but feel and pace.  Hit some breaking putts to get an idea again of speed.  Then finish up by hitting some 2-4 footers.  If there is time to hit a couple of chip shots, do so just to get a feel again.  

Make sure she has gone to the bathroom, gotten a drink and arrives at her tee assignment 5 minutes ahead of her scheduled time.  In tournaments, she better be aware of her arrival time to the tee.  

Greet your fellow players, exchange scorecards, identify your balls (make sure you mark you ball always), and then make some practice swings to stay loose.  It's then time to go play golf!

That becomes her routine.  Nothing changes for a multi day tournament.  Her practice after a round will be based on her physical conditioning and desire.  She will begin to develop it on her own, but I just took you through what 90% of Tour players do.  Good luck to her.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member
www.victorygolfworks.com



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Eddie,

Your help has been a big help.

My daughter has done very well this year in her first year of high school golf.

She finished high enough at Sectionals to advance to Districts.  Next week, if she does well enough there it is off to the State tournament.

She set some goals for herself before the year started.

I have noticed that as Sectionals approached and especially the day of, she was getting very nervous.  Understandable, but yet you don抰 like to see a child go through it, but it is good learning.

Do you have any recommendations for day before or day of tournament as far as stress or nerves reducing ideas ?


Thanks for the help.

Regards,
John


ANSWER: Hi John:

GREAT!  Glad to hear she is getting better.  As far as your question, no it's normal.  The more she is in that position, the easier it becomes.  She needs to stick to her routine, just not stress out over it.  And don't forget to be a kid.  She'll play every bit as good as she would have without worrying about it.  But that is great, because it shows she cares and wants to play so well.  But, you know what, it is what it is.  It's a round of golf and a small point along the path.  I talk to my students alot about putting, especially my high schoolers.  Here is the bottom line:  you are either going to make it or you're going to miss it, so stop worrying about it, go through your routine and hit the putt.  It just seems to take the pressure off when you reduce it to that.  She needs to practice and continue to work on her short game, prepare like she has and make sure she is totally committed to what she is doing.  The best advice I ever had was from Hall of Fame member Johnny Bulla before I played in my first US Open.  I was afraid I was going to be so nervous that I might not get my ball teed up, let alone hit it.  He said "Eddie, if you are concentrating on what it is you are supposed to be doing, there is no time to get nervous.  Now go play good and have fun and enjoy the experience."  She should do the same.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Eddie,

I have read some articles about having a "strategy" when you play in a golf tournament.  What do they mean ?

I know strategies in games like football, but what does it mean in golf?  

A strategy could obviously be shoot low, but is that really a "strategy " ?

Thanks,
John

Answer
Hi John:

Shooting low is a goal.  A strategy is a game plan, just like in football about how you plan on playing or attacking a course, in particular, certain holes.  This is where your practice rounds pay off.  For example, say there is a hole on the course that is a short par 4, water down the left hand side, bunkers on the right about where a 3 wood or driver would stop.  From up there, you only have a sand wedge left...a good chance at a birdie.  But, even though the hole is short and presents an opportunity to attack and try to make a birdie, you have to be careful because if you hit it in the water, now your adding penalty shots.  And if you hit it those bunkers, that is no cinch par from there.  So it might be wise to lay up off the tee with say a hybrid club and leave yourself a 7 or 8 iron into the green from the middle of the fairway, instead of risking hitting a perfect shot to get yourself way up there.  That is a strategy.  As a competitor, a strategy is designed for each hole.  In your practice round, you design a gameplan.  What do you feel most comfortable doing on a particular shot?  Which route is safeist, or could reward you with a perfect shot?  These are all the decisions you must make while your out there.  Have a gameplan, seeing the course before hand (practice round) and your abilities and risk tolerance level all play a part.  Here is my rule of thumb I use when trying to decide if I can hit a particular shot or not.  If I can pull off that shot confidently 80% of the time with no hesitation, I'll go for it.  If I can't, I'll lay back and hit a few more clubs into the green from the middle of the fairway.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member
www.golflessonhelp.com