Ok, playing in our local club championship this weekend. Will be the first individual tournament I've ever played in. Rounds are Saturday and Sunday. I've requested a morning tee so I can watch A&M BTHO Bama.

I actually have a 4man scramble event Thursday & Friday.

I'm a head case. How do you play in an event and not just completely shat the bed and shoot a 95? Any advice needed.


If this were Chasing Scratch I'm the "but are there alignment concerns" guy

Sounds silly, but seriously… remember to breathe.

Try to temper expectations being that it's your first individual tournament.

Don't try too many hero shots… middle of the green, chip out/lay-up when it makes sense. Tough pitch over a bunker to a tight pin? Take the 20 footer.

Have fun! It's a game… you'll learn about how your body reacts under pressure. Tournament golf is the best.

You are playing the course, scores take care of themselves

Play your game. Take the doubles out of play by taking your medicine when in trouble. If you have a bad first day, keep your head up. I had a bad day 1 and ended up in 3rd in my flight in senior club championship and took home a $50 pro shop credit

Not sure where that emoji came from. I feel like the mobile app just assigns me random emojis sometimes lol



The first 5 holes at this course are so tough to get through untouched.

#1 isn't too bad but does have tight OB to the right which rarely affects me.

#2 is a short par 3 (140-150 yards) but it's a tiny green with OB long and right and water left. That water has some gravitational force for my balls.

#3 is a 90 degree dogleg with tight OB up the right. A small landing area for your tee shot where you need to be 200-220 yards in about a 30 yard wide gap.

#4 is similar. Small landing area. The FW is at a 45 degree to box so the longer the club the further left you can aim towards the hole but it's always a small landing area because of the angle. If you miss the FW there's OB right, water left, and trees short and long.

#5 is straight but OB right, water left and long with a narrow FW.

#6 is the first time it opens up and you can use a driver. Holes 6-9 aren't bad at all. Can play those under par on a good day for me. But trying to get through 1-5 only 4 over is a goal I often don't attain.

I'm pretty nervous those first 5 punch me in the mouth, I'm 7 over after those 5 and never bounce back and card a 94.

(I'm a 11.0 handicap right now for reference)

Make sure and activate your glutes.
- Tiger

Chew gum
Eat every 3 holes
Develop Amnesia after each shot

Good Luck Dude!

Oh... Spit the gum out before you eat. I always have a container of gum in my bag.

Yeah... Developing serious jaw muscles like Tom Platz.

If you stripe a drive down the fairway, tell yourself you are hitting 3 from that spot.

My first ever individual tournament (Polk County Amateur) I made 8 on the par 3 2nd hole. Done. Played it out and shot like 95-89 for close to DFL in my flight (12 HC - 6th flight).

Year 2 I shot 84-85 for 3rd. 2nd year 3.

One - tourney golf is hard.

Two - that HC level will be dominated by kids who are very rapidly moving from a 20 to a 2. I think the flight winner all three years was like 14 or 15. Don't be discouraged by this.

Have fun!

Tournaments are so much fun. Just focus on your game and don't worry about how others are doing. Play smart and don't try to make hero shots. Be a competitor, but remember that it's supposed to be fun. No need to stress out about it.

statistics will tell you that you will shoot better than your handicap only 20% of the time. In a tournament, I would say 10% chance, maybe less.

Since you proactively posted your fear of performance in your event, I would say your chances of shooting below your handicap are pretty much zero.

tournament golf is different and difficult. Serious tournament golf - and I don't consider club champs serious - are even more difficult. Set your expectations low and try not to be so outcome oriented - focus on the process of one shot at a time and how not to turn a 4 into a 6 or a 5 in to 7 or 8

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Since you proactively posted your fear of performance in your event, I would say your chances of shooting below your handicap are pretty much zero.

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I think you're giving me too much credit. I'll be excited with anything that starts with an 8 both days.

We had our club championship a few weeks ago. It was also my first one. I shot 89 and 90 for the 2 rounds as a 7.5 handicap. For the tournament, the pins were in more difficult places for sure and they had the greens rolling quicker. I took a 9 on one par 4 by going OB twice. I fight the hook a lot and OB was on the left on that stupid hole. All in all I had a lot of fun and the guys in my group played worse than me lol. Just have fun and enjoy being out there.

Another tip. If you play in a group where a putt inside the leather is good, like our weekday group, then practice putting them all the way in.
In the last tournament I played, I lost count of how many guys missed those short putts.

On a weekly basis me and my buddy play it down and play it out. So I feel good about that. But I average an 87 at my home course.

At the other courses local I average about an 84 but those courses are rated harder.

Kinda offsets each other knowing I'm playing guys with a similar handicap that take a scorecard bump and gimmes…but they average better than me at our home course.

I'm slightly offended. I shot a sorry 95 yesterday but certainly didn't shat the bed. F golf!

Double, double, bogey, triple to start.
60 yard chip on 7 and 4 chips and two putts later a triple. Pulled it together the next 10 holes before a 4 putt quad on 18 for a 92. Missed a 10" putt for triple. Pin was on a severe slope. My partner had a 4 putt quad for 87.

I didn't put an emoji. Mobile app assigns random emojis for me

The 1st day is always tough. The past two years in the senior club championship I have shot 94-83 in 2022 and 93-81 in 2023. They roll the greens super fast and place the pins in some really tough spots. Congratulations for going out and trying.

Nothing like tournament golf where you know if you pump two OB you can't just pick up. Or that 2 footer for par is not a gimmie.

My usual group hardly plays ball down stroke play golf because it's hard and you can lose it on one hole. So match play is our usual game. I've been lucky enough to play in a couple of USGA
Mid am qualifiers. I did well but didn't qualify. I was just below a 1 handicap and I told myself just to break 80 and I would consider it a success. This took the pressure off and I was able to make a few birdies and do better than half the field.

Haven't felt the pressure of being on the cusp of winning. I'm sure that's a completely different level that I won't experience.

Rusty GCS said:

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Double, double, bogey, triple to start.
60 yard chip on 7 and 4 chips and two putts later a triple. Pulled it together the next 10 holes before a 4 putt quad on 18 for a 92. Missed a 10" putt for triple. Pin was on a severe slope. My partner had a 4 putt quad for 87.

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Sounds like a success by 3 strokes. Gotta look at the brightside

Rusty GCS said:

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Double, double, bogey, triple to start.
60 yard chip on 7 and 4 chips and two putts later a triple. Pulled it together the next 10 holes before a 4 putt quad on 18 for a 92. Missed a 10" putt for triple. Pin was on a severe slope. My partner had a 4 putt quad for 87.

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Does this round qualify for a post on F Golf thread?

It probably should have.

The course played so tough over the weekend that for the first time I saw GHIN apply that PCC adjustment with a +3 each day.