Anyone else play alot worse in tourneys?

[ericdmb]

You know, I find that my tourney play is about as equally up and down as my casual or league play is.
I just hope that a run of good play comes along when I have a tournement scheduled to play in!

I have had events where I play awful both rounds, events where I play great both rounds and then a split day. I know my skill set is there no matter when I am playing, I just hope that it shows up when I am paying to play in an event.

Now, the Philly Open is on Saturday - so I hope my run of good play is in full effect for that!

[masterbeato]

I'm playing the bassett creek open next weekend. A nice bomber course for certain. I love that course, so I'm going to bring my game in beat these advanced players once and for all. I'm not going to go for every shot, or over think any shot. I'm going to go there with the best of my ability and go for the shots I know I can do.

I'm no pro, and I don't know what the mindset is, unfortunatly mentality cannot be taught. So I will have to get my game together.

[sweeper]

I will share my tourney story very quick so that others may profit and grow from my pain and toolishness.

I have been playing disc golf for about a year. I played in my first B tourneys about a month after I started playing. I wasn't planning on doing well (int division) but thought it would be a good experience going forward. IT RAINED LIKE NOAH was on the course both days. Add me sucking to constant rain, you get 2 days of very bad scores.

Next I played in an A tourney. I got stroked for throwing at the wrong basket on the first day (cause I'm dum). That dropped me outta the top 10 at the time. The next day I had the worst round I had thrown in 6 months, from the shortest tees at my home course! I may have had a hangover as well (cause I'm dum.)

So I think my rating is like 630, but I can't check till the PDGA realized I've payed them for the next 2 years.

*EDIT* It is 800. I am 107 outta 122 in Am males in Virginia! WOOHOO!!!

Next week is the two B's I played in last year. So we come full circle.

See, we learned:

1. I'm dum.
and 2. It can always get worse.

Enjoy it. Relax and you will play better.

[IowaDiscGolf]

Barry Schultz suggested that you only play your best golf 10% of the time, so the trick is to bring your average game up to the level that wins tournaments.

For me, I performed really badly in my first three or four tournaments, but I was able to identify the reason. While I had practiced well, I had practiced only certain techniques, like putting in rapid fire or driving in a field, etc. I hadn't practiced competing.

Now, when I practice I strictly practice "golf shots." No open field heaves, instead I look for gaps or tough and realistic shots. Then, I try to place the same imaginary pressure on myself to execute those practice shots, like a "dress rehearsal." This way, I will feel less of a difference when competing. It's only been one unsanctioned tournament since adopting this approach but it went well and I'm optimistic about the future.

Practice and routines.

[presidio hills]

i've been playing 4.5 years... started playing tourneys about a year into my game. for the most part i've played some of the worst golf in my life in tournament. i start out kinda bad... then i just get worse and worse till i'm on the bottom card and have no mental energy left, fighting some other guy in the same state of mind for DFL. hehe. all the while watching many people out there not as good as me who haven't been playing as long strolling through the course and getting pars because they're in the right frame of mind and having fun and taking it easy.

this year i'm not going to play a tourney until i feel like my game is consistent and locked into place. i need to have the confidence that i can stay focused and play good golf ALL weekend long in a tourney environment. i don't need to win... i just need to not play like crap for rounds and rounds.

lately my short game and putting have been very good. my driving game is all over the place... so once i get it down to where i feel good about it i'll start competing again. till then it's bag tag rounds and weekly league play for me.

i did have one tourney, about 2 years into my disc `golfing where i started off shooting a 989 rated round which got me tied for 2nd place and on the leader card (in AM2). the rest of the tourney i shot consistently 900 rated golf and ended up in the cash. it felt awsome! i was very relaxed and consistent the whole weekend, i can't tell you why, though... i wasn't killing it like the first round, but i held it together.

if i can learn to relax throwing off the tee... then i'll be a real fucking golfer.

[IowaDiscGolf]

i've been playing 4.5 years... started playing tourneys about a year into my game. for the most part i've played some of the worst golf in my life in tournament. i start out kinda bad... then i just get worse and worse till i'm on the bottom card and have no mental energy left, fighting some other guy in the same state of mind for DFL. hehe. all the while watching many people out there not as good as me who haven't been playing as long strolling through the course and getting pars because they're in the right frame of mind and having fun and taking it easy.

this year i'm not going to play a tourney until i feel like my game is consistent and locked into place. i need to have the confidence that i can stay focused and play good golf ALL weekend long in a tourney environment. i don't need to win... i just need to not play like crap for rounds and rounds.

lately my short game and putting have been very good. my driving game is all over the place... so once i get it down to where i feel good about it i'll start competing again. till then it's bag tag rounds and weekly league play for me.

i did have one tourney, about 2 years into my disc `golfing where i started off shooting a 989 rated round which got me tied for 2nd place and on the leader card (in AM2). the rest of the tourney i shot consistently 900 rated golf and ended up in the cash. it felt awsome! i was very relaxed and consistent the whole weekend, i can't tell you why, though... i wasn't killing it like the first round, but i held it together.

if i can learn to relax throwing off the tee... then i'll be a real fucking golfer.

I think that's the key, is staying relaxed, relaxed and CONFIDENT. And always stay vigilant to keep that mental energy and focus up.

[rehder]

Barry Schultz suggested that you only play your best golf 10% of the time, so the trick is to bring your average game up to the level that wins tournaments.

this is really good advice. And pretty much exactly how Ive gone from playing 900rated golf to averiging 950 rated golf. My last two tourneys havent made it into the last update-

My drives have not improved, but my upshots, putting and trickshot selection has improved a bunch.

[IowaDiscGolf]

Barry Schultz suggested that you only play your best golf 10% of the time, so the trick is to bring your average game up to the level that wins tournaments.

this is really good advice. And pretty much exactly how Ive gone from playing 900rated golf to averiging 950 rated golf. My last two tourneys havent made it into the last update-

My drives have not improved, but my upshots, putting and trickshot selection has improved a bunch.

I'm in the same boat, minus 50 points (too few sanctioned tourneys lately.) It can be very easy to blow off casual rounds and score high...you're not necessarily as "fun" to play a round with when you're deadly serious about it, but when you treat it as strictly business and just focus on your scoring, you can impress yourself. For me, getting my average casual rounds to have a more competitive feel routinely is key.

[schla104]

I have this same problem. In league and tournament play I choke up and it is horrible. I go from shooting a normal +2 to shooting a +19. I've noticed a few things that I really need to work on.

I think too much about every shot. If I play in a casual round, I just look at the hole pick a line and throw. In competitive play I am looking over all kinds of lines and concentrating way to hard. I end up not hitting the line I want.

I go from being able to can 30' putts ~70% to being able to can 15' putts 70% or the time. This is just the mental part of everyone watching you and those being people I don't know. Putting is one part of my game I rely on. I know that if my second shot is inside 20' I'm golden. When playing competitively I just lose all confidence. I can't seem to get it back. Yesterday in a casual round I hit about three 30' and two 40' putts letting me finish the round -8. It was a shorter course that I've played a lot and usually finish down 2 or 3.

I have that horrible recover mentality. I always think after I bogey I need to birdie. This causes me to run at things I shouldn't and add bogeys instead of birdies.

I think what it boils down to for me is having more fun and treating it all as casual. I'm out there to meet people and enjoy the game. I've also been putting like a mad man the last couple days to build some confidence so I don't even think about anything inside of 20'.

[IowaDiscGolf]

I have this same problem. In league and tournament play I choke up and it is horrible. I go from shooting a normal +2 to shooting a +19. I've noticed a few things that I really need to work on.

I think too much about every shot. If I play in a casual round, I just look at the hole pick a line and throw. In competitive play I am looking over all kinds of lines and concentrating way to hard. I end up not hitting the line I want.

I go from being able to can 30' putts ~70% to being able to can 15' putts 70% or the time. This is just the mental part of everyone watching you and those being people I don't know. Putting is one part of my game I rely on. I know that if my second shot is inside 20' I'm golden. When playing competitively I just lose all confidence. I can't seem to get it back. Yesterday in a casual round I hit about three 30' and two 40' putts letting me finish the round -8. It was a shorter course that I've played a lot and usually finish down 2 or 3.

I have that horrible recover mentality. I always think after I bogey I need to birdie. This causes me to run at things I shouldn't and add bogeys instead of birdies.

I think what it boils down to for me is having more fun and treating it all as casual. I'm out there to meet people and enjoy the game. I've also been putting like a mad man the last couple days to build some confidence so I don't even think about anything inside of 20'.

That was a problem for me in my last tournament, but only my last one. The two before that (spaced far apart) I actually was able to bring my level of play up in the tournament, canning some gigantic putts and parking some good holes. In my last tournament, I had "the shakes" with the putter and chunked some normally-routine putts, including three (3) inside ten feet. Yes, three (3) inside ten feet. I would pick up a bogie or double and then lapse into the mentality where I'm pressing myself to catch up on the next hole, which is not playing golf but rather trying to "save face." Been there, done that. Hopefully it was just a good lesson that I'll learn from. As you indicated, purely mental so it can be overcome.