Question:
I’m starting to get out more. My ball striking is getting much better, although I have unresolved issues with my driver. I don’t think it’s speaking to me. Right now the problem that I have is teeing it up with others. I can relax and play all day when I play alone, but put me with others and I choke like I have a rag full of gasoline down my throat. When I play alone, I just cruise along, hit a couple of extra balls, chips and such, and enjoy the golf experience. For some reason I can’t get comfortable when I golf with others. I’m sure that this is something that will pass also, it’s just a little disturbing. Chris S.
Response:
Right now the problem that I have is teeing it up with others. I can relax
work on it at the range…make believe (thats right) you are playing in a group and get used to it…when you have it mastered at range it will be easier on course 
Response:
golf experience. For some reason I can’t get comfortable when I golf with others. I’m sure that this is something that will pass also, it’s just a little disturbing.
Happens to me, too, Chris. As the round goes on, I do relax some, but the first four or five holes are tough for me to settle down among strangers. I believe this problem is in our heads, however, which means we should be able to fix it, given time. I’ll let you know if I come up with something. -b
Response:
How long have you been playing? I used to have the same experience for the first couple of years I played. Now after 4 years (mostly walk-on rounds with strangers), it seldom bothers me. In fact, now I much prefer playing with other folks, and the (infrequent) occasions where I have to go ’round by myself are a little boring (but better practice since you can hit a few extra shots). I suspect it’s mostly just getting comfortable with your game, losing that fear of hitting the shank/grounder/fat/whiff. Also, you discover that most players out there aren’t *that* good. There’s the occasional plus hcp, but even then they usually don’t care as long as you can advance the ball and maintain a decent pace. Rob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m starting to get out more. My ball striking is getting much better, although I have unresolved issues with my driver. I don’t think it’s speaking to me. Right now the problem that I have is teeing it up with others. I can relax and play all day when I play alone, but put me with others and I choke like I have a rag full of gasoline down my throat. When I play alone, I just cruise along, hit a couple of extra balls, chips and such, and enjoy the golf experience. For some reason I can’t get comfortable when I golf with others. I’m sure that this is something that will pass also, it’s just a little disturbing. Chris S.
Response:
Stick a flask of bourbon in the bag.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m starting to get out more. My ball striking is getting much better, although I have unresolved issues with my driver. I don’t think it’s speaking to me. Right now the problem that I have is teeing it up with others. I can relax and play all day when I play alone, but put me with others and I choke like I have a rag full of gasoline down my throat. When I play alone, I just cruise along, hit a couple of extra balls, chips and such, and enjoy the golf experience. For some reason I can’t get comfortable when I golf with others. I’m sure that this is something that will pass also, it’s just a little disturbing. Chris S.
Response:
Right now the problem that I have is teeing it up with others. I can relax and play all day when I play alone, but put me with others and I choke like I have a rag full of gasoline down my throat.
So what’s different? Are you more hurried? Do you find it harder to pay attention to golf? Are you wanting to make your swing look good? Are you worried about your score? One reason pros give for having a constant routine is that it helps remove themselves from distractions. Every time they approach a ball in practice, or in pressure situations, they try do do things identically. This means if they break routine, they back away and try again. If they aren’t ready yet, they stand back. Once all their decisions have been made, they go through this routine. The routine starts before they address the ball (often when they take aim). I’m at my worse when I believe I’m holding others up.
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I’ve been playing for 15 years. I’ve had a real bad year golf-wise. I moved to the South and gave up all my regular golf partners (they won’t commute, I’ve asked!) I know that this problem is completely mental. At this point, I don’t have the ability to tune out the distractions, although I’m working on that now. Chris.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – How long have you been playing? I used to have the same experience for the first couple of years I played. Now after 4 years (mostly walk-on rounds with strangers), it seldom bothers me. In fact, now I much prefer playing with other folks, and the (infrequent) occasions where I have to go ’round by myself are a little boring (but better practice since you can hit a few extra shots). I suspect it’s mostly just getting comfortable with your game, losing that fear of hitting the shank/grounder/fat/whiff. Also, you discover that most players out there aren’t *that* good. There’s the occasional plus hcp, but even then they usually don’t care as long as you can advance the ball and maintain a decent pace. Rob I’m starting to get out more. My ball striking is getting much better, although I have unresolved issues with my driver. I don’t think it’s speaking to me. Right now the problem that I have is teeing it up with others. I can relax and play all day when I play alone, but put me with others and I choke like I have a rag full of gasoline down my throat. When I play alone, I just cruise along, hit a couple of extra balls, chips and such, and enjoy the golf experience. For some reason I can’t get comfortable when I golf with others. I’m sure that this is something that will pass also, it’s just a little disturbing. Chris S.
Response:
I’m starting to get out more. My ball striking is getting much better, although I have unresolved issues with my driver. I don’t think it’s speaking to me. Right now the problem that I have is teeing it up with others. I can relax and play all day when I play alone, but put me with others and I choke like I have a rag full of gasoline down my throat. When I play alone, I just cruise along, hit a couple of extra balls, chips and such, and enjoy the golf experience. For some reason I can’t get comfortable when I golf with others. I’m sure that this is something that will pass also, it’s just a little disturbing. Chris S.
Chris, I recommend you pick up a copy of a book called Zen Golf by Joseph Parent. I reviewed this book a couple weeks ago on RSG, I’ve attached that review below. Terrific book, and I think it might well speak to what might be anxiety issues. BTW, the course I refer to in the review was Galena. They redid it, and by all accounts, much better now. Mike Review: Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game. By Joseph Parent. (c) 2002. Doubleday. Retails for about $25. I’ll start with the rating: 10 out of 10. Maybe an 11. :) In my opinion, it’s the only book I’ve ever read that approaches what Bob Rotella did with his "Golf is not a game of Perfect" book, and in some ways, exceeds what Rotella did. The two books–GINAGOP and Zen–are complementary, and in my view, one could benefit by reading both of them. What Parent does in Zen Golf is explain some techniques you might use to do the things Rotella says to do on the course (stay in the present, get rid of bad thoughts, forget the last shot, etc). Everybody knows what they’re supposed to do, but how to you learn it? Parent gives some ways to do that. The book starts out a little slow, and includes some exercises to sharpen the skills needed (the breathing exercise was, and is, difficult for me). As the book went on, I began to find things I could use on the course–and they work for me. I now know why the breathing exercise is important–it’s fully and completely applicable to the job at hand on the course. I now have a way of letting bad thoughts disappear; I have a way of relaxing on the tee and focusing only on the next shot. I can’t really explain it to you here. I’m not even fully sure why that’s the case. I’ve taken what he teaches in the book and I’ve found how to apply it in my circumstances. I think you’d need to do the same thing–read it, understand it, and then find the way it works for you. Rotella spends a lot of time extolling the virtues of the short game. And he’s absolutely right, of course. His approach, in part, is that a good short game takes the pressure off other elements of one’s game. And while he’s clear about staying in the present, etc. etc., for me, I always felt I was left with the task of figuring out how to to that. I’ve been successful doing that, but I knew I had a lot of room to grow. "Zen" fills that hole for me. Parent shows how to learn to let thoughts drift through one’s mind. In other words, suppose you start thinking about the score when you should be thinking about the next shot. He’s shown me how to get past that, to let those thoughts simply pass through and then disappear from view. Has it helped? You bet. I’ve had this book for a couple of months, and vowed I would not write about it on RSG until I’d finished it and could express an opinion, good or bad, about the techniques. I’ve been able to more easily draw myself away from destructive thinking, to get back to the task at hand. I played last weekend w/ 7 others from my club, 6 of whom have better hdcps than I do. We played a strange course (to me, anyway–hadn’t played it for years and it had been redone). It was cold. It was somewhat windy. But none of that got to me. I was able to bring myself back to every shot and be focused on it. I lost my focus perhaps 3 times. I didn’t always execute, but never did it upset me (well, once, and only briefly . Result? I shot a 79, the only one to break 80. Won some money, and a bit of respect. I have Zen Golf–and Rotella’s books–to thank for a lot of it. Zen Golf is absolutely a winner, in my opinion. I’ve read it once; I’m re-reading it now. It’s not a hard read, but in my view it’s also not a fast read–not if you really want to get the message. I already know that this is a book I’ll read and re-read, just like I’ve read and reread Rotella probably 8 or 9 times. There’s too much to absorb from just one time through. Mike — Mike Dalecki GCA Accredited Clubmaker http://clubdoctor.com RSG-Wisconsin 2003 Information: http://dalecki.net/rsgwis2003 RSG Roll Call: http://rec-sport-golf.com/members/?rollcall=daleckim I do not patronize spammers. Help keep RSG clean!
Response:
BTW, the course I refer to in the review was Galena. They redid it, and by all accounts, much better now.
Remember when we played that, and I 6 putted that one green? Please tell me that they have done some revision to that sucker! Thanks for the book idea. I’ll give it a whirl. Chris.
Response:
Interesting question. I think that I’m going a different direction here, but I find that I am more comfortable and focused when I silence the competitive, aka insecure demon in my soul. If I start out affirming the other player(s); then, I often find myself with a better attitude about myself. If I start with the "I’m going to beat this guy" thought; then, I find myself tensing, getting irritable, etc. For this reason, I have tended to avoid any real competitive golf. Although, the other side is that I do get a bit of a charge out of beating my son or the best player in my regular four some on the rare occassion that I am at my best and he is a bit off. So, the emotions get a little complicated sometimes. Generally, my struggle is to get a positive focus which gets screwed up by that stupid competitive nonsense.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m starting to get out more. My ball striking is getting much better, although I have unresolved issues with my driver. I don’t think it’s speaking to me. Right now the problem that I have is teeing it up with others. I can relax and play all day when I play alone, but put me with others and I choke like I have a rag full of gasoline down my throat. When I play alone, I just cruise along, hit a couple of extra balls, chips and such, and enjoy the golf experience. For some reason I can’t get comfortable when I golf with others. I’m sure that this is something that will pass also, it’s just a little disturbing. Chris S.
Response:
Interesting question. I think that I’m going a different direction here, but I find that I am more comfortable and focused when I silence the competitive, aka insecure demon in my soul. If I start out affirming the other player(s); then, I often find myself with a better attitude about myself. If I start with the "I’m going to beat this guy" thought; then, I find myself tensing, getting irritable, etc. For this reason, I have tended to avoid any real competitive golf. Although, the other side is that I do get a bit of a charge out of beating my son or the best player in my regular four some on the rare occassion that I am at my best and he is a bit off. So, the emotions get a little complicated sometimes. Generally, my struggle is to get a positive focus which gets screwed up by that stupid competitive nonsense.
I couldn’t agree more. Competitiveness is for losers.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Interesting question. I think that I’m going a different direction here, but I find that I am more comfortable and focused when I silence the competitive, aka insecure demon in my soul. If I start out affirming the other player(s); then, I often find myself with a better attitude about myself. If I start with the "I’m going to beat this guy" thought; then, I find myself tensing, getting irritable, etc. For this reason, I have tended to avoid any real competitive golf. Although, the other side is that I do get a bit of a charge out of beating my son or the best player in my regular four some on the rare occassion that I am at my best and he is a bit off. So, the emotions get a little complicated sometimes. Generally, my struggle is to get a positive focus which gets screwed up by that stupid competitive nonsense. I couldn’t agree more. Competitiveness is for losers.
ROFLMHO! ___, o | / . "Someone likes every shot" bk
Response:
BTW, the course I refer to in the review was Galena. They redid it, and by all accounts, much better now. Remember when we played that, and I 6 putted that one green? Please tell me that they have done some revision to that sucker!
I think they’ve done some things to it. I should probably review the circumstances for those reading along. Chris’ 6-putt started as about a 12 foot putt to a hole where the ball wouldn’t stay if it missed. He’d putt up to the hole, and it would come right back to him. As I recall, one time it went around the hole and came back. As I recall, I conceded the 6th putt, as by that time it was just funny. Or sad. Greenskeeper from hell, that’s what it was. I think I two-putted that one, but i had a better angle and the ball stayed near when I missed. Mike Mike Dalecki GCA Accredited Clubmaker http://clubdoctor.com RSG-Wisconsin 2003 Information: http://dalecki.net/rsgwis2003 RSG Roll Call: http://rec-sport-golf.com/members/?rollcall=daleckim I do not patronize spammers. Help keep RSG clean!