Quote:
Originally Posted by alangbaker
One of the things that made my recent personal best even sweeter was that it happened in round that took 5 hours to play.
We had waits on almost every tee and at one point, we were the third group to arrive at a par 5 that was particularly reachable that day (downwind).
Until not too long ago, that was a situation *guaranteed* to make me hit a lot of bad shots. I'd get up to my ball, assess the shot, pick a club...
...and then stand there taking too many practice swings and thinking about it over and over; paralysis.
Now, it's different. When play is slow, I get to the tee (or if in the fairway, find my ball), and I turn off golf. I don't start thinking about my shot until I have only a minute or so until my turn to play -- unless I can just assess something simple like whether to go straight ahead or pitch it out sideways.
But I *never* actually as much as picture the shot. I wait until I'm in that one minute zone which I'd take if this were a completely open course and *then* I pull on my glove...
...and that tells me it's time to play again.
Until then, I'll chat with the group or enjoy the day some other way. If I'm waiting a long time at the tee, I'll pull out a wedge and practice chipping. It keeps your chipping sharp, but it also helps you to keep your rhythm. Somehow, hitting the next drive is easier after hitting a dozen nice easy chips.  |
That's exactly how I look at it and that's why I have "issues" with the "Hurry up and hit" crowd. I've said many times that I actually prefer it when I have a short wait on the next tee. It gives me a chance to relax a bit and I do the same thing as you suggest; chat, chip, maybe take care of a little golf bag housekeeping.
One thing I would add to what you've posted is this: If you're waiting, whether on the tee or in the fairway, DO NOT take a club out of the bag until you're ready to begin your preshot. Waiting somewhere and holding the club you're going to hit while you're waiting is almost a guarantee of messing up the next shot. While you're holding that club, you're subconsciously thinking about it, the shot, the lie, the stakes, the score and when it finally comes time to hit your shot, you have so many things going through your mind (most of them negative) that the odds on hitting the shot you'd like to hit are approaching negative numbers.
Leave the club in the bag until it's time to use it. Then, when you have a clear picture of what you are going to do, take out the necessary club, go through your normal preshot and then hit the ball.
-JP