ASK THE PRO
BOOK
A
TEE
TIME
> C L I C K H E R E T O S U B M I T Y O U R 'A S K T H E P R O ' Q U E S T I O N S
T
ournament season is right
around the corner, so there's
no better time to get some in-
valuable advice from Indian Wells
Golf Resort PGA Head Golf Profes-
sional Tom Burley. In this edition's in-
stallment of "Ask the Pro," Burley
answers two key questions about
preparing for tournaments so you'll
play your best.
I have a tournament coming up.
How do I get my game in shape and
mentally prepare for it?
Tournaments can be scary for ama-
teur golfers. The thought of having
to compete and post your score so it's
visible to other players can be a bit
nerve-wracking for some.
The first thing to remember with
tournaments is you need to have a
healthy mental outlook on the current
state of your game.
Hopefully we are entering tourna-
ments with at least a little sense of
how we have been hitting it lately.
Leading up to a tournament
you are going to want to
build confidence in any trou-
ble area of your game. The
last thing you want going into
a tournament is not being confi-
dent. For instance, if you are on the
first tee thinking, "Just avoid the sand
today," chances are you will find
some sand out there and not be very
confident coming out of it.
Preparing with confidence is cru-
cial. It is the easiest way to rid any
negative mental outlook you might
have.
How should I prepare for a tourna-
ment on the day of the event?
Sticking to your everyday pre-
round routine is key to remaining
confident and calm the day of your
tournament. It is only natural to wake
up a little nervous; however, sticking
to what you do and how you do it
tends to calm the golfer over time. If
your routine changes the day of the
tournament, you probably won't
be at ease going through your
warm-ups because you are
on unfamiliar ground. Try
to always be on familiar or
confident ground prior to the
start of a serious game.
Lastly, don't forget to breathe. Most
golfers don't talk much about breath-
ing, but staying calm and breathing
normally will take any tension out of
the arms and hands. Typically, when
we are not breathing well we "stran-
gle the club" and our swing is out of
sync. Calm inside demeanor typically
translates to calm outside demeanor.
If you are an avid watcher of the PGA
and LPGA tours take notice of the
golfers' demeanors. Professional
golfers always seem to have a confi-
dent attitude, and they are always in
control of their swing.
PREPARE TO PERFORM
Getting ready mentally is key to tournament success
Some players become
nervous by the thought of
seeing their score posted.
CLICK
HERE FOR
INFORMATION
ON LESSONS
