“Why Am I Struggling To Perform In Tournaments?”

I think a lot of people are afraid to ask this question. It is an acknowledgement that you are struggling with something emotional. For most people, this is hard to do. If you were brave enough and you have asked a buddy or coach, you were likely told that you just didn’t have it that day, or that your swing was off, and you will do better next time. Or you might make an excuse to yourself that you should’ve prepared differently.

The reality is this, none of that really matters. Tournaments provide another level of pressure that most of us are not used to. Pressure is the key word here. Pressure… is applied to you, by YOU. When you register for a tournament or enter into a money game, you start hoping that you play well. You may practice extra the week before, thinking that will all of a sudden make you exponentially better than you are normally. Then the day of the round, you get to the range extra early, hit more balls than normal to “get in a groove.” You do all of these things because you are afraid of failing. Then, you go to that first tee box in the hopes you will feel better about your game and all of sudden you can’t feel your arms. Your hand starts to shake. You get more nervous. You banana slice that first shot and now the entire round is a wash. You go shoot a bad score and can’t understand why.

Most players fall into this pattern. I can’t even blame you. We have all done this, and if you have competed a lot, you have done it a lot. Here’s how you get over it. Instead of thinking about having or hoping to play well, think about what the absolute worst possible outcome could be. Once you have done that, get comfortable with that as being a potential outcome. When the mind no longer fears the worst, you can reach out and grab greatness.