My Tournament Preparation
My Tournament Preparation is a short Golf blog post detailing how I prepare for competitive Golf.
Many of you, reading this, will already have tournament experience and I am sure you have your own to-do list.
I have over 30 years of tournament experience and during my playing years, I have developed my own routine.
Practice Round
It starts at least a week before my tee time. I will make sure that I play a practice round on the course. Whether I have played there before or not. It is always good to refresh my memory of the layout and of any changes that have been made.
On arrival for my practice round, I will always take a scorecard and a yardage chart from the pro-shop.
During my practice round, I will make notes that I write down on the yardage chart. These notes include the wind direction on each hole, club selection, distances that might be missing on each page and also the slopes on the greens.
On most of the longer holes, I will play two balls of each tee to test out landing zones and run-outs.
I will also play a few chip shots from around the greens. These will be aimed at different positions on the greens. Most of the chip shots that I play will be taken from bail-out zones around the green which I will also markdown on the yardage chart.
Back home I will go through all of my notes and make a plan for the tournament. This will be my go-to plan for the tournament. I will do my best to stick to this plan on the day of the competition.
My equipment
My Tournament Preparation continues with my equipment, which will be cleaned so that it looks brand new.
This will include all of my clubs including my putter, bag and my Golf shoes. I will also check that my spikes are not too worn.
I will make sure that I have enough tees, balls and gloves in my bag.
You will always find that I carry at least 3 gloves with me which I change every 6 holes. My waterproofs will also be washed and folded and placed in the bag that will also include my umbrella but only if the weather looks poor. If the weather does look poor then I will make sure that I also have a beanie, cap and my winter mittens with me.
In the small pocket of my bag, I keep a couple of Sharpie pens in different colours, my ball markers & my pitch mark repairers.
A couple of pencils and a pen will also be in the bag as well as two small spare towels and some tissues.
Two bottles of water, a bottle of orange Lucozade, 2 muesli bars and a bag of dried fruit or nuts will also be tucked away.
Tournament Day
On the morning of the tournament, I will double-check my bag to make sure that everything is there.
At least 3 hours before my tee time I will have breakfast. This usually consists of a small bowl of cereal. A small bowl of yoghurt with fruit. I like to drink a weak coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice if it’s available.
After breakfast, I will register at reception and then head down to the range. I start with some stretching and light exercise to warm my body up. My practice routine will start with some chipping followed by some pitching. Then comes the full swing with some irons, usually starting with my 9 iron, 7 iron, 5 iron and returning to the 9 iron. Then it is the turn of the fairway woods, then the Driver and back to a 9 iron. The last few balls will be some short pitches before heading off to the putting green.
The putting begins with six short putts that should be unmissable. Then placing a tee in the ground I like to putt three or four balls towards it from around six feet. Then I will change the direction of the putt towards the tee. I will try a few more from around 12 feet and then I will return to the shorter putts. I always like to finish my putting drills by seeing the putts being holed.
First Tee
I will then head for the first tee. On the first tee, I will make sure that I have 3 white tees, a ball marker and my pitch-mark repairer in my right pocket. A pencil, scorecard and yardage chart in my back right-hand pocket.
I will then shake the hand of my partners and wish them a good game. That will then signal the end of My Tournament Preparation and it is then time for my Game face.
What do you think of My Tournament Preparation?
Have I missed something out?
Please leave a comment below or fill out a Contact Form.
To read more of my Golf blog posts, click here.
My tournament achievements can be found here.