FEAR
Factor
How to overcome stage fright on the first tee by DAVE POND
WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR MANY GOLFERS TO FIND SUCCESS ON THE FIRST TEE BOX ? After all — unless you ’ re playing in a major tournament — the crowd probably consists of the course starter and the three other members of your foursome .
Chris Dillow , PGA head golf professional at Newport News ’ Kiln Creek Golf Club and Resort , says everything boils down to perspective and process .
“ Great athletes focus on the successes and force the failures out ,” he said . “ Unfortunately , many golfers become more focused on external factors driven mainly by fear of failure and the dreaded ‘ What ifs ?’ The fear of failure paints a very negative picture and causes us to flight more often than fight — and if you think to yourself , ‘ What if ?’, you ’ re surely doomed .”
THE POWER OF POSITIVITY More often than not , Dillow sees that happen on the first tee .
“ When I play with amateur golfers , if they hit a ball into the water and then say , ‘ I was trying not to hit it in the water ,’ or ‘ I was afraid I would top it off the tee ,’ my immediate response is tell yourself where you want the ball to go instead of where you don ’ t want to hit it .”
Ask yourself , “ What do I want to do on this shot ?” Make sure your answer is a positive one ( meaning that “ not ” or “ won ’ t ” aren ’ t in the answer — i . e ., I won ’ t hit it in the water .)
The more detailed your answer , the better . Let ’ s say you have a putt that ’ s slightly downhill and breaks about four inches to the left . Instead of saying , “ I ’ m going to tap and pray it goes in ,” take a more analytical approach , like this :
Q : What do I want to do on this shot ? A : I ’ m going to aim my putter a cup off the right edge of the hole , and I ’ m going to stroke the putt as if it were about a foot shorter in length to compensate for the downslope .
There is no negativity and you ’ ve taken your mind through the entire putt before approaching the ball .
“ There are a lot of specifics in there that paint a picture in our mind , which makes our motor skills perform the task ,” he said . “ This same process can be followed on every shot , especially the first tee , where we are so desperate to get off to a good start .”
TRUST THE PROCESS A good start isn ’ t everything , though .
“ The process for hitting a shot needs to be as important as your score ,” Dillow said . “ If you can create a solid process for
36 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M AY / J UNE 2022
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