Any Tips for first round of the year?.

[halifax_golfer]

Hey people,

First round of the year is comming up anytime very soon for me... The course here in Memramcook, NB finally opened up for the season!!.. WOOOOHOOOO...

Anyways, anyone have any good tips for first round of the year?, any good stories or whatever, good ways to not get nervous about it...

Thanks,
Fr. Chris.

[eclark53520]

My tip:

Hit the ball, find the ball, lather rinse repeat

[halifax_golfer]

Will remember to think about that one. Nice fun basic thought.

[bames]

If you aren't a little nervous you don't care enough. Don't worry about nerves. They happen on the first hole most of the time. My first round I carried two extra balls in my pocket and as long as I had the time, I would hit multiple balls when I needed to work on something. I made it more of a practice round. It turned out to be a good idea because it changed my mindframe from worrying about a score to focusing on my game.

[nututhugame]

If you aren't a little nervous you don't care enough. Don't worry about nerves. They happen on the first hole most of the time. My first round I carried two extra balls in my pocket and as long as I had the time, I would hit multiple balls when I needed to work on something. I made it more of a practice round. It turned out to be a good idea because it changed my mindframe from worrying about a score to focusing on my game.

plus one. Chances are you wont shoot as well as you like, so just think of it as a practice round and play a couple/few balls. I don't even begin to total my score during the round.... I just take notes of my mistakes and keep stats on putts. Also, if you're not expecting much it allows you to play all or nothing and see what you are really capable of and not. Also good things to keep note of. Play a couple rounds like that and it will probably help your decision making when it "counts".

[halifax_golfer]

Cool... I'll try not to set expectations, and just make sure I take it one shot at a time... I'll try to enjoy my mistakes and take note of which way my misses were. I'm gona make sure I dont get too worked up about anything, and just try to enjoy it.

Should I go out today?, or wait till Friday and go with my Wife?.. It always makes it more fair if I wait and we have the first round together. BUT I WANA GOLF SO BAD!.. ... I really want this year to go well.

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lol, battery is dead in our extra car. guess i'll stay home today.

[cj_rich]

Good tips all, but some good stretching is important at any time of the year, especially in the spring.

[nututhugame]

Cool... I'll try not to set expectations, and just make sure I take it one shot at a time... I'll try to enjoy my mistakes and take note of which way my misses were. I'm gona make sure I dont get too worked up about anything, and just try to enjoy it.

Should I go out today?, or wait till Friday and go with my Wife?.. It always makes it more fair if I wait and we have the first round together. BUT I WANA GOLF SO BAD!.. ... I really want this year to go well.

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lol, battery is dead in our extra car. guess i'll stay home today.

I suck (only been golfing since july and had 5 solid months of winter since then), but this is what I do to improve my game. I can look back on all my score cards to see where I went so wrong any given round. Really helps practice sessions.

[halifax_golfer]

Well, I did actually get to go out, I took most of your advice and played it as a practice round.

I played 9 holes, and it was very nice. There wasn't very many people on the course at all, maybe 10cars in the parking lot.

I did OK, I'd say I shot 9 over on the 9 holes... But I was getting a lot better throughout the round. I hit a decent drive off the first Tee, but it really didn't go far compared to a lot of drives, at least it was in play... My chipping was very eratic, it was very hard to get the right amount of power on chip shots, and it really hurt my score (even though I was just practicing).

I "smoked" a drive on the 9th hole which was great. There was a really bad cross wind that would normally make my hook not very playable on the hole... I managed to hit a ball up against the wind that stayed almost perfectly straight. It felt great to hit a nice drive.

Can't wait to play again, but I think its gona rain here for like a week now.

Fr. Chris.

[eclark53520]

Good to hear man!

I love it when there is a cross wind on the range, attempting to hit shots that just hold against the wind i think is great fun

[mddubya]

9 over for 9 holes is bogey golf, nothing wrong with that, especially the 1st time out. Nice shooting, just remind me to NEVER play you for money, :laugh:

[ThatCanadianGuy]

You guys are slow.

My course (South Shore NS) opened April 9th.

[warbirdlover]

Don't overswing.

Relax and enjoy.

Oops. Too late. You already played...

[millrivermem]

My first round I like to play 18 at a 9 hole course.Work the kinks out on the front and then try hard on the back.This year I went 45-39, so it worked out pretty well for me.

[halifax_golfer]

With the amount of probs I was having last year, the 9 over felt very good. I would have shot a bit higher, but there were 3 greens not yet open and I hit a couple approaches onto one of those green cover blanket things... Anyways, so I had a couple automatic 2 putts, and chipping wasn't an issue, as there wasn't a couple greens to chip onto.

I'm not exatly sure what it is that I figured out in my swing, but I definitly give a lot of the credit to you guys all chipping in to help me out... My confidence wouldn't be the same without this place to talk and learn about golf swings! Turns out though, that my grip was messed up (I was having to re-grip a bit at the top of my swing), and I was "pronating" the wrist of my "top hand" at the top of my swing.. Once I get some of the old feelings / habbits out of my swing, I think I will be very consistant.

I also have to give a lot of credit to "Atomic Golf" I guess I should really make a seperate post about it, but I read "Manavs the bodybuilders" Book, Atomic Golf a couple months ago, and have been implementing as much of that book as possible. I worked out all winter (worked out like an animal to boot). That made my mind healthy enough to overcome any mental probs I was having with my swing... It also made my body healthy enough where I can get some decent distance without much effort. I also didn't get even a tiny bit tired while walking our Hilly golf course.

I also bought a new driver TM Burner Tour... It seemed to be working absolutly fantastic for me once I got a good idea of what I was doing wrong in years past. I dont think the club fixed my swing, but It definitly feels nice to hit.

I really think that "Atomic Golf" is doing some crazy things for my life and my golf game, It has just made me a healthy person Mentally and Physically. So golf seems a lot easier then it used too. Its methods are slightly different then any other golf book, but I think I needed a simple approach like this one. Anyways, I would really recommend the book to anyone who is willing to spend some time lifting weights to improve there golf game.... WELL worth it, I cant recommend weight lifting enough.

Sorry for the long post. Take it easy guys... Seriously, a huge thanks to all the Shot Talkers that have helped me out, I probably would have been ready to give up golf this year if I didn't see some changes in my ball flight (well, actually see my balls fly decently at all). You guys have been a big help, and now I'm on the right track.

Fr. Chris.