First hole yips...

[tailStrike]

Anyone else ever suffer from this? I'm sure it will get better the more often I play, but man! I played the local municipal again today with a lad that was also by himself and I really choked on the first hole as usual.

I have played the 9 twice to give myself 18 to get an idea of my handicap the past two times I've been there and it is a repeating pattern. I just pulled out the last score card and I scored an 8 on the first hole par 4, followed by a par on the next hole, and the next time around to hole 10 (1), I scored par on it. This time hole 1 and 10 was an 8 then bogey 5.

Any rituals you guys use to get in the grove before the first tee box? Mine's obviously not working.

 

[Adam Pettman]

Nope just relax and have fun, so what if I screw up its a game. Aim for Par if I make birdie then great, if I make bogie then oh well.

 

[Topflite_D2]

Well I've been working on just swinging and keeping my head still and it seems to help with solid contact.

 

[usa1950]

Are you warming up properly? Even if you don't hit any balls (I don't 50%of the time), I do take a ton of swings, stretch, etc. before teeing up on the first hole. Some one handed, left hand only driver swings at about 75% do the trick for me every time.

If you are having short game problems at the beginning of your round, be sure to spend time on the practice green, hit some chip shots etc.....

 

[Wi-Golfer]

Sometimes I do, other times it's all good. All depends on how my day at work went, if it was calm & relatively easy then I normally will do just fine. But if I am a bit tensed up over what happened, then it takes me sometimes 2-3 holes to get my act together. I don't let it bother me if I screw up though, as Adam said it's just a game.

 

[ezra76]

I've got a rule. No driver off the 1st tee, no matter what the yardage. I want to put a par on the board and start it off right. Today I hit 3W on 1 and 3W again on the par 5 second. Still had a birdie putt on 2 and parred both of them.

 

[eclark53520]

The first hole is usually my best driving hole of the day...after that i think i start thinking about it too much and then i start screwing it up...

No first hole yipps here...

 

[MGP]

I've got a rule. No driver off the 1st tee, no matter what the yardage. I want to put a par on the board and start it off right. Today I hit 3W on 1 and 3W again on the par 5 second. Still had a birdie putt on 2 and parred both of them.

I used to play a lot without being able to really warm up well and had that same rule -- play anything but a driver off the first tee, 3W or any of my longer clubs I am sure I'll put in play.

Last season I hit driver off the first tee pretty much every time I played and in reviewing my scores I see that I had some "first hole blues" as well. I think I am going to go back to hitting a club I am sure I'll put in play off the first tee. This really won't cause a problem on most of the courses I play anyway as the first holes are not killers (unless of course I duff a tee ball :laugh.

 

[tailStrike]

I prefer to hit a small bucket before I play, but I usually don't have time to do that when I'm meeting people after work, etc. I'll just have to make it a point to warm up more when I don't hit any.

 

[SUP3RNOVA]

I just take like 50 nonstop swings to get my muscles all warmed up and relaxed and get into the groove of things.

 

[Eracer]

The first hole is usually my best driving hole of the day...after that i think i start thinking about it too much and then i start screwing it up...

No first hole yipps here...

Same here lately. 1st hole: Driver down the middle, crisp approach shot, two-putt par. Then is all goes away...

Why? I think my new emphasis on a short backswing and a stable spine angle works beautifully on the first hole. Then, as I get into the round, my old habits start creeping back in.

So Tailstrike, on the first hole, work on hitting 3/4 shots.

 

[twogreen]

Same here lately. 1st hole: Driver down the middle, crisp approach shot, two-putt par. Then is all goes away...

Why? I think my new emphasis on a short backswing and a stable spine angle works beautifully on the first hole. Then, as I get into the round, my old habits start creeping back in.

Eracer,
I had to go back and double check to be sure that I didn't write that post.
You have described my game beautifully.

 

[Eracer]

Eracer,
I had to go back and double check to be sure that I didn't write that post.
You have described my game beautifully.

How about this:

After the first par, it's bogey, bogey, double bogey (usually caused by wayward iron shots and ineffective chips.) Then maybe a par or two to finish the nine. Don't feel too bad going into the second nine. Then, disaster on the 10th hole - triple or worse. Followed by another awful hole, and maybe another, until I grab myself by the bootstraps and FOCUS! Ease my way through to the finish with a par or two, and maybe a few scrambling bogeys. Play the last hole well.

Rinse and repeat.