Your “Personal Tournament”
The U.S. Open begins tomorrow, a test of golf for the greatest players in the world. It will be interesting to see who rises to the top come Father’s Day. Will it be a heavy favorite? A player such as Tiger Woods who just recently tied Jack Nicklaus’s record for PGA Tour wins. Bubba Watson who has length to spare and the ability to work the ball in both directions. Phil Mickelson who has come so close, so many times at the US Open.
Even if we aren’t playing to win the U.S. Open at Olympic Club, the next round you play you will be competing in your own “private tournament”. It could be beating your buddies this weekend, trying to make your first birdie, or setting a new personal best low score. Whatever your tournament is, we need to make sure that we are prepared to give it our best.
Practicing will get your golf game in shape…I hope you are doing this. But you need to make sure that you stay “in the game” while you are on the course. Golf can be full of distractions. You focus very sporadically, for brief periods of time when you are trying to execute a shot. What the winning player will do this week in the US Open, and the thing that you need to do playing your next “personal tournament” will be to stay focused throughout the entire round.
Do little things to keep focused on the task at hand, the upcoming shot! Standing on the tee, pick out your target. Going from the tee to your approach shot, start thinking about where you would like to hit the ball into the green. Are you going to aim at the flag, the center of the green, try and hit the ball to the correct level of a green? When you get to the ball you should already have a clear picture of what you want to execute. Approaching the green, you should be paying attention to the overall slope of the terrain, giving you a guide of how your putt(s) will break.
Staying in the present and being prepared for each shot will help you play your best. I wish all of the players at the U.S. Open good luck. And I wish you good luck, hoping that this is the weekend that you win your “Personal Tournament”!