The evil's of unwanted tension

[Stud Muffin]

Playing West City, which a unusually long course, I was having a decent day, par over the front 9, few birdies, few bogies. On the back 9, there were a few wooded holes that ate my lunch, and shooting under was well out of the question.

I was upset, as any dger would be, going from par to +6 over a few holes, then I noticed my throws had become considerably shorter. Frustration had me completely tensed up. I found it amazing how just a little bit of wrong mental attitude could tense me up, and effect my game in unwanted ways. A person really had to be conscious of staying loose at all time.

On a good note, after loosening back up, I birdied 17 and barely missed birdie on 18.

Stay loose.

 

[Technohic]

I was playing great on Monday at Roscoe Ewing until we got to hole 15 in the first round, where you throw off a top of a hill and they have had construction vehicles parked there for a few weeks now. This time, the dump truck was more in line of where I usually throw over.

So as I walked up to the tee, I said "I don't want to throw my disc in the truck." My buddy laughed and commented on how I had gone way over that area all the time. So I throw, and sure enough; it bangs the far side board of the dump truck and falls right in.

I wound up climbing up the side and getting a stick to fish it out of gravel that was in the back. Just glad it wasn't tar or something. From then on, my game was ****. I think I got out of rhythm or something but it took me until past half way through the second round to start to come back.

 

[bradharris]

It's all about mastering the mental game. If you let one bad shot get to you, more and more bad shots tend to pile on.

I always tell myself that there's no such thing as a perfect round and I need to expect bad shots. When I do end up throwing a bad one, I just say "okay, there's one of my bad shots. Time to forget it."

Keeping this attitude is hard, especially if that bad shot happens very early or happens on an easy hole.

 

[bholy08]

My skill level hasn't noticeably improved over the last 4 months, but my mental game has! I am consistently shooting 2 shots lower now, I am feel that it is because I am confident and don't let earlier shots effect me as much as they used to.

 

[ChainOut]

ABSOLUTELY...I sometimes find myself letting bad shots cause frustration which causes more bad shots :thmbdown:. A small percentage of the time, just realizing what is happening is all it takes to snap back and play with a "mental clean slate"...unfortunately most of the time I just cant do it. It is a part of my game which requires work.

 

[GLong]

when i get tense in the middle of the round, i usually find a nice quiet spot in the woods to 'take care of business'. that usually gets me back on the birdie train. some candles and enya music can help speed things up.

 

[New013]

when i get tense in the middle of the round, i usually find a nice quiet spot in the woods to 'take care of business'. that usually gets me back on the birdie train. some candles and enya music can help speed things up.

.... :\

 

[jtreadwell]

This is why I always do better when playing with friends versus playing alone. Alone, all I have to focus on is my game and I tend to critique every little mistake. Playing with friends I tend to be much more relaxed and shoot 2 - 4 less strokes.

 

[mjoyce]

I had a similar thing happen to me last Wednesday at league. I was playing pretty well for the first 4 holes. Started on hole 15. When we got to hole one I shanked my drive pretty bad in a frustrating way. (grip lock, hit a tree short) and it basically ruined the next 9 or so holes. It was all because I was frustrated with that shot. Then the next hole I was still a little frustrated so I had another bad drive, it just piled on.

Need to find a better way to just forget about it. Usually I'm pretty good about letting a bad shot go.

I wasn't in a good part of the course to use GLong's technique

 

[Technohic]

I realized last weekend that I like to sit down and drink some water for a minute after a bad hole before teeing off the3 next one and reseting. Unfortunately for me; the guy I regularly disc with does not like to stop as he feels he tightens up. /:

 

[Brall]

So as I walked up to the tee, I said "I don't want to throw my disc in the truck." My buddy laughed and commented on how I had gone way over that area all the time. So I throw, and sure enough; it bangs the far side board of the dump truck and falls right in.

next time express, "I don't want to throw my disc in the basket".

there, ftfy

 

[Technohic]

next time express, "I don't want to throw my disc in the basket".

there, ftfy

I tried that on hole 18. Did not work as hoped.

 

[StoneWallKid]

when i get tense in the middle of the round, i usually find a nice quiet spot in the woods to 'take care of business'. that usually gets me back on the birdie train. some candles and enya music can help speed things up.

..

 

[StarFirebird]

If you feel yourself getting tense in the middle of a round don't be afraid to wake up the nerves again.

Do some arm rotations some forward,some backwards.Then take your arms and swing them back and forth from your chest out to your sides(Horizontally).Then do some static stretches.Shake your legs out and shake your hands out.

You should be good to go after this. :thmbup:

 

[eegor]

Before each shot, I let my arms hang loose and make sure my shoulders are relaxed. This has really helped my game. I don't worry too much about past shots, I'm just naturally pretty tense. The next shot is all you have control over anyway.

 

[Marv Vega]

I've been working on the mental game, it used to seem one bad hole would mean two more bad holes. Now I just try and completely block it out of my mind, it's helped.

 

[Dan Ensor]

Act like you're calm, even if you aren't.

Wiggle your toes.

 

[kutz167]

I have noticed the same thing about tension hurting my game. Just in the last week, I have had days where I was both incredibly loose as well as super tense and rushed. When incredibly loose, I really amaze myself with the lines and consistency I am having with my throws, while when tense, the FAT tends to hurt my mood and I really have difficulty getting back in a rhythm. Being loose and relaxed really does help a lot while playing. That's for sure!