Last week I played in my first club knockout competition in a very long time when I partnered my good friend Anne in foursomes. I don’t find this the easiest format because you never really get into your own game and you and your partner often end up hitting from unfamiliar territory! Even though at the start of the round you say, “No sorrys,” you cannot help apologising when you put your partner in the crap!
If you’ve been following my chat this year, you’ll know that I’ve been putting cards in to try to achieve what I believe to be a more realistic handicap since my competition golf lapsed a few years ago. It probably won’t take me long with the World Handicap System! I’ve had to tap in those short putts that were once gimmes and concentrate hard with a card in my hand, but this foursomes match was different.
Over the years I’ve played in many different match formats, but I was caught off guard because it was new again. I suddenly felt a huge responsibility when it was my turn to hit a shot, especially those short putts to either win a hole or make a half! I know it was silly, any partner knows that you’re only trying to do your best, but I’m sure many of you can sympathise with how I was feeling.
The good news is that after a real tussle, we won on the 18th, so I’m hoping I’ve got the extent of those emotions out of my system. We all know how the mind messes with your golf game, it’s no good worrying about hitting a bad shot or missing a putt because the likelihood is that you will, and at times I did!
Talking of mindsets, being able to put a nightmare start to a competition round behind you and then shoot your best score ever is something that we’d all like to do. It’s exactly what 7-handicapper Jess Ratcliffe did recently after a bogey, double bogey, bogey start. Now that does show real strength of character.
Jess credits the mental strategies she used to get her game back on track and she shared these in this piece for Golf Monthly, which you might want to read before you tee up in your next competition round.
The tips are simple enough, but one in particular that I’m going to take away is to pick a small target where you want to send the ball, such as a shadow on the fairway or green. For Jess, this freed her from too many swing thoughts and instead, by trusting and focusing her mind on a small target, her body would find a way of sending the ball there. This is just one of 5 tips that worked for Jess on her way to reducing her handicap from 7.3 to 6.7. I’d say it’s worth a try in the next round of the club foursomes!
Alison Root
Women's Editor Golf Monthly
