Tips to Stay Calm during a Competitive Golf Game

The secret to playing your best golf game when it counts the most is learning how to maintain calm and composure during tense times. If you allow yourself to get too nervous or excited right before a golf competition, then your muscles will tighten up, you could lose self-confidence and concentration, and your golf game could go up in smokes – better known as “choke”. Deer Creek Golf Club knows that there are many things that can cause you to become nervous during a golf game or golf competition, but the real cause of your nerves is yourself. You are in control, so here are some tips for staying cool, calm, and collected under competitive pressure, from the professional golfing staff at Deer Creek’s championship golf club in Florida.

• Keep your concentration in the “now”. You need to train yourself to keep your focus in the now to stay cool and calm during a competition game of golf.
• Recognize when your focus travels and bring yourself back. It is hard to consistently focus, so condition yourself to become aware when your focus drifts, allowing yourself to quickly return your mindset to the present and focus.
• Leave your goals at home. Do not take your goals with you into the golf competition. Focusing on the outcome goals will make you nervous and can affect your golf game, ironically causing you not to achieve your goals because you will be stressing out too much.
• Have fun. Performing your best under pressure means that you have to be having fun when you play golf. Our championship golf course in Deerfield Beach has seen a lot of competitive games and over the years, we have learned that fun is the secret ingredient to staying calm and doing your best when the heat of the competition is turned up.