MENTAL SPOTLIGHT

Uncharted Territory

You finally have the chance to play “the Course.” You know, the exclusive one in the top 100 or the resort you’ve been dying to visit. You’ve spent months (and big bucks) planning the round, and you know this might be your chance to play the course. Wouldn’t it be great to come home and tell your golfing buddies that you shot a great round?

            But thing rarely work out the way you hope they will. You discover that the fairway are narrower than the ones at your home course, the greens are more undulating, even the flagsticks are a different size.

            You don’t have the comfort of your home course when you play elsewhere. You don’t know every nook, cranny and shortcut, and unfamiliarity often adds extra strokes to your score. Here are a dew tips to help through uncharted territory.

Imagine Similar Holes on Your Home Course

            Your home course probably is a mix of easy and difficult holes. You relish the easy holes, and you’re learned to handle the difficult ones. But playing a tough hole you’ve never seen before is an unsettling experience. Instead of being comfortable, you could find yourself in a state of shock: “This is impossible!” “I’ve never seen a bole like this before!” “Nobody can par this hole!”

            In reality, this new hole is no harder than the most difficult hole on your home course. Check the yardage—it’s probably about the same as your longest hole. Maybe the unfamiliar hole requires hitting a fade to protect the out-of-bounds on the left, just like good ol’ number three back home. Perhaps you have to lay up in front of the water by the green to guard against a bid number, exactly like the 15th hole at your home course.

            So it’s nothing new. Approach this new monster the way you approach the old monster back home, the ones you tamed many times before.

Be Objective in Judging Distances

            All golf courses, particularly unfamiliar ones, play tricks with visual illusions. If the flagsticks are shorter than the ones at your home course, for example, the green appear farther away then they only seem in or out of play when they are actually the opposite. Because of these visual distortions, determining precise distances is vital.

            The task has been made easier lately. Precise distances are provided on plates, sprinkler head and in yardage books. Be sure to use these props and not to forget to seek clarification before the round about whether printed yardages are to the middle of front of a green.

            If you don’t have the benefit of yardage makers, try this psychological technique from Gray Player: Pick a tree or bush down the side of the fairway that you feel confident is about wedge distance away from you. Then pick another object a bit closer to the hole that is about 9-iron distance, then 8-iron, 7-iron and so on. Continue this way until you reach the hole—which may turn out to be a 4-iron shot.

Hit the Club You are Supposed to Hit, and Hit It the Way You Are Supposed to Hit it

            In an unfamiliar situation, decisions often feel like crapshoots. Hit a 6-iron? But it looks a 7. How are you supposed to know when you’ve never played the hole before? Such indecision might lead to a tentative swing or a last minute adjustment that conforms more to gut feeling than to objective judgments.

            Once you’ve checked yardages and condition (wind, lie and so on) and made the appropriate club selection, don’t hold back. You’ve picked the right club, now hit it way it is supposed to be it.

Be Realistic in Your Expectations

            Despite all your objectivity and seriousness, new courses are still going to jump up and grab you occasionally, visual illusions are still going to play tricks on you and the shock value of certain unexpected holes is still going to put extra pressure on your game.

            Be realistic. Although taking the proper steps will put in a good to play well, don’t tee it up with the hope of having a career round. Yes, you want to play your best, but don’t allow unrealistic expectations about shooting a great round ruin the fun of new challenges, beautiful scenery and the memories of a once-in-lifetime round of golf.

This article is from the book “The Complete Golfer: Physical Skill and Mental Toughness” by Dr. Tom Dorsel, the sport psychologist.