Mark Moore one of our resident PGA Professionals at the Leeds Golf Centre Academy offers the following advice on 1st tee jitters and if you like what you read, then you might want to check out Mark’s FREE lesson offer here.
Do you tense up at the first tee?
Most people that I have met are relaxed on the range and anxious on the first tee – anxiety obviously has a negative effect on performance. You simply need to focus on a positive to allay the negative.
So how do you focus on the task at hand?
A simple tip to focus the mind and remove negative thoughts is to concentrate on just one simple task – a good example is to try to hit the tee peg.
Drill:
A simple tip to focus the mind and remove negative thoughts is to concentrate on just one simple task – a good example is to try to hit the tee peg.
Drill:
- Place 10 tee pegs in a line on the ground a couple of inches apart from each other (image 1).
- Make smooth swings trying to hit the tee peg but not hit the ground (image 2).
- When you can hit all 10 tee pegs in a row you are ready…
Once you are at the first tee take care to pick your line and have a good pre-shot routine, then when it is time for the shot focus purely on the tee peg. Whilst clipping the tee peg doesn’t guarantee a good shot, it will allow you to get the ball away and it means that you are focusing on something positive rather than worrying (image 3).
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| Image 1 |
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| Image 3 |
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| Image 2 |
