Prepare, Prepare... Succeed!

How does the below picture make you feel?

Scared, excited, nervous, Relaxed, Worried, Stressed ... All of the above?

I was recently practicing up at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi when they were holding the Yas Open, an amateur event with some of better golfers in the United Arab Emirates playing. Just based on the body language of some of the players and over hearing some conversations before they teed off, I could clearly see who was there to play, and those who might be there to make up the numbers. Does this sound like you, defeated before you have even started?

Now obviously this is supposed to be a fun event, an event that would allow golfers the opportunity to play a wonderful golf course, in tournament conditions. Each of them would have been at the event for different reasons, some to enjoy a couple of rounds with friends, while others would be there to win and gain some of the points up for grabs on the Emirates Golf Federation OOM. I can guarantee you, regardless of the players intention for being at the event, some of the players were beaten before they even pegged the ball up that weekend. Some from a lack of preparation, some from lack of confidence, and some that just let the event get the better of them.

So how could you make this situation feel a bit easier? A bit more comfortable?

Preparation?

Now this can be seen in many different ways and depending on the event, I would prepare completely differently to someone else in the field that week. This also changes drastically for what level of golf you play and what you want to achieve. If your reading this, I'm guessing your pretty keen on your golf so getting a better understanding of preparing for an event can be invaluable. If you put in the work, albeit small amounts if time does not allow, it can make a huge difference in your approach to the event both physically and mentally and give your confidence a boost when stepping on the first tee.

Whether it is your weekly medal, club championship or your first European Tour event, everybody will prepare differently, but it is vital that you do prepare so you can give yourself the best chance to allow your best golf to come out at the right time. This may simply be playing a practice round on a course that you are not familiar with to get an idea of what shots you might need to practice beforehand, or getting some time to practice in the days leading up to the event to understand what shot shape is most comfortable for you to hit at that time. It is all dependant on the individual.

In a previous blog on The Golf Performance Code, we touched upon 'The Three Peaks' in the build up to an event. Now some of you, well pretty much all of us, might not have the time to dedicate three weeks to the build up for an event, but you might be able to dedicate a few hours a day, the week before to get an understanding of where your game is at.

I wanted to give an example of what my preparation might look like for an upcoming event, so that you might be able to take some ideas you like from it and apply it to your own game. For this example Im going to suggest that I have a one week until my event, so it will give you an idea what the build up would look like on every other day.

Tournament Prep week:

We are going to assume you have a golf coach/ understanding about your golf swing and understand some drills they have given you to help in your preparation.

To start the week off, I want to make some commitments and journal them down on a piece of paper. This is a great way to break down what you want to do, how you want to achieve it and the time associated with the task. I would also put down a section on my behaviour and attitude towards my practice. It is very easy to get frustrated and hard on yourself at times if you are testing a certain area of your game, Keep it positive and constructive is the best way to get the most from each days work. I would break this journal down into days and times so you know what you are doing each day to prepare yourself for the upcoming event. At the end of each day I want to make sure that you do a review of the day. What did I do good, bad and indifferent? What can I do better tomorrow? Do I want to make any changes? This just keeps you working in the most efficient manner so you get the most from your days work.

Each day will be totally different and reactive to what you might be working on to get better for the week ahead.

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