At a recent players’ meeting at Tarun Sardesai Golf Academy (TSG), our head coach Prithvi Raj Ram and Folkert Haak, visiting coach from Holland, led a thought-provoking conversation about a problem that nearly all golfers encounter, which is- doing well in practice but struggling to replicate those results in competition.
Players shared their personal tournament experiences from events in Singapore and Sri Lanka during this interactive session. A distinct trend was seen where most of them knew exactly how much they could score on a course under typical conditions, yet they scored differently when it mattered most.
The main topic of conversation was this discrepancy between practice performance and tournament outcomes, and more significantly, how to bridge it.
Understanding the Gap: Practice vs Tournament Reality
“What is your par for the course?” was one of the first, direct and impactful questions asked during the session.
During practice rounds, when they were often at ease, unpressured, and focused only on execution, players were able to predict their scores correctly. But those same players found themselves scoring a few more shots during tournament play.
It’s not a technological problem. It’s mostly mental analysis.
Your mind is at ease when practising. You make decisions without second-guessing them, swing freely, and accept results with ease. However, pressure, expectations, and consequences replace that same freedom in competitions.
The Real Culprit: Pressure in Different Forms
As the conversation progressed, it became evident that the largest element influencing performance is pressure, specifically the outcome-oriented pressure.
There are two primary types of this pressure:
- Internal pressure: Your own demands to do well, get good grades, or defend your preparation
- External pressure: Expectations from parents, coaches, or even the work and cost of participating in competitions are examples of external pressure.
Well, it is certainly noteworthy that internal pressure isn’t necessarily negative. It often reflects that you are concerned about your performance and want to improve. But when it gets out of control, it starts to interfere with the execution part and decision-making.
The players also pointed out that expectations related to scores or particular holes frequently support overcompensation, which is striving too hard after a bad shot or forcing results rather than trusting the process.
When Emotions and Environment take over
During the conversation, Coach Prithvi and Coach Folkert also undertook several minor but significant reasons for this performance gap in addition to pressure.
For example, a round can easily be derailed by emotions. A single poor hole might cause anxiety, dissatisfaction, or a sense of urgency, leading to hasty judgments and subpar performance on subsequent strokes.
The impact of playing companions is another factor. Players may be unintentionally encouraged to deviate from their game plan in an attempt to “keep up” rather than stick to their strengths when they see others do well.
He also said that players may not even be aware of the impact of minor, routine deviations, such as playing more quickly than usual, dehydration, or breaking old routines.
Why the “Second Ball” Feels Easier
Hitting a second ball during practice was one of the session’s most relatable observations. This is something almost all golfers encounter: the second ball is often the better shot.
Why? Because there are no repercussions for it.
Expectation, pressure, and score are all present in the opening shot. All of that is absent from the second one. This demonstrates how much the mind affects performance. Anxiety causes the swing to become guided rather than free, which is where mistakes start.
The Turning Point: Preparation and Mindset Shift
The necessity of preparation, not just in terms of practice hours, but also in terms of the quality and intent behind it, was one of the session’s main lessons.
Strong preparation boosts confidence, as the coaches discussed. Even after a bad start, you feel more at ease on the course when you know you’ve worked hard. To make it work better, coaches asked the players to reverse their strategy:
- During practice, focus and intensity should be increased.
- Be more at ease and unrestricted when competing.
The majority of golfers are seen to be overly serious about tournaments and take practice casually. And to reverse this mental pressure can have a big impact.
Sticking to the Game Plan under Pressure
The fact that participants frequently change their strategy during competitions was another important topic covered by Coach Prithvi and Coach Folkert.
For instance, it’s common to chase recovery shots or push birdies after a poor hole, even on courses that don’t lend themselves to that strategy. Rather than stabilising the round, this frequently results in compounding errors.
Particularly in multi-round competitions, patience becomes essential. Golf is a long game, both during a round and over the entire event, players were reminded.
The Power of Routine
The significance of a regular pre-shot routine was one idea that was underlined time and again during the meeting. A well-practised routine helps you retain your composure, whether it’s a relaxed round or a pressure putt to make the cut.
It is common to note that performance generally declines when routines change under pressure, such as taking longer, second-guessing choices, or overanalysing.
The “1’s and 0’s” Approach: Simplifying Performance On the Greens
The coaches came up with a simple yet efficient scoring mentality for the players, which is- evaluating every shot as either a “1” or a “0” to help them maintain process focus.
Only when all four requirements are satisfied does a shot receive a “1”:
- Dedication to the shot
- Observing the pre-shot procedure
- Taking a free swing
- Maintaining a solid mental finish
And “0” is categorised as anything less than the above .
This way, the entire performance analysis becomes easy and also helps the players maintain composure under duress by refocusing attention from outcomes to execution.
Conclusion: Let the Game Happen
The coaches’ message was very clear as the session came to an end:
- performance improves when you learn to trust your preparation,
- follow your routine,
- and let the game evolve organically.
Golf isn’t about making things happen. It’s about establishing the ideal circumstances for regularly good shots to occur. We hope you enjoyed this reading and will continue to follow us for more thrilling session updates.
Happy Golfing!
