The Golf Alpine Tour starts again. A pro reveals how the next tournament is guaranteed to be a success.
It's starting again: the Golf Alpin Tour. This amateur tournament series has been a success story for over 17 years. Various vacation regions and associated hotels from the Salzburger Land and Tyrol present themselves in the host golf clubs - Austrian hospitality and regional delicacies included! No miracle that most participants are motivated there up to the hair points. They went to bed extra early, gave up the friendly after-work beer with the neighbor, packed their golf bags instead and were already writing their victory speeches in their minds. Stop! Error in the system! Because golf is all in the mind and can sometimes be quite unfair. That's what gets a lot of people down, especially in tournaments. Because you just want too much and lose your relaxed attitude.
"Carpe diem", is the simple magic formula. Enjoy the day, have fun. That is the added value of golf. The results will come naturally. The most important thing is to check off the miss, the missed chip or the missed putt as quickly as possible and look ahead. The pro at one of over 40 Golf Alpin partner facilities says: "If you start with a double bogey on hole 1, nothing is lost. You're welcome to be upset about the failed shot for 50 yards. Maybe even curse for a moment." Then it's a matter of clearing your head and hitting the next tee shot out again quite elegantly. Of course, for some people this sounds easier than it really is. But long lamentations are out of place anyway. If you're still upset about the mishap on the first hole, you've missed a great opportunity to eradicate the mistake on the remaining 17 holes.
Experts also advise players to prepare properly at home the day before tournaments on foreign courses, to study and analyze the individual holes on the Internet. The recommendation: Be there two hours before teeing off. This way, the first orientation on the course does not immediately turn into great stress. It is important to have answers to the following questions: Where is the secretary's office? Where is the first tee? Where can I practice a little more? What are the greens like? Are the roughs particularly thick? Ultimately, success at a tournament also depends on the physical condition of each individual. The equation seems simple: good condition = good concentration. Therefore, enough water and sufficient food, such as bananas, are the be-all and end-all!
And then there's that nervous feeling in your stomach. Yes, it's somehow understandable to be nervous at the tee. It's like when a great theater player still has stage fright after his 999th performance. If you take a relaxed approach, you'll definitely play better. And it's good to know that on an 18-hole round, everyone usually has a low point. In order to be better able to deal with such stressful situations in tournaments, the alpine golf pro advises extraordinary training: playing a game of poker with your golf buddies on your private round! That is pure pressure! And: You should play for something that also hurts. Who, for example, seriously enjoys cleaning their buddy's entire set of clubs after the round?
Photos: Stephan Schöttl, Fotolia.de
