Gatekeeper Resolutions Day 22: Play Your Casual Round Slow Like A Tournament
Day 22! Ready to be annoyed? Ready to play slow for no apparent reason? One of the hardest things to simulate or get used to is tournament pacing. Solo rounds, you throw when you’re ready and can get through a round in under an hour at most courses, but tournament rounds rarely take under three hours, and of course you have to wait on your cardmates and potentially backups.
First I’ll suggest that you bring something non-electronic to pass some time, whether it’s a book, crosswords, or Spot It, when there are going to be backups during tournaments. Stretch and stay loose.
For today, you’re going to play one round SOLO on your home course, but there’s a timer. Between your tee shots and your next upshot or putt, you have to take a minimum of 2 minutes. Between any fairway shots or putts except a tap-in, you have to take a minimum of 2 minutes. Between finishing a hole and driving on the next one, you have to take a minimum of 3 minutes, when you should take score and then sit. If any groups come along, let them play through and use that as more artificial backup.
You can enhance this to be even more like a tournament round by warming up in a field and doing some practice putts. Figuring out what you need to be ready for a round (stretching, throwing, putting, organizing, changing shoes or clothes, etc) can improve your rhythm and routine.
Pacing is a huge difference between casual and tournament play–so what we’re trying to simulate here is a slow pace, where you have LOTS of time to sit and think about how you’re playing, or the shots that are coming up. You “win” the game when you can find ways to distract yourself between shots to stay loose, but re-focus throughout the round when it’s time to throw.
Written By Andrew Fish, PDGA 58320
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