Every single amateur golfer on the planet has suffered with first tee nerves at one point or another but Sir Nick Faldo’s advice should help everyone with that specific problem significantly.
Faldo has dished out numerous golf tips to help out amateurs who have struggled with their games throughout the years.
In recent years, Faldo’s tips have included advice on how to strike the golf ball better.
However, this time his advice centered more around the psychological aspect of the game.
Amateur golfers often overlook the importance of a strong mental attitude but a positive mindset is just as crucial as a technically sound swing.
Now Faldo has shared some wisdom concerning how amateurs can ease those nerves ahead of their very first tee shot of the day.
Nick Faldo’s method to help amateur golfers cope with first tee nerves
If you’re a golfer who really struggles to compose yourself ahead of your first tee shot of the day, Faldo is on hand to help you out!
When speaking during a video for Golfing World, the six-time major champion was asked how to ‘kill’ first tee nerves.
He replied: “I know amateur golfers who have driven to my clinics, they’ve driven all the way there thinking, ‘I hope Bob’s not on the first tee because every time Bob is on the first tee I top it’.
“Another person will be saying, ‘oh I hate the first because there are trees on the right and I always hit it in the trees’, and another person will say, ‘oh there’s a pond down the left’.
“So what do you keep picturing? Let me give you a crash course 101 on sports psychology or visualizing. Ask yourself, ‘what do I want’? ‘Want’ is the key.
“Having a comfort shot is very important. Don’t go on the first tee and say, ‘well this hole needs a big hook and I can’t hit a hook’. Go with what you can do.
“If I say, ‘don’t slice it’, where does the ball go. You say to yourself, ‘I want this’. In golf, we have the luxury of a practice swing, so I would really recommend you make a practice swing that matches your picture. Picture your golf ball flying. Jack Nicklaus did it, he called it going to the movies, Tiger calls it ‘hitting the shot into the pictures’, you’ve got to see it. See it finish, that’s the important thing.
“The other thing to help you, if you look down a hole and see a bunker or see out of bounds, say thank you! If you walk out on the edge of a road and see a bus, you don’t keep walking, you say, ‘thank you, I’ll wait for him’. It’s the same thing. If you don’t like a bunker or the out of bounds, well fine. Say, ‘I’m not going to go there because I want to hit it there, on the fairway’.
“You’ve got to have a clear picture and a clear intention with your practice swing and then commit to it. The hardest thing is the little bit of trust but that comes from hitting enough balls on the range.“
‘Knowing’ is key to confidence, says Nick Faldo
Faldo explained how amateurs should be able to ease their nerves on the first tee, if they ‘know’ what they’re capable of.
He said: “Another key word is ‘know’. If you know you can do it, that’s confidence. When you first went to ride a bicycle, you didn’t know what was going to happen, did you? Now, you’ve done it, you know what’s going to happen. If you know what you’re doing, that gets rid of all the nerves.
“That’s my crash course. What do I want? How am I going to do it, that’s your practice swing. Commit to it, because I know I can do this, simple as that.
“Here’s another stupidly simple tip. Most golf balls have got names or we put lines on them to help you. If I’m going down the left side of the fairway, you point the name where you want the thing to start, because you’re nervous, how stupidly simple is that? So when you stand up here, I know that’s straight, I know the face is square and I know I’m standing in the right direction.“
All of Faldo’s tips and hints around settling those first tee nerves are based upon gaining confidence in your own ability.
Don’t think about the things you can’t do, but rather the things you can. A positive mental attitude goes a long way in the game of golf.
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