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Hi, Im new to the site...I'm a sophmore starting my 2nd golf season at High School...Here is my problem...It seems I can never relax when golfing during practice...We will golf 9 hole rounds and I get so worked up sometimes I shoot into the 60's...It seems like I can never clear the thoughts from my head when I'm about to hit, I always think "Don't mess up, or don't concetrate" or some stupid **** like that and I almost always screw up...But sometimes after a bad round of golf me and a friend will just be play a round all relaxed riding around in a cart and Ill golf into the 40's....I tell myself I need to relax and have fun but it doesnt work... Any tips!??!

Instead of thoughts like "Don't mess up" try thinking about nothing except the ball. I find that looking down at the ball, and finding one dimple to focus my attention on works very well for me. Give it a try, and let us know if it works for you. I'm sure you'll get other ideas here as well. Good luck.

My best advice is to try and turn everything negative into a positive. Such as, instead of saying "Don't hit it into the water!" try to think "OK, land this just short of the pin!" Visualize what you want to do, instead of what you don't want to do.

A thing that helps me is that right before I hit the ball, I have a word that calms me down and makes me relax. For instance, my word is "Cream" but you can have whatever you want. "Massage" or something like that my help. This is just an idea, what works for some is totally useless for others so just experiment.

Wow! This ideas are great!!! I can't wait to try some of them out! Keep em coming guys, You all have great advice.

I'm just going to go off of what helped/helps my son.

He still will choke. It's not rare and you by no means should be upset. More tournament exposure will help. My kid played yesterday with his swing coach and the kid that won the state championship last year. He's played with the kid and he's played with his coach. He choked the first four holes before he finally realized he was just as good as that kid. Did it cost him strokes....yes. But once he realized the other kid could drive it a mile, no joke, at least 370.....but he couldn't keep it in the fairway, then my son relaxed and started playing HIS game.

They/both kids ended up with an 80. Now his swing coach was god only knows how many under par and he ripped both kids apart when they finished. But.....you must believe in your game in order to play. So trust yourself...quit worrying about who/what you're playing with...and play your game. I hope I helped, and I wish you luck.

Also, don't pause too long while standing over the ball. Take a your practice swings, feel the motion you want to make, then step up to the ball and repeat.

Good help here for you already. I just want to emphasize that if you have negative thoughts running through your mind, you have to replace them with positive thoughts Working on visualization will probably help. Before your shot visualize the perfect shot you are trying to hit. It can be hard to stay positive, but your attention has to be focused on something, and whatever it is, make sure it isn't negative thoughts. If you expect a bad shot, it will be a bad shot almost every time. You should try focusing on different things and see what works ... focusing on a dimple is good, but for some people, focusing on the ball isn't always the best, and focusing on a blade of grass in front or behind the ball might work better. You can also focus on just being relaxed, or focus on your arms and hands being loose. You can even try singing your favorite song in your head. It can also be as simple as just convincing yourself that you are just playing a casual round with your buddy and it doesn't count.

Whatever it is, you have to find something to get in a relaxed frame of mind to shoot to your ability. Negative thoughts and tension are death to a golf swing. There's nothing unusual about your situation. Many people have a hard time staying positive and relaxing when it counts. Although I don't play golf competitively, I have the same problem whenever I play a round of golf. I can relax and hit nice shot after nice shot on the range, or in the backyard, but get me on the course, and I have a very hard time relaxing every shot, and that's why my handicap is mid 20s instead of approaching single digits. Hang in there, and keep working on it. Eventually you will figure it out.

As others have suggested, as you play in more tourneys etc. you will get more comfortable.

What works for me:

I do all my thinking about the shot, ( club selection, type of shot,direction etc.) prior to taking a stance. ( Rotella encourages this )

Once I take a stance its one last check at the target a waggle and I start the swing. I believe i spend 5 seconds actually over the ball, prior to starting the swing.

"Stay in the moment" as Dr. Bob Rotella would tel the touring pro or anyone that take golf seriously.
Focus on the present, the next shot.

Something I read in Rick Rielly's book about caddying for the pros...Don't let a negative thought enter your mind. If a pro has a tee shot with water to the left, the caddy will tell him, "plenty of room on the right", but will never say "just don't go left". Short easy downhill putt, caddy won't say "just don't leave it short", he'll say something like "right at the back of the cup". Stay positive at all times, it works wonders.

If you're into golf books, here's one that I read over 50 years ago and review every year. "How To Play Your Best Golf All the Time" by Tommy Armour, Sr. It was the second golf book I ever read and is still the best instructional one. It is still in print, although you may have to order it thru a book store. Does it work? Two years after reading and applying the lessons therein, I had a scratch handicap and won my first club championship (at 14).