Most golfers are filled with nerves (and maybe a little bit of dread) when they tee it up in a tournament of some description, whether it be a monthly medal or the annual club championship.
Even if you've been playing really well in the weeks and months beforehand, the common concern is that you won't be able to replicate your best stuff on the day when it really matters.
And there are lots of reasons why many people don't. They're too concerned about what others think. They significantly over-inflate the importance of the situation. They become obsessed over the end result and forget to deal with what's happening right now.
And I should know. I'm guilty of having done all of those things (and often several at the same time) in rounds that mean more to me in the past.
Of course, sometimes, it's just not your day. But I bet if you followed the plan I was given for better competition golf - made by five pros from a Korn Ferry Tour winner to a DP World Tour legend - you would see improved results. I did, and it worked out pretty well for me...
The premise for the aforementioned gameplan surfaced because I was due to play my first-ever adult golf competition - an iGolf Open qualifying event at Minchinhampton's Old Course - and I wanted to know how on earth I should attack it.
I'd been playing really good and consistent golf (by my standards) in 2026 and I didn't want to waste the opportunity.
After all, the top-seven qualifiers from a field of around 60 would make it through to the iGolf Open Final at Woodhall Spa with an overnight stay plus a welcome dinner and breakfast pre-round included.
Whoever wins that can claim to be the best nomadic golfer in the country (from an official pool of over 81,000 iGolf subscribers) and could even call themselves an Open champion (sort of). The stakes were pretty high, and a lot of people I saw upon arriving really wanted to make it through.
So with advice from David Howell, James Nicholas, Piers Berrington, Sam De'Ath and Joe Ferguson all ringing in my ears, I turned up feeling relaxed, prepared and relatively confident as opposed to tense, flustered and nervous.
And the fact I felt prepared and relaxed was absolutely vital. I stood on the first tee with a clear mind and assured of what I wanted to do. The result - an excellent drive which ultimately led to a chip-in birdie at the first.
OK, the chip-in was a bonus, but an awkward third at the opening par-5 could have sent my head into a spin. Yet, with my secret weapon helping me recalibrate, I remained calm and was able to kick my round off in style.
In contrast, I'd seen someone shortly before I teed off visibly shaking with nerves after producing an opening drive he likely didn't plan for.
He then uttered the line heard around many a golf course around the world on competition days: "I don't normally do that, but there are all of these people watching."
At level par through three holes, it would have been easy for my mind to wander. 'Imagine if I won', 'if I can make the turn in this many shots, I could qualify', 'I might be able to birdie the sixth with a good tee shot' etc etc.
But, as my colleague Joe Ferguson rightly told me beforehand, thinking of outcomes is a distinctly unhelpful psychological state. To do well, you have to stay in the moment and solve each problem (shot) as it happens.
So I stuck to my task, kept my head down and continued to try and be great company for my playing partners - which is what David Howell advised.
Don't become too wrapped up in your own world that you shut everyone else out. Golf is a social game, so switch off between shots and get to know your playing partners.
That advice was particularly helpful when I hit a bit of a bump midway through the front nine. A double-triple sequence wasn't what I needed, but I carried on smiling and chatting, and things turned around for me.
Other tips in my plan were closely related. Think about how insignificant the moment is compared to what's going on in the world. And tournament golf is just golf with the word 'tournament' at the front. Nothing should change.
Nine-over at the turn and with a course handicap of 13, I figured my chances of qualifying - let alone winning - were done.
But instead of downing tools, as it's so easy to do in 34-degree heat, I stuck to my plan religiously and suddenly I was in with a shout again as the clubhouse pulled into view.
Another triple-bogey seven wasn't quite what I needed coming home, I have to say, but a par-birdie-bogey finish ultimately helped me finish T6th and qualify for the iGolf Open final by a single point.
As a side note, I have to say thank you to my playing partners Lawrence Kee and Martin Ward for putting up with me for the day and for being great company.
And also congratulations to Mark Harries, who won at Minchinhampton with a superb 41 points. I chatted to him after and he seemed stunned with what had just happened - I think I know the feeling!
Regardless of the actual result, I was really proud of the way I stuck to what is a smart and helpful gameplan throughout. And I thought, as a 16-handicapper who is often about as consistent as the UK weather, these tips could be incredibly useful to so many players around the world.
So please go back and check out the full original article as it could help you play better tournament golf in 2026 and beyond!
