How to avoid a terrible first round after lockdown

Poor opening holes can sap your confidence and lead to a downward spiral. Conversely, a good start is often what creates the confidence and momentum that can help us produce a great round. Here, Steven Orr offers three keys to ensure you find your form fast when you start playing again.

1. WARM UP BEFOREHAND

Arrive at the course early enough to warm up. Hit at least 20 balls on the range before you play in order to get warm and get familiar with your swing – this is about the number of full swings you’d make on a front nine of 45 shots without a warm up. Also spend at least 10 minutes chipping and putting to get a feel for the conditions and speed – a good early up-and-down or long putt can generate momentum and set the tone for your whole round.

2. THREE-HOLE TARGET

Set yourself an achievable goal for the first three holes, such as making a solid start by playing to your handicap, avoiding anything worse than bogey or something more specific like not making any three-putts. This helps you relax and prevents you from overstretching and trying too hard early on, which is a common reason for a bad start. If you break your whole round into six sets of three holes it can make your goals appear more achievable.

3. GET THE BALL IN PLAY

There is a difference between a ‘bad’ shot and a ‘cost’ shot. Everyone hits ‘bad’ shots but they don’t always result in a dropped shot. ‘Cost’ shots, however, are those that put you in real trouble and cause bogeys or card-wrecking scores if you throw more than one of them into a hole. If you reduce the ‘cost’ shots you will improve your scores, so take a club that you know will get the ball safely in play on the first holes.