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Superstitions are a strange anomaly for golfers. Regardless of your handicap, every golfer has a superstition or two. They are all based around “luck” that we have no control over. I would suggest that superstitions are more about our mental state and how we approach our round. It is impossible to tell a person that when you spin around three times, jump up and down with your arms in the air, or turn your hat around after a birdie really will not help their game. Regardless of what we say, superstitions are part of the game of golf – like it or not!
The Bleacher Report has a list of superstitions like:
- Never use a red tee during your round of golf
- Never mark your ball with any coin with a smaller denomination than a quarter
- Never wash your ball if you are having an exceptional round
- Carry a lucky club in your bag
These are just a few with many others. Unfortunately, all these acts of craziness are created, stored and retrieved in 6 inches of real estate – the space between our ears.
better-golf-by-putting-better.com has an interesting article on superstition and is worth a read. The article outlines may superstitions held by pros such as: “Some golfers will only play with numbers one and three. Ernie Els regards the number two as unlucky and believes that there is only one birdie in each ball. South African Retief Goosen uses a ball with number four in the first round of the tournament counting down to number one in the final round. Vijay Singh goes in the opposite order.” And we thought we were crazy!
Superstitions can be a positive or a negative. I have several superstitions myself, but for the most part I try not to let them overrule my common sense. For this, I am a grateful golfer.
So what do you think, do superstitions influence your game or not?
The Grateful Golfer 
I don’t think any influence my game, but I always mark my ball with a quarter, use the same divot tool I’ve had for at least 10 years, always carry TWO white tees in my pocket, glove always goes into back right pocket when putting, etc. I think I’d consider these things to be “routine” over superstition, huh?
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Rick
I would agree with you if you had a red and a white tee in your pocket would it bother you….haha. It really is a tough thing to distinguish between a superstition and routine. I also have a favorite divot repair tool, but it does not bother me if I forget it in my other pants. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
Cheers
Jim
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I definitely have superstitious tendencies when I play. I always grab my right pant leg before addressing a ball in the fairway and I only mark my golf balls with 1, 2, or 3 dots, but the number of dots has to match the number on the ball. I’m not sure that it physically affects my game, but mentally I am calmer and more relaxed when I hit my shot.
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Interesting. I pull up my right sleeve to my shoulder to putt. I think I started that years ago and now don’t want to stop. I mark my ball as per my facebook page, with a TJA. Blue color for my main ball in a tournament and red for a provisional (as required). Thanks.
Cheers
Jim
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Golf and Baseball seem to have the most. One of my favorites in golf is some people won’t putt if the previous player has not removed his ball from the hole. Even Tiger, always wears red on Sunday.
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I can see people not putting while the other ball is in the hole. Me personally, I am not fussed. I am trying to get away from always using a wooden tee. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Jim
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