Most golfers feel “1st tee nerves” — but what you’re really experiencing is energy in your body, not something negative or dangerous. We’ve simply been conditioned to label those sensations as “nervousness,” which makes us resist them. And whatever we resist becomes stronger.

Karl explains that all emotions are just energy in motion. This energy is designed to move through your system naturally — unless you fight it. Top performers (in golf and even music) feel these same sensations, but the difference is how they label them. Carly Simon saw her sensations as anxiety; Bruce Springsteen saw them as the energy he needed to perform at his best.

Instead of calling it “first tee nerves,” Karl encourages you to call it “first tee energy.” When you relabel it, you stop resisting it. The energy can then flow through your system naturally, instead of lingering for holes and holes.

Most importantly, you can still perform well even with these sensations present — as long as your attention stays on the task at hand. You don’t need to get rid of the feelings.

You just need to recognise them for what they are: temporary sensations that don’t control your performance.