My one suggestion would be to try and play more often and practice less.  The more you play, the more comfortable you will become doing so.  Banging a bucket or two at the range is certainly fun and is a great way to stay loose.  But it seems to me that in your case, you are losing an important component of the practice - taking what you did and transfer it to actual play.  Bottom line (in my opinion), practice less and play more.  

Louis,

 

Confidence is something that will help you be able to play well under pressure. Each time you go to hit a shot remember the confidence that you have on the range and carry it over to the actual round. I know it is hard but just try it.

Hope it works,

James

Louis, I have a similar problem. I can take lessons, practice what I learn but when I'm on the course, I can'e repeat what I learned or practice. It's so frustrating!!!!

I think the first thing to do is figure out what situations trigger the jitters. Once you do that, then you will be better able to defeat the problem. I try to block out what the other people in my group are thinking. If you hit a poor shot, laugh at it because if you attach negative emotion to it, your brain will retain it. Can't remember which legend once said the longest distance on the golf course is the one between your ears but it's true. Have confidence in yourself as a person, your swing, visualize what you want the ball to do and let the body do the rest subconsciously. That is how I relax on the course.

I highly recommend the audio version of Zen Golf to all my players!  It's a game changing book! 

RC

I handle this situation a lot like Chi Chi Rodriguez does. I talk to the other guys in between holes, tell a few jokes, etc. This keeps bad thoughts out of my head, lets me enjoy the game a little more & keeps me relaxed. Don't spend all your energy thinking about narrow fairways, doglegs, hazards, etc. Think about something else in between holes or while you wait for your turn to swing. When it is your turn to swing just go through your routine and you will be fine. Enjoy the game MORE and worry LESS !

Louis, Breathing during your practice swings, while your visualizing your shots, and as your walking into the ball can really help you get into a more relaxed state before pulling the trigger. Tension robs the body from making the most efficient golf swing you can make. Tension not only causes loss of distance but also balls that go off line. I would recommend working on conscious breathing as a part of your routine and working on Tension Free trust drills. Dr. Glen Albaugh has a great book out called Winning The Battle Within. The book describes a bunch of great trust drills that you can pick and choose from. All will help but some more than others. Good luck and keep it down the fairway... KL

Its pretty simple, you go to the range, how you hit the ball doesn't matter, you get up and hit the ball. You go to the course and you start thinking about how to swing the club. You probably start thinking, what was I doing on the range that worked so well.

That is opposite, at the range you should be thinking about how to hit the ball, how to start the backswing etc. The range is where you instill the things you want into your swing, now when you go to the course you don't think about the swing, you just swing.

I don't mean you throw out a pre-shot routine, you still want to look at what you have, what you want to do, take a couple practice swings, then approach the ball.....here is where you quit thinking(on the range this is where you think about the take away, check positions etc).

The approach, both on the range and the course, is where you get your alignment and ball position.

I can sympathize with you as I have the same issues on chipping. I am slowly getting more confident the more I play and have the mind set that I have no fear if I mess up. Fear of failure is the big killer because it creates a death spiral. Fear = lack of confidence, tightens muscles and kills all fluid motion which is death in the golf swing, chipping or putting. You just have to tell your self that you are going to execute the shot just like you have practiced a hundred times and then do it. If you mess up forget about it and do it again. Don't worry about a number on the score card. Matter of fact just play a lot rounds without keeping score. Just play and have fun.When you feel like you are over the hump play and keep score.Kind of like trying to loose weight. Just don't get on the scale every night. Check it once or twice a month to see where you are.