Golf Vlogging Nerves
Over the summer I asked my followers if they had any golf questions for me and one particular question that caught my attention was that from @jondavidsongolf who asked about how I deal with golf nerves when vlogging.
My vlogging to date has only been on my Instagram story and I will admit that the first time I decided to speak directly to the camera I was nervous and cringed a lot! That video was of me playing a hole at my local course from tee to green and I knew that I was only going to have one chance to film before I lost light so if I wanted to post anything that would be it whether it was good or bad. Since that video, I have done more vlogs where I answer questions directly at the camera and it has become much easier to talk.
Vlogging can take a long time and can be affected by many factors outside your control such as the weather, lighting, background noises and other groups on the golf course. To simplify what I tend to do I pulled together a list of my 3 top tips:
1. Make a Plan
I normally know that I’m going to vlog before I go out to the golf course. This enables me to plan which holes I want to vlog and ensure that I still concentrate on my actual golf game. My plan might change if the course is busy or the light isn’t right but I will only ever vlog if the course is almost empty so I don’t slow play down.
If I am answering questions then I will have a rough idea of my response so that I don’t waste time having to re-video myself over and over again.
The most important aspect of everything I do is that it has to be genuine. You cannot really plan how you will play so I post the good and the bad shots on my story and people appreciate the honesty. It is incredibly easy for me to say that you have to ignore the camera but that is what you have to do. It is typical that you might not be filming when you hit a great shot but unfortunately that is often how things work out!
2. Pretend you’re speaking to your friends
Pretending that you’re speaking to your friends when you video yourself rather than however many followers or subscribers you have definitely takes the pressure off you.
When I first started posting to my Instagram story it would often be golf videos that I’d actually videoed on Snapchat to send to my friends and then saved. I am very used to playing solo golf as it is one of my favourite ways to unwind but you might find that videoing yourself using this tip makes the way you speak more relaxed and the tone more conversational. Ultimately it is almost as if your friends are in a group with you.
3. Genuinely just play your game
My final tip is to genuinely just play your game. I always say that the blog is my golf diary and if nobody reads it then it doesn’t matter as it is a space for my golf thoughts and memories. Your account is yours only and you should be selfish with it. Post what you want to post without being fake – “post you.”
If vlogging is actually affecting your golf game then I would definitely say you need to take a break for a little bit, focus on your game and then come back to it if you want to. Your followers will still be waiting for you when you return.
If you want to see the full video response please take a look at my Instagram story highlight “Vlogging nerves.”
Happy golfing!