I had two dreams, in consecutive nights, that had to do with golf. The first dream, I was in a foursome with Tiger Woods, and we were in a Pro/Am tournament, near the lead, with only a few holes to play. Tiger takes several minutes to look at my putt. I can see the different angles of my putt. It is almost straight in, and only a few feet.

Then he tells me to make it. Once I line up to make the putt, instead of standing over a golf ball, I am standing over a huge ball (I can’t remember what kind of ball, but it was big) and there is a box on top of the ball. As I move the box off the ball, the ball moves, and we are penalized. Tiger gets mad, throws his putter, and walks off. So does the other twosome. I stand alone on the green, and miss the putt anyway.

The next dream, the next night, is me back at the country club I used to caddy at. I am waiting inside the club house, instead of by the first tee, where the members and caddies are matched. There is a big men’s tournament going on. Caddies usually make a lot of money in these, but since I have been a caddy here a long time, I figure I'll make money no matter what. Who needs to put up with high strung members in a tournament, when I can make almost the same money and just walk around?

When I do go to the first tee, I get put with these two old ladies. I always hated caddying for old ladies. It was boring, and they played really bad. Not only was I to caddy for these two ladies, but I had to train a new caddy. The new caddy is this clerk who works in the office I work in. I have never talked to him before, ever. I only know his name, Terell.

I refuse to caddy for the old ladies, and to train Terell. The next thing I know, I’m at the first tee with two young couples. One of the ladies hits first, and her ball goes directly sideways, almost into a creek. I go over to find her ball. The grass around the creak is soft and muddy, the creak is muddy and shallow. Her ball is in some kind of shallow hole, and her ball is wet and muddy.

While I’m by her ball, she hits another one, directly sideways, only this time, the opposite direction. At this point, I say to myself, “What am I doing caddying? I’m a commodities trader! I don't need $80 this bad!” I leave, and that’s the last I remember.

- Larry, Age 27, Male, Single, Chicago, IL, USA

Hi Larry -

Congratulations on being the first reader to submit a “golf anxiety” dream to Ask the Dream Doctor. I’m willing to bet eighty bucks, though, that you’re not the only golfer (or commodities trader) who has had this dream!

“Performance anxieties” often are represented in dreams through test-taking metaphors. If we’re worried about our ability to perform some task or assignment in the real world, we may dream that we are back in high school or college, and that it is the day of a big test or final exam. Suddenly, incredulously, we realize that we completely forgot about the test! We are totally unprepared! Then we spend the rest of the dream racing to find the classroom. When we get there, dressed only in our underwear, we realize that all the other students are leaving. We missed the exam! As we wake up, we are distressed (it’s never a happy dream) that we have to repeat another year of school to graduate.

The sequence of events in your dream follows a similar pattern. First you are playing in the big leagues. (Graduation day). You and Tiger are near to victory, and it’s an easy putt to drop. (Will you pass the test?) Once you stand over the ball though, it’s a whole different game. (Nerves). The ball is bigger than it first appeared to be - and there are complications. (There always are). A box sits on the ball. (A reference to the office?) You move the box, the ball moves, team is penalized. (Failed the exam!) Tiger is bummed and throws his club. (You did not impress your superiors). You miss the shot anyway. (Nerves again).

Your second dream carries on this “graduation” theme by having you caddy for a series of poor golfers. In a direct reference to your work, however, you also are told that you have to tutor Terrel, the office clerk, in the skills of caddying. As the dream draws to a close, you protest the absurdity of the situation. “But I’ve already been a caddy! I don’t need to do this anymore! I make plenty of money!”(Translation: I have graduated from this type of work!)

Just as “test-taking” dreams don’t reflect anxiety about math or history classes taken ten years ago, your golf dreams likely have little to do with the game itself. Instead, a rough day on the golf course appears to be serving as a metaphor for a rough day at the office. If you’ve been worried about closing a deal, making it into “the big leagues,” or how your co-workers rate your performance, any of these concerns could explain your dreams. It is significant to note, however, that in your second dream, an ambivalence appears about whether you even want to play in “the big leagues.” You write, “Who needs to put up with high strung members in a tournament, when I can make almost the same money and just walk around?”

What’s the message of this dream? If your job stresses you to the point where you wonder if it’s all worth it, why don’t you consider a different line of work? Your dream suggests you feel you could make almost the same amount of money elsewhere - and you wouldn’t have to put up with the high strung work environment. If you decide you do like your job - and you’ve just been feeling “off your game” recently - remember that even the pros (especially the pros) have to play through the rough spots.

Keep swinging!