Target Panic

Target panic or “Gold fever” describes the phenomenon where an archer becomes nervous or tense as soon as they are especially close to the center (“gold”) of the target. Typically, the archer suddenly wants to make the shot perfect. As a result, the movement becomes rushed, the shot is held too long, delayed, or released poorly, and the arrow loses accuracy (no longer lands in the gold).

Gold fever is therefore less of a technical problem and more of a mental one – often caused by pressure, expectations, or focusing too much on the result.