Golf Warm Up Routine
By Jamie Faidley under Mental Game
It doesn’t matter if you are about to play in the first round of your club tournament or a casual round with your friends. If you want to play your best golf then you have to get in the right state of mind. The way that you get comfortable and ready to go is by establishing a consistent warm up routine that you go through before each round of golf.
Get to the Course Early
The last thing you want to have to do is rush to the first tee. You’ll be tense and out of rhythm for most of your round. Instead get to the course in plenty of time to do whatever you need to do like stretch, putt, hit a few balls, use the restroom, etc. How soon you need to arrive on the course depends on how much time you want to spend chipping and putting, and how many balls you need to hit to loosen up.
Stretch
There are a lot of stretches that you can do to get your entire body loosened up just like you would for any physical activity. The main thing I’m looking to warm up for a round of golf are my shoulders and back. I’ll put a club behind my back and do some trunk twisting and I’ll do shoulder circles. I might do a hamstring stretch as well if I’m walking instead of riding. I’ll also grab 3 or 4 clubs and swing them slowly to loosen up the golf muscles, but if you have a weighted “donut” to throw on one that works great as well.
Practice Range
When I go to the range to hit balls before the round I start with half-swings with my sand wedge. This not only helps me to get a feel for the club, but it allows me to loosen up with a slower swing. I’ll work my way out to using a full sand wedge before hitting an 8-iron, 4-iron, then driver. Make sure that you are picking a target to aim at and then hitting a few balls with each club. Remember that you aren’t trying to practice here or work on new things, just warm up and get a feel for how you are hitting it that day.
Practice Green
I’ll hit very few chip shots before playing, just to get a feel for carrying the ball 5-10 yards. You’ll want to spend 10-15 minutes putting though. I’ll do a distance control drill where I start out at 10 feet and work my way back to 30 feet or so. Hit 2-3 balls from each spot and hold your finish so you can get a feel for the distance that you hit each putt past or short of the hole. Then I’ll finish up making a few 3-footers so I can watch the ball go into the hole and have something positive to take to the first tee.
