Do you want to save a few shots ?
Warm up before you play....
Not warming up is the number one shot killer for many amateurs. How many times have you blown your round after just 4 or 5 holes because of miss hits and unforced errors. Essentially what you are doing is using those first few holes as your practice warm up, but what a waste. By simply going through a structured warm up before every round I guarantee you will save shots. Tour pros will spend around an hour on the range before playing going through each club and getting a feel for how they are striking the ball on any given day. Not only does it warm you up but you can take some confidence onto the first tee.
How to warm up ?
I often see amateurs just hitting a few chips or pitches near the first hole, or a couple of practise swings and then a couple of putts. That's ok, but ideally you want to go through your entire bag and hit a few balls with each club. Remember the first shot you are going to hit is likely to be a wood or longer iron, just hitting a few pitch shots isn't going to prepare you for that.
An ideal warm up should look something like this :
Start with some stretching - just 5 or 10 minutes will prepare you for the round and loosen you up. A loose supple swing is far more efficient than a stiff wooden one and it doesn't need to be intense, just concentrate on the muscles you are about to be engaging such as - wrist, shoulders, neck, abdominals, obliques, quads, hips, hamstrings and ankles.
Next lets do some Putting
start with some short 2 footers and work your way up to 6 footers. Concentrate on speed and making sure you roll the ball past the hole. This length of putts are the ones that matter. I like to practice putting now before hitting irons and woods because I want the last shots of my practice routine to be the first shot I'm going to hit on the first hole.
Now it's time to start to start making some swings.
Start with your wedges and work your way up through you clubs just taking 3/4 swings, now is not the time to be working on too many things, at most a couple of simple swing thoughts. The most important thing is to string together a series of solid ball strikes which is great for confidence. There is nothing better than standing on the first tee knowing you have put in the work and have some sort of idea where the ball is going, even better is hitting that first ball down the fairway, so remember to increase your odds the last club you should practice with should be the one you are about to tee off with first. Good golfing ; J
